Author: Jeff Maziarek

ISBN: 0974484105

The following review was contributed by:  NORM GOLDMAN:  Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW  Norm Goldman's Reviews       

To read Norm's Interview With Jeff Maziarek CLICK HERE

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified asserts in his introduction that the principal impetus for his writing his book was to create a spiritual growth book that would be accessible to mainstream readers. Moreover, it would include “the best of the best” content gleaned from a broad mixture personal/spiritual growth books that he has read.

What the book does best is the author's succinct presentation of his own thoughts, as well as others, that permit his readers to digest and make sense of them in any way they wish. It is not merely a collection of the author's sayings and anecdotes, but rather a penetration of our lifestyle and how we can deepen our knowledge in improving it as we embark upon the path to spiritual growth.

Each chapter is framed around fundamental concepts that are carefully analyzed and shored up by powerful passages taken from the teachings of some prominent and spiritual growth authors as Deepak Chopra, Allan Cohen, Anthony DeMello, Wayne W. Dyer, Neale Donald Walsch, Louise Hay, Dan Millman, Eckhart Tolle, and many others. It should be noted that Maziarek includes an Appendix listing nearly forty books related to personal and/or spiritual growth that he has personally read and that has served as his source material for Spirituality Simplified.

We are reminded in the first chapter that it is essential to have an open mind when considering new information pertaining to spiritual growth, even though some of it may appear to be off-the-wall. This probably is the most difficult change of behavior we are called upon to pursue, as we all realize that once we become attached to a particular philosophy, religion or belief, it is not easy to cast it aside.

From this starting point Maziarek probes in detail about such topics as who or what is God, who we are, cause and effect, present moment awareness, oneness, abundance, non-attachment, forgiveness, the path of spiritual growth.

A dominant theme and one that Maziarek returns to throughout the book is that each of us is responsible for co-creating his or her life in concert with God. Maziarek uses the term God-Force and as he explains “it is the depiction of God as pure loving energy that is constantly creating ideas, items, and circumstances through His/Her/Its creations. This view sees human beings as pieces of this God-Force, not separate from it,” and we should strive to tap into this force. In other words, as the author maintains, you can no longer look outside of yourself and blame other for your life's circumstances.

Another principle that is explored is that we must live in the present, for the past is water under the bridge, (although you can learn from past experiences), furthermore no one can predict the future, nor should we seek rewards in some afterlife. Basically, as the author states, “the Principle Moment Awareness states that the only time that is real is in the present, for it is from within the 'now' that everything we experience in life originates.”

As the author concludes, there is no easy path to spiritual growth, as there are no set of rules that will provide you with all of the answers. It is up to you to discover your inner truth and to formulate your own spiritual philosophy.

Although many of the book's themes have been explored elsewhere, Maziarek's strength lies in his passion and intensity as he examines several enlightening principles that are highly relevant to our daily lives and that will aid us in arriving at a more comprehensible awareness of our true identity.