Have you awakened spiritually yet still feel stuck, as if you might never be self-realized? You are not alone. Many seekers feel dissatisfied despite years of practice.
Endless Awakening reveals that the solution lies in the paradoxes of time. When you release the idea that you are on a journey, you arrive at your destination. When you accept that your journey never ends, you awaken fully and find the peace that eludes you.
With an inviting, conversational style, Endless Awakening gently guides the reader to see how the paradoxical nature of time can illuminate a deeper understanding of core human issues such as emotions, identity, relationships, and death.
In this book, you will learn to:
· Heal emotionally by embracing the paradox that you are already whole and still healing
· Be true to yourself by embracing the paradox that you are beyond time and language and a story with a past, present, and future
· See life differently by embracing the paradox that the world is a mirror of your mind and a mystery you will never unravel
When you embrace paradox as your path, a new relationship to spirituality awaits you.
Semi Finalist
Assessment:
Plot: Garlinger’s ideas prove unique and eye-opening here. Readers will benefit from Garlinger’s thoughts about time, self-awareness, perspective, and healing.
Prose: Despite the weighty topics at hand, Garlinger writes with a conversational, even tone. His compassion shines through his enlightening words; the examples presented are relatable, and the writing is clear and concise.
Originality: Garlinger has a unique perspective regarding his experience recovering from trauma. His insights will provide guidance and solace to readers on their own quests for meaning and understanding.
Character/Execution: The book is well-organized and anchored in its intentions. The author conveys potentially abstract concepts in a manner that will resonate with and inspire readers.
Date Submitted: December 07, 2022
Garlinger’s commitment to a both-and mentality and a joyful approach to paradox threads clearly through each topic he considers, giving his ramble through big concepts a consistent path. His insight into the human condition encourages self-kindness and holding our ideas of self lightly, as it rejects the idea of enlightenment as linear progress. This offers the reader a sense of comfortable acceptance from which to let go into grander considerations.The prose style is conversational but not chatty, with accessible, straightforward language free of esoterica, and the material is clearly organized by topic. The net effect is one of listening to wise lectures quietly over tea. Though the author’s sharing of insights from ritual psychedelic use shifts the tone here and there, Garlinger never suggests that such experiences are mandatory on one’s journey.
A few of Garlinger’s ideas stick particularly hard, even for readers used to considering spiritual realities: the distinction between being in the present, which we cannot avoid, and being present, which is a choice and a practice; that identity is a shield against repression and that oneness does not mean eradicating difference; and that other people are simultaneously mirrors of ourselves and unknowable strangers.
Takeaway: Seekers ready to embrace the paradoxes of human living will find great ideas to chew on here.
Great for fans of: John Gray’s The Soul of the Marionette, Sean Enda Power, The Philosophy of Time, A Contemporary Introduction.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Garlinger’s self-help book offers new approaches to recovering from trauma.
There are innumerable ways to experience, absorb, and retain trauma, but there are far fewer to heal from its effects. In this book, the author, a former professor and attorney-turned-spiritual healer, asserts that framing spiritual work as a journey impedes true progress—and that, in fact, people’s perception of time is severely flawed. He puts forth the notion that “you transcend your limits by accepting that you have limits. You grow by letting go of the idea that you need to grow. You arrive by letting go of the desire to arrive.” In nine chapters that broadly cover such topics as “Emotions,” “Identity,” and “Connection,” Garlinger skewers many tropes and tenets of spiritual practice and the self-help genre in general. He encourages readers to embrace and enjoy their bodies in a sexual context, noting that “spirituality and religion have a terrible track record when it comes to reproducing puritanical and misguided norms about sexuality.” He also uses analogies such as the unity of bee colonies and the unpredictability of cats to convey the value of communion and kindness. The nebulous language of enlightenment often seen in other self-help books is replaced here with ample movie and TV references (and even humor), but Garlinger’s tone is always sincere. He also hits more familiar notes in his discussions of examining and tempering the ego and rejecting the isolation of individuality. Garlinger frequently injects anecdotes from his own life as transitions from topic to topic; some don’t add much depth to his points, but others, such as an account of shopping at the Gap, effectively humanize him. The prose is crisp and sometimes disarmingly poignant; the chapters “Identity” and “Awareness” are standouts, with lines such as “Identity is simply the story that you, this divine consciousness, are writing in this very moment.…You are light taking countless forms.”
A charming, compassionate guide to rethinking how one navigates and perceives the world.
