The Truth: What You Must Know Before December 21, 2012

Review: The Truth: What You Must Know Before December 21, 2012 by Stephen Hawley Martin

Blurb from Barnes&Noble.com:

"Has the Tribulation begun? Will the world as we know it end on or before December 21, 2012? The Mayan calendar says so, as does the ancient I CHING and the Web Bot, a computer program that taps into the collective planetary unconscious. Some think a meteor or other global disaster will strike, others that a dynamic shift in consciousness will occur. Or perhaps, they say, both will happen and only those who have made the shift will survive. No one knows -- but one thing is certain. You cannot make the shift to higher awareness if you do not know The Truth. Fortunately, the Internet's number one talk show host for seekers, award-winning author Stephen Hawley Martin, has written The Truth for you and those you love. He has done so in a way anyone can understand, accept and thoroughly enjoy. If you read only one book between now and 2012, make it this one. End of the world or not, then you will know The Truth. And The Truth will set you free. "

So here's my secret confession: I love books like this. Perhaps it's latent rebelliousness from my conservative Baptist upbringing, but if it's about alternative, quasi-religious worldviews, I'm all over it. I still remember the book I found at Goodwill when I was in junior high that explained how Adam and Eve were actually aliens from an extraplanetary Garden of Eden sent down to populate the earth with their offspring. Seriously, this is good stuff. About 90% of the time, it's laughable but entertaining. Occasionally, one of these books comes along that is written well enough to make you stop and think. The Truth is one of the latter.

Hawley explains that most of scientific thought today is based on an erroneous assumption: that intelligence came about due to evolution. The Truth (THE TRUTH) is that the brain does not create mind - humans, and all matter, are the "focal points of awareness within the larger awareness often called the Universal Mind" - basically, all is one. We are all connected to the great, singular intelligence that created everything, and is everything.

Throughout the course of the book, he uses many illustrations to explain his thesis, including how beliefs produce physical changes, the scientific basis of collective memory, and why prayer literally works. What differentiates Hawley's book from many other new-agey, self-help type volumes is his extensive use of current scientific study to substantiate his ideas. His bibliography at the end of the book includes citations of Stephen Jay Gould, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, and Henry P. Strapp. Hawley has clearly done his research, and it shows in his thoughtful, approachable work. His engaging writing style takes difficult scientific and philosophical ideas and makes them accessible to the everyday reader. Besides his significant scientific analysis, Hawley also utilizes personal anecdotes and stories, giving the reader insight into his own life. He is clearly writing about something that he believes deeply, which makes his book more all the more powerful.

I won't say that he has converted me to his line of thinking, but he certainly gives one a lot to think about. If you enjoy good, informative writing about a fascinating topic like this, I would encourage you to give Hawley a try. Perhaps we can all use a shift of consciousness before 2012 rolls around.

Finished: 8/31/08
Source: Oaklea Press Inc.
Rating: 7/10