The Disappearance of the Universe: Straight Talk About Illusions, Past Lives, Religion, Sex, Politics, and the Miracles of Forgiveness

This book seems very heavily focused around a religious/Christian perspective right off the gate and seemed to carry throughout the whole book. I myself am not a fan of this, it seems very contradictory to spirituality which is what I thought this book was supposed to be about. It doesn’t seem trust worthy towards a genuine and open experience and belief system. Christianity, in my opinion can be a very forced and fearful religion that holds no room for true equality and understanding that we are all one and that spirit, god, source, (whatever title fits for you) is our absolute truth of being, not something that is outside of us that we must answer to. It’s just uncomfortable in my opinion. If you are someone who follows Christian beliefs and believes god is outside of us and not within, then this may be for you. But if you are someone who is trying to connect to a higher truth that is limitless and aligns with understanding the only person you have to answer to is yourself because you are god in physical form, then this isn’t for you and I do not recommend.

I read objectively and in my humble opinion the author just pours it too thick. And the ending goes too far. I do not recommend.

I have been a student of ACIM for less than a year and thought I was learning at a fast pace. But after reading Renard's book, I can honestly say that my learning experience has taken the famous Quantum Leap! Renard's relaxed style comes thru even in Spanish. I could not put the book down. His use of the quotations from ACIM are more than helpful, and I am sure I will continue using this book as reference for many years. The ending left me speechless and tears ran from my eyes for minutes. A MUST for serious students of ACIM and those who are looking for answers to our most common life questions.

Every so often, a book comes along that has the potential to completely transform the way people think about a subject. In the business world, In Search of Excellence, the One Minute Manager and From Good to Great come quickly to mind. In the people development world, books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Emotional Intelligence have been transformational. In the spiritual development circle, the Disappearance of the Universe has moved to the top of my list. The book is quite simply, amazing. AND you have to be ready for it. I have been especially blessed by the clear explanations and the clarity given to the role of forgiveness in our own salvation. And Gary Renard's humor and wit help to make it a very easy read. Let's start with the basic premise and storyline for the book. THE PREMISE: When you dream at night that someone is chasing you, in the dream it feels very real and no one in the dream could likely convince you that it was not real. But in truth you are home in your bed. When you wake up, the dream disappears, because it was never real in the first place, and you find you were in your bed the entire time. Well, the basic premise for the Disappearance of the Universe is that we are really home in God, but dreaming a dream that we are bodies living this life. Of course our true home is out of our awareness. Yet when we wake up, the universe will disappear, because it was never real in the first place, we were at home in God the entire time. This is indeed an incredible and hard to believe premise. But what if it is true? THE STORYLINE: Gary Renard, a self-admitted slacker whose major goals in life were to "move to Hawaii, commune with nature, and drink beer - not necessarily in that order," is visited 17 times over the course of nine years by two "ascended masters." They tell Gary that the reason for the visits is to answer the many questions he has about God, Jesus and this world, and to assist him in writing a book that will help facilitate the disappearance of the universe. His visitors tell him that he has asked in his prayers to know what it was like to walk with Jesus 2000 years ago and that they have come to tell him because they were there, as Thaddeus and Thomas. The entire book consists of the conversations during those 17 visits, with occasional commentary by Gary. The conversations are simply mind blowing. Of course this is an incredible and hard to believe storyline. But what if...? ARE YOU READY? Are you ready to have your view of life, spirituality, religion and sex turned upside down? Are you ready to have your questions answered about why you are here, how you got here, why God "allows good people to suffer," and how you end this seeming craziness? Are you ready to learn with crystal clarity how you experience "the peace of God?" When I introduce the Disappearance of the Universe to my many Christian friends who are unfamiliar with A Course in Miracles, I remind them, that

He leído el libro unas cinco veces ya, y cada vez me trae un mensaje más y más claro respecto a quien soy, que hago aquí, de donde vengo y hacia donde voy. Esos han sido mis interrogantes desde que tengo memoria en esta vida. Alguien me dio el libro como presente y una vez lo recibí lo mantuve encima de mi escritorio por cerca de una semana y media sin abrirlo, siempre pasaba por el lado y lo miraba, pero no sentía la necesidad de tomarlo y empezar a leerlo. Tal vez lo estaba prejuzgando como simplemente un libro más referente a espiritualidad. Hasta que un día decidí tomarlo en mis manos, y como quien no quiere, pero queriendo empecé a leer el índice, después la contra portada... a mediada que seguía leyendo mi interés se acrecentaba más y más, de repente me di cuenta que había estado sentado por lo menos durante hora y media o algo así, y ¡ya había literalmente devorado el primer capitulo! ¡Es asombroso! una vez que empecé a leerlo simplemente no podía parar de leerlo, y lo llevaba con migo a todas partes pues ha sido como el alimento para el espíritu que tanto había estado buscando a lo largo de mi existencia en esta vida. Había considerado empezar las lecciones del Curso de Milagros, pero decidí posponerlas hasta terminar el libro, pues es en realidad un despertador y preparador de la conciencia y del entendimiento cuando se trata de asimilar las enseñanzas del Curso. Ha sido literalmente una bendición y un milagro el haber recibido el libro, y después el haber trabajado hombro a hombro con Martha Constain en la revisión del texto en Español para asegurarnos que recibieran el mensaje correcto en el idioma Español. Hace unos días recibí los CDs en Ingles y cada vez que los escucho, es como que recibo un nuevo mensaje lleno de luz y sabiduría aunque las palabras sean las mismas. Eso es debido a que el mensaje que nos es transmitido por el Espíritu Santo a través de sus enviados Pursah y Arten, es un mensaje que no esta sujeto a las limitaciones del espacio tiempo que percibimos siendo de esa forma un mensaje de fuera del tiempo para todos los tiempos. Definitivamente el Espíritu Santo sabe como despertar conciencias. Gracias Gary por haber tomado la decisión de comunicar el mensaje al mundo. -Thank you Gary for having choosen to let the world know about the message-. No lo piensen más, ordenen el libro ya mismo y léanlo no solamente una vez sino tantas veces como sea necesario, compártanlo con sus seres queridos, amigos y familiares y ténganlo a la mano como consulta en cualquier momento que necesiten entender algo o clarificar alguna idea. Bendiciones infinitas para todos Amor y Paz, Miguel Munevar

This book is about becoming like Jesus, in the sense that he got to the point where his reality was love. As A Course in Miracles, which is one of the major teachings in this book says, "Teach only love, for that is what you are." The methods in this book are designed to bring about the knowledge of what you are faster by practicing a form of forgiveness that leads to the undoing of the ego, which leads back to the reality of love. This is a bold book in its style, substance and scope. It presents some teachings that are literally not available anywhere else. I have recommended it to many people.

The Disappearance of the Universe is a must read for every modern day disciple of A Course In Miracles. The reader's passion for the Course is completely revitalized, and his or her practice of forgiveness is turbo-charged to a new and all-encompassing level. "Sooner or later, it always comes down to some kind of forgiveness and how willing you are to do it. How willing are you to accept that it's all your dream? How willing are you to release your dream and choose God?"With over 400 pages, The Disappearance of the Universe is a fairly long book, but author Gary Renard has an honest and irreverant way of expressing himself, which makes it enjoyable and interesting to read. Renard doesn't hide behind the pretense of always getting everything just right along the spiritual path. Many examples of his own petty thoughts are fearlessly shared. Renard also has the welcome and rare ability to smartly restate some of the more complicated Course ideas in plain language that everyone can understand and apply. No mumbo jumbo. No compromising of spiritual principles to conform to popular psychology. No spiritualizing of money or sex. It's all so refreshing. But I've saved the best for last. Gary Renard simply cannot resist wisecracking his way to God. Here are a couple of my personal favorites: "Love is letting go of beer," and "...it's possible to have both an erection and a resurrection." Maybe one of the best reasons to read this book is simply because it makes you smile.Don't worry about whether you'll like this book or not because you will. Click on the "buy" button and get it today!