ARA Review by Paula Grover of In It Together
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ARA Review by Paula Grover of In It Together
[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, In It Together.]
Review by Paula Grover of "In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle that Unites Us All" by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes.
Rating: 5 out of 5
"In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle That Unites Us All" by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes, is a beautifully written book with many challenging messages about living life as your "real" or "true" self (i.e. the spirit or "consciousness"). It reads like a philosophical treatise, but it contains valuable spiritual wisdom for those who are seeking deeper truths about the human condition and our connection to it.
E.A. Hughes begins the book with an examination of why people in our society are so often unmotivated to be kind to others, for example, to people in other countries who are suffering as a result of war and starvation, especially children. One of the main reasons put forth is that people tend to be under the spell of ego and addiction, and they have a sense of self-hatred for not being able to overcome these addictions; or, they may suffer from a continual feeling of not being "good enough". I found this very compelling, for it brings up the question, "How can we help others when we have not yet helped ourselves?"
Hughes believes that by living as our true selves, we will be better able to love ourselves and by extension, others and all of creation. This may seem simplistic or naive to some, but he distinguishes strongly between the false self (or the ego) and the true self (spirit or consciousness) that we are. He reminds us that we are neither the various roles that we play, nor the things that we own, nor our physical attributes, nor even the voices in our heads. These things may form a temporary "pseudo-identity," but they are not who we are. We are a part of something unchangeable, an eternal presence.
The author refers to the dual nature of human beings as "The Two Yous": real and false. If we were our egos alone, without consciousness, we would be what the author refers to as "philosophical zombies." In that case, we would be like androids with no souls. Fortunately, however, human beings are blessed with consciousness, the knowing presence that resides within us.
One of the main themes is "letting go" as a way to attain a greater sense of spiritual freedom. We need to let go of the way we see ourselves, whether we have overly high or low self-esteem, and we need to embrace a new way of being that does not involve constant yearnings for ever-passing comforts. Instead, we are challenged to embrace discomfort and to embrace life as it is, not how we want it to be in some as yet unrealized future. This is a particularly difficult challenge for many of us in Western society, as our culture is very future-oriented, as well as having a distinct bias for comfort.
Although he expresses many fascinating ideas, Hughes does not sit on a philosophical cloud. He gives us many suggestions on what may help in the release of things that do not fulfill us. He emphasizes the importance of being honest with oneself and the need to let go of self-deception. For example, if one has an unhealthy and abusive relationship with oneself, one must first acknowledge that lack of health and abuse before one can heal it.
The other suggestions that Hughes gives us arise from this first step. One that I found helpful was to let go of "pseudo-trying", to stop saying "I am going to try to do this," and start saying, "I am doing this," while doing it, successfully or not. Hughes also suggests letting go of fighting, moralizing to oneself and others in the form of "shoulds" or "oughts," as well as letting go of unforgiveness towards others (a big one for many of us). There are eleven suggestions in all, and each one deserves to be read and considered as an important part of the spiritual journey.
Hughes illustrates much of what he writes about through glimpses of his own life near the end of the book, which helps us to understand that he is not simply narrating from an omnipotent pedestal, but that he has experienced the struggles of the human ego. One of the author's last suggestions is to "Just Love Everything and Everyone": in other words, unconditional love and acceptance. This is related to loving oneself not through the ego but through higher consciousness. In that sense, our struggles with ourselves connect us to all of humanity, for in each human being there are different yet similar struggles. Unconditional love of all people and the acceptance of all that is, as it is, can be achieved through letting go of the illusions of the ego and embracing the Higher Self. As the author says in his last chapter, "I love you." This is "The Beautiful Struggle That Unites Us All," and as the title tells us, we are all "In It Together." Indeed, there is so much philosophical and spiritual wisdom in this short book that it is difficult to describe it adequately. One must experience the book by reading it, whether or not one agrees with all of the ideas being expressed.
I very much enjoyed "In It Together," not only because of the philosophy but also because of the message of hope to us everyday humans. In Hughes' book, we get to dance between the glaringly human world of addictive pleasures and the "spaceless timeless spacetime", a paradox that I find fascinating. The book is not written for any one spiritual discipline or religion, however. It is written in a way that gives choices to the reader as to how that reader interprets the material, for example, what is being discussed can be seen as either "spirit" or "consciousness" or something else that is part of the reader's understanding. This openness to diverse interpretations regarding the spiritual elements was something that I admired about the book.
One thing I noticed was that Hughes conflates spiritual freedom with "self-discipline," and he repeats this frequently. At first, I questioned this, because many workaholics may achieve worldly success through the discipline of work, and it doesn't necessarily translate into spiritual freedom. As I thought about it, however, I was interpreting the word "discipline" to mean being trapped in a cage of "work, work, work," with no freedom to be who I am. When I looked at the origins of the word "discipline," however, I saw that it stems from the Latin words "discipulus" (student) and "disciplina," which means instruction or knowledge. In that sense, I could re-interpret "self-discipline" as learning or self-knowledge, leading to inner knowing and an awareness of consciousness. I believe this book could help people to similarly question their interpretations of their own words and thoughts.
Many of the ideas that Hughes writes about, I have read in books by authors such as Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle, but the way he expresses them makes the ideas fresh and relatable in terms of basic human experience. Reading this book is a journey that is sure to provoke many thoughts and reactions but more importantly, it will provide a spiritual map to guide us in such chaotic and divisive times. I would highly recommend this book to any philosopher, spiritual seeker, or simply to any human being who struggles with being human.
I have given this book five out of five stars because it is well written with no spelling or grammar errors that I could detect, and because the book is well-organized, with the arguments well-articulated. It also expresses a vision, almost poetic at times, of a world where love is indeed possible.
***
View In It Together on Bookshelves
Review by Paula Grover of "In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle that Unites Us All" by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes.
Rating: 5 out of 5
"In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle That Unites Us All" by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes, is a beautifully written book with many challenging messages about living life as your "real" or "true" self (i.e. the spirit or "consciousness"). It reads like a philosophical treatise, but it contains valuable spiritual wisdom for those who are seeking deeper truths about the human condition and our connection to it.
E.A. Hughes begins the book with an examination of why people in our society are so often unmotivated to be kind to others, for example, to people in other countries who are suffering as a result of war and starvation, especially children. One of the main reasons put forth is that people tend to be under the spell of ego and addiction, and they have a sense of self-hatred for not being able to overcome these addictions; or, they may suffer from a continual feeling of not being "good enough". I found this very compelling, for it brings up the question, "How can we help others when we have not yet helped ourselves?"
Hughes believes that by living as our true selves, we will be better able to love ourselves and by extension, others and all of creation. This may seem simplistic or naive to some, but he distinguishes strongly between the false self (or the ego) and the true self (spirit or consciousness) that we are. He reminds us that we are neither the various roles that we play, nor the things that we own, nor our physical attributes, nor even the voices in our heads. These things may form a temporary "pseudo-identity," but they are not who we are. We are a part of something unchangeable, an eternal presence.
The author refers to the dual nature of human beings as "The Two Yous": real and false. If we were our egos alone, without consciousness, we would be what the author refers to as "philosophical zombies." In that case, we would be like androids with no souls. Fortunately, however, human beings are blessed with consciousness, the knowing presence that resides within us.
One of the main themes is "letting go" as a way to attain a greater sense of spiritual freedom. We need to let go of the way we see ourselves, whether we have overly high or low self-esteem, and we need to embrace a new way of being that does not involve constant yearnings for ever-passing comforts. Instead, we are challenged to embrace discomfort and to embrace life as it is, not how we want it to be in some as yet unrealized future. This is a particularly difficult challenge for many of us in Western society, as our culture is very future-oriented, as well as having a distinct bias for comfort.
Although he expresses many fascinating ideas, Hughes does not sit on a philosophical cloud. He gives us many suggestions on what may help in the release of things that do not fulfill us. He emphasizes the importance of being honest with oneself and the need to let go of self-deception. For example, if one has an unhealthy and abusive relationship with oneself, one must first acknowledge that lack of health and abuse before one can heal it.
The other suggestions that Hughes gives us arise from this first step. One that I found helpful was to let go of "pseudo-trying", to stop saying "I am going to try to do this," and start saying, "I am doing this," while doing it, successfully or not. Hughes also suggests letting go of fighting, moralizing to oneself and others in the form of "shoulds" or "oughts," as well as letting go of unforgiveness towards others (a big one for many of us). There are eleven suggestions in all, and each one deserves to be read and considered as an important part of the spiritual journey.
Hughes illustrates much of what he writes about through glimpses of his own life near the end of the book, which helps us to understand that he is not simply narrating from an omnipotent pedestal, but that he has experienced the struggles of the human ego. One of the author's last suggestions is to "Just Love Everything and Everyone": in other words, unconditional love and acceptance. This is related to loving oneself not through the ego but through higher consciousness. In that sense, our struggles with ourselves connect us to all of humanity, for in each human being there are different yet similar struggles. Unconditional love of all people and the acceptance of all that is, as it is, can be achieved through letting go of the illusions of the ego and embracing the Higher Self. As the author says in his last chapter, "I love you." This is "The Beautiful Struggle That Unites Us All," and as the title tells us, we are all "In It Together." Indeed, there is so much philosophical and spiritual wisdom in this short book that it is difficult to describe it adequately. One must experience the book by reading it, whether or not one agrees with all of the ideas being expressed.
I very much enjoyed "In It Together," not only because of the philosophy but also because of the message of hope to us everyday humans. In Hughes' book, we get to dance between the glaringly human world of addictive pleasures and the "spaceless timeless spacetime", a paradox that I find fascinating. The book is not written for any one spiritual discipline or religion, however. It is written in a way that gives choices to the reader as to how that reader interprets the material, for example, what is being discussed can be seen as either "spirit" or "consciousness" or something else that is part of the reader's understanding. This openness to diverse interpretations regarding the spiritual elements was something that I admired about the book.
One thing I noticed was that Hughes conflates spiritual freedom with "self-discipline," and he repeats this frequently. At first, I questioned this, because many workaholics may achieve worldly success through the discipline of work, and it doesn't necessarily translate into spiritual freedom. As I thought about it, however, I was interpreting the word "discipline" to mean being trapped in a cage of "work, work, work," with no freedom to be who I am. When I looked at the origins of the word "discipline," however, I saw that it stems from the Latin words "discipulus" (student) and "disciplina," which means instruction or knowledge. In that sense, I could re-interpret "self-discipline" as learning or self-knowledge, leading to inner knowing and an awareness of consciousness. I believe this book could help people to similarly question their interpretations of their own words and thoughts.
Many of the ideas that Hughes writes about, I have read in books by authors such as Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle, but the way he expresses them makes the ideas fresh and relatable in terms of basic human experience. Reading this book is a journey that is sure to provoke many thoughts and reactions but more importantly, it will provide a spiritual map to guide us in such chaotic and divisive times. I would highly recommend this book to any philosopher, spiritual seeker, or simply to any human being who struggles with being human.
I have given this book five out of five stars because it is well written with no spelling or grammar errors that I could detect, and because the book is well-organized, with the arguments well-articulated. It also expresses a vision, almost poetic at times, of a world where love is indeed possible.
***
View In It Together on Bookshelves
