My daughter gave me a copy of “Eat, Pray, Love” and it was a book that gave me some unexpected spiritual insight.   And it was a good addition to a few others I’ve reviewed to help explore our spiritual side.  I’ve read and reviewed “Silence on Fire” (follow this link for my review). I also wrote reviews for Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” and “A New Earth“. These three books work at explaining and enlightening me about the spiritual. I recommend them, but cannot deny these aren’t the easiest book to read.

“Eat, Pray, Love” takes a crack at explaining the spiritual by putting us on a journey with the author Elizabeth Gilbert. She doesn’t describe spirituality. She let’s us climb into her head to experience her spirituality up close and personal.

Now this is me speaking. I believe we live in the constant presence of God. I see prayer as our attempt to increase our awareness of that presence. We don’t need to find God. He’s right here in front of me. What we need is to clear my head and awaken my awareness by “lifting the fog” so the eternal becomes so obvious and clear.

For me this is so difficult to do. I’m pretty independent, self-sufficient and VERY slow to see my limitations. When things go right and I’m in control (if you can ever say you are truly in control) I ignore the eternal and go at it solo. What I have found is that during my toughest struggles, I am most likely to humble myself and turn to God. When things get tough, that’s when I seem more likely to accept the help that’s truly available to me.

“Eat, Pray, Love” helped me because it reminded me that regardless of my mental state at a given time, I am not alone. It pulled me into someone else’s spiritual journey and helped me see what I like to see “the obvious” in another person’s life. Elizabeth Gilbert does entertain us with her account of a year-long post divorce trip. In order to better “find herself” she eats in Italy, prays in India, and loves in Indonesia (hence the title). I’m not too fond of her religious views and sexual antics, but I have to admit, she sure can spin a story which at the same time helped me reflect.

Her internal dialog enabled me to see, understand and capture her experience. Her precise word choice and visualization communicates her relationship with the eternal. I deal with a constant, crazy mental chatter as I know everyone does. In the book, you listen to hers and though a year’s experience see how she evolves. She gets to:

• know herself better,
• grow more mature and
• becomes less dependent upon the approval of others.

It’s a real treat to watch and then compare notes with my own.

This is no doubt a chick book. (In my house we watch ten chick flicks for every Arnold movie. Such is life.) However, for anyone wanting a fun read with some spiritually enlightening tidbits regardless of your gender, it’s a straightforward and fun read. Whether working, at peace, on vacation or in the middle of a difficult job hunt, this is a book for helping with your spirituality.

Hope this helps.