ARA Review by Virginia Allen 1 of In It Together

[Virginia Allen 1]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, In It Together.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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In it Together: the Beautiful Struggle Uniting us All

The author has a compelling voice and from the very first page comes across as an enthusiastic and loving friend speaking to each reader individually, with the same intensity as he no doubt has in real life. ‘In it together’ is a quick read, and as one flips fast through the pages we are nodding at every paragraph as we recognise our foibles and fears described in a cascade of wisdom, like a pure spring of words that flow effortlessly. The author’s ambition is to unite us all, no matter where we stand on the goodly path, especially those of us who are floundering in the spiritual wilderness. His perspective is likely to appeal to a wide spectrum of seekers for the Truth, particularly 'New Agers' needing a substitute for conventional religion to make sense of the age-old challenges of life.

Like his name sake Eckhart Toll, Eckhart Aurelius Hughes convinces us that ‘real you’ is not the ‘meat suit of your body’ but your higher self that can control wayward impulses. He argues that we have infinite capacity for self-actualisation in this life and by letting go of our attachments to comfort and self-delusion, we can transcend the ego. His philosophy is that ‘Spiritual Freedom’ means being self-disciplined enough to gain inner peace, without a need for props in life. It is with some relief we are given 10 practical suggestions for Right Behaviour, which are infinitely more appropriate than the commandments apparently issued to mankind by God, over two thousand years ago, which most of us cannot remember.

This philosophy gives us an ethical approach to living for our troubled times, an insightful guidebook on common decency, which incorporates Buddhist mindfulness without the B, Christian virtue without the big C, and by its very avoidance of the question of God with a capital G, adds a secular voice to address the modern variant of human suffering putting a ‘no name’ label on the supermarket shelves of spirituality in the 21st century.

I am giving 4 out of 5 star rating as the book is an important contribution to making the world a better place.

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