Official Review: The Children of the Maize
Posted: 10 Mar 2015, 21:48
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Children of the Maize" by Arnulfo G. Oxlaj.]
2 out of 4 stars
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I always approach “Spiritual” books cautiously as I find that there are certain things I agree with wholeheartedly and some ideals that I just totally don’t understand. But I chose this book because I have an interest in Guatemala, and this was a unique firsthand account of some of the atrocities and history behind the wars.
This starts out as a truly amazing story of the author surviving genocide while being deaf, dumb and blind from the time he was born. He had a very close relationship with his grandfather, a medicine man who could speak to Arnulfo’s soul. Arnulfo started helping people at a young age, becoming a healer like his Abuelo.
However, this is where Arnulfo should’ve elaborated on his feebleness that he had as a child…at one point he went outside in the dark and his grandfather took his hand and led him to the top of a mountain where people were milling down below. I wondered…how did he get outside if he was blind? Did an unexplainable force guide him along? The people that he “saw” below- were they in his mind? Apparitions? This part wasn’t quite clear to me. And then it was briefly mentioned some of the hardships he had, before all of the sudden a miracle happened and he could see, hear, and speak. I wish Arnulfo would have elaborated on this miracle so that I could trust his teachings a bit more.
After admitting this miracle, Arnulfo goes into the history of the Mayans- the people who lived in absolute paradise with unconditional love, passion, and happiness. A self-proclaimed god took over the people (who they called the Dark One). This tyrant who claimed everything as his own and eventually drove the Mayans into two groups...one was called the Children of the Maize (people in the shadow) and the Pyramid Builders (those who had freedom). This caused The Great Confusion- these people with too much freedom developed ego, self-hatred, and placed importance on material things and soon the Mayans started breaking apart, spreading and developing borders. The Pyramid Builders got greedy, wanted more, and developed weapons and then the wars began as they started attacking the Children of the Maize. A group called the Tribal Union fought to protect all of the people, but soon even they became corrupt.
Then the author mentions how messed up the world is today and how we’re all corrupt Pyramid Builders. He mentions the two paths of life which include integrity, discipline and obedience and how we each have a mission, a gift. Throughout the first 50 pages, he alludes to the 29 elements of life, but beware reader- we will never find out what these elements are (the author says that’s for a different book; we all need to walk before we run.) I was kind of bummed about that.
However, he does go over the Seven Guardians of Life that light the path of 29 elements. Some of these guardians include Humility, Transformation, Obedience and True Love. There are some good positive gems in there, like: “Kiss your own hand. What an incredible creation you are!” But then he can also seem a bit resentful of the world we live in (ex. “people are not to be trusted”).
He did end the book with a pretty powerful story of an atrocity that happened in his childhood, but I would’ve liked to have understood how that made him into who he is today. Although I appreciate reading his personal and touching story, I think there’s still a lot left to wonder about. I rate it 2 out of 4 stars.
******
The Children of the Maize
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Barnes and Noble | Hassle-Free Sample
Like kayla1080's review? Post a comment saying so!
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
I always approach “Spiritual” books cautiously as I find that there are certain things I agree with wholeheartedly and some ideals that I just totally don’t understand. But I chose this book because I have an interest in Guatemala, and this was a unique firsthand account of some of the atrocities and history behind the wars.
This starts out as a truly amazing story of the author surviving genocide while being deaf, dumb and blind from the time he was born. He had a very close relationship with his grandfather, a medicine man who could speak to Arnulfo’s soul. Arnulfo started helping people at a young age, becoming a healer like his Abuelo.
However, this is where Arnulfo should’ve elaborated on his feebleness that he had as a child…at one point he went outside in the dark and his grandfather took his hand and led him to the top of a mountain where people were milling down below. I wondered…how did he get outside if he was blind? Did an unexplainable force guide him along? The people that he “saw” below- were they in his mind? Apparitions? This part wasn’t quite clear to me. And then it was briefly mentioned some of the hardships he had, before all of the sudden a miracle happened and he could see, hear, and speak. I wish Arnulfo would have elaborated on this miracle so that I could trust his teachings a bit more.
After admitting this miracle, Arnulfo goes into the history of the Mayans- the people who lived in absolute paradise with unconditional love, passion, and happiness. A self-proclaimed god took over the people (who they called the Dark One). This tyrant who claimed everything as his own and eventually drove the Mayans into two groups...one was called the Children of the Maize (people in the shadow) and the Pyramid Builders (those who had freedom). This caused The Great Confusion- these people with too much freedom developed ego, self-hatred, and placed importance on material things and soon the Mayans started breaking apart, spreading and developing borders. The Pyramid Builders got greedy, wanted more, and developed weapons and then the wars began as they started attacking the Children of the Maize. A group called the Tribal Union fought to protect all of the people, but soon even they became corrupt.
Then the author mentions how messed up the world is today and how we’re all corrupt Pyramid Builders. He mentions the two paths of life which include integrity, discipline and obedience and how we each have a mission, a gift. Throughout the first 50 pages, he alludes to the 29 elements of life, but beware reader- we will never find out what these elements are (the author says that’s for a different book; we all need to walk before we run.) I was kind of bummed about that.
However, he does go over the Seven Guardians of Life that light the path of 29 elements. Some of these guardians include Humility, Transformation, Obedience and True Love. There are some good positive gems in there, like: “Kiss your own hand. What an incredible creation you are!” But then he can also seem a bit resentful of the world we live in (ex. “people are not to be trusted”).
He did end the book with a pretty powerful story of an atrocity that happened in his childhood, but I would’ve liked to have understood how that made him into who he is today. Although I appreciate reading his personal and touching story, I think there’s still a lot left to wonder about. I rate it 2 out of 4 stars.
******
The Children of the Maize
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Barnes and Noble | Hassle-Free Sample
Like kayla1080's review? Post a comment saying so!
