Review of Finding The Millionth Monkey
Posted: 27 Nov 2024, 21:15
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Finding The Millionth Monkey" by Christopher Murphy.]
Finding The Millionth Monkey: Life after Self-Help Books! by Christopher Murphy’s edited Kindle version is a spirituality guide to help us be “the Millionth Monkey in the Great Shift in Consciousness,” a phrase suggesting that once individuals adopt something, it rapidly spreads to everyone else. The book’s title wittily points out how self-help books have affected us and how we can alter our behaviors and views for a shift in the collective consciousness.
Unlike most books, each section is a “Premise” beginning with a problem. Then, thoughts, questions, answers, and afterthoughts follow them. Some include comments, paradoxes, and musings. Also, as we read each premise, we become more self-aware. So, reading it linearly is recommended.
Moreover, the book has a “Participages” section, with questions that allow us to deeply reflect on one’s emotional, psychological, financial, and social state of living. Lastly, the book has four indices with meditations and an explanation of "an attitude of pure appreciation for what is."
In this book, you will read about self-awareness, self-improvement, choice and responsibility, the nature of duality, accepting grief, the benefits of one’s “IS-ness,” attitudinal shifts, creating our reality, connecting with a “Higher Self,” the problem of evil, happiness, fear, desire, attachment, and more. The book also has practical lessons, such as not letting experts or role models make you feel inferior, letting go of fear, and embracing more spirituality.
What is “God-ness/Great Spirit/All-That-Is”? Can we be fully responsible for our lives? Does life have a purpose? Do you feel “On a Mission”? What do we need for “total NOW-ness”? What is the “Infinite within us”? Why should happiness not be dependent? Are love and fear mutually exclusive? How do we connect to “All-That-Is”? How do we shift from “want-desire-attachment” to “appreciatude”? Is there a collective superconscious? Should life be dominated by “Ego-factors”? Is believing in a particular religion or deity beneficial? If you read this book, you will think deeply about these questions and others.
I love Murphy’s “Dolphin Meditation,” which was the most vivid. I also enjoyed Murphy’s view that people misunderstand happiness, which is more like the practice of it and not a goal. I learned a Latin phrase, Fortis et Hospitalis (“Tough but Kind”), which is his family’s motto. Moreover, I liked that it emphasized getting rid of our neediness, addiction, and attachment outcomes, unlike Eastern religions that profess to remove all desire. Lastly, Murphy’s book raises awareness of how the self-help industry feeds on readers’ lack of “OK-ness.”
I disliked that the “Participages” have many questions without instructions on whether readers are on the right track. Some will like the participages if they want to do the self-improvement work, while others will dislike it if they need more guidance. However, my dislike was not strong enough to justify reducing the book’s rating.
I rate it 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to readers who wish to be more spiritual and adapt to spirituality. This book may not be suitable for religious readers. For readers questioning their religion or faith, this read can show them a spiritual path that better suits their lives.
Note to readers: This book had a previous version with grammatical errors. However, this new and improved version is well-edited and has fixed most of its errors. Because of these changes, my review reflects the improvements that the book has made in its new and current format.
******
Finding The Millionth Monkey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Finding The Millionth Monkey: Life after Self-Help Books! by Christopher Murphy’s edited Kindle version is a spirituality guide to help us be “the Millionth Monkey in the Great Shift in Consciousness,” a phrase suggesting that once individuals adopt something, it rapidly spreads to everyone else. The book’s title wittily points out how self-help books have affected us and how we can alter our behaviors and views for a shift in the collective consciousness.
Unlike most books, each section is a “Premise” beginning with a problem. Then, thoughts, questions, answers, and afterthoughts follow them. Some include comments, paradoxes, and musings. Also, as we read each premise, we become more self-aware. So, reading it linearly is recommended.
Moreover, the book has a “Participages” section, with questions that allow us to deeply reflect on one’s emotional, psychological, financial, and social state of living. Lastly, the book has four indices with meditations and an explanation of "an attitude of pure appreciation for what is."
In this book, you will read about self-awareness, self-improvement, choice and responsibility, the nature of duality, accepting grief, the benefits of one’s “IS-ness,” attitudinal shifts, creating our reality, connecting with a “Higher Self,” the problem of evil, happiness, fear, desire, attachment, and more. The book also has practical lessons, such as not letting experts or role models make you feel inferior, letting go of fear, and embracing more spirituality.
What is “God-ness/Great Spirit/All-That-Is”? Can we be fully responsible for our lives? Does life have a purpose? Do you feel “On a Mission”? What do we need for “total NOW-ness”? What is the “Infinite within us”? Why should happiness not be dependent? Are love and fear mutually exclusive? How do we connect to “All-That-Is”? How do we shift from “want-desire-attachment” to “appreciatude”? Is there a collective superconscious? Should life be dominated by “Ego-factors”? Is believing in a particular religion or deity beneficial? If you read this book, you will think deeply about these questions and others.
I love Murphy’s “Dolphin Meditation,” which was the most vivid. I also enjoyed Murphy’s view that people misunderstand happiness, which is more like the practice of it and not a goal. I learned a Latin phrase, Fortis et Hospitalis (“Tough but Kind”), which is his family’s motto. Moreover, I liked that it emphasized getting rid of our neediness, addiction, and attachment outcomes, unlike Eastern religions that profess to remove all desire. Lastly, Murphy’s book raises awareness of how the self-help industry feeds on readers’ lack of “OK-ness.”
I disliked that the “Participages” have many questions without instructions on whether readers are on the right track. Some will like the participages if they want to do the self-improvement work, while others will dislike it if they need more guidance. However, my dislike was not strong enough to justify reducing the book’s rating.
I rate it 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to readers who wish to be more spiritual and adapt to spirituality. This book may not be suitable for religious readers. For readers questioning their religion or faith, this read can show them a spiritual path that better suits their lives.
Note to readers: This book had a previous version with grammatical errors. However, this new and improved version is well-edited and has fixed most of its errors. Because of these changes, my review reflects the improvements that the book has made in its new and current format.
******
Finding The Millionth Monkey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon