Coffeehouse Culture; Plain Text; Page Seventeen; Article TWwo

PAPERBACK WRITER? HERE'S THE recipe. Take one slight but readable adventure story in the classic mode, season with a little pop psycho-philosophy, add a large measure of esoterica and sprinkle with that magic ingredient, relevancy. Mix together thoroughly and then half-bake in a lukewarm oven until you have a best-seller
It is easy to be cynical. But for cynicism to be meaningful it must be tempered with a little fair-mindedness. And there are, after all, many best-sellers that have been produced solely for the money, that have little to contribute to elevating or understanding the human condition, have no art or artifice, that are puerile and prurient.
The Celestine Prophecy, for all its literary inadequacies, is not so devoid of merit. Far from it. While its melodramatic storyline might be somewhat puerile, the main body of the book -- the prophecies themselves -- are revelationary, insightful and profound. So much so, in fact, that it can, indeed, assist us in understanding and elevating our condition. And who needs art, anyway?
Apparently not the book-buying public. My much-thumbed copy tells me that over one million copies have been sold in the USA (they waited for the TV mini-series but when it did not arrive had to buy the book). And elsewhere? Almost everyone seems to have read it, be about to read it or, at least, have it on their reading list. So the next question must be: How do you produce a book according to the formula above that, even in these cynical times, sells like proverbial hotcakes?
The answer, of course, lies in that magic ingredient: ‘relevancy’. On all sorts of levels, The Celestine Prophecy is a book for this time. As more and more people have become aware that they are a part of a society that offers little hope for the future, they have increasingly looked around for answers. Searching for answers that explain how we got into this unfulfilling situation and what we can do about it has produced an inevitable confrontation with our own culpability. In a mood of introspection we have questioned our own functioning and motives. That we have found few answers is reflected in the fact that we welcome suggestions from any source.
For many people, The Celestine Prophecy provides credible answers that explain why people are as they are and why society is such a mess. In doing so it is responding to the call of our time. This call is not just for self-knowledge to help us function in a way that makes life better but for something much more important to us — hope.
Indeed, the whole book hangs on the hope engendered within the first two prophecies (or ‘insights’, as they are called in the book). These describe a new spiritual awakening in which people become aware that their lives are not meaningless or without direction, that every life has a coherent shape that is revealed in its coincidences.
It is, however, in the subsequent insights that the Celestine Prophecy validates its offer of hope and establishes its own credibility. In a systematic fashion, the six insights that follow redefine the world in terms that explain its deficiencies and the part we all have to play in them. In doing so, it gives us the opportunity to consider the roots of the social conditioning to which we have all been subjected and offers an opportunity to realign ourselves to a more elevated and elevating principle. TheHaving laid out suggestions for a new kind of society based on very different principles to those that have dominated for the last two millennia and have virtually consumed us over the last 500 years, in the Ninth Insight The Celestine Prophecy offers us the ultimate hope --- Heaven on Earth. In the midst of a dark and desperate age, with a future that seems to be leading inexorably towards oblivion, in a world where a violent and inhumane history presages a more violent and inhumane present, hope is as relevant as at any time in the past.
The success of The Celestine Prophecy, however, rests on much more than hope. Which is a good thing because, as we all know, hoping without some kind of attendant action never got anyone anything. It is action that drags hope out of Limbo and into the Real World, action that makes it real and realisable, action that allows it to stand tall and look the good, the bad and the ugly defiantly in the eye. Yes, indeedy (sticking with the cowboy motif), without that ‘attendant action’ hope ain’t worth a spit in a barrel of pig’s brine. (What the hell is ‘pig’s brine’!?)
Sorry about that.
But it is not on the techniques and other actions contained in The Celestine Prophecy that its success rests but on the common relevancy of the rationalisations that underwrite them. If there is any magic in the book that is where it is to be found. And, indeed, it is some kind of magic to come up with a few brief generalisations that seem to have deep and meaningful relevance at an intensely personal level for so many people.
The Celestine Prophecy’s magic is worked through drawing our attention to the ‘coincidences’ that shape our lives. For Coffeehouse Culture, The Celestine Prophecy was as influential as it has been for many of its million and more readers. Coincidences, coincidences, coincidences.
By the time The Celestine Prophecy crossed our path, the Coffeehouse Culture concept was fully developed and as it is described in this issue. Already plans were afoot for our move from London to Amsterdam and the dummy issue was starting to take shape. Having spent some time questioning our motives and methods, we were confident that we were doing the right thing in the right way. But . . . . Life is an objective experience being lived subjectively. So questioning one’s integrity is not a bad thing.
Then came The Celestine Prophecy. With the sound of giant cogs engaging, groaning and grinding as they drive massive pistons and towering crankshafts, we looked again at our baby. Even now I cannot resist a shudder as I recall the powerful revelation of all those coincidences falling into place. It all seemed so gloriously, wonderfully, beautifully clear. Everything (well, virtually everything) I had done in my life seemed to lead to that point and to Coffeehouse Culture.
And hope for the future? Well if, as The Celestine Prophecy says, there is going to be a big spiritual awakening, maybe Coffeehouse Culture is a part of that happening or has a part to play in it happening. We hope so.
In future issues we will be looking at The Celestine Prophecy from a number of angles. Where did the insights actually come from? They are said to be Mayan but . . . . We will try to come up with some answers. And what do the insights mean? How canthey be used? Where do they lead? All these questions and more, we will try to answer.

	COFFEEHOUSE CULTURE -- Issue 1
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	PAGE SEVENTEEN; ARTICLE TWO; FEATURE The Celestine Prophecy -- Double-Entry Prediction? PROPHECY AND PROFIT Although the unlikely success of The Celestine Prophecy has made it seem more an exercise in double-entry bookkeeping than inspiration, it is clearly a book that touches a commonly held human need
	PAPERBACK WRITER? HERE'S THE recipe. Take one slight but readable adventure story in the classic mode, season with a little pop psycho-philosophy, add a large measure of esoterica and sprinkle with that magic ingredient, relevancy. Mix together thoroughly and then half-bake in a lukewarm oven until you have a best-seller It is easy to be cynical. But for cynicism to be meaningful it must be tempered with a little fair-mindedness. And there are, after all, many best-sellers that have been produced solely for the money, that have little to contribute to elevating or understanding the human condition, have no art or artifice, that are puerile and prurient. The Celestine Prophecy, for all its literary inadequacies, is not so devoid of merit. Far from it. While its melodramatic storyline might be somewhat puerile, the main body of the book -- the prophecies themselves -- are revelationary, insightful and profound. So much so, in fact, that it can, indeed, assist us in understanding and elevating our condition. And who needs art, anyway? Apparently not the book-buying public. My much-thumbed copy tells me that over one million copies have been sold in the USA (they waited for the TV mini-series but when it did not arrive had to buy the book). And elsewhere? Almost everyone seems to have read it, be about to read it or, at least, have it on their reading list. So the next question must be: How do you produce a book according to the formula above that, even in these cynical times, sells like proverbial hotcakes? The answer, of course, lies in that magic ingredient: ‘relevancy’. On all sorts of levels, The Celestine Prophecy is a book for this time. As more and more people have become aware that they are a part of a society that offers little hope for the future, they have increasingly looked around for answers. Searching for answers that explain how we got into this unfulfilling situation and what we can do about it has produced an inevitable confrontation with our own culpability. In a mood of introspection we have questioned our own functioning and motives. That we have found few answers is reflected in the fact that we welcome suggestions from any source. For many people, The Celestine Prophecy provides credible answers that explain why people are as they are and why society is such a mess. In doing so it is responding to the call of our time. This call is not just for self-knowledge to help us function in a way that makes life better but for something much more important to us — hope. Indeed, the whole book hangs on the hope engendered within the first two prophecies (or ‘insights’, as they are called in the book). These describe a new spiritual awakening in which people become aware that their lives are not meaningless or without direction, that every life has a coherent shape that is revealed in its coincidences. It is, however, in the subsequent insights that the Celestine Prophecy validates its offer of hope and establishes its own credibility. In a systematic fashion, the six insights that follow redefine the world in terms that explain its deficiencies and the part we all have to play in them. In doing so, it gives us the opportunity to consider the roots of the social conditioning to which we have all been subjected and offers an opportunity to realign ourselves to a more elevated and elevating principle. TheHaving laid out suggestions for a new kind of society based on very different principles to those that have dominated for the last two millennia and have virtually consumed us over the last 500 years, in the Ninth Insight The Celestine Prophecy offers us the ultimate hope --- Heaven on Earth. In the midst of a dark and desperate age, with a future that seems to be leading inexorably towards oblivion, in a world where a violent and inhumane history presages a more violent and inhumane present, hope is as relevant as at any time in the past. The success of The Celestine Prophecy, however, rests on much more than hope. Which is a good thing because, as we all know, hoping without some kind of attendant action never got anyone anything. It is action that drags hope out of Limbo and into the Real World, action that makes it real and realisable, action that allows it to stand tall and look the good, the bad and the ugly defiantly in the eye. Yes, indeedy (sticking with the cowboy motif), without that ‘attendant action’ hope ain’t worth a spit in a barrel of pig’s brine. (What the hell is ‘pig’s brine’!?) Sorry about that. But it is not on the techniques and other actions contained in The Celestine Prophecy that its success rests but on the common relevancy of the rationalisations that underwrite them. If there is any magic in the book that is where it is to be found. And, indeed, it is some kind of magic to come up with a few brief generalisations that seem to have deep and meaningful relevance at an intensely personal level for so many people. The Celestine Prophecy’s magic is worked through drawing our attention to the ‘coincidences’ that shape our lives. For Coffeehouse Culture, The Celestine Prophecy was as influential as it has been for many of its million and more readers. Coincidences, coincidences, coincidences. By the time The Celestine Prophecy crossed our path, the Coffeehouse Culture concept was fully developed and as it is described in this issue. Already plans were afoot for our move from London to Amsterdam and the dummy issue was starting to take shape. Having spent some time questioning our motives and methods, we were confident that we were doing the right thing in the right way. But . . . . Life is an objective experience being lived subjectively. So questioning one’s integrity is not a bad thing. Then came The Celestine Prophecy. With the sound of giant cogs engaging, groaning and grinding as they drive massive pistons and towering crankshafts, we looked again at our baby. Even now I cannot resist a shudder as I recall the powerful revelation of all those coincidences falling into place. It all seemed so gloriously, wonderfully, beautifully clear. Everything (well, virtually everything) I had done in my life seemed to lead to that point and to Coffeehouse Culture. And hope for the future? Well if, as The Celestine Prophecy says, there is going to be a big spiritual awakening, maybe Coffeehouse Culture is a part of that happening or has a part to play in it happening. We hope so. In future issues we will be looking at The Celestine Prophecy from a number of angles. Where did the insights actually come from? They are said to be Mayan but . . . . We will try to come up with some answers. And what do the insights mean? How canthey be used? Where do they lead? All these questions and more, we will try to answer.

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