Spirit Garden: Explorations in the Spiritual
Author, artist, and spiritual advisor Catt Foy shares experiences and knowledge on a wide range of spiritual topics.
Book Review: The Akashic Records by Ernesto Ortiz
Published by New Page Books, 2015
The Akashic Records: Sacred Exploration of Your Soul's Journey Within the Wisdom of the Collective Consciousness, by Ernesto Ortiz
This ambitions little volume claims to allow us to "access the sum of all knowledge, past and present." For readers acquainted with the concept of the akashic records, we understand that they represent the collective and individual history of all mankind and reside in the spiritual realm.
Motivated by a desire to help others find a higher consciousness and specifically addressed to "light workers," Ortiz discusses the health of the planet, both environmentally and spiritually. And while his efforts and motives are to be applauded and admired, there are some issues with the content of the work, and the presentation.
Ortiz makes use of many metaphors to get his points across, but a few too many are mixed, or miss the mark. He shares some very interesting history and his diagrams are informative for the most part as he attempts to explain a "whole cloth" view of shamanism, spirituality, New Age thinking, and the collective consciousness.
Clearly not a book for beginners, nevertheless the beginner will glean some useful information from this volume. But don't buy into every word or conclusion; take in the basic instruction and arrive at your own conclusions.
The good news is, if you are new to this kind of thinking, you will probably learn a lot. The bad news is, if you're new to this kind of thinking, you probably won't be inclined to read this book, because much of the language and detailed topics are too advanced for the beginner on a spiritual quest.
Ortiz tries to make it a beginner's book, but only succeeds in delaying his point and potentially alienating the truly interested reader by taking a long time to get to his point. For the experienced reader on these topics, he spends too much time on things better learned elsewhere and written by more engaging authors.
Personally, I learned little new regarding the akashic records and how to access them. If I were a beginner, I would still feel lost as to how to actually USE the techniques. He often gives instructions out or order, telling how to describe the information obtained from the akashic records, for instance, long before telling us how to access them.
Like many spiritual teachers, he often implies that we must completely release any compulsion, addiction, fear or doubt for the techniques to work. And yet, compulsion, addiction, fear and doubt are the symptoms, I believe, of not knowing how to access the spiritual realms. I am of the opinion that one must pursue spiritual goals in the face of compulsion, addiction, fear or doubt. If you wait until you are "free" of them, you will never begin the journey. Ortiz implies that if we acknowledge our woundedness we are being self-pitying, and will not be able to learn how to access such holy information. This is an error which afflicts many a powerful spiritual teacher--insisting the student be "worthy" before receiving healing. It is a subconscious habit that priesthoods have practiced for millennia, allowing their own egos and need to feel powerful to make judgements on others. It is a way to make only the "elite" have access to the knowledge, and making the rest of us feel inferior.
Ortiz and I part ways on other issues. I am skeptical of his claim, made on page 67, that "spiritual research indicates that 96 percent of addictions are due to ghosts, entities, demons, devils, negative energies, or departed ancestors." Research? By whom? Ortiz fails to cite a source for this conclusion.
While spiritual influences may explain some negative behaviors, many more are caused by being the recipient of actual abuse or neglect, by biochemical imbalances in the brain, or by a belief in faulty teachings. Such a statement, unsupported by research sources, undermines the author's credibility and the readers' credulity.
Ortiz states on page 71 that, "The ego is the source of all self-grasping, self-cherishing, and self-absorption." But self-cherishing ad self-care and self-loving is often our true path to healing. If we have no love for ourselves, how can we have enough love to share with others? Self-cherishing is the reason we put on oxygen masks in the airplane before we place on on others who need our care. If we can't breath, we can't help others to breathe. If we can't love and forgive ourselves, we can't help others to love and forgive.
For women, especially, this notion that self-loving is wrong is another problem with our patriarchal culture in general. Women are socialized to be self-effacing, not to brag, not to be proud (except of our appearance), and to do, do, do for others before ourselves. The result is the constant victimization of over half of the people on Earth. We cannot empower others if we are not empowered ourselves.
Ortiz also insists that the prayers he shares in the book must be spoken word-for-word. No room for interpretation, or for a heartfelt prayer. This is the kind of legalism that creates rigidity within spiritual traditions, and certainly does not allow for differences in the many languages of mankind. It is arbitrary and unnecessary, as it is the intention of the prayer that must be pure; the language with which it is delivered is irrelevant.
I could go on with this argument, but I want to go to the good points of this book. Chapters 15 and 16 on Protection and Grounding are clear, helpful and information. Ortiz shines here!
Overall, many may find this volume useful, but I suggest one read it with a skeptical eye and take all of his advice with a grain of salt. His conclusions are often those that have served him, but may or may not serve the reader. Take in the information and process it for yourself--as you must do with all spiritual guidance. Any author is simply sharing what they have learned in their own spiritual development. The reader seeking enlightenment ultimately has to find their own path to get there and while we can learn from others, he each have a unique say to achieve our greatest spiritual awareness.
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