Let me start by saying I rarely, if ever, click on blogads. I probably should more often in order to support blogs I like, but I don't. Well, this is a short story of clicking on an ad on a blog that I frequent.

I read the preface of the advertized book and I am now curious. Not because the author's thesis is unique, but because it reminds me of my own spiritual journey that I abandoned due to frustration; I am one of those 'spiritual' people who doesn't like 'religion'.

His original premise is what struck me at first;

Religion never satisfied me, and often infuriated me...I thought of myself first and foremost as a human being...I would be progressing intellectually and spiritually only by understanding what was universally right and natural in life, why these things were right and natural, and how to live accordingly.

Having studied a wee bit of philosophy, the moral absolutes (i.e. universally right and natural) are a problem, but I won't let that de-rail his argument.

His next premise is the kicker.

Understanding that the idea of God signified absolute unity, I concluded that anyone advocating unquestioning loyalty to a restrictive group such as a faith, ethnicity, or nation was in fact promoting the fall of humanity by advancing its division...religions were never intended to support the search for an expansive God and are actually antithetical to it. Probing further, I discovered that human beings aspired to know God long before religions were established, suggesting that the real worship of God could outlive the forms of worship currently in existence. Simultaneously, I found an unholy trinity of political, economic, and religious forces fostering and perpetuating massive greed, poverty, and ignorance.

And with the way the Vatican is attacking the most recent alternate version of events the Vatican claims ownership to, it is hard to argue with the negative effects of organized religion.

His goal is a bit hippy-ideal, but heart-warming nonetheless, and we all could use that once in a while.

It is my hope that by encouraging an inner search for God based on timeless techniques beneficial to spiritual freedom, this book contributes to a broadening of perspectives around the world, culminating in the eventual unification of humanity.