Book Review: Decoding the Spiritual Messages of Everyday Life

Title: Decoding the Spiritual Messages of Everyday Life: How Life Teaches Us What We Need To Know
Author: Paul DeBell
Genre: Self Help
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6712-8
Publication Date: November 2009
Pages: 336
Price: $19.95
Publisher: Sterling Ethos

“Decoding the Spiritual Messages of Everyday Life: How Life Shows Us What We Need to Know” by Dr Paul DeBell is the result of over twenty years of observation between the mundane world and the spiritual realm.

Beginning with the basic value of spiritual life, Dr DeBell outlines a way in which a person can devise an understanding of the spiritual in its relation to the world. Dr DeBell uses common and easily understandable language to understand more lofty or spiritual concepts. Through this book a beginner could come to thoroughly understand how the realms of reality blend into what we call life, it also encourages difficult questions about the world and why things are as seem.

The book is divided into three parts: The ABCs of Spiritual Messages, Engaging the Spiritual Dimension in Everyday Life, and Cultivating Your Spiritual Intelligence. Within each part there are several chapters which carry the reader from point A to point B and so forth. At the end of each chapter there are two sections: Keys and Reflections which serve as a review of the information and prompts to apply what’s learned.

Part I – ABCs of Spiritual Messages focuses on understanding the basics of our experience and outline the development of the ability to discern between random occurring events and actual messages as answers to spiritual questions posed. The understanding and recognition of these messages is paramount to the application of the concepts presented.

Part II – Engaging the Spiritual Dimension spotlights the practice and ability to understand messages and the resulting growth from applying information properly to the tasks at hand. Dr DeBell uses examples from the lives of friends and others who have shared their awakening with him in an effort to demonstrate that these principles do work when applied.

Part III – Cultivating Your Spiritual Intelligence brings together the lessons of the book and explains to the reader that there are higher levels to which they may strive. Dr DeBell recognizes that he is privileged to have within his connections, people who are farther along the spiritual path than he, who are able to not only explain but also show him how life with spiritual awareness is far richer than without.

Raised within a religious dynamic, Dr DeBell suffered the lost of faith during his college years. This loss of faith redirected his path from religious studies into the medical field where he became a psychologist who worked primarily with the poor in the South Bronx, New York. After a time, he experienced a moment of clarity when a leaf gently floated into his hand, which he interpreted as a spiritual answer to questions he asked. From that point, Dr DeBell approached the spiritual from an academic perspective, he wished to propose hypothesis and find the answers through demonstration as evidence of the spiritual.

At reading, Decoding the Spiritual Message of Everyday Life appeared to be above average when compared to the myriad of spiritual path books recently published, concentrated on the beginning steps, especially areas of introduction from an atheistic or scientific stance. It was my intent to report the findings as such: This book would be a good pick for anyone with questions about the spirituality of life: if there is an interest in the spiritual but a wondering about where or how to start, this is an excellent book to establish a basic understanding which is applicable regardless of religious affiliation or none.

Then, something absolutely spectacular happened: a local book club asked for a presentation on a recent reading. Mid-point of the review, the atmosphere of the room became decidedly changed; there was a spark that enlivened the group. Suddenly there came a barrage of questions about spiritual matters and living a life with spiritual application: why did bad things happen, how does one justify the things that happen in life, what are we to understand from our interactions with others and more. So the recommendation expands to include the demonstrated effect, Decoding the Spiritual Messages of Everyday Life prompts discussion of spiritual matters and would be an excellent choice for a study group as well as for individual spiritual development and understanding.

For more information about Decoding the Spiritual Messages of Everyday Life or about the author Dr Paul DeBell go to: http://decodeyourmessages.com/

Copy provided for review