Book Review, The Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav

Gary Zukav, The Seat of the Soul

It was years ago. In Maine. I was a young Christian and a young physics student, and the wind pushed snow into deep piles along the roadside. I ran into a favorite bookstore for warmth and made way to my favorite section. Maybe the book glowed, I can’t remember, but I had to buy it: The Dancing Wu Li Masters.

Now, decades later, I read The Seat of the Soul by the same author, Gary Zukav, and I am much less thrilled. Both Zukav and I have dug deeper into our respective theologies, with neither of us able to offer actual proof of anything.

I’m taken by Christian mysticism, and by the magic of the natural world, so I hold lightly onto anything claiming to be absolutely true. I won’t say that Zukav is right or wrong with this effort, but will say that it’s not for me. It reads like a mashup of Wayne Dyer and Oprah Winfrey (Winfrey wrote the preface). Unlike St. Paul, Zukav presents sin here as a means of self-discovery. I agree with him that people live their best lives when they give up their sin, but what Zhukov argues for is very different from classical Christianity. Sin, he argues, is not an action of the ego, but is a kindness of the universe, alerting you of your misalignment with good energy.

He begins with evolution and, like many in the self-help camp, uses the word but not the meaning. Evolution is not simply change as he uses it, but his use has a nice ring; it’s useful. He uses it as a non-concept. He could easily replace every use of the word with change, but you would be bored and never finish. Most of us want to evolve, but few relish change.

He writes wonderfully at times, and the book is worth it for that. But like so many of these books – new age, self-help, what have you – I’m confused by nonsensical statements I’m meant to accept unconditionally. For example: “Every cause that has not yet produced its effect has not yet come to completion….” IOW – using Einstein’s dictum that to truly understand something, you should be able to explain it to a six-year-old – ‘what hasn’t happened yet hasn’t happened yet.’ I don’t know why this is important or what it means. These kinds of sentences run on for pages.

So, will you like the book? Many do and have. Oprah thought it was wonderful and insightful. I’m fine with that. I threw it out.