Neale Donald Walsch's Busy Life
Over that particular year of my life, I’d found the book Conversations with God remarkably healing. The proverbial "dark night of the soul" had chewed me up and spit me out, but through the words of this remarkable book, the God I had always known to exist in my heart of hearts had been articulated for me and made me whole again. Still, I wasn’t going to allow that this man had done anything more than channel this teaching and translate it into a beautiful and accessible message. In short, I was clear that the message was God’s, not the author’s. Noting Neale’s commanding stage presence right off, however, I nonetheless wanted to be convinced of his ability to deliver this important transmission that could just possibly deliver us from the fearsome God with whom I’d grown up, and to whom I’d not seen much alternative in the existing New Age rhetoric. It took me about ten minutes to abandon my show-me stance and surrender to Neale’s natural humor and eloquence. I resonated, big time. I identified with everything he said, every sentiment he conveyed. I laughed. I nodded in agreement. I cried a little. Poncho or no poncho, I was hooked. Neale has apparently had that same effect on many others, because a few years, quite a few books, and a new wardrobe later, he has continued to enthrall audiences all over the world. What I recognized in him that day five years ago — the ability to articulate a healing message with a delicate balance of inspiration and humor, and with uncanny timing and relevance — has struck a chord with thousands. There are only a few speakers who have continued to draw audiences over the years; most fall out of favor with a fickle public looking for yet one more way to fill the hunger, but Neale packs houses again and again. This apparent success does not come without a price. There is a bold sign hanging on Neale’s office wall that reminds him daily, "It’s the message, not the messenger." I asked him how he manages to remain focused on communicating God’s word when his celebrity must often get in the way. "I’m not sure I always do," he answered after a thoughtful pause. "I think that there have been many occasions where I have lost track of the real reason for my being in the public eye. It is almost impossible not to; it is the great danger. I depend on my friends around me to keep me grounded and aware of the distinction between the message and the messenger. I do always pray that I don’t lose my clarity about that, but when there are microphones in your face and people lined up asking for your autograph, and the flash bulbs are popping and Larry King is calling, it is very difficult. It is a constant battle." The Conversations with God trilogy has sold over 3.5 million and has been translated into thirty languages. It is known by the publishers as a "hand-to-hand" book. This means that people who buy the book pass it along to friends and family after reading it, and those people in turn pass it on to others. When you add to that the number of people who don’t read but listen to the tapes, it is clear that a large number of people have been touched by this message. It is considered a cultural phenomenon by the publishing industry; perhaps as many as ten million have in some way come in contact with Conversations with God. ReCreation, the nonprofit foundation started by Neale and his wife Nancy to support the work and respond to the several hundred letters from readers each week, now mails a monthly newsletter to over ten thousand people. It also produces quarterly spiritual-growth workshops and promotes a variety of programs that encourage people who have been inspired by the CWG books to become actively involved in changing the world’s ideas about spirituality. CWG Centers are being developed throughout the United States and Europe, the first of which has opened in Ashland, Oregon, offering daily classes on a variety of spiritually related topics, providing a meditation space, and housing a library and bookstore. In what are called Empowerment Workshops, Neale and his staff teach effective ways of reaching others with the message of the books. Neale travels 11 months out of the year, speaking to audiences and promoting causes in which he deeply believes and through which he says God has told him we can create better lives for ourselves. This past year, he has actively supported the Natural Law Party by campaigning with candidate John Hagelin, speaking on the subject of spirituality in politics. With another vigorous proponent of integrating spiritual values and governance, Marianne Williamson, and the Center for Visionary Leadership, he has envisioned "re-igniting the spirit of America," attracting over 1,000 people to a recent conference in Washington, D.C. The Summit for Harmonious Living is planned for Spring 2001 in Seoul, Korea, where Neale and Dahn Hak Master Sueng Heun Lee are seeding a worldwide collective called the New Millennium Peace Foundation. Closer to home, Neale works to support other writers by publishing under the imprint Walsch Books. The first two titles, The Greatest Spiritual Secret of the Century by Thom Hartmann and Spirit Matters by Rabbi Michael Lerner, were introduced in June at the International New Age Trade Show. An inspiring compilation of personal stories of divine intervention sent to Neale over the years, Moments of Grace, will be released in the spring by Hampton Roads Publishing. Considering all this, it would appear that quite a lot is asked of God's messengers. There is precious little personal time for a man for whom there is such large public demand, but Neale has managed to find space to "tune in" once again and be sufficiently inspired to write another (and the last, he says) …with God book. Communion with God will be released by Penguin Putnam Publishing in October. This time around, Neale does not carry on a dialogue, but lets God speak God's mind — uninterrupted. We are told, with the usual eloquence, that rather than keeping the Ten Commandments, we are suffering (literally) under the "Ten Illusions" that certain things such as judgment, need, failure, and superiority, to name a few, actually exist in reality. God says that by changing the belief that these things exist as we understand them, our inner and outer worlds can be transformed. Neale will be sharing these thoughts and others from his new book on Thursday, September 7 at Seattle Unity Church. Tickets can be purchased by calling Mishka Productions at its toll-free number, (877) 300-7352. |
I met Neale Donald Walsch at a small church in Bend, Oregon in 1995. The book he’d written had touched my life profoundly, and I was anxious to see the man who claimed that he actually talked to God, although in my mind it seemed not so preposterous. I was actually beyond wondering if he really thought he was conversing with God; I just cared that the material he was receiving was so transforming and magical. Having imagined him quite differently, I was rather surprised by the author's scraggly beard, Birkenstocks, and poncho. At that time in my life, I would more readily move into judgment and appraisal and easily allow appearances to dictate my thought about who or what someone was. In this case, I suppose I was expecting someone more, well, John Irving-esque.