You’re Trying Too Hard (Joey Lott)
A Whole Lott of Little
[My 1-star Amazon review (NDA) of “You’re Trying Too Hard: The Direct Path to What Already Is” by Joey Lott.]
This is one of those spiritual books I hate to review because it is so bad I could write an entire review just deconstructing a single page of the text; hence my challenge is in delimiting the review. The author is both Un-en-Light-ened and a poor writer, and that is ordinarily a recipe for an ultra-lengthy review of mine. But because this book doesn’t merit one of my patented super-long, super-in-depth reviews, I have wisely decided to limit the time I spend on it by setting my timer for thirty minutes. Since I’m “on the clock,” as they say, let me without futher ado begin the review.
The first page of the book’s Preface informs the spiritual cognoscenti that the author is both spiritually and cognitively challenged. The author writes, “Clarity is always what is. There is only clarity.” The author doubtless got this idea from badly conceived Dzogchen texts, wherein fogged-out Tibetan lamas conflate clarity, a quality, with the Clear Light, an existent. In reality what IS, is not just the Clear Light, but the Self-Existing, Self-Aware, Self-Radiant Divine Being. There can be no “clarity” without a Being or being who is clear.
The author then says clarity is “the simplicity of being.” In other words, what Is, isn’t Being, it’s the “simplicity” of being. Being is neither simple nor complex; it just Is. But if you think “simplicity” is what Is, you’ll probably vibe with this book.
The author informs us that he has read at “least 50 books on nonduality.” Well, I’ve read a couple thousand, and this one is as close to the bottom of the barrel as it gets. The author spent time with Gangaji and Wayne Liquorman, which tells the cognoscenti that he lacks discrimination. (See my two-star Amazon review of Gangaji’s.....) The author, a clueless and pompous pontificator, asserts, “There is no Brahman. There is no spiritual enlightenment.” Because the author has not experienced Clear-Light Energy, the Sambhogakaya, he brazenly and ignorantly asserts that it doesn’t exist. The third spiritual teacher the author spent time with is Aham Brahmasmi, a Shaktipat guru. But the author never got Initiated (Baptized) by the Shakti (which is the Holy Spirit, which is Divine Power, which is Clear-Light Energy, the Sambhogakaya), so he idiotically declares, “There is no transmission.”
The author has no idea what Being (Sat) is; unbeknownst to him, Being (or Sat) = Siva-Shakti (or Cit-Ananda), and the only way to realize the Supreme, or Divine, Being is via the practice of yoga, which is the discipline of uniting one’s individual soul (or consciousness) with universal Spirit, or Shakti.But the author disses yoga. He writes, “The problem is that people think that yoga [hatha, bhakti, kriya, karma, jnana, raja] is important. It is meaningless.” Then he informs us, “Yoga is just yoga.” How insightful.
The author tells us yoga is “meaningless,” then he writes, “Do you agree with this? Disagree with this? Can you see how your beliefs and your agreement and disagreement are meaningless and futile?”
The author spends the entire book telling us what his beliefs are, and that he disagrees with the yogis and jnanis who claim there is spiritual en-Light-enment, Self-realization. And then he has the audacity to tell us that our beliefs and agreements and disagreements are meaningless. What a joke.
The author claims he had some wonderful meditation experiences before he gave up meditation for the simplicity of being (“clarity”—Ha, Ha, Ha). He writes, “At first my meditations were awesome. I saw the currents of creation. I touched upon the blue pearl of ultimate reality.” The author never informs us what the “currents of creation or the “blue pearl” are, which is par for the course for this non-spiritual clown.
My timer just went off, so I have to end this review right now; but I will do so on a high note. There is no way this book deserves even a single star, so I will soon be circulating a petition at Amazon that will enable reviewers to stick books like this with a whole Lott of zero stars ratings.
[My 1-star Amazon review (NDA) of “You’re Trying Too Hard: The Direct Path to What Already Is” by Joey Lott.]
This is one of those spiritual books I hate to review because it is so bad I could write an entire review just deconstructing a single page of the text; hence my challenge is in delimiting the review. The author is both Un-en-Light-ened and a poor writer, and that is ordinarily a recipe for an ultra-lengthy review of mine. But because this book doesn’t merit one of my patented super-long, super-in-depth reviews, I have wisely decided to limit the time I spend on it by setting my timer for thirty minutes. Since I’m “on the clock,” as they say, let me without futher ado begin the review.
The first page of the book’s Preface informs the spiritual cognoscenti that the author is both spiritually and cognitively challenged. The author writes, “Clarity is always what is. There is only clarity.” The author doubtless got this idea from badly conceived Dzogchen texts, wherein fogged-out Tibetan lamas conflate clarity, a quality, with the Clear Light, an existent. In reality what IS, is not just the Clear Light, but the Self-Existing, Self-Aware, Self-Radiant Divine Being. There can be no “clarity” without a Being or being who is clear.
The author then says clarity is “the simplicity of being.” In other words, what Is, isn’t Being, it’s the “simplicity” of being. Being is neither simple nor complex; it just Is. But if you think “simplicity” is what Is, you’ll probably vibe with this book.
The author informs us that he has read at “least 50 books on nonduality.” Well, I’ve read a couple thousand, and this one is as close to the bottom of the barrel as it gets. The author spent time with Gangaji and Wayne Liquorman, which tells the cognoscenti that he lacks discrimination. (See my two-star Amazon review of Gangaji’s.....) The author, a clueless and pompous pontificator, asserts, “There is no Brahman. There is no spiritual enlightenment.” Because the author has not experienced Clear-Light Energy, the Sambhogakaya, he brazenly and ignorantly asserts that it doesn’t exist. The third spiritual teacher the author spent time with is Aham Brahmasmi, a Shaktipat guru. But the author never got Initiated (Baptized) by the Shakti (which is the Holy Spirit, which is Divine Power, which is Clear-Light Energy, the Sambhogakaya), so he idiotically declares, “There is no transmission.”
The author has no idea what Being (Sat) is; unbeknownst to him, Being (or Sat) = Siva-Shakti (or Cit-Ananda), and the only way to realize the Supreme, or Divine, Being is via the practice of yoga, which is the discipline of uniting one’s individual soul (or consciousness) with universal Spirit, or Shakti.But the author disses yoga. He writes, “The problem is that people think that yoga [hatha, bhakti, kriya, karma, jnana, raja] is important. It is meaningless.” Then he informs us, “Yoga is just yoga.” How insightful.
The author tells us yoga is “meaningless,” then he writes, “Do you agree with this? Disagree with this? Can you see how your beliefs and your agreement and disagreement are meaningless and futile?”
The author spends the entire book telling us what his beliefs are, and that he disagrees with the yogis and jnanis who claim there is spiritual en-Light-enment, Self-realization. And then he has the audacity to tell us that our beliefs and agreements and disagreements are meaningless. What a joke.
The author claims he had some wonderful meditation experiences before he gave up meditation for the simplicity of being (“clarity”—Ha, Ha, Ha). He writes, “At first my meditations were awesome. I saw the currents of creation. I touched upon the blue pearl of ultimate reality.” The author never informs us what the “currents of creation or the “blue pearl” are, which is par for the course for this non-spiritual clown.
My timer just went off, so I have to end this review right now; but I will do so on a high note. There is no way this book deserves even a single star, so I will soon be circulating a petition at Amazon that will enable reviewers to stick books like this with a whole Lott of zero stars ratings.
