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Jeff Ferrannini for 11:11 Magazine (Nov/Dec 2009 Issue)

     Every so often a true life, refreshingly honest and heart-felt book makes you want to cheer. "Born of a Catholic mother and Muslim father, Patty is never sure what religion to follow, or any at all for that matter." To hear her tell it... "When I ws nine my whole world flipped upside down." Her father, on business in Iran, discovered his wife ran off, so Patty and her younger sister got sent to their father.

     In clear, concise words Patty invites us to witness her spiritual unfolding, being guided down darkened paths following spirit's voice. Along the way Patty offers spiritual "tools" gathered on the journey. She describes her first encounter with spirit's voice with all the innocence and excitement it brought forth.  We witness her compassion in visiting a hospital where a gay man is dying, hounded by his fundamentalist family asking him to repent his sinful lifestyle before dying.  With saint like compassion she endures visit after visit to bring him comfort and support. Then at age 28 right before surgery for cervical cancer, Patty hears a voice within say, "You have nothing to worry about... Everything will be just fine." Indeed the operation, once completed, is successful.

     Life speeds up. She earns a Masters Degree in Linguistic, grows spiritually while attending rebirthing classes and five years later owns a New Age coffee shop & bookstore called The Light Spot. One day, a native America shaman/healer, Micheal Big Bear, walks in and they talk for hours. He shares his tales of healing. In getting up to leave, Patty hears a voice inside her head say, "Look closely." In looking at this man "I saw a shadow, like a cloud, dark and gray, hovering around his heart area. I didn't think. I didn't rationalize. In a trance-like state, I stepped from behind the counter, approached the huge man, and placed my palm o his heart. 'The pain in your heart needs healing,' I looked up at him...'My greatest fear is loving.' His voice quavered." Not trained to heal, she just felt guided. In gratitude, Michael Big Bear gives her several pieces of turquoise. AS he leaves, she hears words from deep inside. "All the power and knowledge in the universe is useless if we do not open our hearts and allow ourselves to love...Love is the true power of God."

     All Patty's spiritual adventures require trust in spirit like when she moves to Hawaii without a job. Does the man of her dreams appear and do they live happily ever after? Let's just say the spiritual road may not be quick or pleasant, but it does lead home. This is a true story and one sweet book.

D. Salerni, Chester County, Pennsyvania
An ordinary woman finds extraordinary potential within herself in this narrative of spiritual awakening and exploration. Feeling constrained and unsatisified by religions that confined God in a box and presented him to believers as a "package deal," Patricia Panahi pursues an alternate path to enlightenment which begins with ghe Church of Religious Science and branches out to psychic explorations, visits to the Aquarian Foundation in Hawaii, and the electromagnetic hot spots at Sedona in Arizona. During the course of her decades long journey, Panahi learns surprising lessons in self-awareness from ministers, healers, shamans, and many ordinary people who help her along the path of self-discovery. Panahi believes that God is and "imminent, spiritual energy, a divine consciousnessthat permeates all of creation." She writes, "It's like God is an ocean and we're each a drop."
God Outside the Box presents Panahi's personal experiences in an uplifting and also sensible mannaer. She never hesitates to share her doubts, her moments of skepticism, and the obstacles to personal understanding and fulfillment which she had to work through in order to make progress in her spiritual development. Dissappointments in careers and friendships, a stagnated marriage, bouts with physical illness and self-doubt - all of these things were trials which Panahi had to overcome, andin most cases she discovered that what appeared to be an obstacle was actually a necessary experience for her personal growth.
If you are interested in alternative avenues to spirituality, in learning the role of synchronicity and discernment in choosing your life's path - if you want to listen to the small voice inside you but you aren't sure you can really hear it - then I recommend Panahi's book as a first step and a positive beginning to your journey. Edit Text

 

Darryl Sloan, Northern Ireland 

I was drawn to this book by a review I spotted elsewhere, at a time when my life had just undergone great spiritual change. I had chosen to abandon my Christian faith, on the grounds that I had  been ignoring terrible problems with it. See my personal blog for more details. In short, I came to view my religion as a sort of mind prison, where you are lured into sacrificing your freedom to think for yourself to a massive set of beliefs that are laid out for you by others: the Bible and the Church. And any attempt to reclaim that freedom to think for yourself intstantly makes you a denier of the word of God. It was a breath of fresh air for me to start looking at life and universe saying, "What do I think?" instead of "What do they want me to think?"

     This book is essentially Patricia Panahi's autobiography, and she has an interesting story to tell. In her childhood, she was in the rare position of having a Muslim father and a Catholic mother. They weren't overly religious people, and didn't impose their beliefs on their daughter. This allowed Patricia to look at what she was being taught from two standpoints that were very different, whereas most of us grow up with a single religious view and the idea that "I'm right, and everybody else is wrong." In her college years, she learned about Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddism, etc., but always from the perspective of an outsider looking in. She started to notice ways in which all religions were expressions of some of the same ideas.

     As I was reading this, I couldn't help thinking how great it would be if we all had the opportunity to learn it this way - if we were shown a big picture and allowed to choose, instead of being encouraged to blindly follow what those around us are doing, and never dare to question it for fear of being branded unacceptable or fear of facing some external punishment.

     Patricia appears to possess that rare kind of skepticism that is actually looking for answers rather than looking to deny the reality of everything. A little later in life, a friend encouraged her to go to something called a "Rebirthing" session - a New Age type practice that involved lying down and allowing your Higher Self to affect you. The results of that session were the first big wake-up call to the idea that there was an actual spiritual dimension to life that was real and definite - something you could experience rather than simply have faith in. This awakening led Patricia to start reading everything she could get her hands on, on a vast array of spiritual topics. Over the course of her life since then, she has learned and experienced a great deal which she shares with the reader. Not only strange experiences that scientists would balk at like walking on fire, but hard experiences of life that contain priceless lessons.

     The theme of the book is spiritual awakening. I felt a great sense of kinship with many of the ideas that Patricia communicates. I wouldn't say I was on the same page with everything, but overall this is an excellent read. If you're learning to see the world in wider terms than the rigid scientific mindset that says "This world is all there is," or you're daring to step outside the boundaries of a religion that has been programming you, I thoroughly recommend this book. It will be a great encouragement to you in your quest for truth. Edit Text

 

 

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