Eat, love,pray. The movie.

 

I was looking forward to 'Eat Love Pray' the movie after just finishing the book. But I've discovered disappointedly that you need to wait a few years after a reading a book to see the movie; enough time to forget detail.

So yes I was disappointed. The main theme of the book I thought was finding a peace with God and then the out workings of this. eg relationships. The movie was twisted into a love story.

The book was able to describe characters wonderfully; yet much of this detail was lost in the movie.

The acting was pretty good. I don't mind Julia Roberts. At times I forgot it was her that was acting. So yes I think the screen play, directing was probably what let things down.

Rating :: 1.5/5

 

 

Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

 

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I suppose I'd boxed it in. The movie seemed to me a 'Chick flick' even though I'd never seen it! So I'd automatically put the book in the same category.

Some of reviews from Goodreads suggested that Gilbert was narcissistic in the book. This is a bit unfair (I also think with the frequency it was written that it was just a repetitive copy of other reviews!) I think most peoples journals if you read them would appear narcissistic. What did come across was her search for God and things which come from Him.

There are a few things which confirmed what I already thought and added a few more layers. A few years back I'd thought about Kundalini and Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Gilbert wrote about this regarding Kundalini::

"Every religion in the world has had a subset of devotees who seek a direct, transcendent experience with God, excusing themselves from fundamentalist scriptural or dogmatic study in order to personally encounter the divine. The interesting thing about these mystics is that, when they describe their experience, they all end up describing the exactly the same occurrence. Generally, their union with God..." pg 150

Another word which I'd never heard before was 'turiya': "You feel stirred by grace, swollen with wonder, overflowing with bliss. Everything-for no reason whatsoever- is perfect" pg 206. I've seen this in charismatic, pentecostal environments. Its usually after the service. There is a call for "ministry", those who want prayer for whatever comes down to the front. Usually nothing happens, but occasionally usually when the atmosphere is pumped up; turiya occurs. Its happened to me oh so briefly. Gilbert calls turiya a level of consciousness.

Overall I think if you are searching for God. Gilbert has a few gems in this book. About searching for God and overcoming.

I gave it 4/5

 

Eat Pray Love, by Eliszabeth Gilbert

I've just started on Eat Pray and Love, and in the third chapter. The main character writes about her understanding of God and Christianity::

"Culturally, though not theologically, I'm a Christian. I was born a Protestant of the white Anglao-Saxon persuasion. And while I do love the great teacher of peace who was called Jesus, and while I do reserve the right to ask myself in certain trying situations what indeed He would do, I can't swallow that one fixed rule of Christianity insisting that Christi is the only path to God. Strictly speaking then, I cannot call myself a Christian"

I think this is pretty much spot on for the majority of white Anglo-Saxon's. It could easily be a definition for those in the 'Post Church' category. It is one of the huge hurdles which is getting wider which Christianity main denominations need to face.