Review: ‘Become The Force’, by Daniel M. Jones and Theresa Cheung

Publication Date:Watkins Publishing Ltd 

Published By: 16 Nov. 2017

I.S.B.N.: 9781786780904

Format: Paperback

Price: £12.38

Blurb

Become the Force: 9 Lessons on How to Live as a Jediist Master

Daniel M Jones founded the Church of Jediism in 2007, and it now has over 500,000 members around the world. This is the book his fans have been waiting for. In it Daniel outlines the Jedi perspective and provides practical tools for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of how to use the Force in everyday life. The Force is a metaphor for the universal life energy that connects us all, and it can be both light and dark, good and bad. Now, more than ever, it is our responsibility to overcome the dark side. This book does not aim to convert but to inspire its readers to live a life of meaning and purpose according to the universal spiritual teachings from ‘The Way of the Jedi’.

Become the Force covers:

Daniel’s own fascinating spiritual journey and how overcoming personal struggles has awakened him to his purpose.
How Jedi teachings can empower mind, body, heart and spirit.
A comprehensive toolkit that will allow anyone to genuinely embrace ‘the way of the Jedi’.
Compelling reasons why the spiritual teachings of Jediism are relevant today.
A comprehensive explanation of Jediism as a spiritual movement (a universal desire for self-awareness, spiritual awakening, peace, love and harmony) rather than a religion.
Shows that it’s plausible that the Jedi-minded among us today might usher in a new spirituality and shift in global consciousness towards peace and harmony that is more powerful than any we can possibly imagine.

Purchase from Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Become-Force-Lessons-Jediist-Master-ebook/dp/B0744HCP9B/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508410541&sr=1-1&keywords=become+the+force

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

 Daniel M. Jones aka Morda Hehol is a philosopher, scientist and musician. In 2007 he became world famous when he founded the Church of Jediism at the age of twenty one. Since then he has appeared in many national newspapers and Time magazine, and has been interviewed by the BBC, Good Morning America, ITN and numerous other TV and radio stations. Daniel also has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Bangor, Wales. He is a member of pop punk band Straight Jacket Legends, whose debut album charted in Japan. He also dedicates his time to his the Aspie World YouTube Channel highlighting what life is like with Aspergers, after having been diagnosed in 2013. For more information please visit: https://thechurchofjediism.org/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/TheAspieWorld

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/theaspieworld/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/TheAspieWorld/

Theresa Cheung was born into a family of spiritualists and has a Masters in Theology and English from King’s College, Cambridge. She has sold almost half a million books and encyclopaedias about the psychic world, the afterlife and personal transformation over twenty years. Her spiritual books Heaven Called My Name (Piatkus 2016) and An Angel Healed Me (Simon & Schuster 2010) became Sunday Times Top 10 bestsellers and have been translated into thirty languages.

For more information please visit http://www.theresacheung.com or follow her on Facebook @TheresaCheungAuthor

Received in return for an honest review

My Review

As with yesterday’s review, I’m going to be honest, and I might be a bit too honest, but I’ll also make an effort not to deliberately insult the authors.

I enjoyed Daniel’s personal story; I’ve had a diagnosis of Asperger’s at the ripe old age of 33 and it was interesting to read about the experiences of someone else who was an adult diagnosed with Asperger’s. I’ve also had obsessions Special Interests – currently true crime, previously the Napoleonic War and other  subjects. At one time I collected badges, or got fascinated by mythology or horticulture. It comes and goes. I know that at some point my obsession will wain and I’ll find a new special interest, but I’ll still keep the knowledge I gathered. His special interest – Star Wars – has lasted almost 30 years, and from it he has developed a way to understand the world.

It’s an interesting concept; the idea of the Force, love or consciousness, depending on context in his book, that Daniel has developed from his interest in Star Wars and his extensive reading around religions and philosophies of the world is not unique. The concept of a universal life-force arises in many cultures, religious, and philosophical traditions. His search for a means to find peace within himself has turned into a world-wide phenomenon and, with Teresa Cheung’s help, he has expressed that eloquently in this book. His suggestions, such as taking time out of the day to examine thoughts and to find a way to peacefully resolve conflict, exploring why a negative response to a situation arises in one’s self, and to live with compassion, are sensible, and arise in Buddhism, among other philosophies.

Unfortunately, Mr Jones has also found the wooiest of woo available to support his ideas. I’ve mentioned in a previous review the debunked work of ‘Dr’ Emoto; he makes an appearance here too, as does ‘noetic science’ – again, not science – and quotes from such ‘luminaries’ as Deepak Chopra. I’m sorry, but I’m not taking you seriously if you base your philosophy on ‘The Secret’ and the work of Dan Brown, a terrible writer who rips off his plots from questionable non-fiction and specialises in terrible pseudohistorical conspiracy theories, all written in execrable prose.

For a person who claims to be a voracious learner and highly intelligent, Jones can’t discern between verifiable, repeatable science and pseudoscience based on a limited understanding of Buddhism and quantum physics. This book is no different from many other ‘spiritual’ books in this aspect. It feels like the precepts he espouses are a mix of ideas jumbled together from Eastern philosophies and New Age rubbish. Believe me when I say there was a time when I read all these types of books, but with a critical eye (thank you Durham University for teaching me critical thinking), and I feel like Daniel has got trapped in the whirlpool and can’t escape, especially now he’s built a church of 500,000 worldwide.

[Message to Daniel, if he reads this review:

Dude, you don’t need to rely on the woo, the idea of the Force as a metaphor , is enough on its own.]

Overall, the writing is gripping, especially Daniel’s personal story, but it’s let down by the reliance on pseudoscience. Remove the woo and this book would be more interesting.

• Might be of interest to those researching contemporary religious and spiritual practices, people exploring their own spiritual route, or those with an interest in Asperger’s and how it effects individuals.
• Give it a couple of minutes and a blog post containing an extract from the book will appear (as if by magic, or, more precisely, scheduling) and you can judge for yourself if the book is of any interest to you.