Reviewed on Book Crazy Radio Network, Phoenix Az.--September, 2003
Hi, this is Rev. Marie Jones, author of LOOKING FOR GOD IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES, bringing you another BOOK FOR THE SPIRIT. This week, I am reviewing a very special and powerful little book called THE PROPHET’S CANDLE written by a man who goes by the name DANIEL. This book is so special I could not wait to tell you about it.
The book is so simple, a self-published tome in a dark blue jacket with a picture of a candle on it. But upon opening the book, I found a most inspiring and illuminating collection of mystical tales, poems and parables that are as beautiful and wise as anything you will read in a Bible or major religious holy book. I cannot review this book without telling you a little bit first about the amazing man behind the words, Daniel.
Daniel told me he is a common man who leads an ordinary life and does not follow any particular religious dogma or teaching. The first four writings of THE PROPHET’S CANDLE were written after a near-tragic and life altering experience that occurred in 1979. Before then, Daniel had never written a word of real poetry, but suddenly he felt a calling and inspiration to begin to write THE PROPHET’S CANDLE after, as he describes, “being lifted up from the gates of hell.” Earlier, in 1978, he began writing very simple verse, following an inner voice that he did not question. After the harrowing experience in which he almost lost his wife, his beloved high school sweetheart, he began to hear, and follow, that inner voice and wrote what words came to him.
He then began to live the words he was writing, and that integrity and alignment of spirit and conviction provided him with newfound patience, and eventually, he was given an amazing opportunity for early retirement, and the precious gift of time to continue nurturing his writer’s voice.
The parables and poetry of THE PROPHET’S CANDLE brings to mind such great spiritual writers as Rumi, Khalil Gibran and Paulo Cuelho, and the lyrical beauty is so profoundly touching and inspiring, it is only a matter of time before Daniel’s books are thought of with the same reverence. I normally am not attracted to personal parables and poetry, but this book touched me so deeply, I actually found peace within the pages for some issues I have been struggling with as of late, something I have NOT been able to do with the dozens of other spiritual and inspirational books I’ve been reading over the last few years.
Many of the parables are written in the form of conversations between The Mystic, the wise and all-knowing one, and The Beloved One, who is full of questions and yearnings. These parables are absolutely stunning and truly teach some powerful lessons about faith, integrity, love, understanding violence, dealing with doubt and confusion, and finding a relationship with the God of our understanding amidst outer appearances of negativity and fear.
Again, there are so many more wonderful passages I could share with you if I had the time, but I would rather you get this priceless and precious book and read them, and feel them, for yourselves. Published by the author, the book is currently available through Amazon.com, or you can purchase a copy from Booksurge at www.booksurge.com. The ISBN number is 1-59109-590-5 and the paperback book is 170 pages in length and retails for $12.99, and worth three times that much and more for the beauty and inspiration it contains.
Please buy this book, not just because it is something I know you, like me, will cherish for
the rest of your life, but because I believe it will help you find peace amidst these anxious
times, and because I would love to see Daniel supported enough to keep on writing other books
like this for us all to draw hope from.
Also visit Daniel’s website, THE PROPHET’S CANDLE at
http://www.stanford.edu/~djmiller
This is Rev. Marie Jones, author of LOOKING FOR GOD IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES, signing out. Until next time, when I introduce you to another BOOK FOR THE SPIRIT.
Reviewed by Brenda Dupas, MLS, New Radiance Reviews--December 2003
The author of THE PROPHET'S CANDLE real name is Dan Miller but the book has been published under the name Daniel, which I take to be his Christian name. This is appropriate as this is quite a religious book, written primarily in the form of parables and poetry. They cover such subjects as friendship, hate, fear, death, compassion, truth, and love.
There is a series of poems in which a child asks questions of the Mystic; there are a number of parables designed to teach spiritual and moral truths. This is a spiritually uplifting offering that is written with both honesty and a good ear for writing in the format he's chosen.
Reviewed by a reader, Irma--December 31, 2004
The Prophet's Candle...The Doors of Perception
This book may have been written by a man, but it was inspired by Agapi Love. I am not sure how this man's eyes were opened or how he was able himself to open the doors of perception to my eyes, but he did. Daniel is a spirit who has overcome every temptation that debases the human spirit and in his search for love and self actualization has never forgotten that we are all human and that we are all divine.
"Within each one of us lies the Eternal Truth,
hidden beneath immeasurable layers of perception,
carried down through the age of incarnations.
As the petals of the rose
slowly unfold to reveal its secret,
so it is also with our own level of awareness.
The words we use to convey this consciousness
are merely shadows of the Eternal Truth,
and each one expresses this in their own unique way.
The gift I give is through the written language,
but if I were to try and reveal this
through the spoken word,
I would stumble before you...
...unable to express the vibration of Truth within.
The inner knowledge you possess
is different only in its expression."
This is a man who vibrates love, love, love and does not make it a difficult thing to believe in
nor an undesirable hypocracy. It is real; it is attainable; it is free.
Irma