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Das Energi
This "strange little book" has been an underground bestseller for over twenty years. Its message has never been more necessary for human survival: Everything will change. You will never be the same. And all this will happen just as soon as you're ready.
150 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
April 13, 2010
This was one of those books which played a formative role in my spiritual life. I LOVE this book. There's a reason it's a cult classic. Have you ever heard the saying, "He who hesitates is lost"? It's from this book, written in the '60s which sold tons of copies and got passed from hand to hand. I often buy old copies in used bookstores and give them away to people I meet. It's that kind of book.
October 7, 2007
I stumbled on this book first read in the aftermath of the fall of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Despair was in the air, the horrors and stench of futile war still lingered on in mind, body and spirit.
I was stoned out of my mind. An attempt to forget, escape and put distance on experiences best forgotten but those are the experiences we can never forget.
I came across it again tonight and was amazed that there was something remarkable about this book, parts that I did not, could not, have understood back then remained somewhere beneath my consciousness.
There is an obvious triteness and seeming simplicity that belies some of the collective truth that changed my perception ever so slightly back then, but perhaps altered the course of my life.
And I have not smoked any weed. I promise.
I was stoned out of my mind. An attempt to forget, escape and put distance on experiences best forgotten but those are the experiences we can never forget.
I came across it again tonight and was amazed that there was something remarkable about this book, parts that I did not, could not, have understood back then remained somewhere beneath my consciousness.
There is an obvious triteness and seeming simplicity that belies some of the collective truth that changed my perception ever so slightly back then, but perhaps altered the course of my life.
And I have not smoked any weed. I promise.
August 6, 2012
I was 19 when I read this book. It offered me a fundamental change in perspective. "Dear God, the jig is up."
Responsibility is mine, I accepted it.
original sin is self hatred, don't partake of it.
Responsibility is mine, I accepted it.
original sin is self hatred, don't partake of it.
January 6, 2008
I remember reading this book, Pam reading Be Here Now, Ceci reading Alan Watts, all of us in our gypsy skirts and long long hair and earrings we made out of shells and bells and feathers...I remember writing lines from it and Grateful Dead lyrics and Joni Mitchell's songs all over my notebooks in high school. It rates three stars as I carried it all over and thought it was so deep deep deep. Of course, I cannot remember a word from it which is why I didn't rate it five stars because who knows what kind of malarky I thought was brilliant - and anyway, I have lost my peace love woodstock vibe as I've turned into a cranky old boot. Well, mostly.
September 9, 2009
This was a book that shocked and opened my mind with language and sharpness that I had never encountered in a book, but which began the slow opening process of my mind which, as I have returned to this book recently, amazes me how much more open I am.
August 10, 2011
quick, easy read but very thought provoking. You can basically open this book up and start from any page but; truth of the matter is, you'll probably read all the way through to your starting point, wherever it may have been. beautiful words
August 27, 2007
I'd like to see a work up of what kind of drugs they were on when they decided this was a good idea ~
January 17, 2013
"You are Perfect, just the way you are! Now here's how you need to change...."
Admittedly the 1970s were a tough time for the intellectual seekers of the industrialized world, who generally agreed that the Authorities were insane, the System was careening toward destruction (nuclear or ecological), and that our very survival demanded that every individual think for "himself." Thinking for yourself is not as easy as it sounds, but fortunately the bookshelves of the early 1970s blossomed with hundreds of books telling you how to do just that.
Most of those books have disappeared into the sepia-and-avocado shadows of time, but DAS ENERGI remains in print, still offering lofty exhortations on how to live your life as Mother Gaia intended, packaged in circular arguments and presented in a precious poetic voice that is by turns simpering and condescending. If The Tao of Pooh was too hard a slog for you, this book might be more your speed.
What did I learn from DAS ENERGI? First off, there's no such thing as a mistake. DAS ENERGI says, don't fret that you've made mistakes, because mistakes are impossible. Second, you must stop doing all those things which block the flow of life energy. "What things are those?" Well, you know, things you shouldn't be doing, like harboring guilt and chopping down old-growth forests and judging other people. "So, wouldn't you call such actions mistakes?" What? No, I told you, there are no mistakes. "So, if an action which blocks the flow of life energy is not a mistake, what is it then?" It's an action which is wrong. "Isn't that, by definition, what a mistake is?" What? No! Now, if you'll stop dickering over semantics and turn the goddam page, I'll blow another horn full of glitter up your ass and congratulate you on being Perfect Just the Way You Are!
If you're curious about Early-1970s Pop-Philosophy, consider reading instead: Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered
Admittedly the 1970s were a tough time for the intellectual seekers of the industrialized world, who generally agreed that the Authorities were insane, the System was careening toward destruction (nuclear or ecological), and that our very survival demanded that every individual think for "himself." Thinking for yourself is not as easy as it sounds, but fortunately the bookshelves of the early 1970s blossomed with hundreds of books telling you how to do just that.
Most of those books have disappeared into the sepia-and-avocado shadows of time, but DAS ENERGI remains in print, still offering lofty exhortations on how to live your life as Mother Gaia intended, packaged in circular arguments and presented in a precious poetic voice that is by turns simpering and condescending. If The Tao of Pooh was too hard a slog for you, this book might be more your speed.
What did I learn from DAS ENERGI? First off, there's no such thing as a mistake. DAS ENERGI says, don't fret that you've made mistakes, because mistakes are impossible. Second, you must stop doing all those things which block the flow of life energy. "What things are those?" Well, you know, things you shouldn't be doing, like harboring guilt and chopping down old-growth forests and judging other people. "So, wouldn't you call such actions mistakes?" What? No, I told you, there are no mistakes. "So, if an action which blocks the flow of life energy is not a mistake, what is it then?" It's an action which is wrong. "Isn't that, by definition, what a mistake is?" What? No! Now, if you'll stop dickering over semantics and turn the goddam page, I'll blow another horn full of glitter up your ass and congratulate you on being Perfect Just the Way You Are!
If you're curious about Early-1970s Pop-Philosophy, consider reading instead: Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered
February 15, 2008
Stream of consciousness prose/poetry philosophy and theology. Williams says multiple things that most everyone thinks at one time or another, but no one had ever put down in writing. Guided me to live life as I truly feel it is meant to be lived.
January 11, 2017
I wanted to dislike this book, but I found myself captivated by it. It's pretty standard fare in terms of new age human potential type stuff, but it's fun to read and held my attention. There are useful bits of advice sprinkled throughout. Worth a read.
September 23, 2007
This is horrible
not only does it go on endlessly about beliefs that can be debunked through the action of thinking itself, but it actually tells the reader not to think or be a skeptic. Literature like this will destroy progress and philosophy if taken seriously.
This is what happens when you read Nietzsche on LSD. It has some great thoughts, that--if applied to an air-tight philosophy--would be great; but it seems that all this does is try to castrate philosophy and thought so that nothing good will be born of either again.
not only does it go on endlessly about beliefs that can be debunked through the action of thinking itself, but it actually tells the reader not to think or be a skeptic. Literature like this will destroy progress and philosophy if taken seriously.
This is what happens when you read Nietzsche on LSD. It has some great thoughts, that--if applied to an air-tight philosophy--would be great; but it seems that all this does is try to castrate philosophy and thought so that nothing good will be born of either again.
September 16, 2007
The poetic prose are insightful and meaningful without being condescending. It is the essence of a self help book because it is an entertaining reminder of some ideals I enjoy striving for. With a combination of eastern and western philosophy Paul Williams creates a text that can be read by randomly flipping to a page or as a narrative that can remind the reader of the potential of their existence.
but it's still just a book.
but it's still just a book.
April 27, 2007
Beautiful quotes and pros.
September 25, 2007
A favorite when I was 17 or 18. Full of potent one-liners.
November 16, 2007
a book I pick up all the time & read a bit from it...GREAT
Read
April 14, 2008Non-fiction
May 3, 2009
Paul Williams has intended the notion for such a long and time and by now this book is setting that notion into motion. Simple and yet complex enough to help get me rite back on the path.
June 2, 2018
the only self-help book i'll recommend
February 15, 2023
Aw jeez, how could I say anything bad about this? A cool stoned dude encouraging you to shake off inertia and fear, and get out there, and be yourself! You can do it! :)
I found this for 50¢ and took it home because why not. It turned out to be signed, which further intrigued me, so I read it all in about an hour. Made me want to read ecotopia again. Is anyone writing books like this nowadays?
I found this for 50¢ and took it home because why not. It turned out to be signed, which further intrigued me, so I read it all in about an hour. Made me want to read ecotopia again. Is anyone writing books like this nowadays?
Read
January 9, 2025“God is what is there when you take away the distance”
September 10, 2019
A book that I would say could be easily placed in the manifest movement, or "The Secret" following. Though some of it is dribble, some of it is profound. It is something to remind, but also something that challenges. An oddity I picked up because I judged it's beautiful cover and was intrigued once I started in. Super quick read- one of those one might flip to to read as a fortune cookie.
October 12, 2018
If I was stuck on a deserted island, this is the book that I want to have with me.
April 5, 2013
I have had this on sale at Amazon for quite some time. I was sad to read Paul Williams' obituary in today's Boston Globe and decided to add this edition to Goodreads. All the others are shown with a green cover. This is an incredible work, so "sixties" yet so timeless in its simple wisdom. "...it's high time we stopped messing around with this guilt crap and got down to business, which is, I think, creating Heaven on Earth." (p. 15) Delightful!
November 7, 2009
this book is a quick read if you just go straight through. it seems simple but inspires complex philosophical thought and introspection. i have read it countless times and every time i learn something new about how to live well.
November 16, 2011
Thought provoking but an easy read.
November 11, 2012
at age 17 this book changed everything i believed...there are pages in this book that say simply you are god...very powerful read
August 16, 2018
A sort of prose-pose primer for the New Age before it became a sham.
August 28, 2018
A good reminder of some different ways of viewing the world.
July 20, 2013
Not impressed.
March 18, 2021
I stumbled acrossDas Energi (1973) by rock journalist Paul Williams while reading an essay in The Sun. I tracked it down on Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/DasEnergi...) and read it on my laptop. Paul Williams was the founder of Crawdaddy Magazine, the first national magazine of rock music criticism. He was also an authority on the works of musicians Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Neil Young, and science fiction writers Philip K. Dick and Theodore Sturgeon.
Das Energi is a sort of pop philosophic/spiritual manifesto. Some may regard it as somewhat anachronistic, New Age twaddle. There are plenty of cliches and sometimes it seems to be on the edge of inscrutable triteness. There are times, however, when it seems to be on the edge of Zen-like profundity. In an appeal for oneness and an Amish-like simplicity, Williams stresses the need to cut through delusion, fear, guilt, doubt, shame, and greed. One mantra seems to be “Oneness precludes evil.”
With a touch of Karl Marx, a bit of the Dalai Lama, and a dash of Henry David Thoreau, Williams offers a mix of interdependence, personal evolution, identity, consciousness, and some metaphysical cosmology. It’s not all hippy-dippy flapdoodle. There is some practical advice such as the five steps to face fear and the five laws of the economics of energy (to replace the economics of money and property).
The book is also full of quotables. Here are two of my favorites, “Responsibility is not something you know. It is something you do.” And “Don’t think you know what is right for the other guy. He might start thinking he knows what is right for you.”
Das Energi is a sort of pop philosophic/spiritual manifesto. Some may regard it as somewhat anachronistic, New Age twaddle. There are plenty of cliches and sometimes it seems to be on the edge of inscrutable triteness. There are times, however, when it seems to be on the edge of Zen-like profundity. In an appeal for oneness and an Amish-like simplicity, Williams stresses the need to cut through delusion, fear, guilt, doubt, shame, and greed. One mantra seems to be “Oneness precludes evil.”
With a touch of Karl Marx, a bit of the Dalai Lama, and a dash of Henry David Thoreau, Williams offers a mix of interdependence, personal evolution, identity, consciousness, and some metaphysical cosmology. It’s not all hippy-dippy flapdoodle. There is some practical advice such as the five steps to face fear and the five laws of the economics of energy (to replace the economics of money and property).
The book is also full of quotables. Here are two of my favorites, “Responsibility is not something you know. It is something you do.” And “Don’t think you know what is right for the other guy. He might start thinking he knows what is right for you.”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews