“Existential Meditation 'On the questions of Beginning, the
Meaning of Existence, and the Consequences of the End' has a basic underlying message: Get back to the simplicity of life. The words themselves sound simple enough, but if you look around, human beings tend to take the simplest of things and create havoc. Simon Cleveland has penned what could be considered a highly controversial subject and approached it without sounding accusatory, vain, egotistical, or self-righteous. There are no preachy sermons or
in-your-face nagging. In fact, through quality research, quotes,
theories, and opinions, the author presents to you a book poised with thought-provoking ideas that make an enormous amount of sense. It, of course, depends on how you choose to view his ideals and how they mesh with what has been ingrained inside you since the day you were born. It is thinking outside of the box, but at the same time taking into consideration what is inside the box rather than ignoring it completely.

The book consists of three main parts: Why is there a
beginning? What is the meaning of existence? and Consequences of
the end. They in turn have sub-parts that delve deeper into fact,
fiction, truths and myths. It is through these sub-parts where the author really shines with findings to support this book.
Simon Cleveland asks us to take the time to answer the
questions we are faced with everyday. Questions of who we are, why we react the way we do, why we internalize everything and analyze things to death. Why we do not take things at face value but spend an incredible amount of time reflecting on – rather than living – our lives. Always looking for a message, or even looking to an outside force that may never answer those “all important” questions. Why we do not trust our own instincts and question what we know to be right?

Anyone can read a phrase and interpret it a thousand different
ways. You might take something from this book that differs from
what I took. If you allow yourself the time to read Existential
Meditation 'On the questions of Beginning, the Meaning of Existence, and the Consequences of the End' without reacting defensively, you’ll find a wealth of interesting facets about the way we behave. If you really take the time to consider the author’s words, rather than argue for argument’s sake, I feel you will walk away with knowledge and insight. What I have gathered is that humans are not the complex creatures we make ourselves out to be, but we certainly know how to complicate things. I encourage you to explore these motivational
pages and take away from it what you will, and appreciate it for the clarity it can bring if you let it. ( )

Couldn't put it down once I started it. The author glued me in especially with the parallel apologies of feral and normal children. I recommended the book to my husband who is a bit of a fundametal Christian we always end up arguing about why life exists in the first place. This book helped me come across some points that I lacked in the past. ( )

This is a very insightful book that made me ask myself a lot of questions and reflect on what truly is the meaning of life. I found that what religion, common perception and history teaches us is not necessarily the real deal about life and its true meaning. The author gives a very interesting argument about the beginning of life on Earth, the development of consciousness and the impact of society on human essence.
I found it very though provoking and even a bit controversial. ( )