What is Becoming Me?

Becoming Me is not exactly a parable and not exactly a creation story. It's not exactly a children's book and it's not exactly an adult book.  Said Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield, "It's the simplest, sweetest way to remind us that the Divine is shining in us all the time, and that 'we' are ultimately 'me'."

Becoming Me combines the deepest mystical ideas of many different faiths about 'who we are' and 'why we're here' ...  yet it also is consistent with science. So it's not exactly fiction, and it's not exactly non-fiction.  It's not the literal story of any religion, yet it has been embraced by people of many religions. 

 

 

Where did it come from?

The first line of Becoming Me, "Once upon a time, I was," just popped into my mind, late one night, after a deep breathing meditation.  I realized that it might just be possible to express the mystical understanding of creation in the form of a children's book -- and to tell this story from God's point-of-view.  But the voice telling this story would not be booming or angry -- it would be curious, loving and playful-- an infinite God who, more than anything, wants to be little.

For several years, I didn't take this idea seriously.  But then one day, while I was struggling to write a big philosophical book, this little book just insisted on being written.  It was written in a couple of weeks and found a publisher a few weeks later.

 

What's the point?

Becoming Me is now being used to promote interfaith understanding, environmental awareness, and philosophy-for children. It's also being used in religious education classes, as well as a meditation for people in times of stress or crisis.  Each simple line of Becoming Me represents an important spiritual concept, and the dazzling paintings by Chris Gilvan-Cartwright tell a big part of the story. 

Here is one of my favorite reviews, which explains it better than I can:

From rich endpapers that suggest the golden oozing goo of creation to the gloriously hued chaotic mass at its end, we sense the relationship of color, light and sound in the cosmic creation--and at the heart of it iall is the voice of God.  Daring?  Yes.  Presumptuous?  No.  There is a humlity and simplicity--and just enough mischief--in the writing that makes it somehow plausible that the person of God has written this book, describing the enormous complexity of creation in terms of self-discovery.  It resolves beautifully in the way that God becomes human, and how in human form we still forget that we are God.  Profound fun for all ages, a delight for anyone who enjoys pondering imponderables.  (Antoinette Botsford, Review Editor, Napra Review, September/October 2000)

 
 

To  read reviews, background essays, reading group guide, and parent/teacher guide, visit the Becoming Me website:  click here.

To purchase the book or film version of Becoming Me, click here.