“The Parables of Kryon” by Lee Carroll was first published in 1996. At that time I was living in Oklahoma, the buckle of the Bible Belt, basically a galaxy away from Del Mar, CA where Mr. Carroll was at the forefront of the New Age movement. The Kryon material is channeled information, which in many circles still has the connotation of being straight from the Devil’s Lair. I’ve found channeled material to run the gamut from the ridiculous (“greetings, Earthlings”) to life changing (“A Course in Miracles”).

Since acquiring a Kindle, I enjoy exploring all the spiritual book lists seeking the rare gem, the classic I missed along the way. I’d vaguely heard of Lee Carroll and Kryon, even in the insulated heartland, and decided to risk perdition by downloading “The Parables of Kryon.” What I discovered was a delightful collection of twenty deceptively “simple” stories rich with profound life lessons.  Just as Jesus taught the villagers of his day through tales like The Prodigal Son, The Sower of Seeds, and The Good Samaritan, Kryon shares his philosophy via the storytelling tool.

The book begins with the brief “Parable of the Tar Pit” where everyone thinks being covered in tar is normal until one person is suddenly washed clean. Carroll serves as interpreter of the Kryon tales he receives, spelling out the spiritual lesson in case you missed it. Disciples can be a little dense, as Jesus learned when he had to explain the Sower of the Seeds analogy to his followers. Likewise, Carroll makes clear the philosophical lessons behind “The Big, Fuzzy Caterpillar” (a wormy creature who misses the chance to become a butterfly), “The Two Groups of Warriors” (reminiscent of putting on the whole armor of God in Ephesians), “David the Indian” (who breaks through foggy boundaries) and the rest with summaries at the end of each story.

I found myself reading one parable a morning, like a daily devotional, ruminating on the spiritual lessons, sometimes agreeing, sometimes not, but each story was always food for thought. The piece stands as a sort of spiritual movement historical marker, using phrases like “New Age” and “life contract” that were once new and have now taken on a lot of baggage.  The order of the stories starts with universal life lessons that would not rock many boats to increasingly New Age concepts of reincarnation and karmic principles that would definitely send mainstream Christians back behind their fences.

Still, for those spiritual explorers who enjoyed hearing Bible stories in Sunday school, “The Parables of Kryon” delivers some interesting concepts in a variety of entertaining tales.

Visit the Lee Carroll/Kryon website at Kryon.com