Spiritual Growth

The Wishing Year: A House, a Man, My Soul A Memoir of Fulfilled Desire

by Noelle Oxenhandler

Average Rating:

"There's a lot going for this book, and a lot gone wrong. One gets the sense here of an author interested in wishing and desire, an academic whose editor said, "Noelle, nobody will read it like this. Rewrite it as ~Eat, Pray, Love~!" since memoir sells a lot better than academic treatises these days. This book invites comparisons to Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, but they are vastly different in tone, revelation, and outcome.

The first part of the book is contrived, as if the author constructed a selective past to support the thesis, working toward a breakthrough revelation and transformation at the end: see, I couldn't wish, I couldn't accept happiness, my gold coins turned to mud under my pillow, but now I have what I asked for!

And yet, for a reader like myself (the target audience, I assume), it's excruciating to follow such a sad trajectory. This could be me. In slightly different circumstances, this has been me, living on "liquids and canned peaches" for months after a slaughtering heartbreak.

The author enjoys research and facts and the academic life, and those are her strong suits. She shines when she's making historical and literary connections, working her fast-moving mind and researching answers. The thick-skinned self-revelation necessary for convincing memoir, however, is notably lacking.

~Eat, Pray, Love~was breezy, self-deprecating, and funny, while this book takes itself quite seriously and, worse, is uncomfortable with significant personal revelation. I hope this book doesn't hurt the author more than it helps. She starts and ends with sensitive vulnerability and often meets her helpers when she is crying or otherwise in public emotional distress.

Some of the most interesting questions raised are left frustratingly unanswered. In a Book of Days format, each chapter a month in the wishing year, the author describes the trajectory of her experiment, from doubt to testing to fulfillment. But those questions become the elephant in the living room. What was the story of the now-defunct spiritual community? She describes the unraveling of her spiritual group in half a dozen deliberately vague and short sentences. Similarly, in a prefatory note, she explains that she overexposed her daughter in a previous book and has agreed to mention her only in passing in this one; again, an important character noticeably missing.

As a reluctant memoirist, she does not reveal the most essential things. Here's a mother who won't write about her daughter, a professor who doesn't write about her work, a spiritual seeker wounded by an undescribed cult - this certainly isn't Elizabeth Gilbert's year off.

I don't blame her, but perhaps memoir is not her best medium. Elizabeth Gilbert made the reader believe that she wasn't withholding anything essential, that the details of her messy divorce were just boring mind chatter, but in The Wishing Year: A House, a Man, My Soul A Memoir of Fulfilled Desire, the intensity behind those secrets sinks the authenticity of the rest of the book, especially since one of the three wishes - the most noble, the most devastating, the wish for spiritual healing - goes unanswered, and the lack of answer glossed over, or perhaps not noticed. (Sitting in an empty temple for an afternoon doth not constitute spiritual healing, and the book itself confirms that.)
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Publisher: Random House | More reviews: amazon.com

Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao

by Wayne W. Dyer

Average Rating:

"We're all so busy these days. And distracted. Who has time to pause and ponder on much of anything beyond what we're grabbing for dinner after school or work? That is, if we even have time for dinner. So at first glance this almost-400 page book with its obvious philosophical leanings appears a little daunting. But dig in and you'll quickly see that it is not a book to be read in one concentrated time period, but rather taken a step at a time as a meditative process.

Each chapter is based on one of the 81 verses of the ancient Chinese wisdom and philosophy of the Tao Te Ching and beckons the reader to stop and think before moving on with his/her busy life. Dr. Dyer studied numerous translations of the Tao, meditated on his own interpretations, and observed how each verse influenced his thinking (and life) for the day. Each chapter begins with the actual verse from the Tao, followed by a title which summarizes the chief learning, followed by Dr. Dyer's comments and interpretations. Each chapter ends with a short instruction on a way to "Do the Tao Now." The instructions are deceptively simple ranging from thoughts to hold in your mind to actions you can take. Some actions can take all day (such as a suggested fast for a day); others can be done in minutes, such as expressing kindness toward another.

The notion that changing your thinking can change your life is found in almost all cultures and writings since early civilizations. This philosophy is at the heart of the most successful psychological treatments for depression, anxiety, and other disorders. The Tao provides one more example of this powerful philosophy, and Dr. Dyer nicely walks us through it.

If I had to summarize this book in one word it would be "peace." There is something about the writing which demands that you slow down, focus for a moment on the present, and take just a few minutes to detach from the chaos of your life into a true "moment of Zen." Keep it by your bed, read a chapter before going to sleep or when you first wake up and notice what begins to change in your life.

REVIEW UPDATE: As I continue to spend time with this book, I continue to be impressed. Because each chapter is only 4-6 pages long, my initial impression was that one could read a chapter a night. And you can- but the thoughts in each chapter are so intriguing and interesting that I find I wanted to linger over them for several days. This book deserves to be savored. There's also an interesting mystery in the epilogue. Dr. Dyer closes with a brief discussion of a personal incident that very much challenged his beliefs and work with the Tao. He writes, "I was presented with the greatest personal challenge of my life." He goes on to describe his great hurt and pain. I assume he had his reasons for not explaining the event in greater detail, but it leaves the reader wanting to know more- and specifically how he applied to Tao to overcome his feelings. Perhaps he will enlighten us in a future book or CD.
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Publisher: Hay House | More reviews: amazon.com

Life Visioning: A Four-Stage Evolutionary Journey to Live as Divine Love

by Michael Bernard Beckwith

Average Rating:

"Michael Beckwith is the real thing. god bless new age, but it's not my cup of tea. this is not another new age name it and claim it practice. (not there is anything wrong with that, but it's not) My concern with things like The Secret and Manifestation books and cds is how empty and heartbroken they may ultimately leave people if and when the ideas stop working. And staying stuck on creating "things" will ultimately have a diminished return and leave people feeling like they've tired it all and failed. I'm not knocking them, they are great tools but unless we go deeper they tend to go flat if we stay focused on "fixing" what doesn't really need to be fixed. This process goes so far beyond the band aid approach of getting a new house or healing one illness. This is a great tool for realizing on a daily basis our oneness with the universe, the field, God, whatever you wish to call it. Michael's work reminds me of Ernest Holmes and Emma Curtis Hopkins. I am a licensed psychotherapist and executive coach. And I have used elements of the Life Visioning process in corporate settings with boards and executives doing strategic planning. If you are ready to examine where you may have some forgiveness to do, where you may have hit a bump in the road and still believe you may be a victim to outside circumstance, what your soul is calling you to express here, and if you are ready to begin to surrender with trust to a power working in as and through you, then I can't recommend this enough."

Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated | More reviews: amazon.com

Chicken Soup for the Soul

by Jack Canfield

Average Rating:

"I'm sorry, but Chicken Soup for the Soul annoys me to no end. The stories are not original-I've seen most of them in various forms in chain letters and Ann Landers and Dear Abby. Most of them are VERY poorly written, cliched, and dumbed down. When I'm depressed, they make me feel even WORSE. I'd rather read a cynical, sarcastic very nasty story that makes me laugh-and realize I'm MUCH better off! Sorry to say, but these books are nothing but dollars for the creators. You're better off rereading childhood classics for a pick-me-up."

Publisher: HCI | More reviews: amazon.com

Brain Wave Vibration: Getting Back into the Rhythm of a Happy, Healthy Life

by Ilchi Lee

Average Rating:

"In this book, Grand Master Ilchi Lee explains the philosophy and goals of the Dahn Yoga system that he created in 1985 in Korea under the name of "Dahn Hak" (the study of energy) which began with one student in a park and now has 150 centers in the US and 600 worldwide. Dr. Lee revived a 5,000-year-old Korean tradition of humanitarianism to help the world today, one individual at a time.

"Brain Wave Vibration" teaches us to understand our brains in a powerful way that is new to most people. This is an important book both for Dahn Yoga students and for anyone who wants to gain greater physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

Mainstream medicine relies on drugs and surgery and alternative medicine uses a less invasive approach with supplements, herbs, nutrition, acupuncture, etc. However, neither teaches people the importance of the mind/body connection and the correct use of our brains which Ilchi Lee shows through Dahn Yoga to be the key to health, happiness, and peace.

Dahn Yoga is a multi-faceted system that includes daily classes, healing sessions, workshops, special classes, a martial arts program, a youth program, a healer school, etc. All of these reflect the philosophy expressed in the letters "HSP" which are on Dahn Yoga uniforms. They stand for "Health, Smile, Peace" and represent physical, emotional, and spiritual health. As individuals achieve these goals, they create healthier families, communities, and nations -- a saner, healthier world.

Dahn Yoga teaches us to take care of our bodies, to "play well with others", to value the Earth which is our common source of identity, and to connect to the universal energy in which we are all one. Dr. Lee's ultimate goal is to create millions of enlightened people to help save the planet at this time when life on Earth is threatened because of misguided thinking.

The value of Dahn Yoga is immediately apparent, but its true profundity takes time to grasp. When I joined Dahn Yoga in September, 2006, I was impressed by the simplicity and effectiveness of the classes, the power of the healing sessions, the warm sense of community, and the number of books and CDs by Dr. Lee. The classes are not difficult, but the exercises quickly enhance flexibility and strength because they are based on a deep understanding of the energy systems of the body.

However, it was not until July, 2008 when I did the 3-day Liver Cleanse fast at the Dahn Yoga resort in upstate New York that I began to understand more fully what makes Dahn Yoga so special. The headmaster at my center in Manhattan recommended the Liver Cleanse because I had had a pain in the liver for several months. The fasting program provided an opportunity to change eating patterns, to address emotional issues, and to learn more about the mind/body connection. After the fast, the pain disappeared.

I was impressed that Dahn Yoga has a resort in such a healing setting in the Catskills -- and similar resorts in Canada, Arizona, and Korea. I also gained a deeper appreciation of the value of the mind/body connection. After the fast, I read "Brain Wave Vibration" and re-read Dr. Lee's "Human Technology" book Human Technology: A Toolkit For Authentic Living. I highly recommend both. They can change your life and change the world. "

Publisher: Best Life Media | More reviews: amazon.com

Focusing

by Eugene T. Gendlin

Average Rating:

"This book was first published in 1978, and I wish I had discovered it back then, as it would have spared me years of spinning my wheels. The author is a psychologist, as well as a philosopher specializing in phenomenology. His thinking definitely serves as a solid underpinning to this book. However, the book is completely practical. It teaches you how to get in touch with your body/mind--the part of you that feels and knows without using logic, morality, guilt, or blame. Once you get in touch with whatever your body/mind is experiencing in the present, you focus on that "felt sense." Keeping your conscious awareness tuned to that feeling causes a movement in the energy, and ultimately a shift occurs,which you can physically feel as a release of a blockage or a point of tension. This technique works very well for those problems and issues that you thought you had worked through, but keep returning over and over again. The best part is, you can do this work without a therapist. After a while, you will find that your body (or rather, body/mind) becomes your best teacher on all matters of the heart and soul."

Publisher: Bantam Books | More reviews: amazon.com

Gateways to Now (Inner Life Series)

Average Rating:

"Gateway to NOW is a profoundly transformative audio version of Eckhart Tolle's teachings that will help you release the past, the drama, fears, uncertainty, and need for future events to happen in order for you to find peace within.

The music is soothing, and brings you the opportunity for inner contemplation and absorption of the teachings so you can fully integrate them.

I find the teachings of Eckhart Tolle to be profoundly beneficial, and listening to his voice helps the messages sink in deeper, as he stresses certain words in his own style. By moving through the "Gateway" and genuinely taking in what he says, you are well guided to uncovering and bringing out from within you the peace and joy you deserve. HIGHLY Recommended!

Barbara Rose, Ph.D. author of Know Yourself: A Woman's Guide to Wholeness, Radiance & Supreme Confidence and Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE "

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio | More reviews: amazon.com

Everyday Sacred: A Woman's Journey Home

by Sue Bender

Average Rating:

"This is an interesting book as the author warns at the begining that there really is no beginning or end. She's right. I found myself while reading the book dutifully from beginning to end, often going back and rereading sections.THE AUTHOR REVEALS HER INSECURITIES AND THEY ALL SEEM SO FAMILIAR. However, what got me, was that the author was not a young woman. She is in her late 50s, early 60s. So much for outgrowing them. Well, I had hoped. She examined these insecurities and failings in a sense from a view, I had not expected; as if they were assets. Now that's a thought. She had difficulty accepting this notion at first and the book subtly pushes this to the forefront again and again. Fascinating.THE AUTHOR'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HER ADULT SON IS MARKED WITH MIS-COMMUNICATIONS THAT DOMINATED THEIR PREVIOUS INTERATIONS. However, by turning off the critic to herself, she was more accepting and could "hear" others better. This greatly helped her and her son communicate on a new level. Any parent who has children making that change from child to adult could really use help here. Any help.THERE ARE PARTS OF THIS BOOK THAT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD AND OTHERS THAT WERE POIGNANT. The author relates a story, where she hires a professional organizer and within moments of this woman starting to do her job, pays her to stop and leave. The author realized that she did not want to have her organization methods changed, but wanted a different outcome using the same methods... Don't we all. Change requires...Change. THERE ARE SO MANY WONDERFUL POINTS MADE IN THIS BOOK, A REVIEW, SHY OF RECREATING THE BOOK, CAN'T DO THEM JUSTICE. The best a reviewer can say is Read this book, read it slow and think about it. It is very Zen Buddist in philosophy and gives great weight to the day to day things. However, unlike "Sweeping changes" a book centered in Zen philosophy around house cleaning and maintenance, this book does not focus so much on day to day activities directly, but the philosophies of day to day relationships with people. The word Synchronicity comes to mind here.I PLAN TO RE-READ THE BOOK IN A MONTH OR SO. Books like this change in time. Next time I could write an entirely different review because different things will catch my eye. It is hard to write a book you can come back to over and over and in this the author has done a magnificent job."

Publisher: HarperOne | More reviews: amazon.com

The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety

by M. Scott Peck

Average Rating:

"As one would expect from Scott Peck, I found this to be a very encouraging book. Peck continues to write on suffering, and it's being the key to growth. Most people avoid suffering for their whole lives, avoid growth, avoid looking at themselves. I do that too. This book encourage me to rethink aspects of my life, and consider ways I could pursue anew a path of suffering which leads to growth.

I particularly enjoyed his treatisies on listening. I've read some of his thoughts on this before, but I needed to be reminded. About what it means to listen. About how to listen better. About how often I am thinking about what I am going to say next, and the impact I am having, and my interaction, rather than fully and completely engaging myself with the other, putting myself within the other, to bless the person I am communicating with. And so I've been trying to do that these last few days. And it's still hard work.

Much of this book is written as the final hurrah of a life of contemplation. His stories of his time with his wife are particularly beneficial, as Peck shares about what he has learned from his wife, and what they have learned together, as they have pursued a path of active growth together.

A downside though to this approach of putting in a lifetime of thoughts into a final book is that many times, it seems that Peck is simply referencing every book, quite overtly, that he's ever written. At times, it feels like he's trying to get the reader to buy more of his books. A better editor to discourage him from this approach would have been helpful.

I left this book wanting to follow Peck's suggestions. To remember that life does not conform to myself, and release any expectation that it should. To release the expectation that I can do all things for myself. I appreciated Peck's corrective from The Road Less Traveled, where he gave great support for independence. Here, Peck reminds people of a higher road of interdependence- which means a lot harder work of giving up one's "right" to do things for oneself. It's all about a process of death- for we begin dying the moment we're born. And every giving up is a form of death."

Publisher: Touchstone | More reviews: amazon.com

When Fear Falls Away: The Story of a Sudden Awakening

by Jan Frazier

Average Rating:

"Someone sent me this book to read...it seems to be part of a "trend", arising from the NeoAdvaita and New Age movements....people deciding they are "enlightened" or "liberated" and then writing a book and giving workshops about their experience of "attaining That". Ostensibly, these books and workshops are to "help others" but they all share a similar quality..needing/wanting a mirror that will reflect the imagined state of "liberation" back to the author. Having wonderful mystical "experiences", spending a great deal of time in the state of "pure awakeness" and growing up as a human being have nothing really to do with what is called "liberation". Waking up, as zen monks have said, is the "easiest part" of the process. It would be wonderful if people began to digest their awakening experiences a little longer than four years or so before trying to teach others. It's an extremely discouraging trend and bound to create alot of suffering in its wake. "

Publisher: Weiser Books | More reviews: amazon.com