A positive and useful collection of spiritual tips from a medium.
A compendium of bite-sized inspirations features ways to release negativity and return to a path of love and tranquility.
Debut author and medium Daniel compiles a series of soulful, stirring thoughts in this guide to connected and compassionate living. Written in short, paragraph-long entries, the book is easy to digest and can be opened at any point on any page to discover a beneficial thought or idea. Each one is attributed to “TttA”—“The truth through Anna.” The work is designed to allow upbeat spirits to reach readers through the author’s conscious channeling. Topics range from aging wisely and renewing one’s energy to sharing love, employing discipline, and cherishing life. Yet some of the paragraphs contain warnings about the distractions of society. In one passage, TttA cautions, “Manipulation and mind control is appearing everywhere, so beware. Stay alert and let the forces of nature aid you.” She continues: “Many working for the light have been attacked and disturbed. Guide and support each other until the dawn breaks. Most conditions at present are temporary. So wait until clearing is given.” These sections read less as horoscopes assigned to a particular day and more as tidbits of wisdom designed to keep the audience focused on accepting the world. A reader might choose to peruse one part each morning to set an agenda for the day, or to embrace the book as a reminder to get back on track when pessimism or fear creeps in. It could even be used as an entry point to mediation or prayer. A common theme is to allow love and compassion to dominate over worry and anxiety—a highly relevant and universal piece of advice for readers dealing with contemporary societal pressures and conflicts. Overall, the volume provides constructive suggestions that could apply universally to an individual during any moment of life: reminders to love, suggestions to relax, and encouragements to enjoy life.
A positive and useful collection of spiritual tips from a medium.Pub Date: July 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5043-0841-0
Page Count: 234
Publisher: BalboaPressAU
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The ABC’s to living a fulfilling life.
A minister catalogues the qualities needed to live a spiritually rich life.
In this Christian self-help guide, Caldwell outlines 26 characteristics (one for each letter of the alphabet) individuals should strive to achieve in order to realize the full potential of their lives. He shows how the pursuit of each quality–adventurousness, enthusiasm, openness, zeal, etc.–not only leads to personal satisfaction but a life closer to God. Living life to its utmost and realizing one’s full individual potential, Caldwell argues, will bring readers in line with the full glory of God’s creation. Not, as others have insisted, the fearful adherence to rules and commandments. The author illustrates these qualities and how they are evident in daily life with fables, poetry, hypothetical scenarios and anecdotes from his own life. Those who consume Caldwell’s book in one sitting may find his list of worthy characteristics a tall order, particularly if the volume’s seemingly simple, Zen-like title is what initially appealed to them. Indeed, he states in his conclusion that these 26 traits are not an exhaustive list, but rather that the A-to-Z format simply offers starting and ending points. But there is much continuity among the 26 qualities he describes, which reinforce and complement one another. Readers, however, may find it more helpful to read and meditate upon one or two chapters at a time. Caldwell does a good job of showing how one might encounter or embody these qualities in everyday life, but some of his illustrative anecdotes are more compelling than others. Although the book’s structure is somewhat gimmicky (as many self-help books tend to be), Caldwell’s advice is deeply grounded in serious and sincere theological study, encompassing both ancient scripture and more contemporary religious analysis. For those wishing to pursue further spiritual inquiry, the author’s footnotes at the end of each chapter provide ample suggestions.
The ABC’s to living a fulfilling life.Pub Date: March 26, 2007
ISBN: 978-1425743093
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Lyrical tale of the survival and triumph of a small farm amid the suburban sprawl of southern California, with writing as rich and satisfying as the taste of a ripe melon. Fairview Gardens exists amid tract housing, malls, and endless miles of freeway. Ableman (founder of the Center for Urban Agriculture; From the Good Earth, not reviewed) tells of how the farm made peace with this suburban world and how this world came to first tolerate and then embrace this oasis of connection to the land. It hasn—t been easy. Homeowners do not rest quietly with manure spreaders hard at work near their backyards; Ableman resents, albeit with grace, the imprecations of the modern world onto the land he manages. Yet, over time, the farm has become accepted as an eccentric neighbor, at first as a convenient place to buy good, healthy food and then as a repository of the dying knowledge of what is to be learned from working the land. Ableman’s writing on these lessons—perseverance, patience, humility, a feeling of empowerment when one eats what one grows—forms the heart of this work. It is writing of inspiring joy, without the overblown “cosmic” rhetoric that often mars such paeans to nature. Along the way he offers some valuable tips to farmers, on mulching, watering, weeding, fighting city hall. Today Fairview Gardens is a public place, not a bucolic back-to-nature vacation spot for the few. It stands not apart from the community but within it, no small reason for its survival in the face of hungry developers. It remains a thriving farm, but also a place where people, especially children, come to experience the land. Among a sprawl of books incessantly issued and hyped, this small, wise volume quietly calls us to read and be renewed. (50 color photos)
Pub Date: July 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8118-1921-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1998
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