Review: Overcoming Anxiety

Overcoming Anxiety
by David Berndt

The good news is that anxiety can be overcome without relying on medication. Psychologist David Berndt, Ph.D., in Overcoming Anxiety outlines several self-help methods for relief for anxiety and worry. In clear simple language and a conversational style. Dr. Berndt shares with the reader powerful step by step proven techniques for anxiety management.

You will learn:

• A Self-hypnosis grounding technique in the Ericksonian tradition.
• Box Breathing, Seven Eleven and similar breathing techniques for anxiety relief.
• How to stop or interrupt toxic thoughts that keep you locked in anxiety.
• How to harness and utilize your worries, so they work for you.
• Relief from anxiety through desensitization and exposure therapy.

Designed to be used alone as self-help or in conjunction with professional treatment Dr. Berndt draws upon his experience as a clinician and academic researcher to give accessible help to the reader who wants to understand and manage their anxiety.

Review

This review was a little different for me, fellow readers. First of all, as you can see above, it is non-fiction. Not only is it non-fiction, but it is a self-help book (or whatever name they are classifying self-help with these days). Aside from that, however, reviewing this was different for two reasons (1) I am in the mental health field (as a case manager at a university counseling center; I have my Masters degree in Clinical Psychology) and (2) I have dealt with anxiety all my life - since I was a kid.

It just got real folks.

As for the book - it gives fantastic techniques for recognizing and "dealing" with your anxiety - but it does more than that. One of the many awful aspects of anxiety is that it helps distort your thoughts, disorienting you, and maybe even making you believe things that aren't true. It's so much easier to believe the negative - especially when anxiety wants to be your best friend. This book, through its thorough explanations offers the reader a fresh look at their anxiety. It offers an opportunity to recognize what is happening with your thoughts and techniques on how to turn it around in the best attempt to "turn it off."

As it explains in the book, anxiety in and of itself is not a bad thing to experience. It is what alerts us, motivates us, etc. It is when the anxiety is overwhelming where it becomes something of a problem. Dealing with anxiety is not about making it go away forever 100%. It is about managing it so that we can feel it and still be "okay."

During my practicum (think of it like an internship), I counseled many individuals. It was a year (and then some when the center asked for me to come back to fill in an empty spot on their staff) of listening and attempting another perspective for many individuals. I heard a lot of awful things. Anxiety, sadly, was one of the most common worries I heard about. Maybe it was because it hit close to home, but it was also the worry that made me the most empathic toward my clients. Anxiety is not something that we have to let overcome our lives, yet it is so easy to let it do just that. With the help of this book and others like it as well as reaching out to mental health professionals - we can learn to feel anxiety without letting it become our ruler. Learning a set of skills/techniques like learning to distract yourself, mindfulness, and breathing exercises can help overcome that downward spiral of anxiety.

Verdict

If you or someone you know has problems with anxiety, pick this book up. It is a good start and a way for you to recognize what is going on.

About the Author

David J. Berndt, Ph.D. was an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago where he published or presented over 80 papers and articles before establishing a private practice. Dr Berndt currently lives in Charleston, S.C. where he also teaches in an adjunct capacity at the College of Charleston. He is best known for his psychological tests TheMultiscore Depression Inventory, and the Multiscore Depression Inventory for Children, both from Western Psychological Services. He also contributes to several psychology websites including www.psychologyknowledge.com.

Praise for Dr. Berndt’s work:

About Overcoming Anxiety

“Dr. Berndt is a creative and forward-thinking psychologist who has contributed to advancing psychology both with his research and clinical practice. He has helped countless patients with their depression and anxiety, and his conversational and accessible style of writing makes Overcoming Anxiety a book you would want for your top shelf.

- Charles Kaiser, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the College of Charleston

Links:  

Website: http://psychologyknowledge.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/authorfriendly

Facebook: https://facebook.com/DavidJohnBerndt

Blog: http://authorfriendly.wordpress.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YVE4J30

Audiobook Review: Yes Please

Synopsis

Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous,Yes Please is full of words to live by.

Review

Please keep in mind that this is the review for the AUDIOBOOK of Amy Poehler's Yes Please. Oh my gosh. What can I say about this audiobook? It was everything and more than what I expected from Amy Poehler. Lets just get this out of the way and say that, yes, I am a big fan of Amy. Especially when it's Amy and Tina. Love them!

Anyway, I came about getting this audiobook because I had a credit available on Audible and had no idea how to use it. I'm still new to the audiobook business. I had wanted to read Yes Please and when I found out that Amy was reading (because, honestly, that's what makes sense in memoirs and autobiographies...but I digress) the book I was convinced it would be wonderful. And it was. 

Written and read with Amy's classic wit and sass, the book spans from her childhood to her present post-divorce, almost-post Parks & Recreation. She gives us, what feels like an effortless, rendition of who she is and how she got to where she is. Amy makes no excuses for the choices she's made, even the bad ones. She speaks of her family, schooling, moments of depression and her feelings about marriage, hard work and luck. Although I am new to the audiobook biz, I have heard some before and this, by far, has been the best one I have listened to. I could listen to it again - and that is saying something.

Verdict

If you like Amy Poehler or sassy women who do not shy away from hard work - this book/audiobook is for you. 

Review: Love and the Mystery of Betrayal

Love and the Mystery of Betrayal
by Sandra Lee Dennis

Synopsis

What is it like to recover from betrayal of trust today in a culture that is blind to the trauma and impatient with grief? When her long-time partner suddenly left her shortly before their wedding, the author found nothing had prepared her for the depth and duration of the pain. Despite having lived through her husband's death years earlier, she was stunned by the intensity of the suffering and could not understand why this shock hit so hard. Her loss of faith in this one person precipitated an existential and spiritual crisis that called her very understanding of human nature into question and she wanted to know why.

As she wrested with what turned out to be a massive trauma, she began to keep careful notes of her inner life--she wanted to capture the paradoxes of love, grief and longing mixed with bewilderment and post-traumatic stress. With bracing frankness and fearlessness, she succeeds. Love and the Mystery of Betrayal seamlessly blends research and reflection, love and heartbreak, rage and transformation, and the personal with the collective. The deep, engaging writing provides the type of solace only a kindred spirit who has been there can. This achingly moving chronicle and meditation on the mysteries of love and betrayal shows how faith and love can triumph even after the most life-shattering revelations and loss.

Review

This book is a heart wrenching, eye-opening look at betrayal. It's raw pain molded into this package to help us understand. It's amazing to look at a situation that is so emotional from an analytic point of view. It is such a brave book to have written and to read because not everyone is ready to admit to the feeling of betrayal. Dennis does it elegantly, but truthfully. 

What I enjoyed most about the writing of this book is that it equates to some level the feeling of grief and the feeling of betrayal. Many people do not see pain or loss of a relationship or friendship as grief, but it is! Also, someone does not need to have experienced the outright betrayal  of a romantic partner because we have all experienced the likeness of that pain, whether it be a romantic relationship, friendship or with family. Please, don't let that dissuade you!

Verdict

Read it when you're ready. It's an honest and understanding portrayal of the pain. 

About the Author

SANDRA LEE DENNIS, PhD. obtained her M.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and her doctorate in Integral Studies (Psychology and Religion) from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is an author, teacher and explorer of the interplay of depth psychology and spiritual experience. Sandra was a teacher in the Gurdjieff tradition for many years, a long-time student of Diamond Heart work, and an Ananda yoga instructor. She has been on the faculty at Portland State University, the University of Hawaii, CIIS, and the Jung Institute of San Francisco. The most compelling credential that informs her work, however, is her dedication to and passion for inner life. She spends her time writing, reading, gardening and luxuriating in the beauty of the Bay Area.

Visit Sandra’s website at: www.sandraleedennis.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SandraLeeDennisAuthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Sandraleedennis

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1BzAGmq

Review: Daisy to the Rescue

Daisy to the Rescue: 
True Stories of Daring Dogs, Paramedic Parrots and Other Animal Heroes
by Jeff Campbell

Synopsis

With their love and companionship, animals help to make our lives better every day. But sometimes, to our utter amazement and everlasting gratitude, animals literally save our lives. Daisy to the Rescue celebrates over fifty of these heroic animals with stunning illustrated portraits and detailed accounts of their exploits. The book asks important questions about why these animals act the way they do—often putting themselves in harm’s way in the process.

Today, scientists vigorously debate whether other animals share our capacity for empathy, compassion, morality, and altruism, and amazing new research is continually revising our understanding of the human-animal bond. Daisy to the Rescue presents these findings and applies them to these extreme life-saving situations. Taken together, these rescue stories make a compelling case for the presence of compassion in other animals and for the vital importance of the human-animal bond.

The dramatic, moving stories in Daisy to the Rescue provide a hopeful message about our world. Not only do they contain startling evidence of the mental and emotional capacities of animals, but they also demonstrate the healing, transformative power of our intimate connection with those incredible beings with whom we share the world.

Review

Let's start off with the truth: I never read books like this. Like, ever. I hardly even read non-fiction, let alone non-fiction about animals. It's not because I don't like animals - my husband and I have a dog, Jaxson, and I care about animals in general very much. It's just not the genre I think of picking up while I'm at the bookstore, you know?

With that said, this was truly a lovely book. At first, I thought it was going to be all about animal stories. This is what the title had me believe. However, the book turned out to be much more than that. There is an actual in depth look into the possible motivation behind the actions of these animals. The question of whether this is something emotional or already exists inside the animal's chemistry is asked and pondered. 

Then of course we're given the different stories about different animal's heroic moments. What's great about this, besides the obvious, is that there is focus on more than one type of animal and more than one kind of environment. This book was well thought-out, researched and truly seems a labor of love. 

Verdict

I cannot fathom a person that wouldn't enjoy this book! The person who would MOST love this book would, of course, be the animal lover :) It would make a great gift!

Book Spotlight: Hostage

Hostage: Kidnapped on the High Seas
by Linda Davies

Genre: Memoir

Synopsis

Known for her powerful female protagonists who refuse to back down in the face of evil, New York Times bestselling author Linda Davies somehow found herself in a situation that could have been ripped from the pages of one of her thrillers. 

In 2005, Linda was living happily with her family in Dubai. Ever the adventurer, she was on the maiden voyage of her new catamaran alongside her husband when the boat's captain unknowingly sailed into sharply contested waters in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Iran. Soon the trio were surrounded by gun boats and boarded by armed Iranian militants.

Over the next two weeks Linda was held hostage by one of the most feared regimes in the world, with no reason to expect anything but the worst. The story of her imprisonment and harrowing escape, which she has worked so hard in the past to forget, is told in candid and shocking detail.  Crackling with tension, it is also laced through with black humor and insight. Iran is perhaps the most hated and the least understood country in modern society and Linda's account gives a rare, illuminating glimpse into the realities of the oppressive regime.

About the Author

Linda Davies is half Welsh, half Danish, or half Celt, half Viking, and loves myths, legends of warriors and the sea.

 A graduate in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University, she worked for seven years an as investment banker in New York, London and Easter Europe before escaping to write novels.  She grew up steeped in economics as both her late father, Professor Glyn Davies and her late brother, Professor John Davies, were economists.  Like them, she believes that economics is more art than science and she particularly enjoys delving into the emotions of markets and market makers, both the honest (yes, they do exist!) and the fraudsters, many of whom remain invisible.

Her first Novel, Nest of Vipers, has been published in over thirty countries, selling over two million copies.  It has also been optioned three times by major Hollywood studios. 

 Linda has written four more novels for adults which have all been published internationally; Wilderness of Mirrors, Into the Fire, Something Wild and Final Settlement.  She is known for her portrayal of strong, independent and rebellious women in extreme situations.

Linda lived in Peru for three years, and in the Middle East for eight years, during which time she was kidnapped by Iranian government forces and held hostage for two weeks in Iran.  After UK government intervention, she was freed.   

Linda writes for Young Adults too.  Her first series, the Djinn Quintet - Sea Djinn, Fire Djinn, Storm Djinn and King of the Djinn (and in time War of the Djinn) - has been optioned by Hollywood producer, Sandy Climan.

 As well as writing novels, Linda also writes for The Times, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Independent and the Guardian newspapers in the UK, and the National Theatre.  She is a winner of the Philip Geddes Prize for journalism.  Linda is married with three children.  She lives by the sea in Suffolk.

Twitter: @LindaDaviesAuth 

Review: Heavy Hangs the Head

Heavy Hangs the Head
by Taryn Hipp

Synopsis

Heavy Hangs the Head is a memoir novella about a woman with an addiction, a mental illness, and a feminist identity. It is the story of one woman's journey from anxiety-ridden child to delinquent teenager to divorced alcoholic. This is the story of how she turned all those years of experiences into a beautiful existence.

Review

I've read this book twice, which should tell you something. I don't often re-read anything since I'd rather read something new each time. Hipp's book is about the journey she took from an emotionally unstable childhood to a self-destructive adulthood until finally arriving at a time in her life where she could accept and love herself. The author doesn't leave any stone unturned and is able to express in the easiest and most delicate way her struggle at learning how to live. 

I very much enjoyed reading this book and believe anyone could benefit from Hipp's story. Although her story revolves around gaining sobriety, it doesn't mean the story won't appeal to the "average" reader. If anything, it inspired me. It taught me that it doesn't matter how old someone is, or even what has happened in their past, but rather what they do with what they have now. It's a powerful message and one that Hipp expresses so well in her book. 

Verdict

I'll give my common warning: there's sex, drinking, etc. etc. Honestly? What the reader gets from the story is so much more than these "labels" we put in warnings. I loved this book and I believe readers of all ages will get something from it. It doesn't glorify drinking or anything like that, it tells the reader the truth - something so rare and highly appreciated. 

Review: Everybody Else's Girl

Everybody Else's Girl
by Sarah Sawyer-Lovett

Set in Tazewell, Virginia, a town whose wholesome storefronts and country charm hide an undercurrent of poverty and lawlessness, Everybody Else's Girl tells the story of growing up poor amid unspeakable violence. Broken-down trailer parks and gritty classrooms provide the background for this story of a girl searching for her voice.

Review

It's always a pleasure for me to review any book, but I take a special thrill from reviewing books/works/zines from independent authors/publishers. The work is more raw and I feel the emotions on a whole other level.

My experience reading Everybody Else's Girl was just like that. Sawyer-Lovett describes living among others in a life full of abuse, addiction and overall feeling lost. Although most of what is talked about is painful, there are silver linings of happy nostalgia sprinkled throughout the book. The book is a brilliant memoir full of painful, but hopeful moments. 

As someone who works in the mental health field, I appreciated this book on another level besides "entertainment". Sawyers-Lovett provides a trigger warning in her book which I wish other authors would provide as well. I've heard so many horrible stories from people's backgrounds and not everyone can have the insight to provide themselves with the space needed to express their feelings. Sawyer-Lovett's memoir provides an inside look, but also a hopeful note that life can change and people can move forward. 

Verdict

Highly recommend, but please keep in mind the trigger warning. This book deals with some heavy stuff - graphic details of abuse. Please take this into consideration.

Zine Review: Echo! Echo! #10

Echo! Echo! #10
by Keet Geniza

First of all, can we talk about this cover? The awesomeness of this cover? I may be biased (let's create a drinking game where you, reader, take a drink of any beverage of your choice whenever you read "I may be biased..." on my blog), but I love the blending of red and orange. It just pops out and looks fantastic.

Okay, now that the geeky artsy part of me has  had its fun, let's get to the actual zine. This zine has a great mix of everything. It has a fantastic quote (Margaret Atwood, 'nut said), comics, personal entries and a little something else. Geniza talks about thrifting with her father, writing/discovering zines and even a bit about trying to be a loyal anime fan. 

"For the rest of the year, zines became my only obsession. I walked around giddy and wakeful and excited about the possibilities."

I found all of the zine, whether Geniza was talking about her dad, anime fandom or telling a story, truly inspiring. Something that really helped along with that was the fantastic illustrations that accompanied the work. Whether it was the comic strip or the additions to the entries - they added a level to the work that just...works.

Anyway, don't take my word for it, go check it out. If you like personal zines with a lil of everything, you'll love this. 

Check out this zine and many other's at my friend Sage's Sweet Candy Distro.

Review: I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections

I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections
by Nora Ephron

Synopsis

Nora Ephron returns with her first book since the astounding success of I Feel Bad About My Neck, taking a hilarious look at the past, the present, and the future, bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life, and recalling with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn’t (yet) forgotten. 

 Filled with insights and observations that instantly ring true—and could have come only from Nora Ephron—I Remember Nothing is pure joy.





Review

How have I not read anything by Nora Ephron before? I mean, the woman and I were practically soulmates (I am mostly being sarcastic here...mostly). 

But I digress.

In a matter of I don't know how many essays, Ephron managed to pack years of life experiences in such a poignant way. Seriously - I don't know how the woman did it. It's not even that she used "big words" or unveiled the secrets of the universe. She talks about very ordinary-but-unique-in-each-person's-way experiences and used understandable language. So how did this woman manage to turn my world upside down in less than 150 pages?

I don't know. But the important thing is that she did. 

Ephron discusses everything from Christmas dinners, divorces to meeting your heroes and meat loaf. And I think that the unexpected thing, after the laughter, were those moments of subtle heartbreak. And that Ephron was a clever one - she waited for the last two pages of the book to completely break your heart. 

I'm not going to tell you what those last two are about - just going to have to read to find out.

Verdict

Read it. And then do as this reader is doing and hunt down her other writings. 

Review: A Masque of Infamy

A Masque of Infamy
by Kelly Dessaint

Book Synopsis

A Masque of Infamy is a horrific and raucous story of teenage rebellion. But instead of "What d'ya got?" fifteen-year-old Louis Baudrey knows exactly what he's fighting against…

After moving from Los Angeles to small town Alabama in 1987 with his father, his younger brother and this guy Rick, a friend of the family, Louis tries to fit in at the local high school, but the Bible-thumpers and the rednecks don't take too kindly to his outlandish wardrobe and burgeoning punk attitude. 

At home, he defies the sadistic intentions of Rick, who rules the household with an iron fist. As Louis begins to lose all hope, he stumbles upon indisputable proof that will free him and his brother from Rick's tyranny. But just when he thinks his troubles are over, he's locked up in the adolescent ward of a mental hospital, where he must fight the red tape of the system to realize his dream of being a punk rocker.

Review

I haven't reviewed many autobiographical works, so I was very interested in starting with A Masque of Infamy! The story is about Louis, a young boy who moves cross country to Alabama. From there, we are given an inside look to what becomes Louis's coming-of-age story. From bouts with abuse to living the punk rock life - it's all about this young boy becoming someone, despite his circumstances. 

The humor in this book can make one forget that it is, after all, based on a true story. Regardless, the humor is enjoyable and the story is harrowing. Anyone who is interested in autobiographies and coming-of-age stories will surely enjoy this read. I know I did. 


About the Author

Kelly Dessaint was born and raised in Los Angeles. At fifteen, he moved to Alabama, where he ended up in state custody, an experience documented in his autobiographical novel A Masque of Infamy. After graduating from the University of Alabama, he lived and traveled across the country, working odd jobs and gathering material for the stories he has published under various pseudonyms in small press magazines and his zines, Vagabond Review and Piltdownlad. In 1998, he founded the publishing company Phony Lid Books, which released titles by numerous prominent small press authors. He lives in LA with his wife and three cats.

LINKS:

The Phony Lid page for the book:
http://www.kellydessaint.com/phonylid/masque.php 

The FaceBook page for the book: 

https://www.facebook.com/amasqueofinfamy

Aftermath: A Short Essay About Marriage and Books

I’m getting married this Friday. This means there will be many changes coming up – including the fact that it will be the first time that I move. Who knew that the biggest (and perhaps even traumatizing) outcome of my future marriage would involve my books?

I was not one of those children that learned to read exceptionally early in life. My parents did not read to me and I learned how to during first grade. Once I started, however, it was impossible to stop. I’d hunt titles down in thrift shop after thrift shop with my mother trailing behind me. My parents may not have read to me, but they tended to enable me once they discovered that I would read anything and everything I could get my hands on. Since my parents spoke a different language and had yet to learn English, they didn’t have much say in the books I chose. This meant that I ended up reading paperbacks by Danielle Steel when I should have been reading The Babysitters Club books.

So, when I had to decide what to throw away, what to keep – I never considered getting rid of my books. Trip by trip, my library has slowly made it to its new destination. The more of them I move, the more I question why I need to keep books I’ve read when others do not question getting rid of them. What have books become for me that I cannot consider getting rid of them? Are they my friends? Family? Is it about pride? Am I a show-off?

The more I think about it, the more I realize the answer is All of the Above. Books have become a support for me. A different support than what actual friends and family can provide. They don’t yell, or talk back. They are always there. As for pride and being a show-off – yeah, maybe. It makes me proud to look at my bookcases and realize that I read each page in each of those books. I love to display them, not for everyone else to see, but for me. Their colorful covers and spines add liveliness to any room. Why wouldn’t I want to show them off?

I’m getting married this Friday. There are many changes coming up. I’ll eventually get used to almost every one of them. But what doesn’t change are those books, sitting on new bookshelves, waiting for me – making it home. 

Blog Stop: Greenwoman Magazine

About:

"Greenwoman Magazine celebrates garden writing in all its forms: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, commentary, biography, art, and comics! 
Daring and fun, Greenwoman is for the hip gardener who loves digging into the world of art and environmental thought that underlies gardening."

Greenwoman Magazine is a completely independent, one-woman-owned-and-run publication.  (Well, two-women, when Sandra’s daughter Zora, who is the Deputy Editor, has time from her full-time college work).

Links:

Greenwoman Magazine - http://www.greenwomanmagazine.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenwoman-Magazine/157003514356450

Reviews:

"I think this magazine will be one of the best gifts 2011 has given humanity and I’m absolutely serious about this. I hope you will check it out. When I did that, I clicked immediately on the subscription button and signed myself up. Now for those of you who know me, you will know this is significant because I have a very strict rule about not purchasing anything over the internet." —Tammi Hartung, author of Homegrown Herbs

“. . . I realized that this was a periodical loathe to box itself in or stoop to cliché. The topics would be familiar but the twists and turns would be unique because the human experience is unique."—Grace Peterson, "Gardening with Grace" blog                                                                                      

"Greenwoman is a fresh and hip magazine bringing the spirit of gardening to the forefront . . . It is unlike any other magazine I have read."—Elise Bowan                                                                                                             

“Greenwoman filled the gap in my life that I didn't know existed: a magazine that connected all my interests: the earth, gardening, and a feminine perspective. I couldn't believe my luck upon discovering it! Greenwoman will now replace some of my subscriptions that were only gardening, that ignored earth issues...Viva Greenwoman. —Elisabeth Kinsey, Greenwoman's Sex in the Garden columnist.

introduced by The Broke and the Bookish

Favorite Reads from Native American Authors

10. War Dances

by Sherman Alexie

9. Fool's Crow

by James Welch

8. Blue Dawn, Red Earth

by Various

7. Ceremony

by Leslie Marmon Silko

6. Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

by Sherman Alexie

5. Spider Woman's Granddaughters : 

Traditional Tales and Contemporary Writing 

by Native American Women

4. Love Medicine

by Louise Erdrich

3. The Beet Queen

by Louise Erdrich

2. Reservation Blues

by Sherman Alexie

1. The True Story of a Part Time Indian 

by Sherman Alexie

Review: Impossible Compassion

Impossible Compassion

by Edward Mannix


Book Synopsis:


How do we end suffering in our own life and on the planet? How do we bring about seemingly impossible outcomes such as miraculously healing our self from a fatal disease, saving the environment or ending violence and war?

In his second book, Edward Mannix takes on our assumptions about what is possible and impossible for us as individuals and as a species, and he provides us with a new paradigm and new tools that enable us to achieve that which was perviously unachievable.

The new paradigm he presents includes two key concepts the author calls metaphysical causation and interlocking karma. 

Metaphysical causation at first sounds a lot like the Law of Attraction but ends up being quite a bit different. According to the author it is not our thoughts that create our reality, but rather it is our karma or karmic imprints that are projected onto the movie screen of our life by the powerful projector of our soul. By moving the discussion away from the potency of our thoughts to something more difficult to observe - our karmic imprints - the book reveals to us important hidden aspects of the creative mechanism of life, and offers us the opportunity to intervene in this causal process in a new and powerful way. For those readers who have tried the Law of Attraction and found it sometimes effective and other times ineffective, it is likely that the information presented in this text will illuminate why those techniques often fall down. 

Impossible Compassion provides a missing link of sorts, helping us identify and change our karmic imprints through the use of simple tools and processes that fall under the heading of what the author calls directed compassion. By utilizing our own compassion to alter the karmic imprints on the film of our soul - which the book teaches us how to do in specific detail - we can literally re-write the script of our life, leading to rapid and potentially miraculous changes in our external world.

And, while according to metaphysical causation we each sit at the center of and in some way create our own universe, we are also all connected to one another and part of each others' created universes. In his discussion of what he calls interlocking karma, the author illuminates this critical paradox that is so often misunderstood or entirely missed by students and teachers of modern spirituality. In so doing, he gives us further insight into the process of reality unfolding, and it is with an understanding of interlocking karma that we can see how giving our self compassion can influence the physical health of a loved one or help bring about major changes in our collective reality, e.g., ending violence and war. 

Review:

As someone who has a background in psychology and counseling, I truly appreciated the way in which the author approached the topic of compassion. It was a wonderful idea to have the ideas spread out into two steps, the first facilitating the understanding of the second. By breaking up the process, the author has made it more accessible to his readers. 

Mannix provides insight into how our past experiences shape the way we think and feel in the present. We live in such a fast-paced world and often, we forget that we are actually experiencing feelings and personal histories. Being able to decipher when an experience has stayed with us is a very important practice in self-actualization. Likewise, his lesson on self-directed compassion is just as important. If we are not kind and forgiving with ourselves, how can we do that with others?

I do not usually read "self-help" books or the like, and I honestly don't know if I want to classify this book as such either. What I can tell you, is that I truly appreciated this work and find that it can help a variety of readers. It is a great reminder that compassion we have for ourselves will spread inward and outward into those individuals that we meet throughout the course of our lives. 

Rating: