Monday, December 2, 2013

The Tao of Stress by Robert G. Santee



Name of the Book: The Tao of Stress: How to Calm, Balance, and Simplify Your Life

Name of the Author: Robert G. Santee, PhD

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (November 1, 2013)

ISBN-10: 1608827801

ISBN-13: 978-1608827800

Disclaimer: I have recieved this book from the author via Netgalley inexchage of my honest review.









The Review

This book has been a wealth of information regarding the battling against stress. It teaches you how to reduce stress and by following the various methods told in this book, you can eradicate stress out of your life. This would create not only harmony within yourself but also with those who live around us. The author uses short stories to convey his teachings and practices, which I found very entertaining and interesting.

This book has been divided into four parts. It covers the basic of stress and Taoism and is based on the components of Zuowanglun. It teaches you about simplifying your life, behaviour and how to interact with others. It also focuses on desires - how to reduce your desire so that you can reduce your stress.

The Tao of Stress deals with maintaining your vital energy (qi). This keeps the mind, body and environment in harmony. It touches every aspect of our lives whether eating, drinking, sleeping, exercising, and also chronic stress. How each of this if not properly done, can change the energy within us, causing us chronic stress. The author tells that maintaining a journal is very important in recording our stress level. I found this particular statement very intriguing. Whether it is weight loss or letting go of her habit - we are always advised to keep a journal which records even a slight change in our habits. Similarly, making a note at various stages of our daily life can show us where a stress is coming from or what stresses us out the most. The author states that to have a bit of normal stress, is not a problem. In fact, normal stress allows us to find solutions to different problems.

This book has loads of information. So, if you’re planning to glance through this book, it is of no use. You have to make a habit of reading this book daily, to understand the practices and the teachings of Taoism. There are exercises given by the author, which if practiced properly, shows you the right part of Taoism.
One of the best features I like about this book was not only its teaching, but also how it tried to show the readers about the negative aspects affecting our lives. It is so easy to complain, whine, criticise or even mock others. But all these are negative feelings which prevents from finding solutions to all our problems. All these negative feelings makes us lose our centre and focus in life and disbalances the cosmic forces of yin and yang within us.

By following The Taoist path, we not only simplify our lives, reduce the desire but also eliminate negative thoughts from our mind.

Rating


Reasoning

This book hits you with lots of information regarding the path of Taoism. I needed to give my full concentration while reading this book - even a slight diversion which took me away from my reading caused me to flip back few pages to again catch the grip of the flow. You have to be a serious follower of Taoism to really appreciate what the author wants to tell us with his teachings.

It not only taught me how to keep my thoughts clean, but also my actions clean. As a layman to Taoism I would have preferred to some extent, certain simplicity in the terms and easy understanding. But that does not mean that a reader who’s not well versed with Taoism will not benefit from this book.

Would I recommend this book to my readers? Definitely. If you want to enrich your life with positive thinking, doing the right thing with meditation and reducing the wants and desires of life which has a direct effect on the stress of your life - then this book is definitely worth reading.

Buy the Book @


Saturday, August 10, 2013

To Walk A Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day By Alaric Albertsson


Courtesy: Llewellyn Worldwide

Name of the Book:      To Walk A Pagan Path

Name of the Author:     Alaric Albertsson

Name of the Publisher: Lewellyn Publications   Woodbury, Minnesota                                                                

About the book:

The author claims that this book is something every pagan aspires to do in their daily life. The author follows the Saxon Path but his advice is for all those who want to follow the pagan path of spirituality.

A Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I do not claim to be an expert on this subject. This is just a reader's viewpoint. 



The Reviewer's thought of this book….

Before I give my take on this book I would have to first honestly declare that I am not a Wiccan or Pagan worshiper as the westerners term it. I am a follower of Hinduism and I found many rituals of Paganism close to home. Coming to Texas, I came across many people following theis mode of life and this started fascinating me. More than the religion it was the closet outlook towards this religion which fascinated me. I started questioning the reasonings behind the logic of not practicing it freely. Solitary practitioners are what they are called.

I am a Hindu and a proud one at that. So if I want to worship a tree how does it make me less religious? I believe in idol worship and I certainly worship the Sun, the Moon, the Mountains, the Trees but most of all I believe in Humans. Does that make me a Pagan? To me – to each is own…….

When I got this book via Netgallery, I hesitated for a second. My blog has been always about romantic book or of the drama genre. Do I have the guts and knowledge to do this? Guts yes. Knowledge –no.. But I wanted to do this. I wanted to learn more about the secrets behind paganism. So here is my humble review.

The Author, Alaric Albertsson, has laid down the different celebrations of paganism in simple term. How you follow it depends on your lifestyle. There are no hard and fast rules to Paganism but how you adopt it in your daily life. For example, ‘The Anglo  Saxon gave offering to Weoh, the early Romans honored their family Numina, the Greeks to goddess Hestia….”[ I will shut up now before I am sued for plagiarism :)]

What astounded me about this book was the knowledge of the author regarding the subject. His detailed description regarding all the paths followed and why they are followed. He being in the Saxon path, is quite unbiased while sharing his knowledge.

Starting with the Dedication rite to the making of your own wheat bread, from the seven steps of Paganism to herb growing- he covers it all.

Let me warn my reader here of one thing. If it is a flirty interest you have towards Paganism, this book might not for you. There is no hocus focus, no twisting the truth and nothing which deals with magic. Just a way of life- the pagan path. For those who are serious about this paganism or writers who want to know more about this path life,[ yes there are people out there who read anything religious from Osho to Buddha, From Marxism to Cunningham] this book gives you a detailed view how a Pagan would life his or her life in the everyday life.

There are certain things which really fascinated me :

1. He not only tells us about his rituals but how to incorporate it in every field of our life.

2. The way he describes the Neo Pagan Calender which observes eight holy days is a must     read for those who are new to this path.

3. He teaches us to reflect only on the good things in life. This is personally dear to me since I feel that irrespective of one’s caste and religion, every human being should follow this.

4.Invoking holiness in our daily activities turns every day into a spiritual experience.

My Personal Note…

Actually this book has been a roller coaster ride for me. Before I could grasp how to invoke goodness in my life, I got a lesson in how to keep my little Fluffy [my Pomeranian] happy. And before I overcome the shock of how did I come across this knowledge suddenly after one month of Fluffy coming into my life, I got a lesson in how to make my bread and grow my herb. [ Dear readers, it is not a casual talk. It has literally been explained step by step.]

Rating….








Reasoning…..

For a layman like me it was too informative. That of course I cannot hold against the author but at places I had to skip the pages. This book will be more like an encyclopedia for the pagans . For those who really want to incorporate the pagan path in their lives.