Book Review: Saved by an Angel by Doreen Virtue

 Order Here                           

(I was send this book by Hay House for my honest review.)

This month I have been reading Saved by an Angel: True Accounts of People Who Have Had Extraordinary Experiences with Angels...and How YOU Can, Too!

Part I of this book, the bulk of it, is full of organized stories of people who encountered angels.  Sometimes they saw the angels and sometimes they saw clear signs of their angel.  Some of the stories were hard to read as they involved rape, murders, car wrecks, etc.  It seems the angels come to aid quickly in moments of deep distress.  Although this does not comprise the entire scope of stories, there is the recurring theme that angels come in our times of deep distress and suffering.  The stories encouraged me to be open to the ways angels appear to us.  Most of the time I think I live in la-la-land and don't always stay open and aware of the psychic or spiritual world.  This books shows you what it looks like to see beyond basic reality and understand what God and the angels are trying to get your to know or see. Furthermore, the powerful ways they can intervene to change our lives.

Part II of this book is practical application and my favorite!  This section is called "How You Can Encounter Angels."  There are so many affirmations and prayers to say to the angels and ourselves.  For these, I typed them into a word document so they were all together.  I read them every morning and it sets a wonderful tone for my day.  Doreen's suggestions for how to request and seek guidance and answers from our angels are so powerful.  Praying, directly asking, writing a letter, using possesions, going outside in nature, and holding a ceremony are all listed in detail. 

There is a seven day plan  for hearing angel visions.  Doreen is passionate that the things we eat and drink affect our sensitivity to see and hear angels clearly.  "In addition, keep you caffeine, sugar, nicotine, and processed food intake to a minimum during this seven-day period."  As someone with a meditation practice I can attest that the things I digest affect my mind and body powerfully.  There are the most beautiful morning and evening meditations!  These are beautiful to use all year.  Doreen includes a total of 15 meditation/short prayers.

Althoug this final section my feel short, it is full of practical applications.  The suggestions remind me of those in the Angel Therapy Oracle Cards, times 100!

Book Review: Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon kabat-Zinn

I went send this book by www.soundstrue.com for my honest review.

MINDFULNESS for BEGINNERS: reclaiming the present moment - and your life 

In college I read Wherever You Go, There You Are (hyperion, 1995) by Jon Kabat-Zinn and found it so accessible for understanding mindfulness.  I then proceeded to go years, at least fifteen, without really meditating as a practice.  I have returned to it at 38 years old and  I yearned for guidance as a "new" beginner.

Here an interview here!

Sections of the book are divided as Entering, Sustaining, Deepening, Ripening, and Practicing.  I find this book so easy and simply laid out that I could pick it up and let the book fly open at any point and receive a rich word of wisdom.  The pages hold so much more than a quick commentary.  I wouldn't even consider it a devotional book as I've read many of these.  I find this to be liken to sitting next to a wise man and getting the wisdom collected over many years.  Jon does not use deep parables or riddles to convey his points but a straight-forward common sense style approach.  Frankly, I think the last section on Practicing would be one to read first.  Jon covers how to sit, what kind of cushions on which to sit, sleepiness, posture, what to do with the eyes, and protecting the time.  This little how-to chapter gave me some great ideas and made me want to go meditate!



I have been meditating for a few months now and am so surprised at the spiritual growth budding.  I was encouraged with the quick thoughts on page 103, "Taking Care of Your Meditation Practice" where our time to practice is to be guarded, like that of growing plants or a garden.  "So it makes sense to take care of your nascent meditation practice, especially for the first thirty or forty years and can easily be trampled or washed away by all the competing demands of the day."

Order here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This books comes with 4 audio meditations.  I am a picky person when it comes to guided meditations.   Prior to this, only two guided meditations could I follow without being distracted by their voices: Caroline Myss & Doreen Virtue.  I know add Jon Kabat-Zinn to this list!  In the guided meditations he is sort of coaching you along, it doesn't sound like he is just reading it off a piece of paper.  He also gives beautiful moments of silence in addition to three tiny chimes so you know you are done at the end.  I noticed when I meditated alone afterwards, my ability to be mindful was much improved.

The most disturbing thing...

Yesterday my son and I were saying our prayers and affirmations at the kitchen table.  It is always a special time in our mornings.  I pulled out some old Sunday School leaflets and there was the most beautiful prayer to someone praying over them in heaven.  The child could fill in the blank as to who the person might be.  I thought this was quite comforting and lovely.

I turned over the page and saw a little road map called "How to Get To Heaven."  I froze.  I literally could not speak.  Did I really just read, on the back of the prayer to a deceased loved one, a reminder that my innocent child needs to "get" to heaven?  It displayed all the ways they get to heaven such as not fighting, sharing, being kind, etc.  I suddenly saw so clearly the Truth for myself.  My child does not have a black heart.  My child is not in need of "getting" to God's love.  I gave leaflets away yesterday afternoon.

To quote Rami Shaprio who says it so well, "God loves you unconditionally. But He’ll damn you to Hell forever if you don’t love Him back."