Sandra Ingerman

I wish this type of book would become the runaway hit instead of the current crop of secret/law of attraction books on the market. What Ingerman points out very quickly in How to Thrive... is the major flaw in said law. You can spend all the conscious time you want focused on bringing what you want to yourself, but if your unconscious mind is not aligned to this purpose, it will put a lot more work into sabotaging what you think you want.
Through each chapter and exercise, the author show more demonstrates ways in which our thinking can not only undermine what we wish for on a personal level, but also how we relate to the earth. Much of her work now focuses on earth healing, transmutation, and what she called healing toxic thoughts. Each exercise builds on the one previous, and she regularly encourages the reader to continue with their pursuit, even when they may not get the results they think they want.
Eventually, if you can shift all your thoughts towards a positive result and not doubt what you can do, Ingerman feels that we can overcome the trials of our current age. Is this true? I can't say for certain. But I am rather certain that many people would benefit from this level of self-examination and practice. You may not become mega rich or famous, but odds are you'll feel more content.
A very worthwhile read. show less

How to Thrive in Changing Times
by Sandra Ingerman
Published by Red Wheel/Weiser
Copyright 2010

The subtitle for this book is: Simple tools to create true health, wealth, peace, and joy for yourself and the earth. Quite an undertaking in such a small book, you say? I agree, however, it’s the “simple tools” part that should be stressed and which Ingerman masters in this slight, but packed, little manual of self-help.

I became familiar with Ingerman’s work through her book Soul Retrieval: show more Mending Your Fragmented Self quite a few years ago when I was going through my own “dark night of the soul.” Her approach to the shamanic path is a focused one which helps to simplify what others can make a real muddle. She does indeed, with both books, provide simple tools to move forward when confusion, depression and old perceptions provide obstacles to any movement at all.

Those who have done the work for many years can often use a refresher on getting back to the simplicity offered in How to Thrive. Ingerman offers clear and concise concepts and exercises to bring about balance in what we often perceive as a very off-balance world.

There is nothing new and startling in these concepts, they are as old as the earth itself. It is Ingerman’s presentation that clears away the detritus of skewed perception to open eyes to the simplicity of these concepts.

In the stillness and the silence, the space is created to come upon something totally new. p. 165

That is so simple. We shake our heads, yes, but tell ourselves how difficult it is to find stillness and silence in our daily hustle-bustle lives. Ingerman offers the tools to do so with simple exercises and practices, such as Starting the Day in Gratitude or Replacing Sabotaging Thoughts with Hopeful Ones. Yes, those sound deceptively simple (and goody-goody?). But these are directions on how to change our perceptions and that is NOT a simple thing for us change-hating human beings to do!

But Ingerman challenges us to BE part of the change that so popularly is said to be needed in our world today. And the only way to be part of that change is to change our own individual perceptions.

It is who we become that changes the world, not what we do. p. 93

That, in particular, is a concept that likely is unfamiliar to many and goes against the grain. We often want to do without looking at our intent behind the doing. Does it really matter? Who says? This is probably one of the biggest incongruities of service-oriented organizations. How do we make service and our perceptions congruent?

This little book could bring about much discussion and discovery for those looking for a way to come to that congruency.
http://howlingnsilence.blogspot.com show less

An adequate review of various practices. Worth reading as an introduction. I was very disappointed with the section about the culture we live in. I don't understand at all how "finding new energy sources" belongs in a book about the spirit. Our culture's addiction to electricity and gasoline is the problem, not the solution, and has nothing to do with spirituality. We don't need energy sources, we need to end our addiction to such things. My second complaint, is that this book is written show more from a colonizer perspective, even suggesting that civilization itself is a good thing. Modern civilization is a great empire that has been destroying the many indigenous cultures the author's have learned from, and part of our goal should be the dismantling of this culture, and in creating a new society based on reciprocity instead of empire. All that said, most of the book is worthy of reading in order to discover new methods. show less

I liked the four children, Isaiah, Magda, George, and Rose. You could kind of call them the band of misfits. Thus this is the reason they were first drawn to each other. Yet, there is nothing wrong with being an misfit. I was one and meant some good friends out of the deal in school. In fact, one of my friends was deaf and I learned sign language to communicate with her. Back to the book.

Of the four children I would say that Isaiah was more the leader of the group. This is s short book. It show more is also a fast read. This was both good and bad. Good because there was no "downtime" but bad because it felt a bit rushed. What I mean is that it felt like I really did not get a good picture of each child as there was not a lot of details spent on getting to know each child. The story just took off. Although, I will admit that I was not sure what the book really was about when I read the premise. So it was a nice surprise to read that the story had a teaching lesson. It shows young readers the importance of caring for our environment and the effects it has on living animals.

While, I may not have fully enjoyed this book; it is geared towards the younger readers. In this aspect, the young readers will enjoy this book. show less