Albert Flynn Desilver

Despite the fact that I absolutely LOVED the premise, I struggled to get into the book. The author has interesting, relatable ideas about blending writing and spirituality, but initially the number of times he urges us to buy his other products (workshops! speaking engagements! online classes!) was a huge turn-off. Despite that, I persevered, but I never warmed up to the author overly much. I found his writing beautiful, but the tone kept me as a reader at a distance. It was almost as though he was more interested in showing off his poetic skill (which, to give credit where it's due, is impressive) than engaging me as a reader.

I enjoyed the structure of the book -- using each month of the year to connect to a different literary theme and writing idea was a fresh take I hadn't come across before. But some of the chapters dragged on, and the meditations did nothing for me. (Besides, it's damn hard to both meditate and read along with a meditation; and since I wasn't listening to the audio book, it would have taken too much effort to record myself reading the meditation and then go through it on my own.) I've been meditating for years, and I have a solid practice in place. Unfortunately, neither the meditations nor the writing exercises interested me enough to actually do anything with them.

Ultimately, this is an original take on a subject that's been approached from many angles over the years. Unfortunately, it's also utterly forgettable.… (altro)

***This book was reviewed for San Francisco Book Review and Sounds True Publishing Via Netgalley

DeSilver’s Writing as a Path to Awakening elicits a beautiful dialogue with the soul. Writing can help you find who you truly are. Combined with techniques of mindfulness and meditation, it can be a powerful catalyst. This book will teach you how to combine those things to spark your own internal growth and transformation.

The book is divided by month, though it is more important to follow one chapter after another, than it is to match to the literal month. Each builds upon the previous chapters. The choice of month as chapter title follows the magickal dormancy of winter, through spring’s burgeoning, summer’s bounty, and fall’s reflection back to winter’s slumber to process the lessons learned. The chapters have meditation tasks and writing tasks to put the lessons to practical use.

I was slow reading this book because, of course, I had to do the tasks. Many were familiar to me, in terms of meditation. The writing tasks were helpful in getting me to let go of some of the resistance I've been feeling in my own writing life.

April is my birth month, and this was one of my favourite chapters. April’s Blossoming dealt with poetry. I have a much greater appreciation for the power of poetry in my greater age than I did in college. I ended up adding several more poetry books to my Kindle thanks to this chapter! I loved the poem DeSilver shared by nine year old Caroline Calhoun. The creative power of children is never to be underestimated, and always to be learned from.

May’s Imagination builds on April’s tasks, and several of the May tasks were quite similar to those I would give my own students, when I still taught. June’s Amusement recalled me to the lessons for my Patron, Loki. Oft reviled as a deity of lies and deceit, one of Loki’s earliest, and most appropriate, epitaphs is Lord of Laughter, and His lessons include how to laugh with life, and find amusement no matter the circumstances, for laughter is healing. July’s Audacity is another Loki oriented month!

These spring and summer chapters were my favourites, but each of them have pertinent and useful lessons. A healthy and full writing path is by default a spirit-laden one. Any true spiritual path exudes creativity for it is our birthright as humans. Sometimes we just need a jumpstart to jog us out of our stupor. Writing as a Path to Awakening offers just such a jolt.

📚📚📚📚📚 A definite must for any writingcraft collection!… (altro)