| Title | : | Living with Joy: Keys to Personal Power and Spiritual Transformation |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0915811030 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780915811038 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 195 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1986 |
Living with Joy: Keys to Personal Power and Spiritual Transformation Reviews
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I love all of Sanaya Roman's books.
Living With Joy literally jumped off the shelf in a book store where I was browsing. I took it home and read through it in a couple of days and then started it again.
Then I went to the website:
www.luminessence.com and began a wonderful journey of spritual and personal growth with their material. -
One of my favorite bedside readers, simple steps to finding joy in everyday life. Concepts such as joy, inner peace, self esteem, clarity, love, appreciation, life purpose, and changing the negative to positive are explored. The format is a short chapter followed by exercises to help you to experience the chapter's concepts more personally. You can write your thoughts (and see how they change over time), contemplate the exercises, or ignore the ones that don't pertain to you. This is one of the most uplifting books I've ever read, and will open it to read random pages periodically simply to feel good.
One note: the authors claim that this book was channeled by a couple of entities from beyond our world. Personally I think it's material from their wise subconscious minds. In any case, don't let the first couple of chapters where these entities are introduced weird you out. The material in the other chapters very much applies to everyday life, not to something out there in the ethers. -
Once again Sanaya has written an incredible book that will touch the lives of all who read it. No matter what issues are impeding your ability to enjoy life to its fullest, you will definitely find that reading this book will be beneficial. Sanaya discusses finding our life's purpose, turning negatives into positives, gratitude, inner peace and a host of other topics, but ultimately they all lead to one thing: living life with more joy.
If you like highlighting your books you will find that most of the pages will be fluorescent. There are some great books reviewed on this site, but if I had to pick the absolute best personal development book ever written, this would be it. For your sake, please buy this book. -
This is the second Sanaya Roman book I've read, although it's actually the first in her 'Earth Life Series'. There's a newer edition of this book, released on the 25th anniversary of its publication. I own that one as well, and will be reading and reviewing it later on, in order to compare it with this 1986 edition.
Roman first introduces Orin, a 'Being of Light', whom she claims as her spirit guide, in this book. Although I do remain skeptical of this claim, I have to admit that most of the insights and advice presented are gentle and loving, as well as very helpful. Interestingly, some of these resonate, to a great extent, with the teachings of Christianity, while others are more typical of New Age philosophy.
The book's main theme is that joy and inner peace come from within. Of course, this is really nothing new, although the author states this theme in very interesting ways; it's summarized in the following thought: "True joy comes from operating with Inner-Directedness and recognizing who you are." She explains that 'inner direction' comes from the soul, or higher self, of each individual. Such an assertion does sound very solipsistic to me as a Christian, so I would add that the higher self of each individual must be under divine guidance. This is one of the philosophical pronouncements in the book that I don't entirely agree with. On the other hand, a person needs to have a healthy self-esteem, which will then enable that person to choose a unique life path. Far too often, insecure people allow others to persuade them to accept life choices that go against what their hearts truly desire.
Living with joy is therefore connected to freedom. Roman expands this theme in Chapter 15, "Freedom Is Your Birthright". She states: "Freedom is essential for joy, for anywhere you feel trapped or that your rights have been taken away, you cannot experience joy." This is obviously true, and is a principle dearly defended by all those countries which have struggled against an oppressive regime. I wholeheartedly agree here!
She then goes on to state that we often impose limits on ourselves, and this is the real cause of our apparent lack of freedom. According to the author, in order to create more freedom in our lives, we should focus on those areas where we have already created freedom for ourselves, as opposed to those in which we haven't. To this she adds the following: "Anything that you feel another person is taking away from you is symbolic of something you are taking from yourself." In other words, people are mirrors of our inner conflicts. Thus, in order to gain more freedom, we need to work on resolving those inner conflicts.
Along with her advice about personal freedom, Roman asserts the importance of giving others freedom, as well. She mentions dropping our expectations of how others should act toward us or react to our behavior. Paradoxically, this will have a positive impact on our relationships, as well as on our own sense of freedom.
Other topics discussed in the book include replacing negative pictures of power with positive ones; Roman sees power not as a control over others, but as the motivation, affirmation, and encouragement of the true selves of others. Such holders of true power are very evolved, gentle souls who have no need to play psychological games in order to assert authority over others. Although Roman doesn't mention Jesus Christ here, I am very much reminded of him with this description (although to Christians, he was not 'an evolved being', but the Son of God).
When I started reading the chapter dealing with the topic of turning negatives into positives, I again ran into another part of the author's philosophy that I do not completely agree with. She unequivocally states that you must love your past, because, in order to free yourself from something, you have to love it first. How can a person possibly love a past filled with abusive experiences, for example? You certainly have to accept what happened -- there's no other choice -- but as for loving it, I don't see how that could ever be possible. An abusive past must be transcended, not loved, in my opinion.
In another part of this chapter, Roman affirms that everything in your life happens, or has happened, for your higher good. I don't agree with this, either -- again, not completely, although this principle has a high similarity to a well-known Biblical one. It can apply in situations that are not overly traumatic or tragic, but not in those that are. For instance, being fired is usually a bad experience, but it might lead to finding a much better job. Being left at the altar can also be a very negative experience, until you realize that the person you were about to marry was simply not the right one. You can definitely turn such negative situations around, finding the silver lining in each. In more serious situations, though, I think this kind of reasoning fails; I'm thinking of really extreme cases, such as rape, or the case of a certain mentally unstable individual who recently opened fire on a group of people inside a movie theater, killing and wounding several.
In spite of these disagreements with the author(s), I have found much in this book worth applying to my own life. There are many principles that I find not only practical, but absolutely beautiful, as well as very spiritual. As in the Roman book I've previously reviewed -- Personal Power Through Awareness -- this book is sprinkled with such principles, in the form of short thoughts placed in the middle of a page, where they really stand out. Here are some I have found to be truly inspirational: "Loving people is a commitment to holding a high vision of them, even as time and familiarity take their toll.", "Only those who feel good about who they are can express humility.", "One of the greatest gifts you can give others is opening to their love for you.", "Every single part of you has a gift for you and is there as your friend.", "If you exist in a feeling of love -- if you can find it in everything you do, transmit it through your touch, through your words, eyes, and feelings -- you can cancel out with one act of love thousands of acts of a lower nature." This last quote is a wonderful one to meditate on. I think it's very profound and moving. The longer it's pondered, the more it penetrates to the very depths of the soul.
The chapters on self-love, gratitude, the wisdom of the heart, and feeling inner peace are my favorite ones in the book. The principles presented in these chapters have brought me a feeling of warm comfort, a feeling that truly resonates with my core, my center. The chapter on inner peace, for instance, contains the assertion that inner peace is a connection to one's deeper self, and that this connection helps one to release fear. Other thoughts include the concept of letting go of the need to have situations and people be a certain way. This is an attachment that interferes with the attainment of inner peace.
The chapter on the wisdom of the heart equates this wisdom with love, and contains many beautiful thoughts on the nature of love in its many forms. The last of the short quotes above comes from this chapter.
The chapter on self-love mentions such things as letting go of guilt, and the importance of a healthy dialogue with the self, as well as just how crucial it is to forgive oneself as well as others. One of the most beautiful things about this chapter is the recommendation to dwell on qualities of the soul, such as peace, appreciation, humility, harmony, joy, abundance, freedom, serenity, strength, compassion, light, and creativity, for the purpose of becoming these qualities, as well as magnetizing them to oneself from the surrounding environment.
All of the books in the Earth Life Series contain questions and exercises at the end of every chapter. Each of these sections is simply titled "Playsheet", and is very helpful in further exploring the concepts discussed in each chapter.
This is a book to be read, reflected upon, and studied. It's a book that bridges the physical and the metaphysical. The writing style flows gently through the mind as one reads, smoothly leading from one concept to another. The tone is never preachy, but loving, yet firm. In spite of the objections I have pointed out above, I can truly say that this book has been, and will continue to be, a balm to my spirit, a beautiful opening of higher vistas. I know I will be dipping into it very often, slowly savoring its fascinating insights, even as I set aside the concepts I feel don't mesh with my spiritual values.
Whatever your opinion of this book, you can't fail to be profoundly affected by it. Even if some of the material might have been presented elsewhere, the way it's handled here is guaranteed to touch your life in very unique ways. Even if, like me, you find yourself unable to agree wholeheartedly with all of its concepts and teachings, you will, also like me, probably find yourself unable to resist opening it again...and again....and again.
For more of my reviews, please visit my blog, A NIGHT’S DREAM OF BOOKS.
http://anightsdreamofbooks.blogspot.com
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This is one of the books that I'm really sad is over. Only relief is that I own it and can reread it, anytime I want. And I will be rereading it, no doubt. Because it brought such comfort, peace and love with it, and helped me open my mind and my heart and connect with my higher self as well as clear my intentions and sharpen my focus.
This is a book that is very dear to me, because it has reached my heart and soul as very few books have.
I'm utterly grateful to have found this book and for the messages of hope, light, love, strength and power it brings. -
This book changed my life! It has so much wisdom and so many powerful insights that have helped me to grow. The exercises are very thought-provoking and helpful in applying the lessons. I intend to refer back to this book often to be reminded of its messages, and look forward to reading the next book in the series, Personal Power Through Awareness.
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This is the first self help book I ever read and it changed my life
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Second Read. This book brings me a lot of peace. I took my time to read and absorb it. The spiritual concepts are simple, and yet profound. I definitely recommend if you seek to live a more peaceful and joyful life.
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A remarkable book that guides us back to personal power, divinity and possibility.
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I highly recommend any information provided by Orin, as brought through Sanaya Roman. Together, they have created an Earth Life Series of books, of which the first is titled "Living with Joy - Keys to Personal Power & Spiritual Transformation."
Like Jane Roberts and Edgar Cayce, Sanaya is a gifted "channel." She writes that she's done her best to be a clear channel for Orin's teachings for many years. I would say that she is doing outstanding work in this regard, and she continues to bring Orin's messages through today (January 2014). Their website is
www.orindaben.com.
Orin is a master teacher of healers, teachers and leaders. He is a timeless being of love and light. In his greeting in Living with Joy, he says, "In this book, you will learn how to create a nurturing, supportive environment in which your spirit can unfold. I will attempt to help you recognize your path and higher purpose, and show you how to open to it. This book is dedicated to helping you see who you really are, to showing you how to step onto the path of joy and light. The tools it contains can enable you to live a life of ease, and yet I laugh lovingly as I say ease. For those situations you consider difficult right now, you will soon handle with grace, but the new challenges that come will be magnificent. This is a course in exploring your higher self."
How can you resist such an intriguing welcome?!
Love to all!
Lora, aka Abrielle -
I carried this book around with me for a long time, I absolutely loved it. Was going through very stressful times between 2 marriages that both failed due to major problems... and had children and was completing my art degree. I now work as a self employed psychic, and this book helped me as an introvert, artist with a strong intuition... It helped me start my career as an intuitive advisor. I began on the phone in 99 as a psychic and still work as one , it has helped me move forward and away from the 2 exes and raise my youngest 2 children( 5 total) The new age aspect of some books like this is perhaps why I still do not own the book, as I am a Catholic but was on my journey as the men I was married to were not Christians so I ventured into other beliefs for a few years. If I read it again, I will write another review. At the time, it was a sensitive guidebook for me to turn to again and again.
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I read a book out of this Earth Life Series out of order (read the 3rd book 1st) but liked it so much I decided to read the other books in the series. I read a chapter or two of Living With Joy every day and it was a quick, gentle book that encourages you to get more in touch with your spiritual side and to live a life of joy and love. Positive energy goes a lot further than negative thoughts and I hope to incorporate what I read into practice in my everyday life. I also liked the ending part about finding your higher purpose, which is something I am looking to accomplish. An excellent series for those looking to expand nspiritual growth and live a peaceful, joyful life.
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Living with Joy is the expanded 25th anniversary edition. The original work was channelled through the author by Orin, a being of light. Added to this new edition are daily joy practices and affirmations.
As I was reading through this book, I was taken by the timelessness of the content. I have literally dozens of recent books on my shelves that discuss many of the same topics that are in Living with Joy. Yet, this book was originally published 25 years ago. -
Books sometimes have a way of finding those who would most benefit from what they contain. That was definitely the case for me with Living With Joy. This book provides common sense wisdom and inspiring spiritual guidance without any religious dogma. I've purchased and gifted numerous copies of this book over the years, and will continue to do so.
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Living with Joy is the best book I’ve read in a while. I highly recommend this book for anyone on a spiritual growth journey - whether you are just starting or you’ve been on your journey for years - there’s something here for you.
Now, if you’ve been on your spiritual journey for a while, you may feel that you’ve read about a specific lesson or learned it before, but I can guarantee you there’s always something new to learn about any concept. I find that each time I approach a lesson, it’s like I get even deeper within the layers, and I learn something new from it - a new aspect, perspective, a new way to integrate that lesson into my life. I was guided to this book and found that as I read each chapter, I had opportunities to integrate what I was learning into my daily life in new ways. If you find yourself attracted to this book, then be sure to check it out! -
So refreshing. One of those books that every time I picked it up it had the perfect thing to tell me about where I am in my life. Might start the whole process all over again from the beginning! It’s a book you could keep on hand to guide you through life, and I don’t think you could ever hear the message enough. These are the kind of truths that ring different as you go through life. Hearing them again, you pick up on deeper layers you weren’t aware of before.
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The book touches subjects from self-love, self-esteem, ego, inner peace, balance to the Higher Self. The essence, in the end, is to add more joy to your life by changing your perception on how it should be, becoming less controlling, more responsible and more aware of your powers to create a better life.
Definitely worth re-reading it. -
This book came at a time when I needed it most. Just reminders and guidance for developing and strengthening my spiritual and personal power. This is a book I will read over and over again. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking to develop higher spiritual awakening and power
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A milestone work, pointing a simple and clear path to a fuller life. One of those books that gives new insight upon each successive reading. Something to buy or give to a loved one and yet a treasure to always have at hand. Beautiful.
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The second of her books that I've read. It occupied a space on the shelf next to my bed where I keep timeless wisdom material that I read to set the energy before dream time.
Now I'm going to pass it on to a friend. -
What an amazing and life changing book! Loved reading this book
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The title says it all
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The intro is challenging and will make or break some immediately, it was certainly unfamiliar territory for me. Once you start digging into it though, whoa, easily digestable insights for life.
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Pure Love! Very well written and everything explained on how to create a life full of joy.
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Speed read in one setting. Relatable if you are into mindfulness / yoga / buddhism / meditation. Although I find the character Orin a little odd.
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Most incredible book on this concept - mixes Louise Hay + Abraham Hicks , with other spiritual teachings. Best book I’ve read on this subject (manifestation) and vibration.
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I learned many things to focus more on peace and finding joys in many moments, even when struggling.
