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Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaim Your True Nature to Create the Life You Want
Finding Your Way in a Wild New World is a remarkable path to the most important discovery you can the knowledge of what you should be doing with your one wild and precious life. It’s a journey to the thing that so fulfills you that, if someone told you, “It’s right outside—but watch out—it could kill you!” you’d run straight toward it, through the screen door without even opening it. Life coach and bestselling author of Finding Your Own North Star Martha Beck guides you to find out how you got to where you are now and what you should do next with clear, concrete instructions on tapping into the deep, wordless knowledge you carry in your body and soul. There are certain people who sense that they are called to do something fulfilling and significant, but who often get caught in self-destructive, unproductive cycles. This is the book that will lead you to unleash your incredible creative energy—and fulfill your life’s purpose.
With her inimitable ability to translate inner life into accessible, witty, sparkling prose, Beck draws from ancient wisdom and modern science to help readers consciously embrace their skills and create the life they really want. What she’s found is that these people with great passion, empathy, and creative potential often sense a higher calling—in a society where that calling isn’t even recognized as real. They often have within them a quiet power that could change the world; they lack only the tools. Beck offers real, actionable methods to tap into that power . She shows how to find your inner identity and your external “tribe” of like-minded people. She demonstrates the four simple tools for Wordlessness, Oneness, Imagination, and Creation. With clear step-by-step instructions and guided reflections, Beck shows how to drop into the wordless state of communion with nature and self, how to experience for yourself the oneness between yourself and the universe, how to be empowered by the spark of inspiration, and, finally, how to take action and realize creative potential to make a lasting impact on the world.
Compassionate and inspirational, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World is a revolutionary journey of self-discovery that leads to miraculous change.
***
From Finding Your Way in a Wild New
The mother rhino paws nervously, and I feel the impact tremor in the ground beneath my own feet. She is huge. She is nervous. She could kill me as easily as I clip my fingernails. But my mind is filled only with wonder, distilled into two basic questions.
Question 1: How the hell did I get here?
Question 2: What the hell should I do now?
Both issues seem equally mysterious. . . . But it all seems to clear now— it was my true nature that brought me face to face with a rhinoceros. . . . I’m finding out what it feels like to reclaim my true nature. It’s one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever experienced. And, because ecstasy loves company, I want you to experience it too. The wild new world of the twenty-first century is the perfect setting for reclaiming your true nature. And your life will work much, much better if you let it direct your choices. It will bring you freedom, peace, and delight; give you the optimal chance of making a good living; and help you create the best possible effect on everything around you. I’m not certain exactly how it will play out in your case, but here’s what I do it’s time you met your rhinoceros.
With her inimitable ability to translate inner life into accessible, witty, sparkling prose, Beck draws from ancient wisdom and modern science to help readers consciously embrace their skills and create the life they really want. What she’s found is that these people with great passion, empathy, and creative potential often sense a higher calling—in a society where that calling isn’t even recognized as real. They often have within them a quiet power that could change the world; they lack only the tools. Beck offers real, actionable methods to tap into that power . She shows how to find your inner identity and your external “tribe” of like-minded people. She demonstrates the four simple tools for Wordlessness, Oneness, Imagination, and Creation. With clear step-by-step instructions and guided reflections, Beck shows how to drop into the wordless state of communion with nature and self, how to experience for yourself the oneness between yourself and the universe, how to be empowered by the spark of inspiration, and, finally, how to take action and realize creative potential to make a lasting impact on the world.
Compassionate and inspirational, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World is a revolutionary journey of self-discovery that leads to miraculous change.
***
From Finding Your Way in a Wild New
The mother rhino paws nervously, and I feel the impact tremor in the ground beneath my own feet. She is huge. She is nervous. She could kill me as easily as I clip my fingernails. But my mind is filled only with wonder, distilled into two basic questions.
Question 1: How the hell did I get here?
Question 2: What the hell should I do now?
Both issues seem equally mysterious. . . . But it all seems to clear now— it was my true nature that brought me face to face with a rhinoceros. . . . I’m finding out what it feels like to reclaim my true nature. It’s one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever experienced. And, because ecstasy loves company, I want you to experience it too. The wild new world of the twenty-first century is the perfect setting for reclaiming your true nature. And your life will work much, much better if you let it direct your choices. It will bring you freedom, peace, and delight; give you the optimal chance of making a good living; and help you create the best possible effect on everything around you. I’m not certain exactly how it will play out in your case, but here’s what I do it’s time you met your rhinoceros.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published December 27, 2011
393 people are currently reading
3395 people want to read
About the author
Martha N. Beck
22 books1,300 followersDr. Martha Beck, PhD, is a New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker. She holds three Harvard degrees in social science, and Oprah Winfrey has called her “one of the smartest women I know.” Martha is a passionate and engaging teacher, known for her unique combination of science, humor, and spirituality.
Her recent book, The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self, was an instant New York Times Best Seller and an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Her latest book, Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose is out now.
Her recent book, The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self, was an instant New York Times Best Seller and an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Her latest book, Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose is out now.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
April 15, 2012
I tried to like this book, but I did not. Just a little too out there for me and I found her writing style annoying, though I agree with her basic sentiments. The author glosses over just how difficult it is to forge a path of one's own in terms of career and life work. It would be a good thing if we could all do this, but the world is more complex than that, and many people who try fall through the cracks. I found her stories about "coincidences" with animals and bent spoons, etc, hard to believe, not credible, and not interesting. I suppose I am not on the "Team" as she terms it; there are more sophisticated, realistic, and better written books out there about this topic.
December 27, 2011
New Release December 27, 2011
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” is a truth that will manifest itself over and over as this exciting new book is read and shared and read again. The number of markers and underlines and margin notes in my preview copy are testaments to the fact I was ready. I devoured it and now am going back to start practicing the many exercises. The book’s purpose is to help you more clearly identify “what you should be doing with your one wild and precious life.”
The author, Martha Beck, has outstanding educational and life experience credentials for writing this book. It is both a sharing of her own life journey as well as a manifesto for anyone ready to embrace their own best life. With a B.A. in East Asian Studies and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from Harvard University, Beck is a trained observer and analyst. Her coaching specialty is helping people design satisfying and meaningful life experiences. She first got on my radar screen as a columnist for Oprah Magazine, where I am regularly impressed with her no-nonsense, delightfully humorous approach to issues about life’s questions, fears, and psychological roadblocks.
I recently read Beck’s bestselling book Expecting Adam, the story of her 1987-88 pregnancy and giving birth to a Downs syndrome child (new edition in 2011). Its subtitle is “A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic.” The unabashed revelation of her own fears, neuroses, and personal/professional challenges at the time was both heart-wrenching and inspiring. Martha has known and overcome tragedy, sadness, and self-limiting thoughts. She is an excellent guide for empowering others to overcome their own life issues. Finding Your Way in a Wild New World is her ultimate guidebook, the best of her teaching and philosophy in one zinger of a book.
Finding Your Way in a Wild New World is not going to resonate with everyone. Some will dismiss it as just another pop cultural self-help book. Others will use terms like “woo-woo” and “New Age nonsense.” They’d be selling it short. I am a devout Christian with an insatiable curiosity and open mind about spirituality and human potential. This book was filled with research-based findings on the power of our connectedness with each other and with all living things in nature (flora and fauna), and I believe people of any faith will find it enriches, rather than contradicts, their core beliefs.
Beck includes many practical exercises for each section of her book, all designed to exercise the parts of our brain that we don’t use enough, to train ourselves to focus our attention, and to tap into the energy that is mostly likely to allow us to find and cultivate our own best selves. They’re designed to get us out of our mental ruts!
Here are some hints that this book might be perfect for you right now:
• If you feel a yearning that you can’t identify or suppress.
• If you feel the need for clarity and purpose in your life.
• If you’re afraid to do things that you think you’d love to do.
• If wild success and abysmal failure both scare you.
• If you feel fragmented with no clear focus in your life.
• If your wild fantasies seem impossible but won’t let you go.
• If you feel you’re about to explode with possibilities and potential but can’t grab on to that one thing that feels just right.
• If yoususpect your self-talk is holding you back.
• If you feel like you’re bumping your head against one obstacle after another but you’re certain there’s something better on the other side.
• If you feel the world is changing so fast you can’t keep up.
• If you feel stuck and unproductive.
• If you feel in need of emotional healing before you can move on to your real purpose of healing others.
• If you desperately want to make a difference with the rest of your life but don’t know what on earth you that might “look like.”
If any one of these rings true, you owe it to yourself to read this book. There is a generous excerpt available for free on Amazon. If it doesn’t grab you by the time you finish reading those pages, either the book is not for you or the timing is not right in your life.
If the timing is right for you, you’ll gain clarity, focus, and powerful tools for living abundantly in the best sense of the word.
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” is a truth that will manifest itself over and over as this exciting new book is read and shared and read again. The number of markers and underlines and margin notes in my preview copy are testaments to the fact I was ready. I devoured it and now am going back to start practicing the many exercises. The book’s purpose is to help you more clearly identify “what you should be doing with your one wild and precious life.”
The author, Martha Beck, has outstanding educational and life experience credentials for writing this book. It is both a sharing of her own life journey as well as a manifesto for anyone ready to embrace their own best life. With a B.A. in East Asian Studies and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from Harvard University, Beck is a trained observer and analyst. Her coaching specialty is helping people design satisfying and meaningful life experiences. She first got on my radar screen as a columnist for Oprah Magazine, where I am regularly impressed with her no-nonsense, delightfully humorous approach to issues about life’s questions, fears, and psychological roadblocks.
I recently read Beck’s bestselling book Expecting Adam, the story of her 1987-88 pregnancy and giving birth to a Downs syndrome child (new edition in 2011). Its subtitle is “A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic.” The unabashed revelation of her own fears, neuroses, and personal/professional challenges at the time was both heart-wrenching and inspiring. Martha has known and overcome tragedy, sadness, and self-limiting thoughts. She is an excellent guide for empowering others to overcome their own life issues. Finding Your Way in a Wild New World is her ultimate guidebook, the best of her teaching and philosophy in one zinger of a book.
Finding Your Way in a Wild New World is not going to resonate with everyone. Some will dismiss it as just another pop cultural self-help book. Others will use terms like “woo-woo” and “New Age nonsense.” They’d be selling it short. I am a devout Christian with an insatiable curiosity and open mind about spirituality and human potential. This book was filled with research-based findings on the power of our connectedness with each other and with all living things in nature (flora and fauna), and I believe people of any faith will find it enriches, rather than contradicts, their core beliefs.
Beck includes many practical exercises for each section of her book, all designed to exercise the parts of our brain that we don’t use enough, to train ourselves to focus our attention, and to tap into the energy that is mostly likely to allow us to find and cultivate our own best selves. They’re designed to get us out of our mental ruts!
Here are some hints that this book might be perfect for you right now:
• If you feel a yearning that you can’t identify or suppress.
• If you feel the need for clarity and purpose in your life.
• If you’re afraid to do things that you think you’d love to do.
• If wild success and abysmal failure both scare you.
• If you feel fragmented with no clear focus in your life.
• If your wild fantasies seem impossible but won’t let you go.
• If you feel you’re about to explode with possibilities and potential but can’t grab on to that one thing that feels just right.
• If yoususpect your self-talk is holding you back.
• If you feel like you’re bumping your head against one obstacle after another but you’re certain there’s something better on the other side.
• If you feel the world is changing so fast you can’t keep up.
• If you feel stuck and unproductive.
• If you feel in need of emotional healing before you can move on to your real purpose of healing others.
• If you desperately want to make a difference with the rest of your life but don’t know what on earth you that might “look like.”
If any one of these rings true, you owe it to yourself to read this book. There is a generous excerpt available for free on Amazon. If it doesn’t grab you by the time you finish reading those pages, either the book is not for you or the timing is not right in your life.
If the timing is right for you, you’ll gain clarity, focus, and powerful tools for living abundantly in the best sense of the word.
January 30, 2012
Martha Beck is a joy to read. She knows how to get her message across through entertaining stories, and she has a mine of amazing experiences from her own life and those she has coached to draw from. As well as being insightful, spiritually attuned, and hilarious, she so much wants to help others find their right lives and express their true natures, and gives practices and guidance to enable them to do so. That is what she is here to do, she believes, as well as a little thing like save the planet. While this may sound like a laughable answer from a Miss Universe contestant, she has found that while she once believed in a doomed future, she now has discovered hope for a Wild New World. Her experiences are hard-won, from years of personal suffering, intensive study, and deep practice. She has a gift of awareness that seems magical to those of us who can only wish to be so connected. Yet she insists that each of us can start living lives where the magical becomes commonplace. She explores the four technologies of magic: wordlessness, oneness, imagination, and forming, and states that we are at a unique place and time where we cannot only use the technologies of magic, but the magic of technology to share our art, make connections, and affect more people in a way never before possible. I quickly devoured this book in my first reading and now intend to go back and put into practice her suggestions. There is much to be digested here. If you feel that you may have some kind of calling, to be a 'wayfinder' or 'mender' as Martha terms it, but you are uncertain of what or how, you can find guidance in this book. You will quickly determine if you are on her 'team' or not; either it will totally put you off or you'll be saying, 'yeah yeah yeah.' The hardest part for us verbal concrete types is to attain the consciousness of wordlessness and oneness, but it's integral to making anything of this book. I'm trying to practice, but I haven't bent any spoons yet.
July 20, 2013
I can't. Had to give this up halfway through. I'm an admitted self-junkie and have a high woo-woo threshold, but this book gave me the rage. It's rooted in worthy concepts like mindfulness and universal connection, but framed in such a way I found unpalatable. There are some gems in here but you have to wade through a swamp of murky poo to find them.
January 20, 2012
I adore Martha Beck and her mix of pragmatic, spiritual advice on living your right life, along with her goofy prose style and her wonderful stories. This book chronicles the time she has spent at Londolozi, a natural game preserve in South Africa, and what the animals have taught her about how to serve and thrive in a world that is changing at a bewildering pace. I will be re-reading this book and deep-practicing what it teaches all year. If you read it and it connects with you, let me know!
September 17, 2012
Martha Beck is a sociologist, writer, life coach, and regular columnist in O, the Oprah Magazine. I’ve always enjoyed her writing and point-of-view, and was happy to take this book (published in Jan/12) along with me on my trip to Ecuador in March. There, I had the time and space to take in its message – perfect – as the book is about creating in ourselves the time, space, and attention that helps us 1) understand the kind of life we want, and 2) achieve our “true nature”.
Beck offers up four tools for “transformation”: #1.”Wordlessness” – the skill of clearing your mind of the clutter and noise that distracts you from what it is that you really think, feel, want, and need; #2. “Oneness” – how to relax into the idea that you are connected to other living beings, human and beast; #3. “Imagination” – allowing you to think beyond the usual and envision what you really want; and #4. “Creation” – helping you create what you previously have only imagined. I really enjoyed this book and have peppered my copy with Post-It note flags to mark quotes and passages that I found particularly interesting. There are a few bits that are a little ‘out there’, but I don’t disbelieve a word she writes. If you’re prone to scepticism, grab a grain of salt and try the book on for size as it offers many highly useful ideas and exercises (“Wordlessness” is one of the best tools I’ve come across for being present, connected, and calm).
Beck offers up four tools for “transformation”: #1.”Wordlessness” – the skill of clearing your mind of the clutter and noise that distracts you from what it is that you really think, feel, want, and need; #2. “Oneness” – how to relax into the idea that you are connected to other living beings, human and beast; #3. “Imagination” – allowing you to think beyond the usual and envision what you really want; and #4. “Creation” – helping you create what you previously have only imagined. I really enjoyed this book and have peppered my copy with Post-It note flags to mark quotes and passages that I found particularly interesting. There are a few bits that are a little ‘out there’, but I don’t disbelieve a word she writes. If you’re prone to scepticism, grab a grain of salt and try the book on for size as it offers many highly useful ideas and exercises (“Wordlessness” is one of the best tools I’ve come across for being present, connected, and calm).
April 9, 2015
When I first started this book I was really digging it. What Martha Beck defines as a healer, mender, wayfinder really spoke to me. As a pantheist and someone interested in Buddhism the first two sections on Wordlessness and Oneness really hit home. However, the exercises she suggests often seemed too out there even for me - and I consider myself pretty woo-woo. ;)
I think the overall ideas and theories she has about people who are wayfinders is on the right track but many of her examples left me a bit skeptical. Her personal experiences are hers and I'm not one to question someone's personal experiences. But I had a hard time buying that her methods for producing things you want in life are as simple as she makes out.
Overall the book was ok. At first I was very excited about it and enjoyed her description of wayfinders but as the book went on I was having a hard time staying on the bandwagon. I ended up skipping about a third of the book towards the end.
I'll read another Martha Beck book. Her writing style is really good. It's comfortable to read and feels very conversational. I think this particular book just veered off my own personal path a bit too much.
I think the overall ideas and theories she has about people who are wayfinders is on the right track but many of her examples left me a bit skeptical. Her personal experiences are hers and I'm not one to question someone's personal experiences. But I had a hard time buying that her methods for producing things you want in life are as simple as she makes out.
Overall the book was ok. At first I was very excited about it and enjoyed her description of wayfinders but as the book went on I was having a hard time staying on the bandwagon. I ended up skipping about a third of the book towards the end.
I'll read another Martha Beck book. Her writing style is really good. It's comfortable to read and feels very conversational. I think this particular book just veered off my own personal path a bit too much.
December 29, 2012
This book came into my life at just the right time and brought together many threads that I've been aware of and dabbling with for several years now. It's sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, full of magic moments and practices to cultivate our innate gifts of perception and connection. Martha Beck is a gifted and fearless writer, and her message is critical for our time, as we struggle to find a balance between our highly industrialized way of life and the deeper mysteries of the living world. I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone who is trying to find a positive, inspired way forward through the confusion of our times.
November 3, 2017
I never get tired of Martha Beck. Her down to earth, witty style makes her extraordinary subject matter sound not so crazy. I have read and followed her for several books and years. She started out a skeptic and continues, through her own testing and life experience, to carve out a compelling path to an unexpected and fulfilled life for herself and to beckon us to come along for the ride.
If you want to believe what she is saying but just can't quite go so far "out there" as she is, I encourage you to start your journey with one of her earlier books. The Joy Diet and Steering By Starlight are my 2 favorites, but I have enjoyed them all.
If you want to believe what she is saying but just can't quite go so far "out there" as she is, I encourage you to start your journey with one of her earlier books. The Joy Diet and Steering By Starlight are my 2 favorites, but I have enjoyed them all.
March 13, 2021
Probably my favorite of Beck’s books. A good resource for anyone interested in self-coaching.
July 4, 2017
This is my favorite Martha Beck book so far. I haven't read the Adam one, but you guys! This one teaches you how to be a horse whisperer and how to bend spoons! Here are my spoons that I bent:
So, that was awesome. You use your hands to bend spoons, but you can't bend them before you meditate on them, so it's still pretty magic.
She's also kind of sold me on this idea of doing green smoothies, I'm sorry to tell you. I haven't gone there yet though.
Martha Beck is so awesome. <3
So, that was awesome. You use your hands to bend spoons, but you can't bend them before you meditate on them, so it's still pretty magic.
She's also kind of sold me on this idea of doing green smoothies, I'm sorry to tell you. I haven't gone there yet though.
Martha Beck is so awesome. <3
September 11, 2013
I really like all of Martha's books and have been profoundly influenced by many of them. This one seemed to be a natural progression from her last few books, but it was a bit out there for me. I love the ideas but the exercises didn't really work for me. I was left with a sense of frustration and feeling that I wasn't perhaps aware/evolved/open enough for this to work for me. I really wanted to be part of "The Team" (the type of people she is targeting with this book, who have the ability to help heal the world). A lot of her thoughts resonated with me (and she is laugh out loud funny, as always) but something just wasn't right for me.
May 5, 2013
This is a book I will revisit from time to time. Often books like this take on new meanings at different times in your life. I took a long time to read it because when I read nonfiction, self help type books I usually have 1 or 2 fictions going at the same time. Part of me is a little cynical of some of Martha Beck's claims, but the other part of me, the bigger part, is very open to the thought of me as a healer, a wayfinder. I will recommend this book to friends of a special breed.
July 7, 2012
Martha's writing consistently cracks me up, no matter the topic. Here she takes on saving the world, one leopard at a time. I don't know that I will make it to safari in Africa (which she uses as a frame for her content) but I can certainly practice her advice on being present, connected, imaginative, and playful at home. She can't write books fast enough for me.
January 4, 2013
Absolute bollocks. Reads like Diablo Cody with an Ivy League Doctorate. Prepare to roll your eyes as you learn how to communicate with animals, how to psychically influence everyone around you, and how to become a superhero just by dreaming about leopards. I came dangerously close to finishing this, why I'm not sure.
February 10, 2013
I checked it out from the library but this is the kind of book I would like to own and go back to over and over. First of all it touches upon so many useful, thought-provoking things one reading is not enough to fully grasp them. But then there's also the matter of how it makes you feel. Finding Your Way will never fail to lift you up from despair and make you look at things from a new, more positive angle. If you are in a difficult life situation or under a lot of stress, reading sections of this book is like taking a medicine that, while won't address the cause, will elevate the symptoms. It was my feel-good read for a couple of weeks, when I needed something to hold on to.
As far as its usefulness, it doesn't exactly tell you how to "find your way", but it sets you in the right direction. It gives you the idea, the tools, examples but you gotta do your own work. I did roll my eyes when reading some of the examples but then again maybe mastering spoon-bending is not the key point, or I'm not much into animals and the whole "calling-to-them" process left me indifferent. Yet I did learn a lot of interesting, new to me things and came to fresh conclusions as I was reading it, so the time I spent with the book was not wasted. What's more, Martha Beck is an extremely talented, genuine, down-to-earth and pretense-free writer. Her writing is NOT boring (unlike so many non-fiction books that put you to sleep without a solid plot to chug along with); it never gets too scientific, or monotonous or unnecessarily repetitive. It kept me interested through the end, it repeatedly sent me online to check out this or that phenomenon or person she mentioned. And certain sections kept my whole body swaying in agreement with the words of wisdom that Martha so generously shared with her readers.
As far as its usefulness, it doesn't exactly tell you how to "find your way", but it sets you in the right direction. It gives you the idea, the tools, examples but you gotta do your own work. I did roll my eyes when reading some of the examples but then again maybe mastering spoon-bending is not the key point, or I'm not much into animals and the whole "calling-to-them" process left me indifferent. Yet I did learn a lot of interesting, new to me things and came to fresh conclusions as I was reading it, so the time I spent with the book was not wasted. What's more, Martha Beck is an extremely talented, genuine, down-to-earth and pretense-free writer. Her writing is NOT boring (unlike so many non-fiction books that put you to sleep without a solid plot to chug along with); it never gets too scientific, or monotonous or unnecessarily repetitive. It kept me interested through the end, it repeatedly sent me online to check out this or that phenomenon or person she mentioned. And certain sections kept my whole body swaying in agreement with the words of wisdom that Martha so generously shared with her readers.
June 19, 2013
okay. Now I have been reading Martha's writing for years. And I had been seeing a trend in her books, leaning towards personal embracing of ... well, the entire world, really. So this book is not a surprise or a shock to me. And I still trust her judgement implicitly, mostly due to my sharing her sense of ironic and irreverent humor, and as long as her jokes border on twisted and make me laugh i figure she's alright. Actually I suspect she's better than alright, I suspect she's experiencing the kind of life most of us can't even begin to imagine. That level of joy and happiness is clearly visible in her writing as well, it sort of pours out of the pages. And perhaps that's the take-away, can you imagine your best life? and if you could, what would it take to pursue that? And if you pursued that, would you be brave enough to actually enjoy yourself?
My advice is, if you pick up this book, read it all the way through without judgement. I know, I know, as a midwesterner I understand the knee jerk reaction to anything that smacks of 'woo-woo'. However, I do trust this lady's goals and ideas, and if she feels strongly about trying something, she wouldn't steer you wrong. See if her ideas can work for you.
My advice is, if you pick up this book, read it all the way through without judgement. I know, I know, as a midwesterner I understand the knee jerk reaction to anything that smacks of 'woo-woo'. However, I do trust this lady's goals and ideas, and if she feels strongly about trying something, she wouldn't steer you wrong. See if her ideas can work for you.
April 18, 2012
Martha Beck is a genius and she has done it again. Now, I will admit. I'm partial. I am a certified Martha Beck Life Coach and I have read all of her books. The first one I read was Finding Adam and it is still my favorite. Now, saying you have a favorite Martha Beck book is like saying you have a favorite child. All of Martha's books are wise and witty, sage and sarcastic, insightful and irreverant. This book is a map, your own inner GPS for connecting to our primal yet universal way of being human. Martha brilliantly outlines what she calls the 'four technologies of magic' and walks us page by page and chapter by chapter guiding us through this wild new world. I won't say what the four technologies of magic are...you'll have to read to find out that wonderful paradox for yourself. An essential tool for soul-fully navigating this brave, new world.
January 13, 2013
I have to admit that this book has been life-changing for me. It has helped me, already, to reach a deeper state of meditation, and I look forward to continuing to work on the four technologies of magic. Or, in other words, "reclaiming my true nature and creating the life I want." Not only is the book inspirational, but Martha Beck offers some very practical ways to bring this to fruition.
May 24, 2016
This book was a little more "woo woo" than the other books that I have read by Martha Beck. I honestly don't know which pieces have resonance for my life and which pieces just make me want to say: "Well, that's great for you, Martha- I'm glad that you can speak to the animals by dropping into wordlessness."
July 5, 2012
I'm a pretty die hard Martha Beck fan. While I did enjoy her latest book, I found it a bit of a departure from her previous books and I didn't enjoy it as much. There were some good nuggets in it, but overall I found it a bit "out there" and not as enjoyable as the North Star series.
October 5, 2017
I recommend this to anyone who is searching within themselves for meaning and joy and mindfulness. What a powerful change in me that this book, alone, has created. I finally feel like my life is on the path it was always meant to be on. Enjoy!
Want to read
September 6, 2012From The Daily Muse:
Now, bear with me: Although not directly business-related, Oprah’s life coach, Martha Beck, provides some crazy-challenging personal inquiry in her latest book that will speak directly to your inner entrepreneur. If you approach this with the idea of outing your real and passionate business self, you’re going to get rather serious rather quickly about what you’d actually like to do to make money. If you’re a somewhat New-Agey-hippie masquerading as a yuppie, so much the better: The spiritual and self-help aspects of this book will speak directly to your soul. If you’re not, give it a try anyway—you may be surprised how pragmatic these tools are.
Favorite Takeaway: Beck continuously revisits the questions, “How the hell did I get here? What the hell should I do now?” throughout this book. If you’ve ever asked yourself some variation of these questions, you’ll get to dig deeper by trekking with her through Londolozi (the African game reserve where Nelson Mandela stayed upon his release from jail over 20 years ago) on a miraculous quest for inspiration and change.
http://www.thedailymuse.com/entrepren...
Now, bear with me: Although not directly business-related, Oprah’s life coach, Martha Beck, provides some crazy-challenging personal inquiry in her latest book that will speak directly to your inner entrepreneur. If you approach this with the idea of outing your real and passionate business self, you’re going to get rather serious rather quickly about what you’d actually like to do to make money. If you’re a somewhat New-Agey-hippie masquerading as a yuppie, so much the better: The spiritual and self-help aspects of this book will speak directly to your soul. If you’re not, give it a try anyway—you may be surprised how pragmatic these tools are.
Favorite Takeaway: Beck continuously revisits the questions, “How the hell did I get here? What the hell should I do now?” throughout this book. If you’ve ever asked yourself some variation of these questions, you’ll get to dig deeper by trekking with her through Londolozi (the African game reserve where Nelson Mandela stayed upon his release from jail over 20 years ago) on a miraculous quest for inspiration and change.
http://www.thedailymuse.com/entrepren...
July 14, 2019
I loved this book at first. Very entertaining writing style, and I agreed with some of the foundational ideas (Wordlessness, Oneness). But, for me, the ideas not only veer off course, but actually go off the deep end, falling prey to spiritualized ego. End result is a focus on the gifts instead of the Giver, resulting in techniques and gimmicks that encourage ego control instead of spiritual surrender. I was kind of horrified to discover myself reading about bending spoons with your mind, conjuring the presence of animals, and making money from "spiritual" techniques. I have a friend who says "Error rides the horse of Truth." I will grant that this book does contain some truth, but for me, the errors predominate. By the end, I felt like I had wandered far from God.
March 25, 2013
I got tired of this book. However, that is not surprising given I have a very low tolerance for new age self-help books. I read this book because my mom sent it to me because of its section on "wordlessness" and exercises to help you drop into this state of openness and attuned awareness. I liked this section very much and thought it was useful for cultivating a state of being that is under constant attack in our hyper-connected (but weirdly disconnected) world. I would give that section 5 stars and leave the rest of the book unrated because I think the folks that would self select and choose to read this book would probably rate the rest much higher than me.
August 12, 2016
I listened to the audio version of this book, and at first, it was difficult to get into it, but as I continued to listen, I found myself thinking about the book all of the time.
I started considering myself a Way Finder about 3 chapters in, and although I haven't mastered Spoon Bending yet, I would now be willing to believe that it is possible to do such a thing.
The intertwining of Martha's personal experiences with exercises and other people's examples really made this an informative, motivating, and fun read.
I recommend this for anyone that is open minded, discontent, and ready to find their way in a wild, new world. :)
I will definitely look into more of Martha's work!
I started considering myself a Way Finder about 3 chapters in, and although I haven't mastered Spoon Bending yet, I would now be willing to believe that it is possible to do such a thing.
The intertwining of Martha's personal experiences with exercises and other people's examples really made this an informative, motivating, and fun read.
I recommend this for anyone that is open minded, discontent, and ready to find their way in a wild, new world. :)
I will definitely look into more of Martha's work!
September 12, 2016
Well, I wanted to wildly love this book. After all, I have enjoyed other Martha Beck books and I like the spirit behind what she writes about.
However, there was something almost too overly dramatic and cheesy about most of this book. And I found the first half or so very difficult to connect to. Africa? Down Syndrome child gurus? Oneness? Animals talking? Weird practices that I didn't really "get."
But I plugged along, and I really found some awesome things in the latter half of the book. That is where the meat of it is to me and that's the part I'm going to reread and connect with.
However, there was something almost too overly dramatic and cheesy about most of this book. And I found the first half or so very difficult to connect to. Africa? Down Syndrome child gurus? Oneness? Animals talking? Weird practices that I didn't really "get."
But I plugged along, and I really found some awesome things in the latter half of the book. That is where the meat of it is to me and that's the part I'm going to reread and connect with.
November 5, 2012
I can't finish this book - a combo of it being on my kindle and also her tone. I think Martha is great personally but her writing style can grate on me I know I will go back and finish at some point - I have done some of the practices over the years (before I read this) and agree with the ideas - maybe just not my time!
October 13, 2013
I enjoyed the first half of the book and found it very interesting; however, the author went too far outside my bullshit meter and I gave up on reading the rest. A lot of potential and I like to think I have an open mind, but again, the author had me thinking, "Oh, really?" and I realized I'd read enough.
November 22, 2013
Never gonna finish this one. It wasn't what I expected. It wasn't about using your own talents to get the life you want. It was about harnessing the powers of your brain and the universe in this ridiculous-sounding practice of "magic."
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