At the heart of spiritual awakening lies the discovery that each of us can achieve the direct, transformative connection with the sacred realms-a connection that defines the mystic. The Journey to the Sacred Garden guides us along a well-traveled path into this extraordinary experience and includes an experiential CD of shamanic drumming and rattling, providing us with an effective, easily learned technique for expanding awareness and shifting consciousness safely. The first to find our Sacred Garden, a place for personal empowerment; as well as physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual restoration. Once there, we learn through direct experience that the garden can be used as a gateway into the other levels of the inner worlds. Anthropologist Hank Wesselman, Ph.D., reveals that our garden operates by four primary oEverything in the garden is symbolic of some aspect of ourselves or our life experience. oEverything in the garden can be communicated with, enhancing understanding. oThe garden can be changed by doing work. oWhen you change your garden, some part of you or your life will change in response.
Not a fan. Very woo-woo, not a lot of concrete information. Very little of the book is written about actually entering a trance state, most of it is about the author's personal beliefs about the "lower world" and "upper world" and the spirit guides (author's words not mine) that are apparently waiting to meet us there. He also uses the term shaman in a non-culturally specific way, which is...not a good look for someone who is apparently an anthropologist. I picked this up for the included CD of drumming and rattle playing, honestly.
This was not a terribly iuseful book. While I am sympathetic to many of the ideas raised here it comes across to me as being just abit far out there in some respects....maybe I just haven't got that far yet. There isn't much meat in it, just a lot of west coast new age stuff. Looking to plug into the martketplace and make a few dollars. I will check the other work he mentions to see if it offers anything more substantial. there is certainly something here for me in this particular path, I am still feeling my way. This particular gut doesn't inspire trust or confidence in me.
This was a super fast read. Nothing I didn't already know before I'm afraid. It comes with a CD with both drumming and rattling, which some day I will need to listen to.
Content was reasonably good, if a basic intro. The problem was that this is basically a companion booklet to a CD, which, obviously, was not part of the kindle edition. I wish it was more clear and that Hay House would not sell it as a digital book when it is meant to go with a CD—or, they should have a companion link where you can download the tracks referenced. As it is, this felt like a partial product and was disappointing in that respect.
This was an interesting and thoughtful read. Wesselman does a great job blending shamanic tradition with a more modern, accessible approach. I appreciated how he focused on personal experience rather than trying to push a specific belief system. The concept of the “sacred garden” as an inner space for healing and insight was simple but powerful along with breathing and visualization techniques.
I MET HANK WESSELMAN AT A MUTUAL PRESENTATION WITH OLGA KHARITIDI MD. I LIKED HIS APPROACH. HE WAS NOT DIGGING INTO THE PAST...PIGGY BACKING...WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORIZATION. HE WAS MORE LIKE A TIME TRAVEL PRAYER...SINGING BLESSINGS INTO ONCOMING TIME. HUMANITY HAS NOT MADE THE MOST OF ITS SACRED OR SECRET GARDEN YET. THE WORKERS HAVE BEEN VERY SUBSTANDARD LTD. HANK'S APPROACH IS A LITTLE MORE CO-CREATIVE, WELL MANNERED, RESPECTFUL AND REFRESHING.
I'd already read most of this information earlier, but I got a few good ideas. My experiences in journeying are a bit different than what's written here.