The Invitation
by Oriah, Oriah Mountain Dreamer

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Book Reviews of The Invitation

Book Review: Spiritual Journey to the Edges of Emotion to Find Your Core!
Summary: 5 Stars

Although her personal examples are simply there to help your own journey, their poignancy touched me deeply. If you are like me, you will admire the honesty and openness of her sharing. Ms. Dreamer has had two failed marriage and many failed relationships. She has had friends who experienced horrible personal setbacks. You will be seared by the pain, the truth, and the beauty in these experiences. And you will be the better for the vicarious experience.

Above all, this book is a call to have courage, courage to go beyond the comfortable into the important. Because of the examples chosen and her personal perspective, this book will probably speak more eloquently to many women than to many men.

The book is broken down into the statement of her invitation to follow her spiritual path by dealing with longing, fear, sorrow, joy, betrayal, beauty, failure, commitment, and fire to develop the deep sustenance to allows you to go to your true inner home. Each section contains personal experiences of her point, and ends with valuable meditation exercises to help you find your own "truth" in these areas.

Although the book sounds like another New Age tract, it is actually anti-New Age in many ways . . . especially in favoring emotional and physical reality over spiritual vagueness.

Here is a little of what she has to say on these subjects:

Accepting the Invitation: " . . . [Y]ou will experience, not just read about, the ache, the sorrow, the joy, the courage, the peace . . . ."

The Longing: "This is what I ask for: intimacy with myself, others, and the world . . . ."

The Fear: "We are afraid we will not be enough." " . . . [D]esire . . . brings the ecstasy of falling more deeply in love with my own life every day . . . ."

The Sorrow: "If we are strong enough to be weak enough, we are given a wound that never heals." "[That wound] is the gift that keeps the heart open."

The Joy: "The enemy of joy is the litany of 'not good enough' . . . ."

The Betrayal: "Sometimes, to choose life, we must break agreements; sometimes we must keep them although they are hard to keep."

The Beauty: " . . . [G]ratitude expands my ability to receive beauty." "It is what pulls us towards life."

The Failure: " . . . [O]ften an attempt to avoid the paralysis of shame."

The Commitment: " . . . [F]eed the children when [they] thought they could not."

The Fire: "[D]ifficult to keep our hearts open, to feel the fear and pain."

Finding Our Way Home: "Are you willing to meet yourself and not turn away from what you are?"

As you can see, Ms. Dreamer sets a high standard, but one that you will probably be proud to match.

I particularly recommend the meditations in the book. My own meditation routine repeats the same process. I found it rewarding to use different methods. Many new thoughts occurred to me as a result. It was a deeply moving experience in each case.

After you have finished your spiritual journey with this book as a guide, I suggest that you write out your own examples to match these topics from your own experience. This will make the material more accessible, especially if loving well is not your core reason for being.

Be yourself, in more ways and more fully!

Summary of The Invitation

Visionary author Oriah Mountain Dreamer brings to life the wisdom of her beloved invitation, which has touched hearts everywhere with its fresh and spirited call to live life more deeply, honestly, and well.

Like the inspirations for Robert Fulghum?s All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten, Cherie Carter-Scott?s If Life Is a Game, These are the Rules, and Margaret Fishback Power?s Footprints, the poem that sparked The Invitation has been embraced around the world, passed along by thousands who have discovered and treasured its message. In this lovely gift book the author speaks from the heart, reflecting on everything from desire to betrayal and offering practical - and often surprising - suggestions for how to live the ecstasy of everyday life, learn to recognise true beauty in ourselves and the world around us, and how to find the sustenance that our spirit longs for.

The poem Invitation has been recited and quoted at countless spiritual conferences, and on network radio by Robert Bly, Jack Kornfield, Angeles Arrien, and many other spiritual leaders.

From the Invitation:

? doesn?t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart?s longing.

It doesn?t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive ...?

Her profound invitation (longer than is written here) became the framework for this wise and inspiring book. Chapter by chapter, the author uses passages from her "Invitation" to welcome readers into a life that is more soul fulfilling and passionate, and has far greater truth and integrity. In a sense, she invites readers to get a life instead of buying into a lifestyle. Each chapter ends with a guided meditation specific to the theme of the chapter, such as "The Joy" and "The Failure."

Despite her suspiciously New Age-sounding name, Oriah Mountain Dreamer is a highly grounded, practical, and honest writer. This fresh and beautifully packaged book is destined for great acclaim in the realm of spiritual inspiration. --Gail Hudson

Personal Transformation Books

• Subjects > Self-Help > Personal Transformation
• Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Poetry
• Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Inspirational