- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Walking Stick Press (September 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0898799759
- ISBN-13: 978-0898799750
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.7 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 249 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#113,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Journal Writing
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
With advanced degrees in psychology and philosophy, Ramsland (Prism of the Night: A Biography of Anne Rice, etc.) is well equipped to guide the reader through a series of thoughtful exercises as a means to finding greater fulfillment in life and workAor what she calls achieving bliss. Ramsland paints a tantalizing picture of what finding bliss could be like, but she is careful to point out that achieving it is not an easy process. In fact, sometimes having a particular gift or talent can actually mislead people as to where there bliss lies. As an example, she tells the story of Anne Lamott, author of the bestselling Traveling Miracles, who, as an excellent athlete, originally thought she would make a career out of competitive tennis. But finally she realized she didn't enjoy playing tennis anymoreAand with her decision to give up the sport, the migraine headaches that had long afflicted her ceased and she was able to focus on a new direction: writing. While it is not Ramsland's aim to turn all of her readers into successful writers, writing is an important part of her program. She employs journaling (or introspective writing exercises) to help each reader reach a greater level of clarity, and her exercises require a sizable commitment of time and energy. What makes this book stand out is the care Ramsland uses to explain her methodology: she provides a solid foundation for understanding the concept of bliss (from Aristotle to Carl Jung to Joseph Campbell), and "present[s] the stages of psychological development involved in finding bliss and offer[s] tools for getting through each stage." From the first task of clarifying one's values to learning how to overcome various obstacles (fear of failure or success; inertia) to trusting one's instincts and maintaining the "flow" that accompanies heightened self-awareness, a nurturing and pragmatic Ramsland matches her reader step by step. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
With a practical yet nurturing tone, author Katherine Ramsland guides readers through writing exercises that will help them find their "bliss." They will realize the most fitting and authentic direction in their lives, along with anew sense of clarity and confidence. By developing a sense of their bliss, they'll be able to make more informed choices regarding career, life focuses and relationships. They'll also learn to: recognize psychological obstacles impeding confidence; evaluate their values; create a personal skills inventory; develop their intuition; visualize and explore goals; develop mental flexibility; explore levels of awareness; achieve bliss
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
When Joseph Campbell appeared on Bill Moyers's television documentary, "The Power of Myth," he described the spiritual interconnectedness of the world's cultures and urged viewers to "follow your bliss." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
When Joseph Campbell appeared on Bill Moyers's television documentary, "The Power of Myth," he described the spiritual interconnectedness of the world's cultures and urged viewers to "follow your bliss." Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Important Book,
By Michael (Swampscott, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bliss: Writing to Find Your True Self (Paperback)
Using writing to empower youself. What more could anyone ask from a book? And this one delivers. Katherine Ramsland can write about far more than vampires. She has the keys to true internal relaxation and she shares them in Bliss.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a disposable 'self-help' book!,
By Justin Case - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bliss: Writing to Find Your True Self (Paperback)
I should start by mentioning that I have never been into "self-help" books or anything like that. However, this book jumped out at me because it is centered around Joseph Campbell's maxim, "Follow your bliss." and because it uses writing as a psycho-therapeutic tool. Campbell's maxim is great advise to live by but it is not so easy to apply such a simple yet powerful idea to the complexities of real life. This is where the author comes in.The following comments apply to the first half (roughly) of the book; The writing exercises were very helpful in bringing the obscure to light. I found myself clarifying what was once vague, making real plans and beginning to change my life. I think the author does an excellent job of explaining Campbell's maxim, Aristotles entelechy concept, Socrates' daimon, Carl Jung's ideas of an inner guide and other concepts. It seems as if her presentation would be accessible to the average reader but it's not 'dumbed down' either. Excellent balance! She ties these ideas together synergistically. As a note of curiosity, the central idea of this book fits perfectly with Aleister Crowley's concept of 'True Will'; to find your 'track' in life, not to just fall short and do what you like to do, but to find that one thing you will above all else, and that the path the universe has made for you is the path that you truly will, your destiny. Crowley's concept of a personal 'True Will' and of the "Holy Guardian Angel" resonates perfectly with the ideas laid out in this book. But, due partly to his thorny character and mostly to tabloid-journalism's demonetization of him, Crowley is even harder to swallow than Nietzsche and it would have taken a book twice as long as this one to even make a sufficient disclaimer before discussing his True Will concept. So. I am not at all suggesting that the author should have included it in her book. I merely mention it here for any Thelemites who may read this. I found the second half (roughly) of this book to be tiresome. The first half was enough, the second half weighed things down for me. But you may find the second half to be as helpful as the first half. 15 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Important Book,
By Michael - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bliss: Writing to Find Your True Self (Paperback)
Using writing to empower youself. What more could anyone ask from a book? And this one delivers. Katherine Ramsland can write about far more than vampires. She has the keys to true internal relaxation and she shares them in Bliss.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
