A holistic, practical approach to self-improvement that may be too far-out for some readers.
A self-empowerment workbook for personal transformation.
In this self-help book, Greer draws on his experience as a Jungian analyst, clinical psychologist, and shamanic practitioner. The first section focuses on accessing and interacting with “hidden wisdom,” defined as “insights from the unconscious or even the collective unconscious.” Dream interpretation, “journeys” (or guided visualizations), and dialoguing with symbols, figures, or feelings are suggested as exercises to unearth hidden wisdom. The author also encourages journaling about “archetypal energies” that live in the unconscious, such as the “Everyday Person” who follows a predetermined path or the “Adventurer” who thrives on new experiences. Greer prompts readers to examine the roles they play and rewrite their personal narratives. The second section explains how to identify values and priorities, and to set goals that align with them. The author advocates pausing for mindfulness and observance, like looking at the sky and asking, “What if this were the last sunset I would see?” Greer asserts that healthy habits create momentum and can move people from struggle to success. The author uses martial arts concepts like kime (“the right force, at the right place, at the right time”) and maai (“right distance”) as strategies for conflict resolution. He promotes being creative, breaking up routines, and imagining possibilities to manifest a better future. Greer’s approach is actionable and customizable; readers receive ample opportunities to reflect, brainstorm, and track their progress. Rather than solely focus on areas of improvement, Greer also stumps for positive reflection, prompting readers to list “Five things that are working about [their] life and what [they’re] doing to contribute to how well they’re working.” However, the metaphysical aspects of the book may not resonate with more empirically minded readers likely to bristle at lines like, “ritually cleanse your energy field by waving a feather to brush away unwanted energies.” Some dialoguing examples also go into unusual territory, such as, “Hello, broken bicycle that appeared to me when I set an intention to dream about my relationship with my mother. What insights do you have for me?”
A holistic, practical approach to self-improvement that may be too far-out for some readers.Pub Date: March 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781685035334
Page Count: 230
Publisher: Chiron Publications
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.
A charming bird journey with the bestselling author.
In his introduction to Tan’s “nature journal,” David Allen Sibley, the acclaimed ornithologist, nails the spirit of this book: a “collection of delightfully quirky, thoughtful, and personal observations of birds in sketches and words.” For years, Tan has looked out on her California backyard “paradise”—oaks, periwinkle vines, birch, Japanese maple, fuchsia shrubs—observing more than 60 species of birds, and she fashions her findings into delightful and approachable journal excerpts, accompanied by her gorgeous color sketches. As the entries—“a record of my life”—move along, the author becomes more adept at identifying and capturing them with words and pencils. Her first entry is September 16, 2017: Shortly after putting up hummingbird feeders, one of the tiny, delicate creatures landed on her hand and fed. “We have a relationship,” she writes. “I am in love.” By August 2018, her backyard “has become a menagerie of fledglings…all learning to fly.” Day by day, she has continued to learn more about the birds, their activities, and how she should relate to them; she also admits mistakes when they occur. In December 2018, she was excited to observe a Townsend’s Warbler—“Omigod! It’s looking at me. Displeased expression.” Battling pesky squirrels, Tan deployed Hot Pepper Suet to keep them away, and she deterred crows by hanging a fake one upside down. The author also declared war on outdoor cats when she learned they kill more than 1 billion birds per year. In May 2019, she notes that she spends $250 per month on beetle larvae. In June 2019, she confesses “spending more hours a day staring at birds than writing. How can I not?” Her last entry, on December 15, 2022, celebrates when an eating bird pauses, “looks and acknowledges I am there.”
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593536131
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
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SEEN & HEARD
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