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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dude? Are you kidding me?, June 30, 2006
This review is from: Be Blessed (Paperback)
Denise Dumars has brought us a unique perspective to the Pagan lifestyle. In this, her latest book, she shares her humor and years of wisdom with daily devotions for busy Wiccans and Pagans. That covers just about all of us, doesn't it?
The book is divided into eight chapters covering everything from waking in the morning to retiring at night and all that happens in-between in the modern Pagan's life. The book is written to bring the mundane everyday activities into the sacred. Any of the affirmations, rituals or meditations can be utilized on any day of the year (or any phase of the Moon).
For me the book got off to a rocky start with humor in which the tone was closer to disrespectful than funny. I almost stopped reading when I reached the section in Chapter 4 on how to talk to a God. Maybe someone else would be comfortable calling Thor "dude" and meeting Him for a drink at a roadhouse, but I am definitely not on a number of levels. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I tend to approach the Divine with a bit more honor and respect than if they are my bosom buddies from childhood.
In spite of my discomfort, I kept reading and was rewarded with some very insightful and useful meditations and devotional suggestions in later chapters. There was also less of the joking that fell short of funny. In spite of the flippant tone in many parts of the book, it was a good read, and the author did make her point. I would suggest that before buying this book you flip through it and see if the humorous parts are more to your liking than they were to mine.
W. Lyon Martin Author/Illustrator of An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Accessible Framework on Which to Grow, November 10, 2006
This review is from: Be Blessed (Paperback)
Be Blesséd, Daily Devotions for Busy Wiccans and Pagans provides a new sub-genre to the growing list of pagan books. Be Blessed could be called a prayer book for pagans, except that it provides so much more than mere words to offer to our gods and goddesses and to ourselves.
We've all seen book after book of spellwork available, but this is the first book I've seen that offers a purely spiritual perspective for pagans. It provides a framework for integrating daily devotions into your pagan life. If you're at all familiar with prayer books from Christian traditions, you'll understand what the author is attempting to provide. Many Christian traditions have prayers for each occasion, often for each time of the day or week. Denise Dumars sets her Wiccan and pagan devotions in a similar fashion.
Ms. Dumars also includes anecdotes from a variety of traditions with examples of to fashion a devotion for a particular tradition. Her visualization scripts are very readable, and it seems that she did substantial research on the individual tradition to provide an authentic experience for the devotee. But any of these exercises and devotions can be customized for your needs.
For example, the book opens with chapter "Greeting the Sun" and gives appropriate affirmations to begin the day. Also included are chi gong exercises to rev up the body as well as the spirit. Other chapters include the very well-presented "Self-Esteem for Life", chapters on work, health, relationships and one about dialogue with Deities. Each chapter follows a similar format. Long time practitioners of any tradition may take exception to some of the advice about talking to deities. Ms. Dumars does follow an informal format in her writing, which makes this book very readable. However, not everyone will feel comfortable calling a deity "a bud." And in fairness, she doesn't advocate using that term with every deity.
Ms. Dumars does not try to give in-depth guides and invocations for each pantheon and every pagan persuasion; rather, she frames her chapters to cover a time or situation, and suggests affirmations and meditations that can be customized to an individual's needs. Her well-taken point is that all time can be sacred time, and that as pagans, we can feel the divine at all times.
I did enjoy reading this book, and I would recommend it especially to someone new to paganism that came from a background where daily prayers were a part of their spiritual practice. It is a very positive book, the affirmations are very well written and it gives the reader a springboard to launch their own daily devotions. If the only concept you take away with you from this book is that making time for the sacred in your life is a priority, then it is time and money well-spent.
~review by Karen Phillippi, for
Facing North [...].
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice book, August 17, 2006
This review is from: Be Blessed (Paperback)
Denise Dumars offers her version of a pagan prayer book that is light and offers itself as a guide, a foundation, a place to begin when we are learning our spiritual path.
I read through this as suggested and found many basics that will enable anyone new to the path to get a good handle on the actual practice of personal spirituality. I found it bordered on Wiccan, but it can be adapted to fit just about any personal path.
The material includes daily rituals and personal exercises for building self esteem. "Mindfulness", a term I've heard used in other belief systems, is introduced into the pagan concept and there is a good meditation on "being in the moment".
There are also chapters on Deities, work, dealing with sickness and health, and working everyday magick.
This is a nice book, but is very basic. The beginner will see it as a possible starting point. boudica
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