Customer Reviews

Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly

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The Hawaiian Goddess Hina was purportedly the inspiration for "Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly." The book is intended to help women achieve their best Yin qualities by achieving balance between the three divine archetypes which control certain aspects of their personalities.

Chameleon: Organization, Finances, Initiative, Accounting, etc.
Butterfly: Creativity, Sexuality, Decorating, Public Speaking, etc.
Dragonfly: Life Purpose, Peace of Mind, Intuition, etc.

Of course, you get a brief personality test to tell you which of these basic archetypes you embody. The book also contains characteristics which help you identify imbalances in each of these archetypes. Meditation and affirmation to reach each of these archetypes is described as well.

What's great about "Chameleon" is that it's written in simple language that is easy to comprehend and follow. The advice is practical and won't take that much time to follow correctly even in a busy day. Best, the three archetypes are images every woman can connect to and understand. The book may not be for every woman, but many of us have needed to find balance and connect to our true selves. This book is one took which will help you do that.

Rebecca Kyle, September 2008

Readers may be tempted to give up on Cindy Silbert a few chapters into Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly due to the fantastical nature of the introduction. Purporting that she has a message to deliver, channeled from the Hawaiian goddess Hina, Silbert first lays out the origins of her book and her internal struggle to get the ethereal memo onto paper.

It seems Hina was a little overeager to get her words of wisdom to the public and Silbert's first attempts came out as pages of unorganized gibberish. Hopefully, this explains the frequency of run-on sentences and lack of punctuation throughout the book. Strangely enough, these grammatical distractions start to diminish the further one reads, and the text takes on a more orderly form midway.

The introduction belies the amount of self-awareness that can be achieved through Silbert's guided meditations, so it is definitely worth sticking with. Once she moves past her motivation for writing and begins to delve into the archetypes of the Chameleon, the Butterfly, and the Dragonfly, the book becomes a mirror for the feminine psyche. She describes the personality traits of the three Divine Archetypes in detail, and through a short quiz, readers can identify which archetype they are more closely connected to and which ones need to be strengthened.

The key is balance, according to Silbert. Each person should strive to maintain an equilibrium among the three for a healthy, rewarding life. The book infers that over time, women have become disconnected with the Divine Feminine and our personalities have become fragmented. This is driving our loss of balance and our inability to enjoy life. By reconnecting with the divine, readers should be able to focus on weakened attributes and heal the rifts between the archetypes.

While fascinated with spiritual abstractions, I am also a skeptic. At first, I found Silbert's story a bit too imaginative and removed from reality for my taste. She is also a professional life coach, and I am generally wary of individuals who adopt this title. It is way too easy to smooth talk your way into a commercial enterprise in this field.

Once she began to describe the archetypes in detail, however, I found myself relating in such fashion that I was entranced and could not stop reading. I am pretty sure at this stage in my life, I am alternating between Chameleon and Dragonfly and have put Butterfly on the back burner. Everyone's experience will be unique. Silbert explains the unique tendencies of each archetype and how they can be called upon for Divine inspiration and guidance.

One last complaint: Amazon and Lulu would have you believe this book is 190 pages long, and for numerical purposes that is true. There are actually 150 pages of content, and 40 pages of blank journal pages. While journaling is a great exercise and I'm sure its meditative qualities will only enhance the reading experience, I feel like including blank pages in an informational book serves mostly to fatten up the appearance. It makes it look like there is more "meat" to the book than there actually is. It's back-to-school season. I can pick up a ten cent notebook at Wal-Mart to serve the purpose. Fluffing up the book with blank pages is not necessary and, in my opinion, bordering deceptive. Unfortunately, it is a common practice of self-help books.

I have a love/hate relationship with Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly. Some areas are incredibly inspiring and logical, while others are bothersome. It is definitely worth the effort and I think readers will find many life enhancing opportunities within it. It does, however, have a lot of room for improvement and expansion.

Chameleon, Butterfly, Dragonfly is a self- help guide written for women by a woman who is practiced at the art of life cultivation. This book aims to help women everywhere to achieve self- fulfillment by connecting with their mind, body, and spirit and then experience the feeling of harmony when all of these dimensions are acting together and the individual has reached a level of self- actualization.

This book is like other self- help books in many ways. Like others, it includes a short questionnaire to discover one's personality type and in this book, the emphasis is on personality archtypes. By answering a few questions, the reader will know the dominant archtype and will discover how well balanced they happen to be between the three archtypes discussed in this book: Chameleon, Butterfly, and Dragonfly. This book also recommends ways to improve one's overall health by taking time out from your busy life and getting in touch with your inner self. This can be accomplished through meditation, yoga, or simply by finding a quiet place where you can clear your mind and focus on your mind, body, and spirit. These aspects of the book are similar to other self- help guides and they are typical of what you would expect when you read this type of book.

Similarities between self- help guides are common, but there are some other aspects of Chameleon, Butterfly, Dragonfly that are different from other guides and make the book a little more interesting. The entire concept of the Chameleon, Butterfly, and Dragonfly is something unique to this book and it is something I have never heard of before. It isn't necessarily something extraordinary, but it is at least something original. The Chameleon, Butterfly, and Dragonfly each have a specific set of personality characteristics and achieving balance between the three archtypes is good, but there are many people who have a dominant personality type and are perfectly happy. What is most important is that an individual is true to themselves. In other words, if an individual's personality leans toward butterfly, and in reality they are behaving like a chameleon, then this individual needs to work on transforming themselves because they are obviously not living as their true self.

Chameleon, Butterfly, Dragonfly is intended for women, so my opinion on this book may not be worth much to a potential female buyer. However, what this book is talking about could possibly apply to men also. Applying the guide to myself, I quickly discovered that my dominant personality archtype is the Chameleon. But since this system was really intended for women, the concept may not apply in my case. Perhaps the author will write another book in the future that is designed for men, with a unique set of archtypes that apply exclusively to men.

Chameleon, Butterfly, Dragonfly is a pretty good self- help book that many women will find useful. I like some aspects of it and I can see how it could help some women discover their true self and fulfill their own destinies. It is a little short to take seriously as a complete guide, but it does have some useful advice nonetheless.

Having encountered the Divine Feminine while at her home on Maui, Cindy Silbert felt led to write a book about her experience and in turn show other women how to connect with the three Divine Archetypes which help us find balance in our lives. Beautifully written, Silbert shares both her story and she lights a path so that the reader can enter into their own mystical experience. By finding this balance, we can reconnect with all areas of our lives. I found myself at peace while reading "Chameleon, Butterfly, and Dragonfly. I believe that other female readers will also find this peace and feel more of a connection with themselves as they study the lessons offered here and work on journaling their thoughts in the pages provided.

This isn't the book that I would typically pick up, but after reading a few pages, I felt like I needed to read more. Cindy Silbert definately has a very new age slant on her on lasting fulfillment. I liked that she didn't force all of us into one mold, and then perscribed a set note of answers to help us on our own personal journey. By breaking us down into different groups allowed us different methods for reaching fulfilliment. I thought her reading style was easy to read, and compelling. Looking for a different way to find insight into yourself? Pick this book up.

"When exactly did time change from being your guide to some kind of god that you pray to as if it's the answer to everything?" - pg. 1

Boy is this sentence true. I find myself saying 'If I could just have more time..;' all the time. Don't you?

I really enjoyed this book. It's not too often I see real spirituality books that aren't about a specific religion. The main idea behind the book (which was written with Divine inspiration,) is that us Women aren't being our true selves and that if we can set aside our egos and be our true selves, ourselves and our world will be much better of.

This book won't be for everyone. There is talk of Gods and Goddesses, messages from the deities and destiny (although it's not used with it's usual meaning here.) It is however a good book for me!

"Imagine a bird with a broken wing trying to fly. It is impossible. The only hope for the bird is to heal its wing and return to its natural integrity. Only then, can the bird do what it was intended to do without effort. Like the bird, your only hope is to return to your natural integrity, your True Self. Then and only then will balance and fulfillment naturally occur in your life." - pg. 3

With non-fiction books, I always find that reading the chapter headings helps me understand what I will find in a book but when you are reading a recommendation online, you can't see the Table of Contents. That's why I usually include it in my review. Here's what you'll find:

Preface (Divine Intervention), Introduction (The Goddess my Muse), With This Book (Let the Divine be your Guide), Truth (Something Must Give), Awareness (Emergence of the Divine Feminine), Embody (Awaken the Divine Archetypes), Balance (Restore Your Natural Integrity), Reveal (Discover Your Eminent Archetype), Expression (Embrace Your True Self - Chameleon, Butterfly, Dragonfly), Power (Manifest Your Desires), Destiny (Live Courageously), Epilogue (A Truly Divine Life). There are also journal pages at the end of the book.

In the Awareness chapter, Cindi Silbert talks about Yin and Yang and restoring the balance between those two in the world. She says we need to embrace our Yin (feminine energy.)

"This isn't about having to quit your job or give up everything you've worked for to wear frilly dresses and run through poppy fields. We can't replenish feminine Yin by denying our own masculine Yang. Denying our femininity is partly what got us here in the first place. It's not the way out. The Divine Feminine isn't guiding you to be more 'feminine' and less 'masculine' but to become more 'you' than ever before." - pg. 8

If you're not Pagan, skip this next paragraph. The wounds section in the Balance chapter could easily be made into self-healing spells.

The book contains visualizations, questions and affirmations throughout and lots of opportunities to write in either the journal pages at the back or your own journal. There are also a few quizzes in the book too. Now I am not one to write in a book but I did make a few annotations where things clicked with me and did the quizzes lightly in the book because I know I'll be keeping this book and if I wrote it in a separate journal I'd have to copy down what the book said too.

Overall this book was pretty good. There were just a few things I noticed that could be improved upon. In the Expression chapter, under the At Her Best and At Her Worst sections, many qualities are listed. They aren't all listed similarly. I'm not sure how to explain so I'll give examples:

Ageless vs. Divinity

Shouldn't it be Ageless and Divine or Agelessness and Divinity?

Anyways it's not that big of a deal. Also, I don't usually mention typos and grammatical errors if I see one or two but I noticed at least 4 in this book.

Overall though I highly recommend this book to all women.

As an identified Chameleon, with subtle hints of butterfly, I commend the author at providing another solid tool to help us better understand ourselves.

Through the archetypes of these three incredible creatures, Cindy takes the reader on a spiritual and practical journey of self discovery. Why do we see the world through a certain lens? What shapes our decisions and actions? What drives us? What brings us joy? The chameleon, butterfly and dragonfly know! Not only a fun and insightful read, but a MUST read for anyone looking to explore their inner self or anyone professionally helping others with leveraging their strengths and maximizing their passions and joys!

Cindy Silbert's new book is a unique self discovery guide for women. The book enables women to identify and connect with their true self via three divine feminine archetypes: Chameleon, Dragonfly and Butterfly. Want to clearly create your destiny in life? Ms. Silbert's book provides the tools to identify with and use the three powerful archetypes, resulting in mind/spirit balance, happiness and fully expressed living. A wonderful book to help women "go within" and find their true self. Check out her blog for articles on creating and cultivating the life you want--http://cindysilbert.com/blog/.

Seeking ways to better understand yourself, find balance and inner happiness is a journey many woman take but still keep searching to find a way that relates to them. Chameleon Butterfly Dragonfly presents a sincere personal account of author Cindy Silbert's enlightenment of Divine Feminine energy. These archetypes, as Silbert discovered, communicate and guide woman in unique ways. Identifying characteristics unique to each archetype, Chameleon, Butterfly and Dragonfly, allows the reader to self examine which traits of each archetype they are most like or encounter in their daily lives. Author Silbert believes understanding these archetypes will enrich women's lives by empowering them to remove barriers that hold women back, heal hidden wounds and finding their true self-expression. In addition to self-quiz and pages for journaling, Silbert offers readers further guidance through a free membership on her website at BringUtoLife.com. Recommended for the woman who seeks deeper meaning and understanding of herself through beautifully chosen symbols, which readers will agree uniquely connect with woman.

Tonya Thul-Theis
Reviewer

I have been reading metaphysical and self help books for decades. The unique thing about this book, is that it is so trailblazing in it's approach. How wonderful to talk about the divine! These discussions are so new. It wasn't long ago, that this was all taboo. Women should take the opportunity to drink this one up!..... You will be uplifted and transformed!