Customer Reviews

The Instruction: Living the Life Your Soul Intended

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Book Review: "The Instruction; Living the Life Your Soul Intended" by Ainslie MacLeod

I am a firm believer that we are here on this `Earth School' to stretch our souls, learn & grow, & gain new insights with each incarnation. What a delight to read this book on discovering our Soul's Age, Type, Powers, Talents, Missions.. all in a step-by-step interactive method of 10 Step Doorways.

When I started reading the book, I could hardly put it down. But it truly works best when you follow the author's advice of stopping to meditate & asking your Spirit Guides to help you in the decision making, illuminating the choices that apply to your own life's Path.
For instance in Part 1, I discovered that I am a Level 9 old soul, focusing on spirituality, self-improvement, healing and idealism. Then I went on to learn that my Soul Type was a Spiritualist/Helper. And so on, through all of the `doorways' of discovery throughout this riveting book.
From Direction, to Empowerment, to Fulfillment... the findings will amaze you. The revelations will indeed open a whole new world of thought for your time here on earth, & beyond.

I am thinking that this book would make a wonderful workshop opportunity, as well as a book club discussion tool. And I fully expect to see Mr. MacLeod on Oprah, discussing this fabulous work.

The Instruction is quite simply a fun, fascinating, moving, and extremely useful book!

Over the years I have purchased and read many books dealing with matters of spirituality and personal growth. This is by far one of the best I've ever read.

The Instruction is written in a very clear and sensible fashion by someone who obviously has a deep understanding of psychic realms and the spirit world.

On top of that, Ainslie MacLeod (the Author) is no `woo-woo' new-age type. You realize pretty quickly that he is regular guy - and one who has a sense of humor!!

Much of the information in the Instruction comes nicely packaged in groups of 10's, which I found makes it very easy to digest. Given that, I will conclude my review with 10 things that I really like about this book:

1. The Author provides a matter-of-fact discussion about the phenomenon known as `the soul,' what that means, how we can know that we all have one, and what impact the soul has on the course of our life.
2. He explains the different planes of existence, i.e. The Physical Plane, the Astral Plane, and the Causal Plane.
3. A step-by-step `how-to' guide for how to meditate, get quiet and contact your own Spirit Guides and ask them for help.
4. A discussion of `Young Souls' and `Old Souls' and what characterizes the 10 different `Soul Ages.' (And how to, with the help of your own Spirit Guides, determine what your Soul Age is).
5. A discussion of the 10 different `Soul Types'
6. A breakdown of the 10 different types of `Soul Missions' that people bring into this lifetime to fulfill.
7. A look at fears, phobias, desires, and challenges that may be subconsciously holding you back.
8. An investigation of our Talents and positive Powers we all have access to.
9. A breakdown of The 10 Paths in life, how we can all walk them, and how ultimately they can lead us to Enlightenment.
10. Oh for crying out loud, just go read it!

An awesome book!

A+++

While I really enjoyed this book, and found much of it insightful, I also found it interesting how much of it overlaps a previous channeled system that I became only recently acquainted with. The "Michael Teachings" have been around for quite a while, and a Google search will yield many details about them. Several of the categories and some of the concepts in this book are identical: The concept of Soul Ages is present in both, and categories such as spiritualist, helper (servant), conceit (arrogance), obstinacy (stubbornness), insatiability (greed) will seem familiar to anyone who has investigated the Michael Teachings. While the Michael Teachings uses a system of seven categories, the Instruction uses a system of ten. While it could be derivative, I also entertain the possibility that on the Causal Plane Ainslie MacLeod's guides and the Michael entity do lunches to compare notes (or whatever one does on the Causal Plane.)
Still there is much that's different here, and certainly much that's new and highly useful. My only lingering frustration is that--as multiple people channel Michael, while only Ainslie MacLeod has channelled this system--if you aren't quite sure by the end into exactly which categories you fall in the Instruction you currently have to pay a significant $540 for three sessions to find where exactly you fall in this system, whereas in the Michael Teachings you can have a chart made up for you for $35-$40. True, you get a lot of extra guidance and insight from those sessions--so they may be worth it overall--but some of us just want to know the categories and let our own self-insight take us the rest of the way. While there's a lot of talk in this book about the validity of using meditation to have your guides show you where you fall, it isn't as easy as it sounds, and many people will come away still scratching their heads as to what their mission really is.
So if you feel you have enough clarity to know instinctively what categories you fall into I highly recommend this book, but if your sense about your life is still a little cloudy, if you buy this book be prepared to get out your credit card.
For books with more information about the Michael Teachings I recommend:
The Journey of Your Soul: A Channel Explores Channeling and the Michael Teachings
The Michael Handbook: A Channeled System for Self Understanding
The World According to Michael: An Old Soul's Guide to the Universe (A Michael Book)

I guess I had high expectations to read something different and more profound than lots of other "self-help" books on finding your purpose.
I can summarize this book: ask your guides.
That's the advice that is given in each of the 10 sections, with 10 levels in each section.
I can barely figure out where I fit on any of these levels and VERY scant information is given, particularly at the end.
For instance, if I think I fit into the "Investigation of Betrayal," basically it says to get over the betrayal and move on to trust. And I quote: "The investigation of Betrayal usually begins with an event, then becomes all about overcoming the risk, uncertainty, to recover the ability to rely on other people using the advantage: trust." If I think I fit into the "Investigation of Failure," get over your failures and move on to success.
Duh.
Had I known this book would have offered little information, and lots of meditation and speaking with soul guides, then I wouldn't have bothered with the book.

The most wonderful thing about a book is that it can offer you a whole new way of looking at things that you thought you already knew. The Instuction has done that for me. In a clear, methodical, and interesting way, it gave me many "Aha" moments. The author has done a commendable job of putting together a framework, which the reader can use to gain a deeper understanding of their soul's purpose. I loved it.

For the reader who did not have the same experience, and gave the book such a negative review, I would suggest that we should celebrate the fact that "The Instruction," as well as "A Course In Miracles," is available to us so we can each be guided though life's journey in the way that makes the most sense to us. To purchase a book because there is "buzz around it," could be the perfect reason for you, or the worst, who really knows? However, remember that others will read your review, and the book may be exactly what they need at that moment in time.

So, I would personally like to thank the author for writing this wonderful book. I will gift it to family and friends during the upcoming holiday season, because it is my belief that I will be giving them a mirror in which they can see how beautiful they truly are.

I stumbled upon "The Instruction" as I was browsing in a major bookstore and I immediately snatched it, ran home and devoured it. Perhaps the title should have been "The Revelation" because that's what it felt to me: I was flabbergasted by such a powerful epiphany.
What 'personality theory' did in the psychological field, this book does in the spiritual realm. It's the subtitle, however, that really piqued my interest, "Living the life your soul intended." Finally, an explanation to the million doubts and questions and wondering about why am I really here on this earth. To raise kids? To work and be prosperous? To make this planet a better place? It turns out that it all depends not on who you are but on who your soul is. In the eternal battle between nature vs. nurture, environment vs. DNA, MacLeod allows us not to feel trapped in the middle and offers us a third option.
The author encourages us to tap into our personal resources and individual talents and grow, develop and overcome - sometimes even just survive but always with dignity and grace.
His gentle yet constant reminder to meditate is an invitation to read our own soul map and follow its directions as key to serenity and fulfillment.
"Being yourself is never going to feel so good", he says with his hallmark honesty and transparency.
If you have been on a long quest to find yourself and your place among the rest of humanity, you have to read this book. It will start you on a journey you will be nothing but compelled to continue.

Unlike a lot of the other reviewers, this material is new to me. I found it fascinating and, as the title puts it, instructive. It's well written, clearly organized and full of excellent direction. Like Eckart Tolle and THE SECRET, this book will be a guiding light for open hearted seekers.

I have really enjoyed reading Ainslie's new book The Instruction. I have been on my personal soul path for many years, but Ainslie's system has given me lots to think about. Using The Instruction I have been able to understanding some of my personal issues better with this system than any other I've checked out. I feel Ainslie makes the info easy to understand and use. If you want to know why you are here on Earth right now and what your next step is, this book is for you. You can read it straight through or use it as a reference to help you when you feel stuck or ready for change. I think you'll enjoy it.

I felt the book struck a healthy balance. If you consider it as another way of looking at things without being excessively dogmatic yet not too esoteric. The point is to get you thinking about possibilites and positive connections with our spiritual side and I felt the book achieved that. It may appear simplisitic to some but the other side is that it is accesible and directs one as to how to make the necessary connections. There are many books out there that tell you how our world is 'failing'and how we need to be more present etc but frustratingly dont tell you simplisticially how the little people can shift towards that goal and change the world around us. Good work Ainslie!

What a beautifully written book! The Instruction truly helped me understand my soul and its purpose. With the author's explanation of the different soul levels, types and missions, I was able to move forward in my life with greater confidence when I found myself being guided in directions that I felt fear around. He does a wonderful job of helping you understand those fears, how to move through them and then guides you all the way to actually living out your soul's destiny.

I was so moved by this book that I ended up hiring the author for some sessions and it just pulled everything together for me. It's wonderful having someone like Ainslie to help me gain greater clarity when I feel stuck as I move along my life's journey. He is not only a gem of a gentleman but he's the real deal! Anyone who's looking to delve deeper into their soul's purpose should read this book.