Customer Reviews

Jun Q'anil: One Who Walks The Way

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

From the moment I started the first chapter, I felt a sort of peacefulness that I never before experienced from reading a book. Jessica Nagler's courageous journey towards self-awakening is both inspiring and thought provoking. She does what many of us only dream of doing; leaving our familiar life behind in order to find our spiritual path. Her clear and creative writing style enables you to feel the awe, excitement, fears, and revelations she experienced while on her enchanting path towards self-growth. I would (and have) recommend this book to anyone who has expressed any interest in spiritual development.

With all the interest in the Mayan Calendar and the coming changes, Jun Q'anil author Jessica Negler introduces us to a real Mayan Shaman. This is an amazing story and Jessica Nagler's honesty and vulnerability as she shares her sometimes perilous journey is a tribute to the human spirit. We are indeed the ones we have been waiting for, and this story brings this home in a personal - yet universal - manner.
Sunny Ariel, author, Shalom my Love

i consider good books as intellectually valuable. few are great books that transcend intellect by enhancing my behavior/perception in daily life. junqanil is a great book - rather, a tool that i will revisit annually.

if you're serious about further enhancing your daily condition, junqanil will at least help.

this is the only review i have contributed online, ever - hopefully this says something.

doc s

Spiritually uplifting books can leave a reader depressed.

So many spiritual journey travelogues are filled with standard clichés of a lost soul searching and suddenly finding "The Answer." Yet, one author's epiphany is another reader's emptiness.

But what happens when the big moment, the prophetic revelation of the journey, calls into question the journey itself? What happens when the seeker realizes the truth might have always been in the mirror the entire time? Only then does the reader feel a deeper connection with the author and the odyssey, realizing whether at home or abroad, there are no easy answers.

Jun Q'anil: One Who Walks the Way is a riveting, majestic and deeply profound new auto-bio trip from Jessica Nagler. This former thriving Los Angeles psychotherapist chooses to leave behind a fiancé, family and finances in hopes of losing and finding herself among the people and places of Central America.

Jun Q'anil (a Mayan term given to the author by a shaman priest that means, "One who walks the way") is not a typical yogi treatise on the ways and means of the universe, but instead a story for Everyman of every faith - or none at all - who struggles with the larger questions of connection and reason for the disorder of things.

The writing brilliantly shifts moods to match the situations. Nagler's first stop at Samadhi fills her with doubt, disease and depression. The curt, claustrophobic sentence structure fills the reader with similar anxiety and dread. Yet, by the time Nagler has acclimated, acquiesced and given herself to the idea of the journey, the writing suddenly opens up and the rain of wealthy experiences and exchanges wash lavishly across the pages. As the author delves deeper into her own consciousness, the tactile sensations of the sun's heat, the sky's pallor and the air's sweetness become more acute and symbolic of her emerging connection to the planet.

The stories in different colorful cities move at brisk clips, so as to take snapshots of interesting characters and assemble them like a puzzle. The synchronicity of the pieces thus form the fabric of the narrative and ultimately of the author's true purpose. Jun Q'anil is On The Road for spiritual beatniks.

There's the large green and yellow bird in Tamarindo that literally attaches itself to Nagler's leg and will not let go until silently communicating her next destination; there's captivating Chloe who shares a vibrant, spiritual awakening with Nagler in Hacienda Del Sol that may or may not be the specter of a real UFO; there's bawdy Fransisco who nearly kills Nagler while teaching her to surf off a remote tip of Costa Rica; and finally there's Joselo, the colorful mountaintop Mayan shaman priest so transcendent, he performs magical ceremonies with raw eggs and red beans, yet so contemporary he loves prime-time television and large glasses of Coke. With Joselo, Nagler arrives at the apex of her journey in Guatemala and must decide whether her true calling is life as a Mayan priestess (the ultimate New Age epiphany) or life as something else.

The decision spurs a fascinating climax as the awakenings of the jungles meet head-on with an inevitable return to the spiritual congestion of LA. Like Billy Crystal's character in City Slickers who returns to New York from his revelatory cattle ride with a calf he delivered, Nagler must now re-emerge into a soulless society with an enlightened self.

As the author wonders whether we choose the path or vice versa, the brilliance of the nurturing narrative is that it never suggests we should feel any specific spirituality other than that which lies within.

So, light a candle, steep some tea and let this intense, magical story spirit you away. Chances are in the morning, the sun will be a little brighter, the birds slightly more clamorous, the air far sweeter and the world a more connected place.

A test of your gullibility, a testament of gullibility.
This story is an elaboration of typical spiritual snake oil.
Here's the summary:
Person can't cope, tries traditional remedies, they don't help.
Looks around for a guru and, big surprise, finds one.
Guru sends self absorbed person on a quest, with vague instructions, such that, no matter what happens, the guru looks wise.
Seeker endures a lifestyle change, and some discomfort, and eyes are `opened' to the `truth.'
Now seeker is qualified to be your guru, cycle continues.
If you want to read first person pronouns, I and me, until you choke, this is the book for you.
If you want to believe a ridiculous tale of drug induced delusion, silly rituals (like rubbing an egg over your body to remove toxins) this is the book for you.
If you are weary of childish voodoo, skip it.
If it was possible, I would rate it no stars, but Amazon doesn't allow that choice.

Jessica Nagler takes the reader on her spiritual journey from Los Angeles, California to the dense rain forests of Costa Rica, onto the hustle and bustle of Guatemala City then deep into the remote Mayan ruins at K'umarcaaj in Guatemala before she somehow finds a path back to Los Angeles. An open-mind is all that's needed as you walk through the pages with Jessica -- her writing style welcomes readers to walk in her shoes as she finds her personal truth. This is a story that contains vivid imagery of travel, adventure, spirituality and determination of the human spirit. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to walk away from your life and set off on an unmapped journey then this book conveys the ups and downs, accomplishments and setbacks of one woman's walk. Review by JoAnna Carey, Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life

I LOVED this book. I read it in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down. Jessica Nagler is great at story telling. Her writing style is excellent. The book is sprinkled with words of wisdom. If you like The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho you will LOVE this book. I am positive that this book is headed for the Best Seller's List. This book IS required reading for anyone who has a spiritual interest. IT IS SO ENLIGHTENING AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

From the very first sentence, Nagler leads the reader on a journey that is refreshing and engaging. If read with care, the reader will gain insights that will facilitate his or her own quest. What is crucial here is that the true journey is an inner one. It is not necessary to travel to the jungle to reach past layers of indoctrination and conditioning, but Nagler's story helps.

Laura Ramirez, Author of "Keepers of the Children: Native American Wisdom and Parenting" www.walk-in-peace.com

Jessica Nagler has the unique ability of allowing you to feel that her experiences are your experiences. Her writing draws you in to the mystery and magic of her journey, with a lightness that taps you gently on the shoulder, and says "hey, come with me." I did not expect to examine my own life as closely as I did, while reading Jun Q'anil, however, I concluded the book with my eyes and mind wide open. I expect to return to the book at future times, when I need to be reminded that life is a constant journey.

Jessica Nagler's tale of her brave journey is an exciting and thoughtful story that leads the reader to ask themselves many soul-searching questions. Jessica's decision to give up all that was comfortable,safe, and familiar touches on a very common experience in many people's lives: choosing complacency at the cost of fulfillment and growth. While the tone of this book can be very intense and commanding, the author also displays a refreshing ability to laugh at herself which demonstrates the richness of her personality. Jun Q'anil is a book that combines the wisdom from spiritual lessons with the adventure and suspense of a thriller.