Customer Reviews

The Lighted Path: A Journey of Transformation and Transcendence

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"I loved reading about her ancient tribal initiations with an order of enlightened beings. Her adventures into lost temples as well as dimensions outside time and space. I could connect to this kind of spirituality because it was so basic and pure. This is a must read !!!!!"

THE LIGHTED PATH is a great read. The author's ability to interweave everyday necessities with the mystic realms left me wondering if I was reading or dreaming. I experienced, along with the author, a journey full of magic, wonder and self discovery. The book recounts Risha Henrique's adventures during a seven year odyssey that included such magical sites as the Pocono Mountains, a red-rock paradise in Arizona, the archipelago of the Azores, and the Yucatan peninsula. It all began when the author was introduced to ancient and Native spiritual teachings, and subsequently found herself drawn into a series of powerful experiences. She learned ancient tribal rites; walked on hot coals; immersed herself in unbearable hot and cold temperatures. She quested for visions within the wilderness; travelled to sacred sites and experienced the energy of vortexes; participated in the unseen forces of nature, forgotten realms and dimensions; and helped in the fulfilment of momentous prophecies. In one of the most powerful passages in the book, Risha--along with 29 other participants--entered a 600-degree-fahrenheit sweat lodge(!) for their initiation into "bear medicine" and to learn how "to act from a position of power". This bear sweat lodge became a shamanic underworld in which they had to come face to face with their fears. A Native American medicine woman leads the sweat lodge. As it fills up with steam, she tells Risha and the others, "you can get through this because you're not limited by your physical form. Embrace the heart. Don't tell your mind that you're in arctic weather. Become one with the heat." Earlier in the book the group had faced a similar ordeal with a bed of hot coals. Risha feels as if she is drowning in the stifling heat. She struggles to survive, but is losing the battle and with a fearful last gasp she inhales deeply, plunging herself into a state of bliss. She experiences the sensation of floating among the heavenly bodies that make up the universe: "It gets so hot that your mind finally gives up its struggle and allows itself to be ignited into consciousness." In chapters 5 and 11, Risha relates her powerful experiences at several of the red-rock vortexes of Sedona. It is here that she begins to appreciate the power of silence in reaching a deeper level of awareness. And later on in the book, when she travels to the Azores with her Native American teacher, she finally experiences the bliss of being outside of time. (The Aozres is considered one of the remaining sites of the lost continent of Atlantis.) Risha and 14 others had a mission to fulfil in the Azores, one that involved depositing a sacred tablet on one of the islands. When they reach the island's hot springs, great clouds of mist formed the setting for a shamanic journey in which they travelled to the centre of the Earth: "We were travelling to the inner earth, spinning through the ocean depths, deeper and deeper. Only the shells of our physical bodies remained." The beauty of the Lighted Path is that it helps you to believe more strongly in yourself. It presents a view of spirituality that anyone can connect with because it's so basic and pure. It helps you to rediscover your own spirituality

A beautifully written and evocative book. Everything one could wish for in a spiritual quest. The Lighted Path is very akin to the equally spell-binding "The Autobiography...." by Richard G Patton. Both authors are able to touch the most sensitive pulse at our core and still manage to keep one foot in the world of spirit, while still moving about in the dense physical world. There should be more authors of this calibre working in the mass media, instead of the mindless pulp we are generally fed on TV. Highly recommended.

I tip my hat to Risha Henrique for her first book The Lighted Path. Henrique has opened herself up to sharing the positive and negative experiences about what it has meant to toss her beliefs aside and discover unknown things about herself and others. Henrique's journey begins in a charming community just south of Buffalo, N.Y. where she first meets her spiritual teacher. From there, her quest towards self-discovery takes her into the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, then on to Pittsburgh, to a red-rock paradise of canyons, creeks and ancient Indian ruins in northcentral Arizona, to the Yucatan and finally, to the archipelago of the Azores, just west of Portugal. By no means is THE LIGHTED PATH candy-coated. In fact, the book shows a candid portrait of the emotional dilemmas in Henrique's healing process, and how she has opened up to the teachings and practices of different cultures and worlds. In the book, Henrique also focuses on the tools of ancient wisdom, ceremonies of rhythmical dance, chanting, drumming and the significance of each of these elements in the lives of various tribal people. The reader will also learn about the medicine wheel, fire walk, sweat lodge and the importance of the smallest details in each of these sacred practices. As I read the book, I found myself beginning to share her feelings of discomfort, anger, and confusion, and I could empathize with her dilemmas. Through my experience of reading The Lighted Path, I recognized that it is possible to feel and identify with another person's spiritual journey. It is quite difficult to objectively explain the meaning of spirituality, and yet, Henrique has given us a wonderfully clear picture through her attempt to understand herself both intellectually and emotionally.

A most inspiring read. You won't be the same after reading it

THE LIGHTED PATH reads like Indiana Jones meets the Celestine Prophecy with a little bit of Chicken Soup for the Soul! The book is the real-life account of how Risha Henrique's search for the meaning of today's spirituality turned into the adventure of a lifetime. Over a seven-year period, Risha was exposed to fire walks, sweat lodges, vision quests, the deep dream state, forgotten realms, and momentous prophecies. By sharing her adventure, she hopes to inspire others to step on to a "lighted path".