Customer Reviews

One Day My Soul Just Opened Up: 40 Days and 40 Nights Toward Spiritual Strength and Personal Growth

5 star:		(110)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This book has been very powerful for me, and is effortless to incorporate into even a busy life. There are so many good books on spirituality, but this one is unique because it breaks down many universal spiritual principles into concise daily readings, with sections on "Honoring Yourself," "Honoring Others," "Honoring the Process," "Honoring Your Feelings," and more. Within each section, each day has one spiritual principle you read about, and has a short space for you to write your own take about what you've read. It also has a space to reflect at the end of the day any experiences you've had relating to that principle (don't worry, it's not a huge journal-type project - all the writing takes me less than 5 minutes a day, and adds immensely to the power of the program). Because my time is so tight in the morning, I do the reading the night before. (The readings are short - most only 3 pages.) I'm about halfway through the 40 days, and my soul is opening up, and I find myself looking forward to my nightly reading, as an inspiring and relaxing ritual. I'm sure you'll also find many of the readings to speak directly to issues you're having now, and others will validate things you've already become aware of, and yet others will be on tap when you are struggling with different things. It is a brilliantly concise book, and one with all its tools clearly laid out so it can be referred to again and again long after the 40 days are past. (I really encourage you to go through it one chapter at a time as she mentions, because each principle will sink in much more than if you attempt to read it as a chapter book.)

Hardly a "disappointment". This book is excellent. And I'm happy to say, it is for ALL women (and men for that matter), and has even helped this old White lady along for the past several weeks to see things differently, to expand more spiritually. True, Vanzant doesn't address YOU or YOUR problems... Instead, she leaves that up to YOU. No one can know you better than yourself; no one can tell you how to reshape your life better than you... I don't like strangers telling me how to "fix" myself, so I appreciate the fact that Vanzant never does this in her book. I also appreciate the fact that Vanzant doesn't force her religious views on her readers. Instead, she shows respect for everyone's individual beliefs while giving readers "permission" to explore their OWN spirituality and the way they view the world. The chapter on Trust, for example, got me thinking and prompted me to progress to a new, better, higher level of understanding about what "Trust" means TO ME. Psychologists call it "reframing" -- seeing things from a different perspective so you gain a greater understanding of whatever the "things" are. Vanzant "reframes" a lot of things, helping readers to see issues like Creativity, Trust, and Personal Divinity from different angles. I recommend this book to EVERYONE who wants to explore their own souls and gain a greater appreciation of themselves and their relatioship to their Spiritual nature. You have to do the work yourself, but this is an excellent tool to help you do just that.

This book is a wonderful workbook style guide to those of us looking to make changes in our lives. If you are someone who has reached a point in your life where you want and need to make life changes, get this book! Iyanla Vanzant has a wonderful sense of humor that everyone can relate to. She write as she speaks and her vocabulary is familiar and funny. Her advice is direct no BS advice/encouragement to get going with these changes. She answers the questions, "OK, now what do I do?" This book is simple and managable for those of us who love to say "I have no time to find myself." This workbook is simple and fun. You will make time for Iyanla's humor and words of wisdom. Put this book on your kitchen table in the morning and take it to bed with you at night. Once you get into the routine of waking up and going to sleep with this book you will look forward to your time with Iyanla and more importantly with yourself. And before you know it, Your soul will just open up! Love it when that happens!

If you are not ready to tap into the deep spiritual issues preventing you from experiencing pure joy, peace, and spiritual awakening, then this is not the book for you. Vanzant offers a spiritual workbook designed to allow you to explore your inner workings over the course of 40 days and 40 nights. Each morning you awaken to a different reading exercise that will require you to explore how that day's principle applies to your life, and to journal it. You then read a short affirmation that you apply to your day, and return in the evening to journal how you were able to incorportate that principle into your life. This book should be a consistent 40 day spiritual journey to be most effective in your life. If you want to just browse through and pick and choose the principles you want to read, I don't believe you will get the full benefit of this book. I have found in my own journey that different issues have emerged each time I refer back to this book. I also suggest that the first time you "do" this book, be sure to write the date you started. You will find the issue that affected you then, will often be diffent from the issues affecting you the second time around as you progressively grow spiritually.

One Day My Soul Just Opened Up is a wonderful and insightful look into lifes ups and downs. Mrs. Vanzant shares her own ups and downs and helps the reader begin to cope with theirs through commentary, mediations and words of affirmation. If you ever wondered "Why did this happen to me" or "Nothing ever goes right for me" this book is a must have! Mrs. Vanzant's book offers 40 Days and 40 Nights to spirtual wellness, but after day 1 your soul will begin to open up. divine2001@go.com

One day in the summer, I saw a lady with this book and I was "UNWILLING"to ask her who wrote it, so needless to say I did not.I remembered the title because it was beautiful.I forgot about the book for awhile due to the many changes that were going on in my life,until one day I prayed for some guidence while soul searching and the name of the book just came into my mind.(My Divine Spirit was leading me and I didn't even know it)Anyway, I was determined to find this book and I did not know what it was about,but as I picked it up and glanced at day one "Truth"I knew it was an important tool for me during this journey.After a couple of days, I began to see and feel changes in my heart and soul. I also became aware of my Divine Spirit and in making a connection with God. I can proudly say that I am intune with myself and am growing stronger by the day.Some people drift through life not finding themselves,let alone true happiness, but for me I am forever grateful to be on this journey called soul searching and I know now that I do not walk it alone. THANK YOU IYANLA VANZANT, I LISTENED TO MY HEART,FOR ONE DAY MY SOUL JUST OPENED UP AS WELL!

Vanzant doesn't try to fix you, or shame you, or tell you that she has a better way to run your life than you do.

Instead, her loving, powerful words are broken down into passages that are small enough for you to read and use daily. Before you know it, bad habits are dropping away, faith is building, and life just seems to be more in sync with your dreams.

Very Inspiring!

If you love this book, check out WORKING ON YOURSELF DOESN'T WORK, by Ariel & Shya Kane. It also helps you tap into your heart and live at your full potential!

I am only at day 18, and already I am experiencing the changes. Along with this book I read my Acts of Faith each day; also doing the meditation before getting out of bed in the morning has helped me to deal with "all" and "any" that comes along. I am thankful that the Higher Power is using Ms. Iyanla to pass the word along to us "correctly" who have been obviously, not doing so good in our lives. Remember Plan Purposefully, Prepare Prayerfully, Proceed Positively and Pursue Persistently. Thanks sister in Christ.

This is an excellent book for anyone willing to break old destructive patterns and habits. I am doing the commentaries a second time, and it is better than the first time. I find that I am able to retain the lessons better this time, and even remember the meditations. Thank you Ms. Vanzant for listening to the Divine and giving people such beautiful lessons to help us evolve into their divine spirit.

This book is a must if you are on any kind of spiritual journey. I have spent much of my life uncovering the spiritual side of my being and re-establishing my relationship with God. This adventure became particularly intense when I decided to stop dead in my tracks to turn around and discover why the same lessons continued to arise in my life. Throughout this extremely painful period, I kept wishing for some type of "guide book" to lead me through this aspect of my journey. Near the end, I came up on "One Day My Soul Just Opened Up" and I wished that I had found it sooner. Ms. VanZant leads you through a 40 day discovery period where each day a different topic is discussed and pondered upon. These topics include honesty, authenticity, discipline, and fun. As a teacher, Ms. VanZant reminds us of things that we already know and you will find yourself going, "Oh yeah, that's right!" to yourself. You will often find yourself laughing out loud, too. I particularly remember the discussion about authenticity because there is a discussion about farting in public. (And who hasn't done that at least once in their lives, no matter how hard you try not to!)

This book provides a methodical way to approach those spiritual components of ourselves. You read the topic, write about it, and then are asked to revisit it again later in the day. You find that if you read it in the morning, you think about the topic all day, and actually try to incorporate the principle into your life that day. I found myself to be incredibly exhilarated throughout the forty days because I felt like I was really doing something useful for myself. It is almost a year after I went through the forty days, and I still remember much of the book and continue to work on those things which I learned from it.

If you feel lost, do it. If you need a spiritual boost, do it. If you need to reconnect with yourself or God, do it. Trust me, it is worthwhile to go through this 40 day journey.