Open Your Heart with Geocaching: Mastering Life Through Love of Exploration (Open Your Heart) [Paperback]

Jeannette Cezanne (Author)

Book Description

Series: Open Your Heart | Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Geocaching, or treasure hunt hiking, will help you get fit and open new worlds, as well your mind and your heart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Adventure is closer than you think. This book is an insightful read about how you can find life in those spaces we often overlook. --Kendall Card, backcountry.com

In a sea of "how to" books, finally there is a "why to" book. this book doesn't just each a new hobby, it reveals new tools for finding greater fulfillment and passion in our lives. --Mary Votava, actor and singer, soprano.org

I've been traveling down the path of the geocaching community for six years now. The geocaching community has helped build the path over the years, but I have been fortunate enough to build the occasional footbridge or stepping stone to guide it along. I'm still honored to be a part of the journey. I hope you will find geocaching as enjoyable as I have. --Jeremy Irish, Founder, geocaching.com

From the Publisher

Self-help can be easy once you recognize that your favorite hobbies and sports can guide you to a better life. Our Open Your Heart books will help you lead a happier life through an activity you love and enjoy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: DreamTime Publishing Inc.; 1st edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601660049
• ISBN-13: 978-1601660046
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,499,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Having found that I'm not very good at being told what to do, I've worked for myself for the last 20 years, either as a freelancer or through my company, Customline Wordware. I spend part of the year in New Hampshire and the rest of it in Provincetown, where my heart really lives. I also do a fair amount of public speaking and teaching, which is a nice balance with the hours I spend alone writing or doing search engine optimization work.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MuchAdo, May 8, 2007

By 

Michael Berger "MuchAdo" (Bedford, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Open Your Heart with Geocaching: Mastering Life Through Love of Exploration (Open Your Heart) (Paperback)

As I started reading this book, I knew it was going to be different than other "how to" books on the subject of Geocaching. It does give you a good, basic information about geocaching - enough to get you out and finding your first geocache. But then it goes much farther - not only does it tell you about how to geocache, but gives much insight into how one can enjoy geocaching. This is what makes the book as valuable and enjoyable for someone who has over 1000 finds as someone about to embark on their first find.

The book teaches you how to appreciate the game and suggests ways of thinking about your activity and your role in the active geocaching community. It seems to me that the game is becoming more and more focused on numbers and statistics. It's easy to get caught up in that aspect of the game and forget about some of the truly enjoyable experiences that I've had while caching.

It's especially easy for a person new to geocaching to immediately get immersed in the numbers. I don't think there's anything wrong with the numbers game (for the most part). But, you may find an untapped source of enjoyment by taking some of the advice in this book to heart.

This should be required reading for all experienced cachers as well as the new ones. A great treatment of my favorite hobby. TFTB!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for new or potential geocachers, or for those who are burnt out on the hobby., January 3, 2008

By 

Anna Creech (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Open Your Heart with Geocaching: Mastering Life Through Love of Exploration (Open Your Heart) (Paperback)

For Christmas in 2003, a friend gave me a low-end (yet more than adequate) GPS receiver. I had been talking about wanting to get into this new geeky outdoor hobby called geocaching, but the cost of even a low-end GPS receiver was more than I could manage at the time. She took pity on me, and it has been a gift that keeps on giving.

Over the years since then, my enthusiasm has waned as the availability of accessible and not-found-by-me caches dwindled in my area. Also, other projects began consuming my "free" time, such as writing for Blogcritics, and it became more difficult for me to find the energy and time to get out into nature and hunt for elusive cache containers. However, I have since relocated, and after reading Jeannette Cézanne's book, I have a renewed sense of excitement and anticipation for the game.

The Open Your Heart series of books by DreamTime Publishing was started by Meg Bertini as a means of exploring a variety of interests and hobbies in a way that would connect individuals to the world around them and allow for deeper spiritual meaning. The series includes other topics such as specific sports, fine arts, pets, and other common activities. Judging by the submission guidelines, it looks like anyone who can write passionately and authoritatively about their interests, along with a proficient grasp of basic grammar rules, has a good chance of having their proposal accepted for publication, so it may be worth keeping a eye out for future titles in the series.

At first I scoffed at the idea that a game/hobby that uses high-tech satellites to find cheap plastic containers could also be a spiritual or centering activity. My experience with serious geocachers so far has made the activity more of a competition (both with others and with oneself) than anything that could enhance ones mental and spiritual wellbeing. However, I tried to set aside my prejudices and read the book for what it is, and I found myself surprised to realize that by the end, it had changed my outlook on geocaching.

Cézanne has poured herself and her world into this book. The language is conversational and flows easily from point to point. She approaches geocaching less from the geeky/techie perspective, and more from the outdoor enthusiast perspective. For her, caching is less about the destination as it is about the journey. I think this is a perspective that is often lost amid the crowing and strutting by those who play for the numbers.

This is a book I would recommend to new or potential geocachers who haven't yet been corrupted, or to those who are burnt out by the competition and arguments. It's just the sort of kick in the pants one needs to gain the perspective that will increase one's enjoyment of geocaching and simply exploring some place new.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From this book, it is easy to see how people are devoted to geocaching, January 7, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Open Your Heart with Geocaching: Mastering Life Through Love of Exploration (Open Your Heart) (Paperback)

Geocaching is an interesting hobby and it is easy to see why people could become devoted to it. It is a sport where people will place a "treasure" at a location, note the location in GPS coordinates and then post the coordinates on a website devoted to geocaching. Practitioners check the site and then use GPS receivers to search for the "treasure." There are ego points for the cleverness of the hide and being First-To-Find (FTF) and there are guidelines for what locations are suitable for caching and what one can do when the "treasure" is found. A more extreme form of the sport involved placing the cache in a location that requires advanced techniques for access such as climbing a mountain, scuba diving or using a helicopter.
Cezanne describes the sport, points out some of the more obvious and realistic rules and interviews several people about the attraction they feel for geocaching. Since they are so rugged, old ammunition boxes are commonly used to store the cache. Clearly, carrying and then hiding an old ammunition box near a sensitive site such as a bridge will get the attention of law enforcement and should not be done.
While I will most likely never engage in this sport, it is easy to understand why there are people devoted to it and who consider it an uplifting experience. The explanations of the hows and joys of geocaching are well done, it offers the challenge of treasure hunting, the opportunity to interact with people of similar interests and a chance to commune with nature in a positive way.