Wisdom for Living: Learning To Follow Your Inner Guidance

by Reynold Ruslan Feldman, Sharon Clark

We live in uncertain, even dangerous times. If we were ships, we’d be traveling in rough waters and dense fog. Without a navigation system, we’d soon be sunk - literally. We need to know where and how to navigate to keep ourselves safe as we pursue our individual life journeys. Wisdom for Living is an invaluable resource and guide for strengthening, developing, and accessing your own inherent wisdom nature. Each of us comes hard-wired with the equipment needed to navigate the rough waters of life. This equipment is our intuition or gut feelings, available to all. Yet like the GPS in a car or phone, we need to learn to access, use, and trust it. These short essays suggest how you can find wisdom in a variety of people, places, and things. You are encouraged to keep a wisdom journal (WJ) in which you respond to a motivating question at the end of each essay. In this way, you will create a personal handbook for guiding your life while using your inner guidance to deal with challenges.

176 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2019

Reviews

[Ann T]

Thank you Netgalley and John Hunt Publishing for an ARC in return of my honest review.

This book is a selection of short wisdom stories / teachings. Each wisdom begins with a relevant quote and ends with a question for the reader to journal on. The author encourages keeping a wisdom journal to answer all the questions in and if done, at the conclusion of reading the book you will, have your own wisdom book to refer to.

It was a nice idea and I enjoyed many of the stories. I did skip over quite a few, choosing to read the ones that interested me more at the time. This is the type of book that I would dip in and out of rather than reading in longer bursts. The journal questions were relevant to the wisdom but I found many of them a bit light.

A great book for someone wanting to explore a bit of journaling and getting thoughts down but may not be so much for someone looking to really dig deep.

I rate this book 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.

[Lynda Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wisdom for Living is the fruit of a collaboration between husband and wife and consisted of a series of bite-sized topics, each expanding on quotes from, well, wise individuals: great writers, sages and mystics, and so forth. It is therefore not intended to be read all at once - one topic for each day is probably the way this is intended. Neither is it intended as a 'spectator sport' - the reader is encouraged to keep a journal of his/her own reflections on each topic. By the end, each will have completed their own book of wisdom!

And what about the writers themselves? It does seem that each is very well qualified to write about wisdom. Reynold Ruslan Feldham is old, at 75, and it is always to be hoped that the old do have wisdom to pass on. He is Jewish to begin with, but would seem to be at home within any interfaith environment, whether or not Christian, Hindi, Buddhist, or even just among works of great literature. It's to be suspected he was in the vanguard of the 60's Californian New Age movement. He touches on Gurdjieff and Marianne Wliamson, of A Course of Miracles. He practises the Latihan. And so on. His wife, meanwhile, is a certified psychotherapist

Then, there is the question of what wisdom actually is, other than the ability to reflect well on a long and full life. Suggestions in theological Christian jargon are that it is a charism, therefore God-given. The writers, however, profess to take a middle path between offering practical homilies that anyone can relate to, or being too esoteric about the topic.

Some New Ageisms here, however, do still jar. I personally find the strict distinction between true spiritual essence and personality less than helpful, as then almost anything can be written off as not a true reflection of this great Self on high, according to the gurus. Reynold, however, draws attention to a certain gift for mimicry possessed by himsrlf, so possibly this explains why he was keen to see the puppeteer behind the puppets.

There are certainly, entry if nuggets of wisdom to be found within these pages. This book should certainly bring out the inner sage of a anyone who chooses to go along with the spirit of this book and journal.

[Rosalind Bryden]

This is a book to dip into. It contains over 100 sections which are like very short essays each on a different aspect of wisdom. So for example there is Arboreal Wisdom, Computer Wisdom, Eternal-Light Wisdom, Laughing Wisdom, Midlife Crisis Wisdom and so on. Each chapter opens with a quote and these along bring together a wealth of wisdom with words from Plato to Native-American sayings. to Jewish Prayers to Moroccan Proverbs.

Each section concludes with a suggestion of something for the reader to consider in relation to their own life. The author suggests using a journal to write for ten minutes after reading each section and thus to create your own wisdom journal. As each section is only a page or two in length it would be very feasible to use the book for personal study or development over a number of months, taking a section and considering your personal response to it.

I enjoyed much of the writing. In the essays the author draws a lot on personal experience to illustrate the theme. I became somewhat frustrated as nothing is explored in any depth. The author throws an idea out, shares his personal experience and then says 'over to you - what do you think?' It is therefore a great book if you are prepared to play your part and be an active reader, considering each topic and maybe writing about it.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of this beautiful, inspiring book is that Wisdom is all around us and it is also inside us, each and everyone of us! The book consists of very short essays, one page each, and it is suggested that you read one each day to ponder. Each essay begins with an inspiring quotation and ends with a short suggestion for journaling so you can use the Wisdom in the essay to remember and take note of times in your life when that particular wisdom was activated in you.

This would make an excellent gift for anyone who is interested in diving deeper into their own minds, life journeys, and spirits.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely insightful, helpful and uplifting book that actively encourages you to write your very own Wisdom for Living. I received this as an ebook via Netgalley and JHP Books for which I am very grateful but I personally think this is the type of book that works best when you dip in and out of it and so I would recommend buying the actual physical book.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am afraid that I found this difficult to get into. It is full of helpful advice, but I didn't find anything especially new in it. It is the kind of book which should be read slowly, however, and I probably have too many books to read at the moment!



I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[January Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book is one to be enjoyed and used slowly over time. You are of course, free to read it in one sitting, but I found it personally more useful dipping in and out of it and skipping around to stories that were most helpful for myself for whatever I was dealing with at the time. I loved this book and will continue to return to it.

[Dawn Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisdom for Living by Learning to Follow Your Inner Guidance by Reynold Ruslan Feldman and Sharon Clark
Book Review by Dawn Thomas

176 Pages
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing / O-Books
Release Date: July 26, 2019

Health, Mind & Body , Religion & Spirituality

This is a book of short essays. There are questions at the end of each essay. You are encouraged to start and record your answers in a wisdom journal first thing in the morning or last thing at night. They recommend no more than fifteen minutes a day.

I love the reference to Michael Moore’s movie, “Where to Invade Next.” Many of the essays and the questions really made me think. They made me dig deep inside for a few of the answers. I learned about myself, what I need to do to grow and the areas I need to improve.

The essay about do-over wisdom was eye-opening. We all know words have power and we should be careful how we say things to avoid hurting other people’s feelings. The example of their conversation was great. I can see how I can incorporate this into my own life.

I laughed out loud when I read the quote under Editorial Wisdom. “Even the best writer has to erase.” – A Spanish saying. The Equal-Rights Wisdom essay mentions that equal rights may be long in coming. I hope the author is wrong.

The Grateful Wisdom was so true. We often make many requests to the Divine but how often do we say thank you. The entry on Hospice was touching. I have personal experience with Hospice and reading the article brought back bittersweet memories for me.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have started a Wisdom Journal and will continue to answer questions related to these essays. I highly recommend this book interested in connecting with their higher self.