Rating: 
Summary: Simple *and* Powerful!
Review: This book is excellent. Sue Bender has an intimate way of writing--you feel like you're hearing from a good friend. I especially appreciate how she takes you through her thought process. She doesn't just serve up her insights--she shows you how she got there and in doing so takes you along for the ride. So you get to arrive at the same insights with the author; rather than just listening, you get to participate. This is warm, inspiring, lovely writing. Reading it was both illuminating and calming, and a true pleasure. I plan to share this great little book with all my friends.
Rating:
Summary: Simple *and* Powerful!
Review: This book is excellent. Sue Bender has an intimate way of writing--you feel like you're hearing from a good friend. I especially appreciate how she takes you through her thought process. She doesn't just serve up her insights--she shows you how she got there and in doing so takes you along for the ride. So you get to arrive at the same insights with the author; rather than just listening, you get to participate. This is warm, inspiring, lovely writing. Reading it was both illuminating and calming, and a true pleasure. I plan to share this great little book with all my friends.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible book
Review: This book is very powerful, you will start reading and not be able to tear yourself away from it. She does a great job of presenting allot of great ideas and concepts, for you to really think about.She talks about a simple concept of the monk's begging bowl, which I had never even thought about before, and she puts new relevance to what this means. The monk only takes what he needs, he takes no more no less, and there are many other great observations that are made. One in particular relates to the tea cup, that if you are already full you cannot take in new energy, ideas.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible book
Review: This book is very powerful, you will start reading and not be able to tear yourself away from it. She does a great job of presenting allot of great ideas and concepts, for you to really think about. She talks about a simple concept of the monk's begging bowl, which I had never even thought about before, and she puts new relevance to what this means. The monk only takes what he needs, he takes no more no less, and there are many other great observations that are made. One in particular relates to the tea cup, that if you are already full you cannot take in new energy, ideas.
Rating:
Summary: A circular route
Review: This is an interesting book as the author warns at the begining that there really is no beginning or end. She's right. I found myself while reading the book dutifully from beginning to end, often going back and rereading sections. THE AUTHOR REVEALS HER INSECURITIES AND THEY ALL SEEM SO FAMILIAR. However, what got me, was that the author was not a young woman. She is in her late 50s, early 60s. So much for outgrowing them. Well, I had hoped. She examined these insecurities and failings in a sense from a view, I had not expected; as if they were assets. Now that's a thought. She had difficulty accepting this notion at first and the book subtly pushes this to the forefront again and again. Fascinating. THE AUTHOR'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HER ADULT SON IS MARKED WITH MIS-COMMUNICATIONS THAT DOMINATED THEIR PREVIOUS INTERATIONS. However, by turning off the critic to herself, she was more accepting and could "hear" others better. This greatly helped her and her son communicate on a new level. Any parent who has children making that change from child to adult could really use help here. Any help. THERE ARE PARTS OF THIS BOOK THAT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD AND OTHERS THAT WERE POIGNANT. The author relates a story, where she hires a professional organizer and within moments of this woman starting to do her job, pays her to stop and leave. The author realized that she did not want to have her organization methods changed, but wanted a different outcome using the same methods... Don't we all. Change requires...Change. THERE ARE SO MANY WONDERFUL POINTS MADE IN THIS BOOK, A REVIEW, SHY OF RECREATING THE BOOK, CAN'T DO THEM JUSTICE. The best a reviewer can say is Read this book, read it slow and think about it. It is very Zen Buddist in philosophy and gives great weight to the day to day things. However, unlike "Sweeping changes" a book centered in Zen philosophy around house cleaning and maintenance, this book does not focus so much on day to day activities directly, but the philosophies of day to day relationships with people. The word Synchronicity comes to mind here. I PLAN TO RE-READ THE BOOK IN A MONTH OR SO. Books like this change in time. Next time I could write an entirely different review because different things will catch my eye. It is hard to write a book you can come back to over and over and in this the author has done a magnificent job.
Rating:
Summary: A circular route
Review: This is an interesting book as the author warns at the begining that there really is no beginning or end. She's right. I found myself while reading the book dutifully from beginning to end, often going back and rereading sections. THE AUTHOR REVEALS HER INSECURITIES AND THEY ALL SEEM SO FAMILIAR. However, what got me, was that the author was not a young woman. She is in her late 50s, early 60s. So much for outgrowing them. Well, I had hoped. She examined these insecurities and failings in a sense from a view, I had not expected; as if they were assets. Now that's a thought. She had difficulty accepting this notion at first and the book subtly pushes this to the forefront again and again. Fascinating. THE AUTHOR'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HER ADULT SON IS MARKED WITH MIS-COMMUNICATIONS THAT DOMINATED THEIR PREVIOUS INTERATIONS. However, by turning off the critic to herself, she was more accepting and could "hear" others better. This greatly helped her and her son communicate on a new level. Any parent who has children making that change from child to adult could really use help here. Any help. THERE ARE PARTS OF THIS BOOK THAT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD AND OTHERS THAT WERE POIGNANT. The author relates a story, where she hires a professional organizer and within moments of this woman starting to do her job, pays her to stop and leave. The author realized that she did not want to have her organization methods changed, but wanted a different outcome using the same methods... Don't we all. Change requires...Change. THERE ARE SO MANY WONDERFUL POINTS MADE IN THIS BOOK, A REVIEW, SHY OF RECREATING THE BOOK, CAN'T DO THEM JUSTICE. The best a reviewer can say is Read this book, read it slow and think about it. It is very Zen Buddist in philosophy and gives great weight to the day to day things. However, unlike "Sweeping changes" a book centered in Zen philosophy around house cleaning and maintenance, this book does not focus so much on day to day activities directly, but the philosophies of day to day relationships with people. The word Synchronicity comes to mind here. I PLAN TO RE-READ THE BOOK IN A MONTH OR SO. Books like this change in time. Next time I could write an entirely different review because different things will catch my eye. It is hard to write a book you can come back to over and over and in this the author has done a magnificent job.
Rating:
Summary: Everyday Sacred is right at your fingertips
Review: This lovely little book with its attractive black & white drawings brings into focus, causes to be meditated, the sacred in the everyday. Now why would this be of importance, you ask? Well, with simple shifts of perception, each of us can find the sacred in our hurried & shallow lives. We can start each dawn refreshed & find, at day's end, that extraordinary gifts have come our way & it is the small acts that make every day of our life sacred. A loving gift from a husband to his wife. Highly recommended. Go find it!
Rating: 
Summary: Sometimes you can tell a book by its cover
Review: What can I say? I love the cover of this book! The cover art is so beautiful in a simple way. Just looking at this book brings me joy, which is why I don't have the heart to line it up on a bookshelf!
Fortunately, I controlled my love for the cover design enough to actually open the book. The words and stories match the simple beauty portrayed on the cover (or is it the other way around...forgive my photographer biases) Sue Bender writes in an open and friendly way. Her stories are beautiful and inspirational. I believe that any reader would be able to find themselves somewhere among the pages.
While reading, I felt like I had made a new friend. I also appreciated the wisdom and experience that comes with her age. I am used to reading younger authors, but when I read Bender's work I couldn't help but think that "this lady knows what's going on."
Her desire for self knowledge and exploraiton are also very inspiring.
I would recommend this book for anyone who has found their way to this page, and I'm greatly looking forward to reading Stretching Lessons (I'll let you know what I think of that one, too!)
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes you can tell a book by its cover
Review: What can I say? I love the cover of this book! The cover art is so beautiful in a simple way. Just looking at this book brings me joy, which is why I don't have the heart to line it up on a bookshelf!
Fortunately, I controlled my love for the cover design enough to actually open the book. The words and stories match the simple beauty portrayed on the cover (or is it the other way around...forgive my photographer biases) Sue Bender writes in an open and friendly way. Her stories are beautiful and inspirational. I believe that any reader would be able to find themselves somewhere among the pages.
While reading, I felt like I had made a new friend. I also appreciated the wisdom and experience that comes with her age. I am used to reading younger authors, but when I read Bender's work I couldn't help but think that "this lady knows what's going on."
Her desire for self knowledge and exploraiton are also very inspiring.
I would recommend this book for anyone who has found their way to this page, and I'm greatly looking forward to reading Stretching Lessons (I'll let you know what I think of that one, too!)
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