Ask and it is Given by Abraham-Hicks - Book Review

Who is Abraham?Abraham, for those who are not familiar with them, is a group of non-physical consciousnesses that speak through Esther Hicks (by a process that some would call channelling, although they never use that term). Esther and her husband Jerry spend most of their lives travelling around the US giving seminars in which guests can ask Abraham questions about their personal situations. Abraham is refreshingly non-dogmatic, and the emphasis in their approach is on helping people to tune into their own inner guidance, rather than relying on the advice or rules of others. They have also published a number of books, which consist of Abraham's information in a pure, unedited form, written down by Esther. Abraham has become increasingly well-known over the last couple of years, as information about the law of attraction has become more mainstream.Ask and it is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires was published in 2004, and was Abraham-Hicks' third non-fiction book (after A New Beginning, Volumes I & II). Ask and it is Given is one of my favourite Abraham-Hicks books, and I think it is especially valuable for those who are new to Abraham, as it covers all of their basic concepts in lots of detail, but is also very clear and readable.What's in the book?Ask and it is Given starts off with a comprehensive introductory section in which Jerry and Esther explain how they came to be acquainted with Abraham, and should be of interest to anyone who is curious about how the Abraham-Hicks phenomenon began, and the process by which Esther receives information from them. However, it doesn't matter if you're sceptical about the whole non-physical/channelling aspect; the information in this book can be of value to anyone, regardless of where it comes from.After the introduction, the book is split into two major sections. The first provides general information about the role of consciousness in reality creation, and about life's basic purpose, while the second part is more practically oriented, with each chapter giving details of a specific 'process' or technique which you can use to help you to manifest your desires.The 22 chapters in the first part of the book are clearly laid out, and are very positive and uplifting in tone. Topics covered here include the general purpose of life (which is to enjoy it!); the vibrational nature of the universe and our own power as creators of our own realities; the fact that we can be, do and have everything we want; guidance for releasing inner resistance and allowing our desires to manifest quickly and easily; and, in particular, the importance of our emotional guidance system, to which we must listen if we are to align with our desires in the most effective way.In Ask and it is Given, Abraham introduces the idea of the emotional scale, which consists of 22 levels of emotion in hierarchical order (with the most negative at the bottom, and the most positive at the top). Simply put, when we feel good, we are in alignment with our desires and our 'Inner Being' (what some would call the universe, higher self, Source energy, God, etc). Abraham points out that when we are in a very negative state, it is too much of a vibrational leap to try to feel really good immediately (e.g. there's no point trying to go straight from despair or anger to joy), so it is necessary to work your way up the scale at a comfortable pace. In this way, we can change our feelings - and thus our point of attraction - in relation to any subject that is important to us.Discussion of this emotional scale forms the core of the book, and the second half of Ask and it is Given describes in detail each of the 22 processes that can be used to travel back up the emotional scale, from any starting point. Some of these processes are general in nature, and some are intended for use relative to specific topics, such as money or health. And there's no need to try to do them all - they are designed for use by people who are difference points on the emotional scale, and so not all of them will be useful in all situations; the idea is that you select the process that best matches where you are to begin with, in terms of your feelings. Abraham recommends following your inner guidance and just doing the processes(s) that intuitively feel the most appealing. There's never any need to force yourself to do something that doesn't feel good, just because it's supposedly beneficial. That's one thing I really like about Abraham's approach - theres none of the 'you've got to suffer to get results' type of mentality that one often finds in self-help and metaphysical material of this type. Personally, I've found Abraham's emotional scale and the associated processes to be enormously helpful in aligning with my desires in many areas of my life, and with just feeling better in general.Who will like it?So that is Ask and it is Given in a nutshell: you are 100% responsible for creating your reality and - as the title suggests - you get everything you ask for. Your real work is in coming into vibrational alignment with your desires, and the emotional scale and the processes help you to do this. It is a very simple book really, yet richly detailed and very readable and uplifting. Will Ask and it is Given be useful for you too? Maybe, if you're open-minded and can accept that life is about joy (not suffering, or proving worthiness, or being super-productive and hard working, or any of the other stuff society tries to make us all believe). If you're familiar with The Secret and other material on law of attraction, you might like Abraham too, particularly if you were left unsatisfied by the explanations given by these other authors. Abraham is, in my opinion, the best source of information on law of attraction and reality creation that's available, as they go into so much detail, and way beyond anything that human writers, with their more limited perspective, generally deal with (if incessant talk of 'vibrations' and 'energy' scares you off, you probably won't like Abraham!). And those who are already familiar with Abraham will love it too, as it so neatly encapsulates what they're about. Die-hard sceptics who think anything to do with law of attraction and the power of the mind is a load of bunk will hate it, but they probably won't be attracted to it anyway!I'm always a bit suspicious of reviews that have nothing bad at all to say about a product, but in this case, there really is nothing about this book that I felt was lacking. Whether you love your life, and want to keep it that way or make it even better, or you have some real 'problems' that you need to resolve, this book has the tools that can help. So if you're open-minded and willing to take total responsibility for creating your own experience, Ask and it is Given could be perfect for you. dr seuss book collection