“Ascension Journey” by Lu Emanuel, is a handbook for our times. It is a personal, honest sharing of her daily thoughts, expressed in language that is simple, clear and poetic.
It offers food for the hungry soul, solace for the fearful and joyous guidance for the spirit. With love and compassion, she carves a path to an authentic encounter with the self.
Lu Emanuel began by writing a daily blog. Happily, after the space of a year, she gathered these gems together and published them in book form. It is beautifully bound and lies so naturally in the hand that one need never be far from the creative inspiration that these pages impart.
As the title suggests, the writer explores her place in the world by focusing on the moments that make up a day, a night, a lifetime, all the while attempting to remain conscious of her thought processes. She recognizes and accepts all that is human, but what is special is that this awarness is filtered through a loving spirituality and intense appreciation of the life force in all its manifestations. The ecstacy that underscores her spiritual quest knows no bounds.
Her topics range widely. She may be walking in the woods feeling the stillness of the divine, and then recall a harrowing accident that sent her plunging throught the ice of a river. This near death experience leads forcefully to the understanding that we must choose life every single day, no matter how great the struggle.
“..But to choose LIFE! Yes I love it. I love the day and and I love the night. I love the hunger and the plate of food before me….I love the gains and all of the losses. I love every single aspect, hue, shade and tone of my being here on the Earth, in a body.”
Marvellous, isn’t it?
For this reviewer, there was much clarification. Many times I have puzzled over the concept of “co-creator” much discussed in sacred texts. Here is Lu’s take on this subject.
“Moments are the only place where true creation occurs. We create by being courageous enough to move and act in accordance with the moment, in resonance with it.”
And one last example from the abundance offered by this book. These few lines still the heart and give strenghth to honour the proper rhythm of each life.
“There is no place to which I must go. There is no self that I must become. There is nothing that I need to do to justify my being here now. I don’t have to save anyone, change anything, heal the world….
And neither do you.”
Why do we need a book like this? Simply to help us navigate the human journey, to learn to slide almost effortlessly through time. Lu reminds us that the encounter with the self need not be an obscure, arcane endeavour. Paradoxically, the simple daily wisdom of pausing, reflecting and consciously breathing one’s awarenss, moment by moment, will open the doors to elation and appreciation of the self and all that surrounds.
A book can be a powerful thing. I am grateful that “Ascension Journey” has come my way.
Written by Bobbie Joannides
