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Book review… Advice for daily living
Book: Poetry from The Rose of Sharon: Divine Thoughts and Inspirations for Living Well
Author: Sharon Parris-Chambers
Reviewer: Dr Glenville Ashby
The thirst for inspiration is inexhaustible and the literary world has shouldered the responsibility to guide and heal our wounds. But not every writer is believable. Words, we know, carry feelings, stoking the embers of readers when used intuitively.
The inspirational writer is never deliberate and calculated but delivers with an incorrigible gusto that gushes from the subtle influence of spirit. Sharon Parris-Chambers comfortably sits in this class.
“Poetry from The Rose of Sharon” peels through layers of clutter that suffocate, obfuscating a light, a spark of divinity lodged in our bosom. If only we know.
We discover this light – the I AM principle that speaks to us, if only we could hear; that consoles, if only we open our hearts; that instructs, if only we listen. Such is the nature of our divinity – sparks of the indefinable, immutable God, some argue.
Chamber’s collection serves as counsel for daily living, nudging us to be steadfast, patient, as challenges mount. It can be relentlessly assertive, evoking the legionnaire within; but speaks ever so softly when it matters.
“The Rose” conjures the inexorable spirit of Victor Frankl and the transcendentalism of Neo-Platonists. Chambers shifts between the worlds of spirit and matter, drawing energy from the former as she navigates the muddied water of the latter. “Ye are gods, we are reminded,” in the vein of Psalm 82:6.
She presses home this theme in “I am a Divine Being”: “I AM here to lead by example: to love, to heal, to teach. I AM LOVE, I AM THAT I AM. I AM ONE WITH DIVINE SPIRIT.” In “Spirit Purify Me,” she intones: “Purify my mind and soul. Work in and through me. So that all people may know the god or goddess within.”
And the metaphysician in her surfaces, unbridled, in “Eye AM all that.” Her passion is never more evident. “You are a Divine Spirit having an earthly experience. Spirit. Morphing into full consciousness as the Eye. Manifesting in the flesh, to live, to learn, to grow. I AM the constitution of the Universe. Consciousness. I AM all that. Infinity, Spirit, Consciousness.”
Chambers explores a range of subjects: the environment, business, prayer, metaphysics, medical bioethics, and ontology. Her poems shine, but her inspirational counsel, her proverbial-like philosophy (Section V) proves indelible, the seal of this transformational work. It is concise, witty, and effectively penned.
“When we are like water, nothing stops our flow,” she writes with Taoist sensitivity.
“Take yourself, your personality out of the way,” she exhorts. “Trust your inner self to lead you,” “Surrender the ego, gone will be the pride, gone will be the need to be right.” And in like vein she continues, “Your eyes reflect images that are transmitted by your thoughts. Change your thoughts and you change your vision.”
Chamber’s strength and appeal are carved in her authenticity. She speaks to our ubiquitous impulses to self-destruct. She rallies our beaten spirits and quiets the dark, discomforting whispers of the Negative One. We can do better, for we are infinitely resourceful, she iterates. And she is convincing because she too has experienced the weight of Providence. She now lives to tell an instructive tale, to lead a resistance rooted in spirituality. There may be more aesthetically defined works, but for raw pedagogy “The Rose of Sharon” is content rich; a resounding triumph.
Feedback: [email protected] or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby
Poetry from The Rose of Sharon by Sharon Parris-Chambers
Publisher: Temple of Inner Peace, Jamaica
ISBN 978-0-9779716-19
Rate: Recommended
Available at Amazon
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