The Path to Self Realization

Apr 08, 2018 Book Review…, Features / Columnists

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Book: Bloom: The Essential Journey – A New Guide to Balance Growth and Well Being
Author: Olubode Shawn Brown
Critic: Dr Glenville Ashby

Olubode Shawn Brown’s “Bloom: The Essential Journey – A New Guide to Balance Growth & Wellbeing,” unveils the existential needs of the human spirit. Millions are starved for meaning and relevance in this tumultuous world.
Conversely, many are at the cusp of greatness, but somehow, they are unable to realise their fullest potential. Why? Can we really create the reality we have long summoned? Brown delivers a detailed, incisive template on knowledge and personal development. His is a work of deliberation, structure and depth.
As a pedagogical tool, it adds new meaning to the Maslownian theory of self actualization. Arguably, Brown leans toward Lacan’s ‘jouissance,’ a pleasurable transcendence, the expression of a “super abundance of vitality,” to quote the famous French psychoanalyst.
Brown posits that our needs, our creativity and our sense of individuation are sabotaged by outside forces, suffocated by the tyranny of custom. We are beckoned to break free from the albatross of monotony and forge our own path.
Once this is acknowledged, we assume responsibility for our own growth. Here, self knowledge is vital. Brown demystifies depth psychology and philosophical thought. His clarity is unmistakable.
He identifies the life’s nutrients that are essential for wholeness. He writes, “…we live in a modern culture in which we have been socialized to believe that these nutrients – voice, hope, visibility, connection, and belonging – exist outside of ourselves and are in short supply.”
He continues, “[When we assume] that someone or something will give them to us if we do the right thing…we are distracted from our internal nutrient source, [and] we lose vital pieces of the psychological bridge that allows us to grow naturally and deliver our gifts to the world.”
According to Brown, these nutrients are essential to authentic living.
Void of them, we are psychologically castrated and wounded, masking out anguish in defence mechanisms, if only to salvage our sanity.
Brown counsels on the importance of balance in our endeavours.
Balance is only expressed when activities are undertaken to deepen connection and expression of the five life-nutrients.
We must engage in practices that celebrate, honour and amplify our unique voice. Adventure and fun should facilitate change and growth; business must be viewed through the lens of self-worth and creativity; family time must honour our parents, siblings, elders and relatives; and community life must be embraced as part of a broader philosophy of service and social responsibility.
Notably, life-nutrients correlate in metaphorical terms, to the five elements of mineral, nature, water, fire, and earth.
Brown offers what he calls, “elemental declaration,” a form of affirmation to reconfigure our mindset. Each declaration evokes a particular element. For example, “I can hear myself” stirs the mineral element within us, while the intonation, “I can feel myself change” conjures the nature element.
Brown concedes that life’s journey is never linear. The road is oftentimes impassable. Such is the hand of Fate. But it is at the crossroads that we must choose. He explores the many feelings that could emerge at this juncture: blame, withdrawal, fear, paralysis and obsessions.
Brown notes that “the primary choices aren’t really about what to do, but rather what to allow ourselves to feel, experience, and become.” He elaborates: “It is at the crossroads that we find balance and growth. The choice to say “Yes” at the crossroads in the pursuit of balance and growth is not the easiest choice to make. It has no guarantee of comfort and will bring us into direct confrontation with our fears.”
In the vein of Jung, Brown explores our shadows, our feelings of fear, hopelessness, resentment and stagnation.
On fear, he asks that we “identify the wounds and attendant fears to which we are vulnerable and learn how to design powerful personal rituals to help integrate these fears into our best selves.” Throughout this intensely informative work there are guideposts for self reflection and action.
With effort, we emerge, like the Phoenix – “Bloomers,” – individuals who have harnessed their talents and have produced many a gift to a troubled world.
Bloom offers more than self-help theories and motivational oratories. It’s a book of philosophical enquiry, a roadmap, a workshop in textual form, and an antidote to lingering disappointments, self hatred and resentment.
It requires a ‘Brobdingnagian’ shift in consciousness that demands patience, study and practical work. We are summoned to embrace a revolution, a journey that employs timeless exercises to enhance creativity and self-worth. Its implications are socially, even politically impactful. In biblical vein, Brown argues that our kingdom is within. Then, he offers us the key to that paradise.
Feedback: glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby
(C) Banyan Tree Worldwide Media, Inc. 2017
Publisher: Banyan Tree Press, NY. NY
ISBN 978-0-9903058-0-4
Available at Amazon
Ratings: Essential

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