Book Review: Embodying Soul by Keri Mangis

If I were to try to describe "Embodying Soul" by Keri Mangis in one word, it would be a struggle since this book offers its readers multiple layers to be explored. Thus any single word description would be just as valid as the next. First, it is an highly entertaining story full of wit, humor, and personal honesty, not to mention wonderful characters; personifications of emotions which add an extra element of insight and comedy through their voices.

You could say this book is about transformation, which it is. It's about how a quiet, bookish introvert from the Upper Mid-West struggles to find her own identity, and through it, her place in the world. It is a book about relationships and the roles we are forces to adopt.

It's an exploration about spirituality. The search of our true Self, be it through religion, science, or the various forms of spirituality is perhaps one of the important journeys we, as humans, can undertake. But ultimately, I think it's about Authenticity, a term which the author frequently invokes and calls to the reader to explore with her.

The search for our own unique Authenticity or Truth is essential to discovering who we are as person. By that I mean discovering our true nature by examining and peeling off labels either assigned to us by society or ones we pinned on ourselves. Ms. Mangis' search is a reflection of our own. She courageously exposes herself--warts and all--in a way that we each can identify with, regardless of our gender, upbringing, education, age or where we are in life.

Books about religion or spirituality tend to dry or filled with psychobabble. Not so here. The writing style of Ms. Mangis is refreshing honesty as is her ability to engage her reader that is deeply personal and revealing. One cannot but help to want to join her in her journey of self-discovery.

Through artful personification, Ms. Mangis creates delightful characters using her emotions--Fear, Anger, Joy, Depression and so on in a way that we can easily relate to. We meet her spiritual alter ego, Serene Voyager or "Seri", as she prepares to once again rejoin humanity in her pursuit of "The Great Truth", albeit with a mix of excitement and trepidation.

We're introduced to her Soul Realm guide, Rasa, who I can almost visualize as a wiser and brighter "Aunt Clara" from Bewitched. It's Rasa's job to help prepare Seri for her journey to come while giving tantalizing glimpses of her life to come. However, her most endearing character is her wild silver wolf named Endless Curiosity or "Curiosa" for short who leads the way forward; ever in search for Truth and knowledge wherever it leads. I'm sure I have one of her litter mates.

"Embodying Soul" by Keri Mangis is a delightfully entertaining book. It engages both the imagination as well as the intellect. I urge to pick up a copy of "Embodying Soul" by Keri Mangis and join her in her journey to find the "Great Truth". Perhaps in doing so, you will discover your own "Great Truth" along the way. 285 pages.

Book Review: The Spiritual Awakening Process: Coming Out of the Darkness and Into the Light by Christine Hoeflich

Ms. Hoeflich seems to be quite an usual individual. Her past experiences would define her as a practical and fact oriented individual, as to be expected of someone with degrees in material engineering and environmental studies. Yet, she is someone who is equally quite at home with the esoteric and possesses that rare ability to express her finely tuned sensitivity through words. Ms. Hoeflich has taken on a subject which is often considered confusing or misleading at best and through the use of her own personal experiences has demystified it and made it much easier to understand. More importantly, Ms. Hoeflich has provided us---her readers---with the tools to help us along the road to our own unique spiritual awakening.

Her book, "The Spiritual Awakening Process" is a reflective expression of her own self discovery into self awareness or "shamanism" as much as it is a "how to" book for the rest of us to follow along with. Often books of this sort seem to confuse their readers and ramble on, losing its purpose... and its readers...in the process. Not so this book. Obviously Ms. Hoeflich had her reader's in mind when she set out to write this book, given that it is well written, using easy to understand concepts and terms. It has a nice "easy to read" flow to it which drives toward its singular objective, namely to serve as a catalyst for the reader to understand their role as a spiritual being experiencing a physical existence.

At the book's core is awakening one's own "higher conscientious" and reconnect the with "Divine" in order to rediscover our own individual and unique place within the "Divine Plan" which, collectively, will lead to a new "Golden Age" of Humanity. Ms. Hoeflich includes five steps and easy to learn exercises to help with one's spiritual awakening and growth. Perhaps Ms Hoeflich expresses it best which she says "Your divine purpose is to become a 'spiritual master'... to transcend the collective mind control we've created".

"The Spiritual Awakening Process: Coming Out of the Darkness and Into the Light" by Christine Hoeflich is an excellent starting point for anyone wanting to explore and develop their own spirituality and intuition. Paperback 134 pages /Kindle 90 pages

Want to learn more? Visit Ms. Hoeflich's blog, 'Your Spiritual Awakening' at:


Want to order now? Here's the link on Amazon