5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful book

#. · September 15, 2014

This book is a very informative and wonderful guide on how to embrace ceremony and to strengthen one's own personal practice and relationship with Spirit. I have read many books on Native American ceremonies, but this book has a unique perspective, which touched me deeply. Through humor and real life experiences, Linda shares the story of her life and her own spiritual journey giving the reader a very personal connection with her and with how ceremony can add beauty and meaning to everyday living.Ceremonies and rituals can be very powerful in conquering the difficulties of life, as wells as celebrating events and milestones. Linda shares how today's society has forgotten the importance of these events and milestones and have lost touch and respect for each other.Whether you are interested in the Native American culture or are just searching for a way to deepen your relationship to the Creator, this book is a must read. Through ceremony, we can find peace and understand our relationship to all things. Mitakuya Oyasin (We are all related)"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us." Black Elk

5.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Ceremony

J.J.S. · May 24, 2011

There is so much to this book! It is very direct and straightforward regarding the content. Our lack of connection in our cultural ceremony and what we are missing touched me very deeply. There is something there for all cultures and all religions. It is very personable, like a conversation between two old friends. After completing the book I am left without words to adequately describe what it meant to me and yet, I know that it won't speak to everyone. It will speak to those ready to hear. I recommend this book... Thank you, Linda.

5.0 out of 5 stars Ceremony - giving Passion and Purpose to our lives

S.C.B.R. · July 10, 2011

Linda Neale's wonderfully useful book, The Power of Ceremony, is a timely and beautifully expressed look at how we can restore, in ourselves and our community, the sense of the sacred and the connectivity that we have lost in the fragmentation of modern life. With a Native American focus, Neale brings her own skills and talents to a topic of great interest.The recent court case revolving around deaths in a sweat lodge ceremony behooves those of us who are not familiar with the standards and creative methods behind spiritual ceremony to educate ourselves so that we can regain what we have lost in our cultural busyness, without being disrespectful or harmful in our quest for spiritual meaning. Neale's book will help us reach that place.The three sections of the book ("The Call," "The Seven Principles," and "The Practice") give us the tools we need to be informed, to plan and to execute the healing nature of ceremony and to create a ceremonial life that is rich with flavor and meaning. Neale takes her time in defining, explaining, and exploring the meanings of ceremony; her perspective on the difference between ceremony and ritual, the importance of intention and transitions; and the overall view that ceremony is within the reach of us all with practice and passion.This is not a book to race through, garnering ideas and dispensing them without proper preparation or the correct mind-set. It is a book both highly readable and meant to be used as a reference guide. As you learn to create ceremonies and involve others, and along the way to honor your own personal space and blessedness, you will reach greater understanding. The world did not reach chaos and frenzy all at once, and it will take time, patience and study to center ourselves once again. This book is interactive, not merely a passive reading experience. A time line will help you chart your path to readiness for spiritual awakening and ceremony. As you study, Neale will ask you to think on things, and write your answers.Neale uses the term "initiation hunger" to try to explain the need of many of us, particularly the young and vulnerable, to be involved and participate in ceremony. Instead of finding that sense of peace and involvement, drugs, violence and even terrorism have become more prevalent. As we fight our feelings of disconnectedness and disenfranchisement we have a choice--to move forward via ceremony, or to stay stagnant and unfulfilled. Neale is careful to say that whatever the belief system that we come from in our lives, whatever our higher power is, we can be enriched AND enrich the lives of others by studying and implementing ceremonial patterns as part of our daily lives.The Seven Principles Neale offers to give us grounding and the power to use ceremony for the common good are, simply stated: Listening, Intention, Preparation, Structure, Symbols, Prayer and the Unexpected. I really enjoyed reading about the concept of the Unexpected; what Neale calls "the spontaneous, the joyful and/or chaotic element." If we open up to the Unexpected, as well as planning the steps of honest, heartfelt creativity, we too can learn to participate in ceremonies that will bring consequence and depth to our lives.This would be a great reading choice for an open-minded church group, book club or organization. It will lead you through the steps to the possibilities of creating and living with genuine meaning, appreciation and togetherness with our fellow inhabitants on our troubled planet. Neale says herself that we are human, we make mistakes, but by making an earnest effort to understand and value the way of ceremony, we can grow and be at peace. A bibliography gives the interested reader further places to research and read about ceremony and restoring the sacred in our communities.Neale states, "The call to live a ceremonial life may sneak up on you, or it may be clear...If you Listen, you will hear ancestral voices whispering in the wind and over the waters. They are inviting you to participate in a great ceremonial renewal, spiraling toward your center and the true purpose of our existence. Say 'YES.'"by Laura Strathman Hulkafor Story Circle Book Reviewsreviewing books by, for, and about women

5.0 out of 5 stars Walking a Sacred Path

F. · May 3, 2011

Writing from her heart, Linda Neale talks of the importance of ceremony within our lives and uses stories from her own quest for knowledge about ceremonies and a spiritual life to illustrate her teachings. Through her own empirical knowledge and studies of different psychologists, and cultures, Linda Neale has identified the seven principles of ceremony: Listening, Intention, Preparation, Structure, Symbols, Prayer, and The Unexpected. The information is broken into three main sections: The Call; The Seven Principles; The Practice.The Call speaks to reclaiming our own ceremonial roots and initiation. Linda speaks of her own call to a ceremonial life.The Seven Principles dedicates a chapter to each of the seven principles. Each chapter in the Seven Principles section includes a set of questions to help the reader find the significance of that principle within her own life.The Practice looks at honoring traditional ceremonies and suggests ways to develop new ceremonies for these changing times.Having lived a ceremonial life for more than 50 years myself, I was touched by the way Linda Neale honors her subject and shows respect for her reader. Reading this book reminded me of certain experiences from my own life and re-affirmed my own teachings and knowledge.The book is written in easily understood language. Whether one is new to ceremony, or walked with Spirit one's entire life, one may find this a book worth reading.