Edward Hoffman (1)Reseñas

Really enjoyed it and feel Ed Hoffman did justice to such an amazing human being. It lead me to begin the quest of reading Maslow's books which are as one would imagine, mind bending. The establishment of an entirely new approach to psychology based on the self actualized being is brilliant!

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Hoffman-Lechelle-celeste--initiation-juive-a-la-r...

> L’ÉCHELLE CÉLESTE, Initiation juive à la réalisation intérieure, de Edward Hoffman. — L’objectif de ce livre est de proposer un guide, un projet de développement intérieur, en partant de la perspective d’élévation des sages juifs. La sagesse rationnelle et éthique du judaïsme s’y trouve en pleine lumière mais également accompagnée de ses aspects visionnaires et mystiques ; car ces deux côtés conviennent de façon significative à notre situation actuelle. L’échelle céleste est une initiation juive à la réalisation intérieure. Il concerne donc les méthodes expérimentales juives faites pour accroître en nous le sens d’identité personnelle et de détermination. A cette fin, y sont présentés et analysés de nombreux modèles de vie et multiples exercices de méditation. Cependant, ce travail ne prétend pas le moins du monde minimiser la valeur des études juives conventionnelles ; en fait, il nous faut éveiller les deux facettes de notre être pour parvenir à la véritable harmonie intérieure. L’échelle céleste est aussi un manuel pratique de développement de l’intériorité, apportant une contribution importante à la spiritualité juive et à son renouveau actuel, s’appuyant sur les richesses de la tradition religieuse juive — écrits éthiques, légendes, mysticisme et sagesse des Maîtres — Edward Hoffman met en lumière l’enseignement séculaire du Judaïsme en indiquant les chemins pour parvenir à réaliser notre conscience intégrale. Vous y trouverez trente exercices spirituels différents ayant chacun pour but de renforcer nos capacités les plus élevées. C’est un bon livre puisqu’il nous mène à une source créatrice qui est la clé de voûte de notre accomplissement. Éd. Dervy. (Albert SARALLIER)
—Nouvelles Clés, (7), Sept./Oct. 1989, (p. 61)

> Ce manuel d'initiation juive à la réalisation intérieure est d'une grande clarté : vraiment utile. ”Le monde de l’homme n'est rien d’autre que le jour et l’heure où il se trouve maintenant.” (Albert SARALLIER)
—Nouvelles Clés, (12), Juillet/Août 1990, (p. 47)

2.5 stars. Reading this was a slog for me, as I think that there were often entire sections that could have been cut out. It seemed like the book spent as much time discussing what was happening in the world as it did actually documenting Adler's life. That being said, I do feel renewed in my theoretical orientation, and annoyed by the many concepts that he created (which are almost never attributed to him). Adler truly was the forerunner of the humanistic and existential movements in psychology and counseling. As a future school counselor, it's no wonder that I was drawn to his theory. His emphasis on child guidance and education fit perfectly within the school counseling profession. I'm a proud Adlerian (as everyone in my cohort is well aware)! :)

Paths to Happiness: 50 Ways to Add Joy to Your Life Every Day is a little cookbook for happiness. The author offers fifty entrees you might sample, and suggests ways for you to cook up your own versions of any you particularly like each day. Some are quite enormous, like Forgiveness and Self-Compassion and Authenticity, and might take years to actually do on a daily basis. Some are tiny, and could be tried in a weekend, like Birding or Tai Chi or Power Napping. All-in-all, a nice way to taste fifty ways to happiness and see which might work for you.

With the plethora of self-help books available, an addition to their ranks needs to offer something new in order to earn more than passing notice. The author of this book, a licensed psychologist and university professor, offers 50 suggestions for cultivating happiness based on positive psychology research. All of the recommendations are evidence-based, with the reference list providing citations that support each of the 50 recommendations. Some of the cited works are classics by Jung, Freud, May, James, and the like, while many others are citations to more recent research in psychological and medical journals.

Some of the suggestions are activities, while others are emotions or states of mind. Recommended activities include things like community singing, cooking and baking, genealogy, knitting, prayer, travel, and volunteering, all activities that have added joy to my own life. I found the emotions/states of mind slightly less persuasive and somewhat repetitive. Is there really a difference between awe and a sense of wonder? Yet these are two separate recommendations.

This book provides useful suggestions for coping with the mild depression, or “blues”, that often follow a life-changing event like divorce or a bereavement. The book seems to be designed as a gift book, and it would make a thoughtful gift for a friend or relative who is coping with a major life change. It may also be useful for counselors or therapists to share with clients either in its entirety or by selecting recommended activities for homework assignments.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's early Reviewers program.

Interesting book.

I received this as an Early Reviewers selection. I am a pretty happy person normally, but was curious as to what other insights I might learn from this book. The book is a smallish book; mine is hardcover and very well made. Inside are fifty ways to help yourself be happy. Each idea is presented in two or three pages and explained as to what it is and how it affects your happiness or your attitude. The last page of each 'path to happiness' is a list of more practical ways to begin that particular activity. One example is 'Mentoring". The term is explained and a short history of the mentoring idea is given. At the end of the three short pages, a blue box lists ways and guidelines to sharing your mastery of a subject. 1. choose an activity that reflects your personal interests. This will minimize burnout. 2. Be realistic. No relationship is perfect, so expect occasional snags. 3. To best promote your mentee's growth, encourage decision making rather than dependence. 4. Be an active listener. Allow your nemtee to offer fresh ideas and methods in your work together. You'll both benefit.

I did enjoy this book, but realized that for me, reading straight through wasn't the best way. I looked at the index and chose topics that interested me and skimmed through others that were not in my interest box. All in all, a very interesting book.

Paths to Happiness: 50 Ways to Add Joy to Your Life Every Day by Edward Hoffman
Chronicle Books
Hardbound Edition
Publication Date: August 16, 2016

Drawing heavily on the premises of positive psychology, this small sized book provides fifty recommendations to individuals for increasing personal fulfillment and joyfulness. Each "topic" is backed up by specific scientific studies and presented in a short chapter, consisting of four or five pages. Readers seeking more in-depth information about a specific idea will generally be left to their own devices to find relevant books or reputable online sources.

Some of the individual ideas presented in this book are not novel. For example, volunteering, expressive writing and gratitude have often been mentioned in psychology related news stories or magazine articles, as possible methods to increase feelings of well-being. However there are other ideas presented that I had not considered before reading this book, such as Acting Improv. Not that I am likely to seek out an improv class in the future, but never say never. Although I have mixed feelings about positive psychology, some of the ideas presented in this book were interesting and I probably will try out a few specific suggestions in the future.

I appreciated that the author included an introductory chapter. It might have been helpful to present more information about the history and applications of positive psychology, especially for readers who aren't familiar with this branch of psychology.

Overall, this was a pleasant reading experience. I chose to read three or four topics each evening and that gave me something uplifting to focus on before drifting off to sleep.

Thank you to Chronicle Books and Hachette Book Group, for providing me with this book to review.

Paths to Happiness is a cute book that is written in small chapters of 3-4 pages that can be read quickly. I didn't find anything in the book truly eye opening, exciting or new. It seemed like a list of hobbies people enjoy and a list of positive attributes that make people happy like gratitude, forgiveness, and creativity. At the end of each chapter there is a guided activity. However, the guided activity is usually no more than, no do the hobby. It's a nice book for a waiting room or a coffee table to flip through for a few minutes, but it isn't a must have.

(I received this book as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer.)

Paths to Happiness 50 Ways to Add Joy to Your Life Every Day by Edward Hoffman is a good quick read. First let me say this is a quality hard cover book printed on high quality paper. So it does look great on your shelf. Those features are minor compared to content. There are so many books written on the subject of happiness that it is extremely difficult to come up with something new. I don't believe there is anything earth shattering in ghe book it's real beauty is on it's simplicity. The 50 ways which are a few pages of each idea is organized alphabetically. The concepts are simple but they are useful as a quick idea or reminder that can be used daily and each idea does contain some interesting information. Paths include ideas like doing adventure sports, art, gardening, of photography. Also, things like practicing mindfulness, forgiveness, gratitude and kindness. These are just a few of the ideas. If you want a simple quick read book with ideas you can use then I would recommend this book. Personally it will be a nice addition to my self help library.½

Edward Hoffman's intentions with his box containing "The Kabbalah Deck: Pathway to the Soul" were evinced on page 4 of 160 page booklet:
"I've increasingly felt the need for an entirely new resource – one that would make the Kabbalah more dynamically personal and interactive. This format would certainly not replace the classic study of the Kabbalah, but significantly complement it by providing a more experiential pathway into the proverbial "garden" of Jewish mystical guidance. To this end, I've created the Kabbalah Deck. It's been designed for two specific and unrelated purposes. The first is for contemplation and sacred study, and the second is for divination."

As you can conclude from the above the Deck consists of cards, 35 by number and a booklet. The back of the cards al gold colored, with black print on them using Middle eastern motifs, a Magen David (six pointed star) with an eye at its center and two fish at the shorter end of the cards. The fronts of the cards fall into one of three categories, but all of them are mostly white with minimal golden prints on them. The cards corresponding to the 22 letters of the Hebrew Alephbet have the letter's English version on top in all lower case, the Hebrew version as you'd see them in the Torah scroll with their crowns in the center of the card. At the bottom of these and the three "Jolly joker" cards there is a line of barely visible six pointed stars as watermarks. The function of the three cards that simply have hamsa on them is to be used as any letter the user wants them to be, when spelling out something. This might be necessary if a word has a specific letter more than once in it. There are also ten cards, for each of the sephirot in the Tree of life. Each of these cards have the whole traditional chart of the Tree with one highlighted. Below the tree you will find the Hebrew and English name of the specific sephira.

The accompanying booklet has three major and several minor sections. After the acknowledgements and the introduction you find a seven page mini-essay on the wisdom of the Hebrew alphabet. About half of this is devoted to explaining how Abraham Abulafia's repurposed it, but it also covers such roots of the topic as Ezra the Scribe, the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar. Then each of the letters get a two page treatment with 4-5 paragraphs each. These paragraphs explain the significance of the letter in Kabbalah. It is a great overview of the topic, although it never sites its sources fully. Often it talks about Kabbalah in general and sometimes he mentions that this particular explanation or that comes from the Zohar or from a Hassidic master. This kind of writing is in alignment with the intention I quoted above, but is not with my scientific or religious interest as both of these would want me to follow the sources and find out the original writings Hoffman incorporated. Nevertheless the content is truly remarkable. The last paragraph of each of these mini-chapters is about the purpose and method on how to meditate on that particular letter.

The second major section is about the Ten Sephirot. It follows the same patter of an opening 5-page mini-essay on their history and then two page of each of them. The last major section is titled "exercises for meditation and divination." None of the twenty five exercises is longer than 14 lines. Some of them fall along the lines of team, family or trust building, but most of them are for introspection. As Hoffman is a clinical psychologist I am sure he harvested his knowledge of that field to combine it with Jewish mysticism to create something new. The exercises often include shuffling the cards and picking one. Then the deeper meaning of that card is the answer for the question you were supposed to focus on. It presumes of course that you are fully familiar with the meanings of the cards, the letters and the sephirot. The booklet will give you a good start to acquire the knowledge but it will not fulfill all the needs.

Hoffman's book is full tiny nuggets of knowledge that are valuable I themselves for people interested in the connection of Kabbalah, psychology and (I am afraid I have to add) divination. He exposed the connection between the first two in one of his dozen books titled, "The Way of Splendor: Jewish mysticism and modern psychology." The Kabbalah Deck is a splendid package for those who want to follow the divination path. Meanwhile I will go back and read his book instead.

A beautiful book that introduces some of the mystical meanings behind the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Well, that's really about it. Beautiful, interesting, and concise.

Experiments in Reading

In the same vein as others, but not quite as neat. Some helpful meditation techniques and such, but rather new agey and run of the mill.

Cabala--Psychological aspects.