G114 Escaping the Chrysalis Introduction to Gestalt Techniques for self-esteem transformation
Author: Jan Deelstra
Publisher: Nekawa Crone Publishing
Publishing Date: 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9885334-2-4
Summary:
Escaping the Chrysalis: Introduction to Gestalt Techniques for Self-Esteem Transformation, by J. Deelstra is truly the Empowerment Book for living a FULL, rewarding life!
Gestalt means ‘whole’ and so are you!
Escaping the Chrysalis offers gestalt techniques as self-esteem enhancing tools for transformation into the wholeness which is your birth right. It is the guide you wish your parents had! It will be the dog-eared reference book you return to repeatedly for information on living your best life.
We are all humans being, and yet few of us consciously make the choice to define who we are being. Escaping the Chrysalis gives you the tools and techniques previously reserved only for professionals:
•Release the shackles of your past!
•Develop self-confidence and raise your self-esteem!
•Free stagnant energy towards creative, rewarding results!
•Attract what you want and not what you don't want!
•Enhance your personal relationships!
•Never be a victim or a victimizer again!
•Learn to interpret the secrets of your dreams!
•Free yourself from worn-out messages that no longer fit.
•Consciously CHOOSE who you are being.
•Communicate assertively without raising others’ defenses.
•Get out of your way and allow the authentic YOU to shine!
•Be a beacon to others!
Empowerment is the key to your life that has been missing.
Escaping the Chrysalis: Introduction to Gestalt Techniques for Self-Esteem Transformation provides you the keys to own your power in every arena of life!
You Deserve To Be Whole!
Other Works:
The author also wrote a book titled Blessings in the Mire and Shadows attached as well as the upcoming The Flying Game.
Background of the author:
(From the book)
Realizing that true social change begins within, writer and gestalt practitioner, Jan Deelstra's calling is helping others on the journey to self esteem building and self realization. With a background in complex social issues, Deelstra has championed diverse populations for over twenty-five years, providing self-esteem bolstering gestalt techniques to members of society. She teaches and writes in the vein of spirituality and gestalt self-awareness, artfully bridging the waters of psychology and metaphysics.
In addition to Escaping the Chrysalis, Deelstra is also the author of Blessings in the Mire: A True Story of Miracles and Recollections and Shadows Attached: Mad Woman Poetry. SHe welcomes correspondence at http://JanDeelstra.com
Theme:
""nature gave us struggles to create strong characteristics, because to never have any struggles would be crippling. Learn lessons of independence, and inter-dependence and let go of passivity or co-dependence." (ii)
Problems addressed:
The main problem the book addresses is self-esteem and gives techniques on how to raise it as well as how to let the negativity go and become a more fulfilled person. The law of attraction is used in the book, and encouragement towards creativity as well as letting go and purpose to everything is also addressed there.
Summary of content:
"The book promises to be the book with the most dog-ears on your shelf. It covers subjects from dream interpretation as a means of empowerment to assertive communication for healthy relationships. It offers techniques for releasing internalized messages that stop true fulfillment and success. It provides abundance building and empowerment tools, and clarifies matters that hold us back in culturally defined roles, and more, more, more. This is a book that delivers." (ii)
Thesis:
"Without the blessings in the life mire, there would be no strengthening, and I fear the links of integrity would corrode and fail." (i)
Main Points:
*Introduction-From the Author
*Introduction to Gestalt for Self-Esteem
*Mind/Body/Spirit Connection and Self-Esteem
*The Mystery of Thought
*Where Am I?
*Meeting the Monsters and Muses
*The Power of Words
*Passive-Aggression
*Affirmations
*Sweet Dreams and Nightscapes Interpreted
* Life in the Hot Seat
*Let Go, Let Gestalt
*Love and Inertia
*Creative Expression Through Gestalt
*Answer Your Calling
*Gestalt Connected One
*Epilogue-Balance/Homeostasis
Why its interesting and informative:
The book gives all sorts of detailed information about affirmations, the truth of law of attraction and how to break free of the negativity as well as how dreams can help people reach higher heights and there are also affirmations and how to let go of negativity in life by thinking positively and meditating. Just like the title of the book, gestalt, the book also covers multiple things such as relationships, creativity and how to find one's inner voice and how all of it affects people.
Supports Thesis:
While struggles can be seen as something that adds on to personality, her answer is not to dwell in the wrongdoings done or to play the victim role but instead its to try to figure why hold on to negativity in the first place and try to let go of it.
Address Issues:
No one really taught people how thoughts of scarcity and whatnot help perpetuate the destructive lifestyle. Here the author gives hope and steps on how to get rid of things that might cause destructive lifestyle such as affirmations and also covers a broad range of issues such as feeling that "selfish" should be redefined and having a space to get away and have a primal scream as well as picking up something from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.
Ideas in book vs larger ideas:
Perhaps if we are all confident and get rid of certain mentalities, then we will all have abundance in life. The author stresses its the negative self talk and negative thoughts that are keeping us from accomplishing what we desire and want.
Agree/Disagree:
While there are many things I do agree with, there are some that I tend to disagree with. While I was reading the book, I often wondered about what some people I know did to attract the negativity into their lives. Someone I know is going through hell on the account of a husband keeping things from her, and she is one of the most positive people I know. I also wondered about people in poor nations who lack many necessities such as food and clean water. While the techniques may work, I think this book is more suitable for people who live in developed nations rather than developing nations.
Special features:
The book does contain an appendix, glossary, index, bibliography and about the author. The author does briefly mention bibliography in the book, but she doesn't use quotes or anything of the sort for the books, thus I'm not sure of what bibliography was used for which page and so forth.
Conclusion:
I think this is a worthy read and if you are struggling with low self esteem or are just looking to change your life, I would highly recommend this book. So far I haven't done many of the things daily, but the book did really speak to me, and reading it I came to many realizations about why I am the way I am and why I am holding on to many things in my life.
Special Add-ons:
Author's website
Publisher's website
Quick notes: I would like to thank the author for the opportunity to read and review the book.
5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
Thank you for this lovely authentic review of Escaping the Chrysalis. As I read your well-thought-out prose, I consider your pondering about your friend. I can answer that question of what it is that she has done to attract such a man. She is a light and he is darkness. She shines more brightly in comparison. It is like the yin and the yang, the GESTALT is the WHOLE. Perhaps she would understand if she reads the book or attends one of the gestalt groups with me. However, it isn't so much as "why" she attracted him as it is to ask why is she allowing the treatment and disrespect. Why is she there? Isn't she there because she has low esteem? If she were to bolster her self-esteem, she could own her value, own her voice, state exactly what she will and will not tolerate, and she would do what is in her own best interest which may include leaving the guy behind. Fear is that which stops us. What lesson has she attracted? Without having met her, I am surmising that at the basic inner level, she is feeling inadequate to stand on her own. I do hope she reads the book, and sends me email (feel free to give her my email address).
ReplyDeleteAs for this working best in developed nations, there is only the truth of Maslow's hierarchy at play here. Basic needs must be met before we can ever hope to self-actualize, it is true. Yet, consider the women and men warriors of the world who are standing up against such brutality as clitorectomies, rape, and such. It takes a great deal of self-esteem to stand so tall among the weeds of ignorance. It takes enormous strength of self to face the demons, in whatever form they show themselves whether masked as lovers in relationships or as the brutally inhumane (and yes, on occasion both are equally destructive under any flag).
Consider the bravery of gays coming out in the face of adversity, or of soldiers questioning authority, or of the pious questioning the interpretation of words by those who preach. It takes a great deal of strength to be authentic. But the other choice is to live a life that belongs not to the self, but to others. Facing the demons builds great character and no country has ever been built on weakness. No imbalance in relationships has ever fostered love, and no amount of pretending and disowning the authentic self will ever do any good for anyone else. Heroes are not those who were victims or apathetic. Heroes under any conditions are those who felt the fear and did what their most authentic inner voice advised them to do, without the opinions and biases of others.
For your time and review, I want to thank you from my deepest heart center. And the message is simple (although I think we mostly try to make things more complex), the message is love. It starts with self-love. And if we all love our whole/gestalt self enough to take care of our needs, to do what is in our own best interest, we shine ripples as role models for the youth and offspring. We live a balanced and progressive life of authenticity.
~With immense love and light and gratitude.
Jan Deelstra
http://www.JanDeelstra.com