Monthly Book Review (September): Spirited by Rebecca Rosen

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review Spirited by Rebecca Rosen.

Background: This book I first chanced upon four years ago in the mobile library that comes every Friday afternoon. It was probably my second or third book on psychic stuff at that time.


Spirited by Rebecca Rosen

This book is written in a down-to-earth, easy-to-read style. It is intended for those familiar with the concept of psychic and mediumship development, particularly since it has a foreword by James Van Praagh. 

The relaxed format this book has is typical of other books on psychic and mediumship development. Despite this, the book offers a slightly different take on those subjects, because it combines the author's personal experiences with activities for the eager reader to try, in order for them to develop their own psychic abilities. And, whilst this combination does appear in other books on the subject, it does not appear in such a delicate yet humorous, enjoyable manner as it does in Spirited.

Although this book is recommended for those interested in developing their psychic abilities, it is not a book ideal for those who are unfamilair with how seeming coincidences have profound spiritual meanings, as, dotted around the book are also accounts of coincidences which are taken by the author as evidence for a certain concept or idea. Because the significance of such coincidences is not adequately explained by Rosen, I do not find it the best book for a peek into the world of supposed psychic abilities. 

Nonetheless, the book is fun to read, because of the creative meditations included for the reader to do. Also, "testimonials" are added to help give credence to the author's (psychic) abilities. One such testimony involved a woman who had lost one of her baby boys at birth. Although he was a stillborn, his mother suffered from guilt because she had not found a way to try and make him live. As the story goes, a reading with Rosen enabled her to forgive herself for not having tried to help her baby survive, because she channelled the spirit of the stillborn baby who reassured his mum. Affirmations directed for the reader to use are included, which are aimed to help them on their spiritual journey.

As is evidenced throughout the pages, this book is aimed for those who are spiritually-inclined who need a small nudge to push them deeper into the world of spirituality. Some of the author's experiences are followed with voicing the reader's potential confused thoughts about her account. This is then followed with a spiritual concept - such as emotional damage experienced in this life being carried into the afterlife - which is explained with the author's convicted mediumistic belief. This can be useful for spiritualists who are, as has already been said, still a little new to the whole thing.

The author recounts an interesting story of how she made contact with her deceased Grandma Babe through automatic writing and received spiritual insight from her. As may be considered stereotypical, she claims that she was "...skeptical that my dead grandmother was truly "talking" to me...". This skepticism is blown away when she phones her father about "the white sheets" that her Gandma Babe tells her about. When her father tells her about how he had gone down into the cellar to where his mother - and where he'd found white sheets under her dead body - Rosen is "shocked by the validation" and finds herself becoming a believer that the dead continue to live, but in spiritual form.

Realising that the reader might be skeptical of this account, the author assures that the reader can find evidence for "believing or trusting in something that isn't tangible" for themselves by, later on, teaching them "how to read the signs" and see the truth of what she's claiming for themselves. 


The author includes in later pages what particular symbols may mean in a spiritual sense - such as an ashtray - to help the reader when they are developing their psychic abilities. At the same time, the book is filled with advice for the reader to heal themselves emotionally (and psychologically). 

The book is then concluded with a selection of meditations for the reader to do.




Look out for next month's book review!