Book Review - ‘Ask and it is Given’ by Abraham-Hicks
Title: Ask and it is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires
Publication year: 2004
Formats available: Paperback, Hardback, Audio Book, Cards, Calendar
Although my favourite Abraham book is The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent, Ask and it is Given
After an interesting introduction which explains in detail how Jerry and Esther Hicks became acquainted with the group of non-physical consciousnesses known as Abraham, the book is split into two main sections. The first provides general information and more theoretical explanations about consciousness and reality creation, and about life’s basic purpose, while the second part is more practically oriented, with chapters that describe the various ‘processes’ which can be used to help you to align with your desires.
The first section of the book is, as is usual with Abraham, extremely positive and uplifting. The 22 chapters in this section cover the general purpose of life (to enjoy it - a fact that most seem to have forgotten!); our power to create our realities exactly as we desire, without exception (hence the book’s title!); tips for tapping into that power in a more deliberate and effective way, while moving beyond inner resistance; our nature as leading edge creators; the vibrational nature of reality, (ourselves included), and - crucially - the important role of our emotions as guidance from our Inner Beings.
It is in this book that Abraham unveils the ‘Emotional Guidance Scale’, a hierarchy of 22 emotional levels that range from fear and disempowerment to ecstatic joy and total empowerment. Our emotions, as Abraham explains, are indicators from our Inner Beings that let us know the degree to which we are aligned with our true selves, and with our desires. In a nutshell - if we feel good, we’re in alignment with who we really are, and are on track to the manfestation of our desires. And if we don’t feel good, rather than trying to make ourselves feel wonderful from a place of depression or anger - which is too much of a leap - it’s best to just reach for a slightly better feeling thought, and move up the scale gradually.
The 22 processes in the second half of Ask and it is Given are designed to facilitate our journeys up the emotional scale. There is no need to or benefit in trying to do them all however; the idea is that the appeal and usefulness of the different processes is based on where you are on the emotional scale. So for example, the first process, known as the ‘Rampage of Appreciation’, is unlikely to be of much use to someone who is experiencing a strong negative emotion, as there’s too much of a vibrational gap between appreciation and the emotions lower down on the scale. A person in this place would benefit more from one of the other processes that are specifically designed for people who are currently at the lower end of the emotional scale. So no matter where you are in your life, whether everything is going well and you’d like to maintain where you are or feel even better, or everything is falling apart and you need to make major changes, or whether you’re somewhere in between, this book contains a variety of material that will be of value to just about everyone. The book also contains some processes that deal specifically with issues related to wealth and financial abundance, such as the Wallet Process and the Prosperity Game. Personally I’ve found that Abraham’s Emotional Guidance Scale and the associated processes to be extremely useful tools that have helped me to gain great clarity about where I am vibrationally in relation to my desires; my emotions are no longer mysterious or uncontrollable - but just the opposite!
I strongly recommed Abraham’s material over anything written by human authors, for the simple reason that it’s free of dogma and all concepts of lack and limitation. The fundamental message is that life is supposed to be fun, and you can create a life that is exactly as you desire, by changing your mental and emotional focus. It totally lacks the limiting and disempowering ideas that are found in so many books in this genre, and in fact it turns them on their head. So many writers teach silly ideas like ‘desire is bad/unspiritual’, whereas in Abraham’s view, desire is the basis of the ongoing expansion of the universe, and they actively encourage the cultivation and joyful fulfilment of desire. Their approach is radical, joyous and extremely refreshing - they know that we are energy beings who are enjoying our time in physical bodies, and that the physical world (which is really just a denser level of energy) is not something to be endured, while learning hard ‘lessons’, or proving our worthiness for a better life after death.
On the contrary - we are leading edge creators - we are aspects of Source Energy (that which some would call ‘God’, although thankfully they don’t use the word much, recognising that it is a loaded term that is open to too many disempowering interpretations), and it is through joy, fun and fulfilling our desires that we create the physical life and experiences that we want - and it is by this process that the universe/Source/God expands and evolves.
All of the Abraham-Hicks materials express this uplifting and empowering philosophy extremely well, and Ask and it is Given is no exception. Although Abraham’s delivery of their message is constantly evolving, Ask and it is Given covers all the key points in detail over its 300+ pages, and is an ideal book for newbies and old hands alike.
Ask and it is Given is also available as a two-part audio book. I haven’t yet listened to that, but I do have a large number of other Abraham-Hicks audio recordings, and their quality is always excellent. You can also purchase the Ask and it is Given cards and calendar, which include uplifting quotes from the books combined with beautiful illustrations - perfect for carrying around or sticking to the wall!