BOOK REVIEW
Limitless Living: A Guide to Unconventional Spiritual Exploration and
Growth
by Reverend Prentice Kinser III, D. Min.
Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.
From the moment I first leafed through Limitless
Living, I knew that it would be thought-provoking and enlightening.
This is a book about “encounters with the Mystery;” a travelogue
through spiritual mysticism and many of the ways in which humans can experience
the sacred and the divine. The author, Reverend Prentice Kinser III, writes
from the heart. He fills this
book with stories, mostly from his own life, recording instances in which he
has felt the presence of God, received “unconventional guidance,” and
glimpsed past lives.
Limitless
Living is
a beginner’s guide to knowing oneself as a spiritual being having a human
experience. Kinser, an
Episcopalian Priest, hypnotherapist and pastoral counselor, provides exercises
in which readers can identify their own encounters with “intuitive
knowing” and trust that this guidance is not just wishful thinking. The
author teaches strategies for accessing spiritual guidance and communication.
He gives methods to “test the spirits” so that readers can determine
whether the communication and revelations they receive are “of God” and
true.
Kinser suggests several practices for finding one’s
own spiritual pathway: journaling, meditation, prayer, and Tai-Chi.
He tells us that these methods can lead us to Love and Light, to an
expanded knowledge of the true self, to an experience of God, and to a
deepening and reaffirming of our life purpose and direction. He speaks of
guardian angels and departed souls, mantras, chakras, mindfulness, mind-body
healing, energy cleansing and near-death experiences. He tells of
conversations with ascended masters and of past life recall.
With respect to Native American traditions of shamanism, he relates his
own vision quest, and the discovery of his power animal.
Kinser teaches from his own explorations as well as
his extensive readings and studies in various spiritual disciplines. He
impresses me as a sincere and learned individual. While he speaks of his own devotion to the teachings of
Christ, he tells his readers that the material in the book is for people of
all faiths, and even for seekers and skeptics. Each person can use the
material in his or her own way.
I’ve read numerous books on channeling, psychic
phenomena, past life regression, and angel communication.
Sometimes these books have left me with the impression that such gifts
belong only to the chosen few, or that these methods are a haphazard
assemblage of self-help tools, with no core component, no relation to
spirituality. It’s refreshing
to read a book that gets it right, and Limitless Living does. This
is one of the few books that approach non-worldly subjects from a mainstream,
Christian perspective blended with intellectual curiosity.
This is one that a) offers readers simple tools to “test” the
safety of efficacy of such experiences and b) cautions readers to approach
such activities with spiritual shielding, and if one has a foundation of
religious understanding, from that standpoint.
On a personal note, the beautifully-written book has
helped me to validate a few unusual experiences in my own life—what I
believe were spiritual events and encounters. I also feel encouraged to resume
the journaling that I discarded many years ago.
This book directs attention to the holy dimensions of events we often
dismiss as mere coincidence, hallucination, or fluke. Limitless Living reminds us that there are many pathways to knowing
the essence of life, the soul, and the infinite.
Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a Certified Clinical
Hypnotherapist and Executive Director with the National Board for Certified
Clinical Hypnotherapists. She is
an NLP Master Practitioner/Trainer and hypnotherapist with a solo practice in
Springfield, Virginia. She has recently published The
Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program: An NLP and Hypnotherapy
Practitioner’s Manual. Her
web site is www.engagethepower.com.
