At the very beginning of this review, I have to make a confession: I am a big sceptic. When the author approached me to review her book, The Universe at Your Feet, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I knew very little about channeling, and I had even less faith in it. So, naturally, I approached the book with a fair amount of doubt.
In 2007, Graciela Zozaya happened to come across a box of five CDs titled The Law of Attraction: The Teachings of Abraham by Jerry and Esther Hicks in a bookstore. This chance discovery introduced her to the world of channeling. She even attended an Abraham-Hicks seminar. What began as curiosity gradually developed into a subject that fascinated her and became something she bonded over with her daughter. Over time, this interest grew into something more serious and eventually became a way of life. Graciela began channeling what she calls 'The Essence' and became an Interpreter.
In this book, the author focuses on the basics: the basics of channeling and, more importantly, the basics of everyday life. She begins with an introduction that tells us a little about herself and what we can expect from the book. From there, she gradually delves deeper into the concept of The Essence, the Universe, God, meditation, and ways to understand ourselves better. The book also explores various aspects of spirituality and religion.
The only thing Graciela asks of her readers is that they keep an open mind. Given my initial reservations, I thought that was a reasonable request!
There were two topics in particular that caught my attention.
The first was meditation. The book explains what meditation is, how to practise it, and how visualisation can help. Meditation is something I believe we could all benefit from understanding and incorporating into our lives. We live such fast-paced lives that we hardly ever stop to pause, breathe, and collect ourselves. There is always something to do, somewhere to be, or something to worry about.
Meditation can give us that much-needed time with ourselves. It can help us work through negativity, find a little peace, or simply give our minds and bodies a chance to slow down. You don't necessarily have to subscribe to a particular spiritual belief to appreciate the value of taking a moment to breathe and reconnect with yourself.
The second topic that really caught my attention was homosexuality.
There is so much noise surrounding homosexuality, with people holding wildly different opinions and, in some cases, treating it as a taboo subject. I loved the way this book addressed the issue. This is a passage that particularly stayed with me:
“This person comes saying: ‘I am me. Love me as I am or continue on your way, because no one says that I should be or behave according to what you think is normal. What’s more, even if I wished I could change to please you, I can’t’.”
I absolutely loved this. I honestly don't think it is possible to put the message across any better. Why should anyone have to change who they are to fit someone else's idea of what is normal? The message is simple: accept people as they are, rather than expecting them to become who you think they should be.
And that, to me, is a message worth listening to.
By the end of the book, I still wasn't sure whether I believed in channeling or in the concept of The Essence. I haven't suddenly become a believer, and I don't think the book necessarily requires me to. Whether you believe in channeling or not is entirely up to you. If you do believe in it, you may find plenty here to explore and reflect on. If you don't, that's perfectly fine too. You can still read this book and take something meaningful away from it. Because, for me, the important thing isn't necessarily how these messages reach us. It's the messages themselves that nobody is conspiring against you. That happiness is possible, provided you allow yourself to be happy. That we are all loved and blessed.
You may interpret these ideas spiritually, or you may look at them as reminders to be kinder to yourself, let go of unnecessary negativity, and approach life with a little more hope. Either way, there is something comforting about being reminded that things might not be quite as bleak as they sometimes seem.
If you are still unsure about The Universe at Your Feet, keep it on your to-read list. Then pick it up on one of those days when nothing seems to be going right.
You don't have to believe in everything the author says to find a little comfort in what she has to offer.
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