OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The LGBTQ Meditation Journal" by Christopher Stone and Mary Sheldon.]

The LGBTQ Meditation Journal by Christopher Stone and Mary Sheldon is a short book of about 90 pages that includes meditation exercises meant to help those in or affected by the LGBTQ community. Topics include healthy self-love, pride in your identity, self-acceptance, acceptance of others, and inner peace. All of these topics can be difficult for the LGBTQ community, considering how much hatred and discrimination they experience just living their lives. This book focuses on spreading love and compassion even in difficult circumstances.

I would not recommend this book to very religious people that do not have an open mind. However, the message of the book is to not show hatred or project fear on Christianity and the Bible. In this way, it encourages open-mindedness and an accepting worldview, even if you are not awarded the same courtesy by others.

My favorite meditation is the one addressing how your spirit is a perfect creation and that all ‘physical’ aspects of you such as how you look and your sexuality are just a part of your outer covering and do not matter to the spirit. At our essence, we are who we are, and that’s okay. I think that this mindset is helpful for everyone as the acceptance of self is the key to happiness. This is very relevant to those in the LGBTQ community as many of them are told that they should be different than they are. My second favorite is picturing love enveloping someone spewing hateful words at you. I think that this is a very healing exercise and will help the reader stay calm in a real-life situation. Some meditation exercises are for family members or friends of an LGBTQ person and they cover a wide range of situations.

Even though each exercise focuses on a common theme, they have some variety to them. I think that the authors do well addressing important internal struggles in the community and how to mentally resolve them. I did not find any grammatical or spelling errors. The only critique I have is the book’s focus on the Bible. Even though this is a cause for opposition to the LGBTQ lifestyle, especially in the United States, I think that it would be interesting if it briefly addressed other religions as well.

I rate The LGBTQ Meditation Journal 4 out of 4 stars, because I cannot think of much for the authors to improve on. I think that the book is well written, and provides some healing meditations for those in the LGBTQ community, family, and friends. It encourages inner peace and rejection of anger and feelings of unworthiness, and we could all use a little of that, LGBTQ or not.

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The LGBTQ Meditation Journal
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Good review. Sounds like a relaxing read.

Thanks! It really was relaxing.

Love is always a worthwhile message to spread. I can imagine its very difficult for the LGBT community, never knowing when and where they'll encounter mean people. Everyone could benefit from exercises in kindness and patience. Thanks for a great review!

I agree; I really like the positive messages in this book. It's a refreshing read for everyone. Thanks for reading!

Thank you for your detailed review; it is great that the book carries a positive message. I certainly agree that we could all use more positivity in our lives, even more so for the LGBTQ community.

Sounds like a worthy purpose for a book. Peace, calm, and rejection of anger is important for anyone, but especially those that face stronger struggles/trials from culture. Thanks for the review!

Thank you for reviewing this book. As one of the faculty advisors for a high school GSA, I’m always on the lookout I for articles that will help my LGBT students. The religious aspects you mention may make this book inappropriate for a school setting, but I’m interested in seeing whether some of these meditations can be shared or modified to share.

This definitely sounds like an interesting book. It's the first LGBTQ book I've seen here and I hope to see others. Your review is very thoughtful and well written. Thank you!

We all need love for we all fall short before the Lord. I belive the LGBT people should be treated with love and respect to welcome them in the kingdom of the creator. In colossians 3 this is emphasized that slave or free, master or servant we all kneel before the almighty so we are all the same. We have been forgiven so we should forgive, we have been loved so we should love. Thank you Kitka for reminding us of this truth.

Kitkat3 wrote: ↑08 May 2018, 18:46 I would not recommend this book to very religious people that do not have an open mind.

Hah, I applaud you for being bold enough to include this comment. I couldn't agree with you more but not many who disagree will likely appreciate being lumped as "people that do not have an open mind." Kudos to you and thanks for this review!

It seams interesting but is not my kind of book. I don't know if I will read it but thank you for the review.

This sounds like a good book to give to a religious member of a family who may be having trouble accepting someone in the LGBTQ community. We could all use more resources for acceptance, and it sounds like it would be comforting for Christian members of the community as well.

This sounds like a wonderful book. And your review inspired me to read it. I like your point that exploring LGBTQ issues from the perspective of just one religion may not have been comprehensive enough. There are other religions that are not nearly as intolerant. Thanks for the great review.

This sounds like a very valuable and well thought out book.