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Journey to Enlightenment

Ross Bishop
Blue Lotus Press (2008)
ISBN 9780966982220
Reviewed by Irene Watson for RebeccasReads (3/08)

Ross Bishop is a natural shaman that writes from the heart and his truth.  He says “No matter how you slice it, it’s about compassion.  Certainly about compassion for others, but mostly it is about compassion for yourself.”  He couldn’t be much closer to the truth.  Bishop explains in “Journey to Enlightenment” being compassionate toward oneself, letting go of limiting beliefs, acceptance of challenges in life and steps on what to do about them.  According to Bishop, understanding why we created the beliefs and challenges is the first step to enlightenment.

However, as Bishop explains, this is not an easy task. He quotes Carl Jung “He who looks outside, dreams.  He who looks inside, awakens.” Dreaming is easy but wakening is often a task we consider as being difficult. Bishop talks about awakening and why we struggle against it. According to Bishop, our inner child is usually damaged due to parental dysfunctional behaviors as well as disharmony within the environment – home and outside influences. Changing our pictures and rewriting the scripts, combined with resolution is the first step to awakening.  Bishop contends we “came to Earth to resolve” the issues.

Bishop further challenges us, when we are worried, upset, or have “problems” we “take a deep breath and recognize that this is not occurring as punishment, or because we are unworthy, or that we are messed-up.  It is happening because we need to learn to open our heart.”  He feels this is an opportunity that presented itself to us to learn how to open up our heart.  However, we can choose to take it as an opportunity or we can wallow in our issues and feel sorry for ourselves, usually getting nowhere but deeper in our “stuff” and further away from enlightenment.

Bishop explains that according to traditional concepts blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint issues, or cancer are systemic illnesses.  According to non-traditional healers these are just “natural progressions from unhealed psychic or emotional disturbances.”  This is where Bishop comes is, as a healer in non-traditional means.  “Journey to Enlightenment” not only explains why we have challenges but Bishop gives the process of awakening through a “journey” of an ancient shamanic healing process (in a Western concept.) But, he doesn’t just leave you there; he explains how to deal with issues that manifested during the process and move past the obstacle stage to awakening and enlightenment.

I give Ross Bishop’s book, “Journey to Enlightenment” a resounding YES!  Being a student of the enlightenment process myself, I’ve read many books and attended many workshops.  I’ve even facilitated workshops and retreats myself.  From my personal experience, I must say this is one of the most concise, yet simple books I have come across.  Bishop writes with extraordinary precision, giving the readers the opportunity to look at their own beliefs and interferences in a gentle way while bringing an end result of compassion to oneself and enlightenment.

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