Reviews

Book Review – I Affirm My Power: Everyday Affirmations and Rituals to Create the Life That You Desire by Phoebe Garnsworthy

Book Review

I Affirm My Power:
Everyday Affirmations and Rituals
to Create the Life That You Desire

Written by Phoebe Garnsworthy

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

130 Pages

Release Date: April 25, 2023

 

 

 

 

A charmingly written book about the importance of positive thinking in setting goals, this first comes across as an uplifting coaching session we all need. Sections of the book however delve into toxic positivity and promote the falsehood that everything will always be okay and you can do anything you want to without fail. Before going into a more detailed review, let’s see who this author is.

Phoebe’s page is Phoebe Garnsworthy – Spiritual Fiction | Positive Affirmations | Daily Rituals, and it says,

About Phoebe

Phoebe Garnsworthy is an Australian female author and meditation teacher who seeks to discover magic in everyday life. She travels between the worlds of the seen and unseen, gathering ancient wisdom and angelic energy. Her writings reflect a dance with the mystical and wonderful, an intoxicating love potion to devour in a world that overflows with forgotten love and enchantment.

The intention of her writing is to encourage conscious living and unconditional love.

It lists a total of ten books she has written, and she is smart enough to include five different e-courses you can get from her page. Some of her books are listed for as little as $6.99, and she offers t-shirts and guided meditations as well, She also has a You Tube page with 146 videos and that can be accessed here: (148) Phoebe Garnsworthy – YouTube

The Amazon.com listing for this book I am reviewing says,

About the Author

Phoebe Garnsworthy is an Australian author who seeks to discover magic in everyday life. She has travelled the world extensively, exploring eastern and western philosophies alike, while studying the influences that these beliefs have on humanity.

The intention of her writing is to encourage conscious living and unconditional love.

www.phoebegarnsworthy.com

I have been believing in magic for all of my life.

Since I was in the middle grade, the universe called my name and enticed me . . . inspiring me to daydream for endless hours in wondrous lust. Through my imagination I escaped to enchanted worlds full with witches, mermaids, wizards and fairies. I’ve always been searching for ways to escape my reality with something more exciting.

By the time I was a young adult, I discovered that magic not only existed but was attainable to all of us through a spiritual connection to life. And it was from here that my journey of self-discovery of the world that was inside of me began.

I travelled and learnt as much as possible from spiritual leaders and ancient philosophical texts. I walked across incredible lands, met real-life witches, shamans and angels who showed me how we can utilize our natural resources on Earth to heal ourselves and bring peace to the world around us. And I weave these teachings of mindfulness, conscious living, meditation, astral travel, chakras, quantum physics and many more throughout my novels. They are constantly evolving and infinitely changing.

My writings reflect my dance with the mysterious and wonderful, an intoxicating love in a world that’s overflowing with beauty and magic.

I’ve never stopped believing in magic nor dreaming about alternate realities. I swim with mermaids every time I touch the ocean and I practice spiritual witchcraft daily. I am surrounded with inspirational people who I consider Kings and Queens. Everything is possible if you only dared to dream. Everything is perfectly beautiful, if you only chose to see. I want to show you how magical you are, how wonderful the world is, and how much love you hold inside.

My love is unconditional and forever lasting, Phoebe Garnsworthy
www.phoebegarnsworthy.com

Luckily for Phoebe, witches are real, and it is my guess that a lot of witches are going to like what she has to say although some of us will find her writings too full of insistence that if you follow her formula, you are immune to failure. Let’s examine the book, shall we?

The book is separated into a total of 41 chapters that are short and sweet, all of which focus on a central thing like “ I Welcome Love Into My Life with an Open Heart” and “My Life Flows with Harmony.” Some books have chapters that are so long, they seem impossible to get through, but by making the chapters short, Garnsworthy helps readers read what she has to say about the subject, and then draw their own meaning from it.

For example, in “ I Always Have Everything That I Need” the section goes from page 104 to page 108, and only part of that is her writing. Part of that is suggested meditation on the subject and part of that is a journaling exercise. I especially like the structure of these chapters, because while a writer is supposed to basically teach topics, everybody has their own beliefs before they start reading, and they apply an author’s words to their own lives in their own ways.

However this is where I do not agree with the author: there are times in life when people don’t have things they need, and telling themselves that they do won’t change that. In that chapter, she writes,

“You don’t need to stress or worry that what you have is not enough, because your very existence shows that this is not true. Your soul, your spirit guides, and your angels have all ensured that your life is filled with all the blessings that you could possibly need right here at this moment.”

For some of us, this might be very true, especially when we are being negative. However, tell that to somebody who is starving because they have no food or people who cannot afford life saving medication. There is no angel or god that ensures that everybody’s needs are always met, and a lot of people go without. A lot of our positive thinker authors, speakers, and leaders miss this point, and I will tell you a dirty secret a lot of witches know that we try very hard to break out of secrecy. Ready?

You can’t think your way to success and sometimes. No matter how much you think the “right thoughts” and do the “right things”, you might not accomplish what you want to or need to and that does not mean you failed or are negative. It’s actually a negative affirmation to tell yourself that all is possible and you can never fail or that you never go without. There are other places in the book I disagree with the author, but I will only discuss one more of those, because there is a whole lot I do agree with that people need to focus on.

In the section “ I Have All the Answers I need Right Now.” This could be true for some people but how many people have you seen who seriously… don’t have the right answers, but they are positive that they do? In this section, she writes,

“There are no wrong choices in life; there’s no wrong pathway for you to take. Because everything that is placed in your life is an opportunity to step deeper into a more authentic you. And in return, you will always receive an incredibly rewarding experience.”

Tell that to my friend who is now dead because she thought trying heroin would be a good idea and a rewarding experience. Then tell that to her teenage daughter who she left behind. This is an extreme example, but it really happened because somebody made a wrong choice, and it ended in tragedy. If we do not question ourselves when we have an idea, sometimes it ends up very badly for us.

This is certainly a feel-good book, and it is designed to be such. In the beginning, she writes,

“I wrote this book at a time of despair in my life. At a time when I felt out of alignment with my soul, when I was floating amidst the madness of uncertainty. I was struggling to find my anchor of breath, to feel grounded in my skin and secure in my space here on Earth. And most importantly, I had great trouble surrendering and trusting wholeheartedly into the magical workings of the Universe. But all of those struggles were in my head. Because I knew the truth of how to realign with the power of my divinity—I needed to get back into a healthy and spiritual routine. All that was required was a commitment to honor myself and my experience. And so, I created this affirmation and manifestation book to share with you my routine. This perfect combination of daily rituals, spiritual practices, journaling, and meditation is what was needed to connect with my soul and feel the power of my truth once more. And within a short time of consistent repetition, I recognized myself again. I felt the echoing voice of my soul beating loudly in my heart, speaking love notes through my mind, and telling me that all is as it should be.”

When going through times of despair and we feel disheartened, sometimes, we need to get a message that maybe not all hope is lost, and we still do have a lot of personal power despite everything. Sure, I don’t agree that everything will always be okay because I am old enough to know that it isn’t sometimes — but in dark times, you can’t sit around freaking out over that. You have to try to get a hold of your emotions and think of something you can try and do to better the situation- or to at least not make things worse. A book like this can certainly help you with that. Just keep your head about you. Don’t fly off in the direction that nothing can ever go wrong or that everything is okay. Be levelheaded and balanced in thinking positively.

One witch once told me “Be open minded, but not so open minded your brain slides out.” I can’t think of a better way of saying it. This book shows a lot of faith in both the self and the universe as a whole. In the first chapters, the author tells the readers that the way to read this book is to ask the powers that be to show you what you need to hear and then open the book to a random page. That is the message you are to hear. There are some very helpful messages she has, and I will discuss one.

In the section, “ Listening to Our Energy”, she writes,

“In order to transform your energy, we need to be aware of the energy you currently hold. Your energy changes all the time—every second, every day, in every activity that you do. Your energy is influenced by the words you say, the thoughts you think, and the events in your life that you consciously and unconsciously choose. Every area of your life is affecting your energy, for the good or bad. This is why it is crucial to be aware of your energy so that you can cleanse, recharge, and protect it often.”

While we can’t control everything that goes on around us, we can control our own reactions, and that starts with our energy and attitude. She then writes in “Affirmations and Manifestations” about something I like to call mouth magic, or that which we tell ourselves. She writes,

“Speaking an affirmation of what you desire is the first step toward embodying it. Consciously making choices that support your desired affirmation will be the key factor in achieving your manifestation.”

And then she adds later on in the section,

“But speaking our affirmations and saying our manifestations out loud is only the beginning. We need to ensure that our actions and choices in life support our wishes. Imagine that you are seeking peace. You are saying peaceful affirmations in the morning, but then during the day you find yourself yelling at street traffic, spending time with friends who gossip negatively, or refusing to take time out of your day to walk in nature and harmonize your energy flow. Even though we can desire one thing, we can consciously be acting against it. So be sure to check in with yourself, be self-aware with your actions, and choose your thoughts wisely.” 

This whole point in and of itself is the whole reason everybody ought to have a copy of this book. Even if you read no other sections, the “Affirmations and Manifestations” section is crucial knowledge for anybody who practices magic or just wants to improve themselves. The things we tell ourselves create our attitude and we ought to make sure it is a good one. Then we have to act, not just tell ourselves things. If you just understand this, your magic will be powerful all your life. The book is worth buying, and the author has been good enough to offer it for a low price. She’s not looking to get filthy rich off her writings, she just wants to help, but hey, a book costs money to produce, so no, it’s not free, even though she offers free stuff! You can order your copy in paperback or as an e-book here: I Affirm My Power – Phoebe Garnsworthy

 

I Affirm My Power on Amazon

 

**

About the Author:

Saoirse is a practicing witch, and initiated Wiccan of an Eclectic Tradition.

A recovered Catholic, she was raised to believe in heaven and hell, that there is only one god, and only one way to believe. As she approached her late 20’s, little things started to show her this was all wrong. She was most inspired by the saying “God is too big to fit into one religion” and after a heated exchange with the then associate pastor of the last Xtian church she attended, she finally realized she was in no way Xtian, and decided to move on to see where she could find her spiritual home.

Her homecoming to her Path was after many years of being called to The Old Ways and the Goddess, and happened in Phoenix, Arizona. She really did rise from her own ashes!

Upon returning to Ohio, she thought Chaos Magic was the answer, and soon discovered it was actually Wicca. She was blessed with a marvelous mentor, Lord Shadow, and started a Magical Discussion Group at local Metaphysical Shop Fly By Night. The group was later dubbed A Gathering of Paths. For a few years, this group met, discussed, did rituals, fellowship, and volunteering together, and even marched as a Pagan group with members of other groups at the local gay Pride Parade for eight years.

All the while, she continued studying with her mentor, Lord Shadow, and she became a Third Degree High priestess in 2022. She belongs to the Black Dragon Clan.