Review by: KEN KORCZAK
This is a book about love and agony — love and agony, love and agony – love discovered, and love lost – love rediscovered, only to slip away once again – until finally an ultimate answer is found hiding in plain sight amid the thorny, tangled thickets of this elusive game we call life.
It’s the story of a unique life, but at the same time, not so terribly unlike billions of other people. That’s a central paradox that rings throughout this narrative – everyone is “special” – but if everyone is “special” then no one is “special” — because if everyone is “special” then that would be the norm!
Well, the reality is that everyone IS special — while at the same time — everyone is one and the same because we are all part of the totality of All That Is. Each of us manifests our individual nature while we remain an integral part of a cosmic whole – and the fundamental quality that makes up this Cosmic Wholeness is Love – with a capital “L.”
Ingrid Honkala, Ph.D.
Colombian-born INGRID HONKALA grapples with these vexing philosophical concepts as she relates to us the story of her life which was shattered when, at the age of three, she fell into a giant tank of water and drowned.
She experienced an NDE – Near Death Experience – during which all sense of time and distance vanished. She felt herself “become a part of everything” and as if “the Wholeness and I were one.”
Needless to say, she was rescued from the frigid water and resuscitated, but about a year later, she began to sense the presence of intelligent entities which she describes as “star-like figures of pure shining light.” They were of many different colors. They seemed interested in her and cared about her. She soon understood these light-form entities were concerned about her life. They were willing to speak with her and offer her guidance.
Thus, at age 4, began the journey of Ingrid Honkala, an odyssey of being guided by spiritual Beings of Light who were clearly there to help – but as she would also learn — to never interfere.
She still had to make all her own decisions, make her own mistakes and be responsible for whatever good or ill she created. She still was required to struggle through adversity – often with great pain — when the pitfalls of life came calling time and again.
The author is an expert on mangrove ecosystems.
If all this sounds a tad Airy-Fairy-New-Agey to you, consider that Ms. Honkala – that is, Dr. Honkala – is a Ph.D. scientist who earned her doctorate in marine biology. She has worked for NASA, is a world expert on mangrove ecosystems and spent three harrowing years doing research while dodging bullets in the war zone of Tumaco, Colombia, during that country’s grinding war against the FARC rebellion.
When it comes to hard sciences like biology, math, chemistry and oceanography, this woman takes a backseat to no rational-material scientist. Her husband is a former United States Navy Special Forces dude.
Dr. Honkala’s résumé gives her a certain grounded aura of authenticity – in any case, this is almost besides the point. That’s because I think the way she tells her story in these pages comes across with a hard-to-miss sense of credibility, honesty and no-nonsense truth. If this woman says she has maintained a life-long relationship with intelligent guides manifesting as points of light – I think we can believe her – and give pause to contemplate the inspiring message she feels compelled to share.
So, I give A BRIGHTLY GUIDED LIFE my best recommendation. It’s a heartfelt rendering of one’s person’s life story that is unflinching and honest – dealing out the good with the bad – and ending with a message of hope for all.
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NOTE: PLEASE SEE MORE BOOK REVIEWS ON THIS SITE BY KEN ON THE NDE TOPIC:
APPLICATION OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS by Natalie Sudman
NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES by P.H.H. Atwater
DEAD OR ALIVE by Erika Hayasaki
THE BOY WHO DIED AND CAME BACK TO LIFE by Robert Moss
WOLF’S MESSAGE By Suzanne Giesemann
Ken Korczak is a former newspaper reporter, government information officer, served as an advocate for homeless people as a VISTA Volunteer, and taught journalism at the University of North Dakota for five years. He is the author of: BIRD BRAIN GENIUS
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