The Enchanted Life

Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday

By: Sharon Blackie

Narrated by: Fiona Reid

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

Enchantment. By Dr. Sharon Blackie’s definition, a vivid sense of belongingness to a rich and many-layered world, a profound and whole-hearted participation in the adventure of life. Enchantment is a natural, spontaneous human tendency - one we possess as children, but lose, through social and cultural pressures, as we grow older. It is an attitude of mind which can be cultivated: the enchanted life is possible for anyone. It is intuitive, embraces wonder, and fully engages the mythic imagination - but it is also deeply embodied in ecology, grounded in place and community.

Taking as her starting point the inspiration and wisdom that can be derived from myth, fairytales, and folk culture, Dr. Sharon Blackie offers a set of practical and grounded tools for enchanting our lives and the places we live, so leading to a greater sense of meaning and of belonging to the world. To live this way is to be challenged, to be awakened, to be gripped and shaken to the core by the extraordinary which lies at the heart of the ordinary.

©2018 Sharon Blackie (P)2018 Anansi Audio

A very disenchanting book

As someone who spends most of his waking life in nature I liked the premise of this book. And it started out pretty well with two examples of a woman walking through nature. The first very much disconnected with nature and the other part of the world she was walking through.
However that was literally the only positive thing I have to say.
First of all Blackie pretty much says knowledge is the worst thing when it comes to enchantment. According her we need to stop explaining and solving stuff. Science seems to be pretty evil. Especially the science of 'rich white men' (her words, not mine). She tries to validate her point to attack the person of Francis Bacon (who is corrupt) and Descartes (who is weak). I think there is a lot wrong with the mechanistic worldview of both men. But trying to prove a point by attacking the person (ad hominem) is morally wrong.
There is also a lot of cherry picking and I don't think she has an understanding of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle.

In the first 3 hours I listened to she mentions how weird/primitive/different she is. She even suggest she has a mental disease which helps her to connect with things. She gives the example of her seeing a face in a rock. Newsflash. Draw two circles and put a line beneath it and almost everyone sees a face.
Also if her enchantment is the result of her being special than the book doesn't make sense, since we are clearly not.

Throughout the book she says things happen for a reason and chance doesn't exist. An example she gives is that she found the perfect house at a moment she was looking for it. According to Blackie this was the plan of the universe. Let's say the previous owner of that house was a nice old lady who got raped and murdered, and that's why the house was on sale.
Following her own argument the woman was killed so Blackie could get a house. It was all a plan of the universe.

The last drop for me was when she was walking on a hill. The hill had the shape of a horse. And then she had an epiphany... the hill was a real hore. And she was walking on the back of her. No, nothing symbolic. It was a horse. Imagine her husband calling her: "Where are you?"
Blackie: "I'm on a horse!"

I loved this book

I loved this book. Not sure if I would have gotten through it if I was reading it vs listening to it. But as an audiobook, it was fantastic! It definitely touches on some very important themes and give good advice on how to move deeper into your self and the world.

A life changing book

A wonderful book that reinforces the importance of living an Authentic life. I also found the sections on the importance of storytelling, mythology and fairytales really touching and important.

My new top two!

If Women Rose Rooted is my favorite book and Sharon Blackie definitely did not disappoint with this one! It's definitely right up there as my favorite book. As the title suggests, the book pulls you in to a world of deeper enchantment. Yes, this book is enchanting in and of itself. I am going to be listening to this again and again.

Excellent !!

This book is amazing and inspirational! I will buy the book now to keep on my shelf.

Magical!

A wonderful book! The narration was perfect. I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and wouldn't hesitate to listen again.

My 2nd Favorite book!

This book is exactly what I needed! Thank you!

It helped me fall more deeply in love with the world, and gave voice to many topics that I resonate with (e.g. art, simple living, stories, parenting, gardening, place/home, calling, and building an environmentally sustainable future).

My favorite book of all time is the young adult novel Wise Child, by Monica Furlong.
It's about a young girl (nicknamed Wise Child) in Scotland who is sent to live with Juniper, a cunning woman on the fringes of the community. Fearful at first, the girl comes to love the compassionate and mysterious Juniper, who teaches her herbal medicine and nature-based magic. I have always been inspired by the way Juniper approaches life and the people she encounters, as well as her self-sufficient lifestyle.

I re-read Wise Child periodically, always finding new value, and The Enchanted Life invited me to explore my beloved story further, asking thoughtful questions about what elements I connected with and why.

I believe that Sharon Blackie would also love Wise Child, which likely has a lot to do with why I connected with The Enchanted Life!

Phenomenal!

I really loved this book! from the content to the reading the whole piece was great!

One of the best books I’ve ever listened to!

So incredibly touched and enchanted by this wonderfully written inspirational book, I recommend to all and envision myself with a sack full of copies gifting them to people I meet everywhere. I do feel as though I already live a rather enchanted life and now I somehow feel that I have permission to do so and to invite more of that into my being while inspiring others to do the same. I hope to one day meet and study with the author. Thank you Sharon Blackie!

Inspiring

This was truly an amazing book, I intend to buy a hard copy as well as listen to it again!