Theresa CheungCritiques

This was the coolest, most in depth book I have ever read on everything that is true paranormal! I have never read this author before, but I am sure happy that I gave her a try as I was not disappointed!

This book has everything in it including the meaning of every paranormal term that is out there. There is also different true cases of hauntings (houses, cemeteries, buildings, towns, etc.) along with real life mediums, spiritualists, shamans, paranormal research groups, etc.

Whatever you want to know about the paranormal and would like to learn the terms that paranormal researchers use in everyday life, then this is the book for you. I cannot express enough how much this book contains as this author went into extensive research to put this book together.

In the title of the book it says "Encyclopedia" and that is exactly what this book is all about as I doubt there is another book out there that contains as much as this book contains. I was very impressed by the book and I loved it so much that I am giving it five stars for an excellent job well done by author, Theresa Cheung!

Julia Mossbridge likely did not directly contribute to the writing style of this book. This hurts what could have been a much better presentation of the material. This was my first deep dive into premonition and precognition so I did learn a few new things though most of the material and techniques seem intuitive. The research is questionable...when completing the research online I made a mistake but I could still "precognize" by choosing one of two options...I performed 100% on 4 tests...hope this does not count as part of the research project! Overall I was expecting a bit more professionalism but received an account from a giddy writer who likes stories about others experiences.

LOVE this book! There is a page for each day in the year that gives a detailed description of the person's personality. I constantly reference this book when I meet someone new, and had so much fun looking up all my loved one's birthdays. As long as you are meeting new people, you will get use out of this book.

I doubt anyone reads every single birthday but, like most, I have read the birthday of my family and a few friends. We were all very surprised at how much the descriptions fit the person, even things they did not want to acknowledge about themselves. Two pages per birthday is a much longer length than most astrology books. All in all, it is great fun! If you have the money for simple fun, it can be quite worth it.

I doubt anyone reads every single birthday but, like most, I have read the birthday of my family and a few friends. We were all very surprised at how much the descriptions fit the person, even things they did not want to acknowledge about themselves. Two pages per birthday is a much longer length than most astrology books. All in all, it is great fun! If you have the money for simple fun, it can be quite worth it.

3.5 stars

When I was younger I hated having a routine. Yet, as I got older and "adulting" became a thing and finding time to do everything in the day from all of my various "jobs"; wife, mother, teacher, and still find time for me I realized I need those routines in order to manage my time. It became a great stress reliever.

This book was a great example of simple everyday things to do in a busy life. Most of them were things that most people already know but they were gentle reminders of the whys of doing them and their importance in one's life. The educator in me really appreciated that the author in me included her references as a footnote at the end of each daily ritual in case I wanted to read more (which I did several times).

This would be a great book for someone just starting out in wanting to learn how to find balance and starting with the mind, body, spirit. For myself, as someone who is always trying to improve me, it was pretty basic.

I kept waffling between giving The Ritual Yearbook three stars or four. Although this book is well written and flows well, I feel you would have to be unemployed, rich (so you don’t have to work), or not have children to complete the book.

Being your best, healthy self is very important to me. But (and you saw that coming) there is so much to do in this book that I couldn’t even see myself being able to keep up with it, and I retired in June and have no children.

I think the 21 one simple foundation rituals at the beginning of the book have a lot of value, and if people do those every day they would be on a great course for improving themselves. They may seem simple, like making your bed or journaling what you are thankful for, but they have a positive aspect that can help your day start in the right direction. And for people who do none of these right now, they would see a huge improvement in their lives.

It’s when you get into the largest section of the book that contains rituals for the Body, Mind, Spirit and Heart that I can see people getting frustrated and not finishing the course. Each of the four section has 74 rituals. Some can be done relatively quickly, but others take a lot more time.

If you come home from work, have children that need to be fed and helped with their homework, and chores to do around the house, 10pm or 11pm comes very quickly. Leaving you with no time to do that days ritual. That’s why I say you need to not be working or at least not have children to be able to get through The Ritual Yearbook.

If I were to just look at it that way I would have given it three stars, because in my mind you would be buying a book that you would probably only be using ¼ of. But I can see someone taking longer than a year to complete the book. Perhaps doing the 21 beginning rituals everyday and only three or four of the others during the week.

Also there were quite a few of the rituals in the four sections that overlapped. Decluttering, journal writing, affirmations, and yoga poses (although they were different poses) where mentioned in two, three, or even all four of the Body, Mind, Spirit, and Heart sections. So this could speed up the book a bit and perhaps you could complete it in one year.

I’ve already started doing the first 21 rituals daily, and I really do enjoy seeing my bed made and journaling puts my heart in a happy place every morning. My podcast partner for Books Don’t Review Themselves and I are thinking of doing The Ritual Yearbook starting January 1st and recording our progress on social media. So if you’re interested, sign up to follow us on Instagram.

Great self-help book written is an easy format. I could transfer a lot of advices to my calendar and create great plan for 21 days. I like recaps on the end of every section. Some of the ideas are simple and fun but some not so much. I like challenges, so I will definitely start the 21 rituals to ignite my intuition.

Now from a lot of the books I've read recently on improving my life, I've noticed that they suggest trying one new thing at a time. Theresa Cheung suggests doing all 21 of these at a time. And if you fail to do them for the 21 days straight you have to start again. I believe this is what is called setting someone up to fail.

Secondly; getting out of bed earlier isn't a ritual, nor is taking a selfie to me a ritual. These are just two of the HABITS she suggests trying, some are a bit more ritualistic but to me a ritual style bath, for example, involves laying out the soft robes for afterwards, selecting a candle and bath smells, picking the book(s) and drink and music and turning off notifications before slipping into the warm water and r e l a x. That's more of a ritual and what I kinda expected out of this book. How to make the experiences of your life more special.

I also spotted that one of the cititations was from the Daily Fail. Really?

It might suit someone looking to inject a little something more into their lives but, and it's a big but, I would do a few at a time, they're split into morning, evening and night and I'd pick one from each to try for 21 days and then maybe add more, but it's very prescriptive and not everyone functions the same. We are not all interchangeable and ritual should exhalt that not swallow it.

I love referring to this about my different dreams.

Born into a family of psychics and spiritualists, Theresa Cheung is an expert in the field of angels and divine healing. An Angel Healed Me is an inspiring collection of real-life stories, focusing on the physical and emotional help people have experienced from unexplained or ethereal sources at times when they have been at their most vulnerable. She tells of remarkable incidents where angels have appeared in hospital wards, at difficult births, during near-death experiences, and when someone actually dies, easing their journey from the corporeal to the spirit world. The common thread running through all these miraculous stories of healing from the inside out is that every angelic encounter provides the recipient with a strength, courage and a power they never knew they had.



I was a bit skeptical regarding this book since I don't really believe in this kind of things but it made me think about our guarding angel and if we are protected by them in our day to day journey. I can actually say that some of the stories changed the way I see and think about angels. The story that had the most significant impact on me was "My secret angel".

Although some of the stories were a tad too slow or short for my liking (I would loved it if they were a little bit more detailed ), they are nonetheless worth reading. All in all it was a good read, that made me understand even more that we are protected, loved and cared for even when we don't see or feel it.

There is a lot of conflict regarding dreams and how to interpret them/what they really are/etc. I don't know how well researched or factual this book is, but it is a fascinating read and there are many times when looking up what I dreamt that it completely made sense. This book is also creates great conversation between friends as everyone is curious to know why they are dreaming about certain things.

Not something you can read straight through but interesting to dip into and a great source of information if you are thinking about writing in this genre. There is a little too much repitiion with cross posts but I understand how hard that is to avoid. Lots of fascinating tidbits.

People's experiences of meeting an "angel", near death experiences, seeing things that are unexplainable etc. Despite having experienced some of these episodes myself I found the 'stories' a bit boring and samey.

I really enjoyed this book.

This is a very helpful and easy to understand guide. The symptoms and solutions are clearly laid out and well organized. The words "Natural ways" in the title made me think there might be weird food suggestions, but instead most of it seemed pretty workable.

This is an extremely useful and entertaining volume of Vampire lore. As well as entries about Dracula in fiction and on film,there is much new information to be found within these pages for the enthusiast. There are for instance entries regarding the writings of Sheridan Le Fanu, Stephenie Meyer, and Anne Rice. A listing of vampire films and of major works in vampire fiction since 1748.There are also separate entries for various true-life killers that had blood-sucking tendencies. In fact everything that you could ever want to know about this strange and fascinating creature of the night.
The book ends with a Timeline and a Bibliography,and also gives a list of Vampire Organizations for those to whom such things are of interest.½

Green Ladies, Grey Ladies, Gris-gris, Gremlins, Guardian Spirits and Goblins, no matter how sceptical you may be about such things, this encyclopaedia is great fun and as more-ish as a packet of potato crisps.

Ghoulies and Ghosties and Things that go Bump in the Night have never done it for me, but I dearly love reading about them and, like many cynics, have a couple of favourite haunting tales.

Although the encyclopaedia covers Britain, Europe and the US, it is less reliable for the rest of the world and South Africa is not mentioned at all: However, local favourites like the Uniondale Hitchhiker and the Rose of Soweto have sisters all over the world.

Hitchhiking ghosts are two-a-penny it seems; the only mystery is why South Africa in particular does not have more of them, given our levels of road fatalities and murders, since they are generally a result of violent death.

No doubt one would be startled if a gorgeous young woman to whom one had given a lift were to suddenly disappear from the passenger seat, leaving nothing behind but a dodgy ‘damp patch’, but the irritation afforded by the phantom seat wetter would be nothing compared to the horror produced by some of the UK’s most haunted houses.

‘The most haunted house in England’ was considered to be the Borley Rectory, a gloomy unattractive residence built in 1863 and still, one gathers, existing today. It was quiet for about 40 years before coming under a long and savage attack by everything from whispers to black shapes, banging doors, smells, unseen vandals and even a phantom nun.

The signals indicate the haunted rectory was a hoax and, even if it wasn’t, the most their poltergeist seemed able to achieve was broken nights and pottery – unlike the unknown terror at Berkeley Square which was so terrifying it drove people mad with fear.

This has always been my favourite ‘true’ ghost story: the upmarket address of 50 Berkeley Square was notorious for years as the home of the fatally frightening phantom, a malevolent apparition, ‘rigid as a corpse, with hideously glaring eyes.’

Occupants kept dying or going mad, disturbing the neighbours with loud noises, cries and moans, having met up with a ‘shapeless, slithering, horrible mass’. But when the house was transformed into an antiquarian bookshop in 1939, there were no further reports of the phenomenon.

My other firm favourite is the tale of the Beast of Glamis, the oldest inhabited castle in Scotland, family seat of the Bowes-Lyon family, maternal grandparents of the present queen, and home to a multitude of ghosts, vampires and witches.

In 1820 however a horribly mutated heir was born, ‘a deformed monster, with an egg-like body, no neck, and tiny arms and legs’, who was locked away in a secret room but survived for well over a century.

“Over the years each successive earl was informed of the existence of the Monster of Glamis, as he became known, on his 21st birthday. Allegedly the earls were profoundly influenced by the experience of meeting [him], becoming moody and withdrawn…”

In addition to haunted places like the above, and an enormous range of ghosts [Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, you name it – they walk] this book gives advice on various paranormal ‘stuff’ like Achieving an Out of Body State or Stimulating your Psychic Senses.

Now, while I scoff at Cottingley Fairies, Amityville, The Flying Dutchman and Zombies, my eye was caught by the entry on those dangerous entities known as ‘psychic vampires’.

Like almost everyone, I have worked with certain individuals who were unbearably needy and gloomy – that is, psychic vampires, ‘the kind of people who have low self esteem, are never satisfied with anyone or anything and always want constant reassurance from other people to make them feel better’.

‘They are not, however, interested in getting better but only in feeding off the optimism, energy and care of others’.

No literal fangs have ever sunk into my neck, draining my blood; worse, I have had sad sack psychic suckers battening onto my cheer and good will. It was ghastly. I am considering learning a few simple psychic self-defence routines – not that I believe in such things, of course.

Although the book has the answer to any paranormal question you ever asked and thousands you didn’t even think of, I cannot recommend it as more than a sensational psychic trivia because the entries contain no references whatsoever.

There is no bibliography, no credits, no acknowledgements and no index: as a serious work, this encyclopaedia simply does not cut it even at a primary school level. Not to be taken seriously then, but an ideal accompaniment to Harry Potter.

I certainly didn't hate this book. It proved to be good subway reading - not the sandwich shop, the train system - since it did help lower the stress somewhat. It's basically a self-help books using tea as a metaphor. Certainly the tea quotes used here and there were well placed - anyone who can seriously quote Picard from Star Trek: TNG scores points with me. Still, I wouldn't quite recommend this for someone looking for the end-all Tea Book. If you have a decent-sized tea library, this is a good addition. Just use it for the Bliss portion more than the Tea portion.

Loved the pictures.

Oh, where to begin? Possibly the most important thing to state for potential readers of this book is that this is not a book about tea. Rather, it's a self-help book that's masquerading as a tea book. There's preciously little information about tea in here, but more on that later. The basic premise of the book is that ideas and principles of tea can be used to affect positive change in your life. Each of these principles comprises a chapter (or "nourishing blend" to use the author's lexicon) and is linked with a similar principle that one can apply to one's life. Some of them sort of work, for example, not all tea should be brewed with boiling water is paired with the idea that living in a constant state of stress is toxic. Other of the principles, however, seem to bear little resemblance to the tea principle in question. Make sure each cup you serve has the same taste and temperature doesn't seem to bear a strong resemblance to seeking balance in life. And that particular point leads to one of the larger issues in the book. There are a wealth of inaccuracies and misinformation concerning tea in these pages. In a number of cases the author states things that are wrong or unresearched. Making sure each cup of tea has the same flavor every time? Most frequent drinkers of green and white teas are well aware that these teas stand up to, and indeed are expected, to go through multiple steepings (particularly if brewing with a gaiwan), and the entire point of the multiple steepings is that the flavors change slightly with each. A number of other examples are found in the health benefits of tea chapter. The author refers to rooibos as "the only naturally caffeine-free black tea." Sorry, but no. Rooibos is an entirely different plant. It does not come from the Camiellia Sinesis plant; it is not black tea. Or what about "lemon tea," which the author describes as "mainly sugar with tea solids." Ummmmm, does she mean Nestea? Seriously? In a book about making and enjoying tea? She refers to it as energizing, in a chapter on tea and health no less. At this point I've started to wonder how much of the issue is bad writing, and how much is lack of knowledge. I suspect there's some of both. The author's bio indicates that she has written other self-help books, but there's not much I can praise on the self-help side either. Most of the suggestions are basic, standard, self-help filler (the challenges and disappointments give life texture, seek balance, etc. etc. etc.) In sum, the tea theme is never well-wedded to the self-help content of this book, making it seem contrived at best. The research, factual, and writing problems only add to the more fundamental problems. The one positive thing I can say about this book is that the pictures are beautiful, but beyond that, there is little to recommend here.

According to Cheung IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) affects as many as one in five people, yet no one wants to talk about it.
This book is nicely organized; starting with what IBS is, what might cause IBS, how to determine if you have IBS and several chapters with suggestions on healing. Included is a useful A-Z chapter of specific symptoms.
The book ends with a chapter on how to cope with IBS. Also a chapter-by-chapter reference list is included, and a resource list with associations, websites and e-mail lists.
One of the most useful ideas is to keep a food journal; a simple example of how best to do so is given. A list of problematic foods to watch for is provided.
The book provides useful info for those afflicted with IBS.

The IBS Healing Plan: Natural Ways to Beat Your Symptoms by Theresa Cheung is a fully comprehensive guide for people dealing with IBS and it includes very many ways to treat IBS. The book explains exactly what IBS is and how it is diagnosed. The most interesting sections include how diet affects IBS, stress and IBS and ways to manage stress, and daily living with IBS and all the embarrassing things that go with it. The book discusses traditional ways to treat IBS- from digestive aids and over the counter medicines to prescription drugs- and non traditional ways to treat IBS- including vitamins, herbs, acupuncture, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy, stretching exercises and more. I found the A to Z of IBS symptoms to include many symptoms which a person would not think was related to IBS and it is very interesting all of the ways to treat each symptom. I really enjoyed the personal stories about people dealing with IBS on a daily basis. This book was very well researched and very in-depth at covering all aspects on IBS. I definitely recommend this book to anyone with IBS. 4 stars.

I was surprised by The IBS Healing Plan. I had expected either a too far-out eat only raw foods and seaweed prescription, or a “meditate all the time and conquer it with the power of positive thinking” approach. It is neither. It is actually a very complete and balanced approach. I was diagnosed with IBS with a colonoscopy during which I was poorly sedated. IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion, which means they tell you that you have IBS after they rule out everything else. After looking around to find some other source of the pain and problem, they pump your intestines full of air, and if you yell at them for doing so, they diagnose IBS. Afterwards when the doctor told me I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome, I told him that he would be pretty darn irritable if I stuffed a tube up his derriere and pumped him full of air, too! He replied, "Oh, so you remember that?" My reply is, of course, unprintable, but if it were, it would look something like this, “!@%$^&*($%#$@#!

At any rate, after my diagnosis of IBS I was simply handed pills and that was it. No education, no special diet, no information. Just, "take these pills and maybe it will get better." I took them, it didn't help much, and the side effects were very annoying. Also, I retained a lingering animosity towards the doctor for the undignified and extremely uncomfortable procedure. (Note: to all of you who are putting off getting a colonoscopy - don't use my experience as an excuse - my experience is extremely rare -I am just one of those unusual people who don't anesthetize well - not at the dentist either. So, don't put it off!)
Anyhow, I liked this book. A lot. It gave me a lot of information I had never heard before, but not only that; it is actually well-researched and reasonable information. In the past I have heard things like, "eat only raw foods" or "fast with nothing but wheat grass juice for 2 weeks and that will cure it". None of these extreme things work. In fact, raw broccoli and cauliflower are a particularly bad choice for anyone with gas, IMHO. I liked the alternative strategies in this book, and I really liked that I could pick and choose which ones were most likely to suit me and my lifestyle instead of having to make radical life changes all at one. I started out gradually eliminating a few things and adding a few things and observing the results. I appreciated how this book treats of the whole stress issue. Instead of saying "it's all in your head, just don't be so stressed and it will all get better", they talk about techniques to help relax you and your colon. Aha - so it is in my colon, and not my head! Yes, that was what I had always thought! I also appreciated the book’s personal stories - it was nice to know that the author really "gets" this problem and has compassion for IBS sufferers. I wish my doctor had.

Altogether, this is a very well rounded book - it covers natural and prescription treatments, alternative treatments and gives you a lot of choices. I am all about empowering people to take care of their own bodies. For me, it seems dietary control and a few supplements are the key factors in reducing my IBS to a minimum and I am doing much, much better now as long as I am careful about what I eat. If I choose to eat outside the guidelines I know work for me, I will suffer for it, but at least I now know where the limits are.
And, in case you are wondering, no, I haven't been back to that doctor, and yes, my IBS is much better.

I cannot recommend this book, much as I would love to find a title offering comfort to anyone suffering from otherwise untreated digestive discomfort. Not only does it diagnose without proper medical differentiation (ovarian cancer among other serious conditions can mimic many of the symptoms described, but is not mentioned anywhere within the book), but it offers no research to back up any of the recommended treatments, and suggests various treatment modalities including homeopathy and TCM which have never been shown to work in any capacity.

I scored this ARC from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer group. And I'm very pleased that I did.

IBS is just one of the many digestive problems I have and, while I've been fairly successful in keeping the symptoms under control, I haven't seen a book that was dedicated to natural ways of subduing IBS. This book covers a lot of ground including what foods to eat, supplements to take (vitamins/minerals/herbs), alternative therapies (massage, acupuncture, etc) and stress management.

Although this book goes the natural route, the author repeatedly asks the patient to work with their doctor and not to go off trying herbs and such willy nilly.

I especially liked the A-Z symptom guide with hints on how to help your specific IBS symptoms...because there are quite a few of them.

All in all, this was an informative book and, as a 12 year veteran of IBS, I even learned a few things.