Title: A New Beginning 1: Handbook for Joyous Survival
Author: Abraham, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks
Publication year(s): 1988
Formats available: Paperback
This was Abraham's first non-fiction book, originally published in 1988.
The book is divided into two major sections. After an introduction from Jerry, the first section consists of 15 chapters of classic Abraham, beginning with an introduction to Abraham in their own words, followed by an explanation of the principles of deliberate creation. They discuss how to establish and maintain communcation with your Inner Being, and how to use this communication to assist in the manifestation of your desires. They also spend a chapter discussing some of the most common hindrances to the deliberate creative process. Along the way they give several techniques for putting the principles into practice, including the segment intending process.
Later in the first section, they discuss how the planet is (or was, when the book was written) going through what they call a 'time of awakening'. This ties in with the 'earth changes' predicted in some new agey circles, and Abraham talks about how to deal with these changes, that they call the 'realignment of planet earth'. This, presumably, is the 'joyous survival' mentioned in the book's subtitle.
The second section of the book (approx 100 pages) consists of transcripts of questions and answers from the Abraham seminar of 20 January 1988.
At the end of the book is a copy of one of their quarterly newsletters, which includes articles, quotes and more information about their seminars and product range.
I initially found the subtitle 'A Handbook for Joyous Survival' somewhat offputting, and this book, unlike their subsequent works, does put a lot of emphasis on the earth changes that they believed to be imminent. However, in my edition (published in 2002), Abraham has added a supplement to the chapter on realignment, which basically says - this is no longer a problem for most people, so don't worry about it. Some people will of course be affected by earthquakes and other natural processes (as has happened), but such events are not going to occur on the mass scale predicted by some. And those who are tuned in to their inner guidance will be aware of such happenings in advance, and are unlikely to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
So, with the doom and gloom aspect of the book (my interpretation, not Abraham's!) out of the way, the remainder of the book is very uplifting, and provides a wealth of useful information. It is not, IMO, as comprehensive their subsequent books, but the core 'Abraham philosophy' that has developed so beautifully over the years - life is supposed to be fun, and you're in control of it - is all here in a nutshell.
Not all of this book is generally relevant today, and its tone is in some places a little darker than is usual with Abraham, Also, this might not be the best book for those who are new to Abraham (I recommend starting with 'Ask and it is Given'), but it provides a lot of very useful information, is an excellent supplement to their other works, and is worth buying for just the transcripts in the second section.
