Life Visioning

December 12, 2011
According to Beckwith (Spiritual Liberation), director of the Agape International Spiritual Center, the Life Visioning Process is a “conscious participation in the evolution of your consciousness.” Beckwith’s method is intended for all faiths and uses New Thought principles to foster spiritual evolution and connection with the divine, here called Source. To lay the groundwork for LVP, Beckwith discusses five foundational life qualities, eight life structures, and four stages of evolutionary growth that lead to greater consciousness. The actual Life Visioning Process isn’t explained until almost the end of the book. It consists of seven steps in which practitioners enter a meditative, intuitive state to ask the higher self for guidance. Beckwith’s writing is powerful in its positivity, and LVP may indeed be a valuable tool, but this book suffers from a lack of organization. The various steps, life structures, and evolutionary stages become confusing. Beckwith is also fond of abstract terms (Great Knowing, Divine Ideation), which may sound nice, but aren’t well defined. Most frustratingly, more time is spent praising LVP than clearly explaining it.

A sincere pastor invites us to accept our eternal nature and connect with what the universe wants for us. He says we discover that vision in four stages. We move from being victims to taking responsibility, then to releasing ourselves to the universe's higher intelligence and, finally, to merging with God's love and our true identity. The focus on service to others takes the edge off the self-consciousness of this process. Guided meditations give the program a good structure for those with short attention spans or longstanding avoidance habits. Beckwith projects likability and humility in a speaking style that works well for his far-reaching ideas. Delivered spontaneously and with periodic vocal intensity, the production is a powerful expression of the author's altruism. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine