Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I requested this one because I have read others by this author...that's it. And this time it kind of backfired on me...to be fair, this is not a book that should be read digitally as there are quizzes that you need to take and that never works out well for me. I keep saying I need to quit requesting nonfiction books and then I go and do more lol. I'm not sure what I was expecting from a book called abundance but it definitely was not what I got...the first part was basically about how to become wealthy and how to maintain that and the rest of the book seemed to be all about chakras...the whole thing just felt vague and kind of pointless to me and I could not for the life of me stay focused and interested...I had to do ten minutes or so a night just to get through it.

This book was great but a little drier than I personally prefer. I thought it would have more of a self help mindset but it was hard to get through.

This was a very good, informative book. I haven’t read this author before, but plan on reading more of his books. This book was very eye opening

As in so many other books by Deepak Chopra, he takes intricate, complex concepts from yoga philosophy and simplifies it for non-yogis. Using the chakra system as a framework, he walks the reader through how to live in freedom and abundance in all areas of life. This includes relationships, personal health, finances, work, and more. It's straightforward and elegantly worded. I highly recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley for this free e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

The basic premise of this book is solid: cultivating an inner sense of abundance is important beyond just earning money, and satisfaction comes more from use of "creative intelligence" (similar to Csikszentmihalyi's term "flow") aligned with your dharma than from having nice things. Readers unfamiliar with Chopra might expect more about money or perhaps spiritually manifesting wealth, but this book is principally an introduction to the chakra system as well as a handful of yogic, Hindu, and Buddhist principles. There are quizzes throughout to help the reader assess their own experience, as well as frequent lists of ways to identify alignment or misalignment with creative intelligence and specific exercises and meditations for each chakra, making the material easy to practically apply.

I actually found the parts directly focusing on money the least compelling, as there is little focus on systemic factors and it seems odd the way a broader abundance consciousness is introduced, but then money is offered as an inevitable result of this consciousness, reinforcing the goal rather than challenging it. Chopra's language can also be quite binary, leaving little room for error in the application of principles. It starts to feel bootstrappy, as if any competent person can simply decide to change their wealth or other habits like unhealthy eating patterns. While I do believe mindful practices can change mindset and even influence reality, I can't help but wonder about Chopra's caste background given the way he talks about wealth. The virtue angle won't appeal to some readers, who may find the tone too blamey to relate. The focus is very individual, not about collaborating to overcome systemic problems, and there seems to be an assumption that the reader is middle-class and fairly happy with capitalism as an economic model. At times Chopra's writing comes across as straight-up bypassing or toxic positivity, without enough nuance applied to distinguish the power of intention from a "man over nature" kind of manifestation model.

On the other hand, I did find the focus on creative intelligence in pursuit of your dharma to be inspiring and helpful. Chopra's take on consciousness is radical and a little out there, but even readers who can't quite buy into the most literal interpretation of his teachings will likely find some useful insight in how the chakra system is laid out as an organization system that allows creative intelligence (wisdom) to flow. For each chakra, a theme is introduced and explored from a few angles. As a non-Hindu reviewer, I think it's important to note that I can't comment on how Chopra's interpretation of the chakras compares to others', or where it falls in relation to the commercializing and Westernizing of the system. But taken on their own terms, these chapters are accessible and guide the reader through some key principles of mindful living such as inherent enoughness, balancing reason and intuition, cultivating simple awareness, manifestation through intention, leading from loving intention in relationships, making space for things to happen in unexpected ways rather than forcing action, and seeing fulfillment as collective rather than individual or uniquely human.

If you approach this work through the filter of your own values, with an eye out for the ways the language may be catering to a particular audience, you'll find some useful takeaways. The overall message of abundance as natural, with an emphasis on getting your ego out of your own way, certainly has merit, and in general the recommended practices can be useful. I'll just pass on any recommendation coming from a male author telling me to resist less and smile more.

He starts to talk about aligning yourself with your true purpose in life, which really got me thinking. I started to talk to my friends about some of the big picture questions that he poses very early on so that you do some soul searching.

We discussed the big causes that we want to work on, and it made me realize that a lot of my time, money, and energy are not spent on the things that I personally believe are the highest priorities. While I will never be perfect, the book points out how you can move forward in the direction you want to go. I received a review copy from NetGalley.

Abundance by Deepak Chopra offers insight on achieving prosperity and wealth through ancient teachings and spiritual practices. Many of us tend to focus on what we don’t have and that places us in a lack mindset. By understanding the abundance of the universe, we are able to tap into an inner path that leads to all of our desires.

Abundance offers the perfect blend of information along with interactive features. Chopra includes questionnaires, which engages the reader versus having us just absorb information. My personal favorite interactive features include the meditations and mindfulness techniques. I enjoyed learning more about charkas, alignment, and the importance of letting go in order to receive. I also found the length of this book to be perfect. It’s not too long and not too short, it's just enough to cover the important teachings. Thank you to NetGalley and Rodale Inc. for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge reader of self-growth, metaphysical studies, and manifestation. This book is heavy on the chakras, offering many meditations and examples for each. Unfortunately, I did not feel a connection with this particular text. While I was eager to tap into abundance in my life, this explores the topic more broadly -- abundance is not just joy and wealth like I was identifying it, but also creativity, insight, love, security.

In "Abundance" Chopra discusses all of the 7 chakras, presenting them with quizzes, meditations and examples. If you are looking to explore meditation and the chakras more, this will be a great title for you to pick up.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big Deepak Chopra fan and have all his books. I am slightly conflicted on this particular book. He does a lot of meditations on abundance and it's a topic in almost all his books. This book felt more forced to me. I still love the advice and teachings, I think "abundance" It's a very big topic right now and this book just kind of fell into the genre of current topics. There's some great takeaways but I'm absolutely in love with some of his other books more so than this one.