Dreaming in Real Time: The Shanti Shanti Story [With CD]

by Linda Forman

Andrea and Sara Forman are two sisters whose early love of the Sanskrit language led to the remarkable discovery that they both seemed to naturally know the five-thousand-year-old language, despite... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1556434499
• ISBN13: 9781556434495
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A 5-star, MUST-read, spiritually uplifting story

This book is not only wonderfully written, spiritually uplifting, and certainly very relatable and funny in spots, but literally changed my life by renewing my belief that there is something greater than us out there and it introduced me to the Sanskrit language, which I have come to love. It is especially interesting for folks (like me) who have never been exposed to ancient Sanskrit chanting before. I was so moved by their story, love their music, their unique voices and other talents (Andrea plays violin, Sara plays Cello in some of the songs), and the style in which they present this language to the rest of the world, that it inspired me to study Sanskrit, so I can now sing and chant along with Shanti Shanti. Mind you, this is not an easy language to learn (e.g. knowing what words to pair together, where to place accents and placement of the tongue in the mouth to pronounce the syllables properly, which is the basis of this language), and when I listen to the ease with which this language rolls off their tongues, there is no question in my mind about their authenticity of being gifted with knowledge of this language. I chant every day now, and it's not only enhanced my already heightened spiritual side, but it's a great stress-reliever, and it's given me an even better appreciation for other cultures and religions. I feel with the world looking to nuture their spiritual self more and more these days through yoga, diet and holistic approaches to health, such as Ayurvedic medicine, more people will find enrichment through listening to and/or chanting this beautiful ancient language. Reading Shanti Shanti's story and listening to their delivery of this language is a great first step. As a side note, I feel fortunate that I happened upon this story at a time in my life when I felt I was meant to read it. I had hit about as rock bottom as one can hit in early 2004 and I decided to purchase myself a birthday present, as I knew I couldn't control the painful things happening in my life, but felt I could at least try and change how I was feeling inside. Life had been dealing me some horrible blows, such as losing many friends and co-workers on 9/11, after having just moved from there 2 months prior for health reasons (and the list goes on from there). While browsing through a catalog I came across this book, that Linda Forman had written about her 2 daughters, Andrea and Sara, and about their love of, and talent for, being able to read, write and translate the Sanskrit language at a very young age. The Formans are of European descent and were raised Catholic, however, they exposed their children to many different cultures and religious backgrounds, which I feel all parents should do. Their oldest daughter Andrea seemed especially riveted by the chanting of Sanskrit by the Hindu priests at Temple and when Andrea was 8 years old she kept taking her mother's Ayurvedic Medical books into her room (Linda had become interested in Ayurvedic Medicine years

Experience the Wonder

I recommend you read this book while listening to a Shanti Shanti CD on continuous playback. That's what I did, and the experience could only be described as "celestial." Dozens of times throughout the book, I found myself feeling overwhelming joy, awe, even ecstasy. I cried in sheer delight. The lives of this blessed family would seem unbelievable except for the authenticity of the author's voice (and I have had experiences similar to those they describe in my years of meditation and spiritual devotion). It has been said by some that we are on the verge of a Golden Age (and it's always darkest before the dawn). For that to be true, we will need some powerful help to supplant the forces that have held humanity in ignorance and thrall for ages. Sages such as Paramahansa Yogananda have prophesized that very spiritually advanced beings will start to incarnate at this time in the West. Though the author makes no such claim (she only reports what happened), the discriminating reader will notice that this book stands as a testament that such is really happening right now. If this can happen in one simple, ordinary American family, then it can happen again and again elsewhere as needed...and this is deeply reassuring.

Shanti Shanti, Baby!!!

Author Linda Forman in Dreaming in Real Time writes the story of her family as they go on a miraculous spiritual journey after finding out that her daughters can chant ancient Sanskrit after learning it swiftly on their own. Some the theological difficulties of having the daughters chant Hindu prayers for Christian churches are explored, but since new agers tend to believe that all religions are one despite apparent contradictions and hostilities, this is not a subject that is explored in depth.Forman has many delightful parlour stories about her family and some of the extraordinary events they have experienced. They seem to be people blessed with knowing what their purpose in life is, for the most part, while many of us struggle to find any rhyme or reason to it. One of the main points of the story is that chanting sanskrit can make people dramatically feel better and peoples' unusual and immediate emotional reactions to the music are presented in the book. Even dogs and plants seem to love the vibes. I can't really say I had such a dramatic reaction to the CD included with the book. "Ganesh Prayers" had nice melodies and harmonies to it and I found "Shanti Mantra" good for meditating as the young women chant very fast and hypnotically for 5 minutes. The rest sounds like Sunday Morning Contempory Christian church music--a little too sweet, bland, and feminine for my tastes, as I listened to their sugary light pop confections.It wasn't unpleasant, but I thought they should go for a more exotic, mysterious world music sound and get their East Indian musician friends to help them come up with a more authentic sound. It's peaceful music, but I really can't say it's anymore therapeutic than any other music, at this point. I'd give the CD three stars. New Agers are always making wild claims about their CDs; it's not just good music, it's "healing" and therefore better than standard pop music.

A Dream of a Read

This is a well-written, funny, uplifting, and spiritually satisfying book that I couldn't put down. To know that it's a true story makes it all the more gratifying. The author's intelligence and humor shines through. I laughed outloud in several places. Plus, the book contains a CD of Shanti Shanti's songs and chants. You can't beat that for lasting enjoyment! I liked this book so much that I have ordered several more to give as gifts to my spiritually like-minded friends. Dreaming in Real Time is written by Linda Forman, the mother of Andrea and Sara Forman who together are known as the singing duo Shanti Shanti. The author states in the introduction that she comes from a family of storytellers. Her talent for relating the stories of her family's extraordinary life experiences definitely shows in this book. During her telling of how her young daughters came to "remember" Sanskrit and chant the Vedas, she also relates her own cosmic insight and spiritual growth. Her explanation of her dreams and out-of-time, transcendental experiences are wonderfully clear. Her insights into Vedic healing techniques such as sound therapy gave me an "Ah ha" moment. Those of you who have clear experiences of God's guidance or "God things" as she puts it, will relate and appreciate her down-to-earth, honest retelling of the spiritual guidance that is an integral part of her family's spiritual journey. You also come to know and love the family: mom and dad, Linda and Robert; sisters, Andrea and Sara; brother Micah, and you want to know what happens next. I hope Linda Forman keeps on writing. I highly recommend this magical book for all ages.