Books

Freedom’s Just Another Word

There are so many self help books out there, filled with advice and positive energy that makes it all seem so easy! But not all of us match with that. Some of us, probably all of us, at some time or other, reach the bottom of the barrel, and feel so overwhelmed that positive, you-can-do-it statements are the last thing we want to hear.

Dan Hays was like that at one point – life was totally out of control. And just when things couldn’t get any worse, they did. He got the call to come home because Dad was dying. Dad, who abused him as a child. Dad, whom he had so many mixed feelings about.

This book is a window into Dan’s life. He shares all. Reading it makes you feel like your are Dan’s best friend, so priveleged to be the one he shared his feelings and heart-felt thoughts with.

Freedom’s Just Another Word is an absolutely riveting and uplifting story of how Dan went from ‘life can’t get any worse’ to awareness, healing and freedom.

Lessons From the Source via Jack Armstrong

Do you ever feel like asking God to talk a bit louder, so you can hear better? Do you ever wish you had a guidebook for this journey called “life”?

Wish no more! Read Lessons From the Source: A Spiritual Guide to Navigating Life’s Journey. In it, Jack Armstrong has transcribed a series of profound yet simple messages he received through Inner Dictation. They are not Jack’s words. They come not from him, but through him, straight from the Source, straight from what many of us call “God”. The “I” in the book is not Jack – it is God. Reading Lessons From the Source makes you feel like you are in a private, one on one coaching session with God.

Together, the messages in Lessons From the Source form a spiritual guidebook to life. Part one is an orientation to the journey, a description of its challenges and techniques for meeting them. Part two continues with ways to make the trip easier and more enjoyable – the qualities, attitudes and practices that enable us to integrate the intellectual concepts from part one into our daily lives. Part three rounds things off with miscellaneous topics to pick and choose from according to interest.

The concepts in Lessons From the Source are profound and deep, yet easy reading and very approachable, because I could see and feel what I was reading. The words were alive – and very visual. Here’s a passage I’d love to paste on my wall:

“If you could see yourself from my perspective, you would laugh at the many barriers you have erected to your own good. It is as if you are existing in a sea of goodness, yet you have built a plastic bubble around yourself to keep the good that is all around you from getting to you or from you getting to it. It is right there, but you can’t reach it. Dissolve the bubble and become one with your goodness.”

The messages in Lessons From the Source are gentle; and filled with love and unconditional goodness. No rules. No commandments: just reminders of who we really are, reminders of our goodness, and how easy it is to claim and accept our good. Good is, in fact, a recurring theme in the book. “You are entitled to all the good that the universe has to offer.” “Your good is yours by divine right and is available to you whenever it is needed.” (Really?? This stuff is making me feel very, very good…)

Lessons From the Source is, in summary, an incredible book that is a “must read”. Buy it. Read it. Enjoy its goodness.

Spiritual Liberation by Michael Beckwith

Beckwith sets the record straight right from the first sentence: Spiritual Liberation is not about “religiosity” or “churchianity”. It is instead about letting go of fear, doubt and ego-related “mental armor”. It is about becoming aware of our Authentic Self and our unique gifts, talents and loving nature waiting to be realized.

The book covers an interesting range of topics, including “Identity Theft”, the “Myth of Perfection” and “Conscious Creativity”. Beckwith often tells stories from his own life and he quotes both ancient and contemporary writing to illustrate his points. At the end of every chapter are an affirmation and a meditation that embody the concepts just discussed.

Beckwith often asks empowering and eye opening questions to activate our intuition and insight. I had a real “aha” moment when he encouraged us to ask “What gift within me is seeking to emerge?” in the discussion of facing life challenges.

Spiritual Liberation is more than empowering, though. If is filled with the wisdom, love, humility and compassion that is, in fact, the essence of Michael Bernard Beckwith.

The Breakthrough Experience by Dr. John Demartini

There are many practical self-help books on the market. There are also a huge number of inspiring and philosophical books out there. Dr. John Demartini’s “The Breakthrough Experience” is both, and that makes it special.

The book is about breaking through the barriers that are prevening you from expriencing the love and light that is your true Self. Chapters on “Lighten Up”, “Living Dreams”, “Genius” and others all contain a wonderful mix of inspiring teachings and real life stories. Exercises at the end of the chapters help you integrate the material and apply it to your own life.

It all leads up to Dr. Demartini’s Quantum Collapse Process for “dissolving illusions, centering the mind, opening the heart, and awakening inner vision and genius.”

This book requires active participation. It is a journey toward your Self, toward light and love.

Mastering Life’s Energies by Maria Nemeth, PhD

You know those moments we all have, where life is radiant and luminous? How would you like your whole life to be like that, all the time, every day? This is what Maria Nemeth, PhD, addresses in Mastering Life’s Energies: Simple Steps to a Luminous Life at Work and Play.

Nemeth starts by describing luminosity as clarity, focus, ease, and grace in action. Not in thoughts or insights, notice, but in action. It’s about going toward the light, not away from the darkness. It’s about generating something important from inside and making it real. Nemeth explains that when you are luminous, you feel centered and you recognize that you are doing what you are meant to be doing: now, not some time in the future.

She continues with concepts and tools to help achieve this luminosity. One is to create and carry with you an index card that says “Nevertheless I am willing”. What a great reminder! The “nevertheless” acknowledges your fears and doubts, which anchors the statement in your current reality and makes everything believable; and the “I am willing” opens you up to stepping forward, to the believable and not too scary possibility of going beyond your stuck point.

Another chapter helps you get in touch with your Life Intentions, which are all about being, not doing; and in some way express your own talents and strengths that reflect our own priorities, not someone else’s. When you write these intentions on a card, then place it after the one described in the paragraph above, do you see what starts to happen? You get “Nevertheless I am willing to be…..” Wow. You have created an affirmation that is grounded, believable, and full of hope. The positivity continues to expand when Nemeth has you list the qualities of a person you admire makes you realize that the reason you recognize them is because all those qualities are already within you! (Really? Chalk up another wow!)

I love the author’s description of metaphysical reality as the ocean – constant and deep – and physical reality as the impermanent, unpredictable waves that sit on the surface. Metaphysical reality is not “up there” somewhere; it is underneath you, anchoring you. It is the home of your inner wisdom, and your Life Intentions. The author points out that a meaningful goal in life takes something from your metaphysical reality and, through action, makes it real in the physical world, despite the challenges that inevitably arise as you go across the border from metaphysical to the physical (another great concept); and despite our “monkey mind” that she describes so accurately as chattering away, reminding you of all your doubts and fears (and I love her chart on monkey mind talk: it contains every excuse and doubt you’ve ever thought of!)

This is only part one of Mastering Life’s Energies, which is all about achieving clarity: I’ve gone into a lot of detail, because there is so much in this book that was so helpful to me when I read it. The next sections deal with strengthening focus, drawing your own conclusions, and cultivating grace. I highly recommend this book: it can help you get in touch with your inner dreams, become more fully yourself, and turn your life into a series of unending luminous moments.

101 Exercises for the Soul by Dr. Bernie Siegal

We’re all familiar with the need to exercise and strengthen our body. We’re also familiar with the need to educate and nurture our mind. Dr. Bernie Siegal has completed the trilogy with 101 Exercises for the Soul. Yes, it’s a workout guide for the soul, a how-to manual for living in alignment with your soul.

Start anywhere. There are 101 exercises, grouped into 20 categories. Pick what attracts you. You’re in charge. Activities include Give Yourself Gifts, Create a Game, Awaken the Child Within, and Turn the Keu. There’s even Rest Time!

Exercise has never felt so good! This book is full of gentle, loving encouragement and filled with possibilities. Don’t worry about not having enough time for this book. It is about being as much as doing.

The Four Day Win by Martha Beck

Another book about diet and exercise? Groan! Thousands of books and articles have already been written about both these topics.

The Four Day Win promises to “end your diet war and achieve thinner peace”. Instead of turning you into a skinny caterpillar, it takes on the mission of delving into your mind and your behavior and encouraging you metamorphose into a beautiful lean butterfly. Forever changed, with a combination of quick-results tactics to feel good fast; and slower brain and body retraining to make it permanent.

Each chapter contains concrete, doable strategies that deal both with how you eat and how you exercise. Each chapter gives you information, but mostly it gives you things to DO. Easy things to DO. And what makes this book so exciting and so absolutely DOABLE, is that each thing you do is for only four days at a time. The thing about four days is that it’s a manageable chunk. It’s easy, and practical and success-oriented. Then on to the next four day segment, and more success is yours. You get to a point where you say, “wow, what’s next?”

I can’ t wait to try it – bathing suit season is almost here!

The Quiet Mind by David Kundtz

Subtitled “One-Minute Retreats from a Busy World”, David Kundtz’s The Quiet Mind is a book is a perfect for when you need to stop the world for a few moments and center yourself. And it only takes a few moments, because each reading, or reflection, as the author calls them, is less than 2 pages long.

Readings are grouped into fourteen sections, which include Finding Peace at Work, Finding your Balance, Paying Attention, Awakening to Wonder, Making Room for Life, and much more. Each little reflection starts with an inspiring quote, and, after developing the story or concept, ends with a challenge, often as simple as “Things to do today: exhale, inhale, exhale..”.

What all of David Kundtz’s reflections have in common is what I love most about this book: they take you from doing to being, from autopilot to awareness, from noise to stillness.