Real Page Turners....

There is nothing better than indulging in some quality reading time.

I just spent 2 weeks in my remote cottage in Northern Ontario and read some amazing books!

I thought I'd share with you some of my favourites!

The first book I read was The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon. This is one of many books in her Outlander series. The series takes you through the story of Claire and Jamie. An unlikely couple seeing as she is from the 20th Century and he is an Eighteenth Century Highlander. The story begins in Gabaldon's first book "Outlander". I love following Jamie and Claire on their wild adventures. Diana's books are filled with everything that makes a good summer read. I highly recommend the entire Outlander series to any housewife who needs a good thrill.

I also picked up "Jesus" by Deepak Chopra. This was Chopra's first attempt at a fiction story. The book is the would be story of Jesus' path to enlightenment. This book was easy to read and put the Son of God in a light that I could relate to. Chopra shines the light on what may have been some of Jesus' fears related to enlightenment and ultimately how he came to realize his purpose.

Next up was "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young. I have heard so much about this story and my husband purchased the book months ago and I hadn't had a chance to pick it up. It was a must for me to bring on vacation to see what all the fuss was about.
I'm a little confused as I had thought this story was fictional, but by the sounds of the foreward it is based on a true story.
My 16 year old son even read this book once I was done with it.
The book takes you through a family tragedy of kidnap and murder. One day God invites the victim's father to the very place where the tragedy took place. There the father spends the weekend with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
This was a great read, a great story with lots to think about.
My son was asking tons of questions after reading it as he had decided a while back that he didn't believe in a God. He believes more in the scientific explanation for creation.
I think everyone will get something different out of this book. For me it confirmed my relationship with the Universal God energy and gave me more to base that on.
A great summer (or anytime) read.

I've also been working my way through Byron Katie's "A Thousand Names for Joy". I really enjoy her books, her no nonsense way of explaining how to obtain peacefulness is a breath of fresh air. She makes it sound so simple, and of course it is if you are willing to let go of all of your beliefs surrounding what peacefulness looks like. This is a great read for anyone interested in the Tao Te Ching, as Katie brings different aspects of this teaching into her work. This is not a book that you can just skim through, it takes some time to process and savour the concept of what she is teaching.

En-JOY!

Simple & Consistent

So lately I have been mesmerized by something called "The Work"

I have been feverishly watching all of the YouTube videos of Byron Katie and her technique of turning around all the negative thoughts and beliefs that we have running through our minds.

It is absolutely fascinating.

I have begun to apply The Work to my every day life as well as using it with my coaching clients. The feedback that I am receiving tells me that this is far more effective than the techniques I have been using thus far. And the progress that I am making in my own awareness is more rapid than anything I have used in the past.

It's simple and it's consistent.

There is a deep need within me to live a life of simple abundance and peacefulness. It really and truly is all that I want in life.

I want to wake up in the morning and be content with whatever it is I am doing (or not doing) that day. I want to not attach an emotion to anything and make it something it is not. I want to be in total connectedness with the nothingness and the silence that lives within me. I want to embrace wholeheartedly the concept of whatever is, is and nothing else (I embrace this concept only when it suits me at the moment).

Can any of this be possible if we are constantly allowing our inner thoughts to control our exterior reality? If we constantly place a "value" upon all that we experience how can we connect with the perfection of life?

I don't think it's possible. I don't think that simplicity is a possibility when our thoughts are always making things so complex, distorted and frustrating.

This is why the path to enlightenment is paved with bald headed monks and silent retreats!

I believe that this technique is the way to enlightenment/complete awareness that all of us are looking for. The thing that can help us deal with our everyday circumstances and guide us towards a space of complete contentedness. Not a space where we vie for control over the people in our lives, not a space where we step on everyone in our path to reach the top of the ladder of success, not a space where everything that we encounter becomes a personal vendetta against us. But a space of completeness, understanding and ultimately bliss.

Amen!