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While you can purchase your books anywhere, we suggest you use the links provided to order your books via Amazon.com,
the world-wide leader in online book selling. We recommend
Amazon.com because we use them ourselves. Amazon often offers
their books at 30% discount from the price you'd pay in your local bookstore. |
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The
Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, by Eckart
Tolle
Ekhart Tolle's message is simple: living in the now is
the truest path to happiness and enlightenment. And while this message
may not seem stunningly original or fresh, Tolle's clear writing,
supportive voice, and enthusiasm make this an excellent manual for
anyone who's ever wondered what exactly "living in the now"
means. Foremost, Tolle is a world-class teacher, able to explain
complicated concepts in concrete language. More importantly, within a
chapter of reading this book, readers are already holding the world in a
different container--more conscious of how thoughts and emotions get in
the way of their ability to live in genuine peace and happiness.
Tolle packs a lot of information and inspirational ideas into The Power
of Now. (Topics include the source of Chi, enlightened relationships,
creative use of the mind, impermanence, and the cycle of life.)
Thankfully, he's added markers that symbolize "break time."
This is when readers should close the book and mull over what they just
read. As a result, The Power of Now reads like the highly acclaimed A
Course in Miracles--a spiritual guidebook that has the potential to
inspire just as many study groups and change just as many lives for the
better.
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The
Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times,
by Pema Chodron
Pema Chödrön may have more good one-liners than a
Groucho Marx retrospective, but this nun's stingers go straight to the
heart: "The essence of bravery is being without
self-deception"; "When we practice generosity, we become
intimate with our grasping"; "Difficult people are the
greatest teachers." These are the punctuations to specific
teachings of fearlessness. In The Places That Scare You, Chödrön
introduces a host of the compassionate warriors' tools and concepts for
transforming anxieties and negative emotions into positive living.
Rather than steeling ourselves against hardship, she suggests we open
ourselves to vulnerability; from this comes the loving kindness and
compassion that are the wellsprings of joy. How do we achieve it?
Through meditation, mindfulness, slogans, aspiration, and several other
practices, such as tonglen, which is taking in the pain and suffering of
others while sending out happiness to all--emphasis on the all. Chödrön
introduces each of these practices in turn, backing them up with
succinct practical reasoning and a framework of ideas that offers fresh
interpretations of familiar words like strength, laziness, and
groundlessness. Chödrön is the type of person you'd like to have with
you in an emergency, and to deal with the extremes of daily life. In her
absence, The Places That Scare You will do nicely.
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The
Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life,
by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The lure of this book's promise starts with the
assumption in its title. Possibility--that big, all-encompassing,
wide-open-door concept--is an art? Well, who doesn't want to be a
skilled artist, whether in the director's chair, the boardroom, on the
factory floor, or even just in dealing with life's everyday situations?
Becoming an artist, however, requires discipline, and what the authors
of The Art of Possibility offer is a set of practices designed to
"initiate a new approach to current conditions, based on uncommon
assumptions about the nature of the world."
If that sounds a little too airy-fairy for you, don't be put off; this
is no mere self-improvement book, with a wimpy mandate to transform its
readers into "nicer" people. Instead, it's a collection of
illustrations and advice that suggests a way to change your entire
outlook on life and, in the process, open up a new realm of possibility.
Consider, for example, the practice of "Giving an A," whether
to yourself or to others. Not intended as a way to measure someone's
performance against standards, this practice instead recognizes that
"the player who looks least engaged may be the most committed
member of the group," and speaks to their passion rather than their
cynicism. It creates possibility in an interaction and does away with
power disparities to unite a team in its efforts. Or consider
"Being the Board," where instead of defining yourself as a
playing piece, or even as the strategist, you see yourself as the
framework for the entire game. In this scenario, assigning blame or
gaining control becomes futile, while seeking to become an instrument
for effective partnerships becomes possible.
Packed with such examples of personal and professional interactions, the
book presents complex ideas on perception and recognition in a readable,
useable style. The authors' combined, eclectic experience in music and
painting (as well as family therapy and executive workshops) infuses
their examples with vibrant color and sound. The relevance to corporate
situations and relationships is well developed, and they don't rely on
dry case studies to do it. Indeed, this book assumes the emotional
intelligence and desire to engage of its reader, promising access to the
rewards of that door-opening notion--possibility--in return.
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Life Makeovers, by Cheryl Richardson
What do you need to change to make your life work better and make you happier? Top-level personal coach Cheryl Richardson, author of the popular Take Time for Your Life, shows you how to make your life over, one week at a time, using her philosophy of "extreme self-care." The result: you'll reevaluate your life and connect to what matters most to you, improving the quality of your life.
Life Makeovers is organized into 52 chapters, one for each week of the year. (Procrastinators: don't wait until January 1 to start--just call this week "week 1" and get going.) Each chapter has a specific theme with a "Take Action Challenge": a practical strategy to put a change into action immediately. For example, week 1 encourages you to reflect on what you've done right by writing down your five greatest accomplishments and three ways you've grown in the past year. Week 5 helps you manage your time by creating an "Absolute Yes" list of your five top priorities for the next 3 to 6 months. Week 20 helps identify behaviors that trigger feelings of irritability or frustration with a "I know I'm headed for trouble when..." list and three things you'll put in place to support your self-care when these happen. Additional topics range widely, such as exploring your internal rules and standards, asking for support, improving your sleep, shaking up your daily routine, and sharing with those in need. Each chapter also includes several well-chosen resources for exploring the topic further.
If you use Life Makeovers as it's designed, you'll have the wisdom and inspiration of one of the best personal coaches in the business for a whole year. You'll have to work with her--no instant magic here--but it will be worth it.
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The Dark Side
of the Light Chasers: Reclaiming Your Power, Creativity, Brilliance,
and Dreams, by Debbie Ford
We know the shadow by many names: alter ego, lower self, the dark twin, repressed self, id. Carl Jung once said that the shadow "is the person you would rather not be." But even if you choose to hide your dark side, it will still cast a shadow, according to author Debbie Ford. Rather than reject the seemingly undesirable parts of ourselves, Ford offers advice on how to confront our shadows. Only by owning every aspect of yourself can you achieve harmony and "let your own light shine," she explains. "The purpose of doing shadow work, is to become whole. To end our suffering. To stop hiding ourselves from ourselves. Once we do this we can stop hiding ourselves from the rest of the world."
As threatening as shadow work may seem, it is often very effective in creating transformation. Ford's step-by-step guidebook is modeled on a highly successful course she developed about embracing the shadow. Ultimately, she helps readers illuminate the gifts and strengths that lie within the shadows. Although this works sound vague, clouded in dark metaphors, Ford manages to make it clear and specific. She has the writing gifts of a successful seminar leader--inspirational, trustworthy, and able to convey murky material with grace and ease.
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Take Time for Your Life : A
Personal Coach's Seven-Step Program for Creating the Life You Want, by
Cheryl Richardson
Personal coach Cheryl Richardson helps people create the lives they want. In Take Time for Your Life, she shows you how to switch from being stressed, unfulfilled, and overworked, to "living a life you love" by using a seven-step process. First, she gives you permission to "make the quality of your life your top priority" by honoring your self-care--a difficult choice for fast-track readers, but essential. Putting yourself at the top of your "to do" list will help you connect your head with your heart and enhance your satisfaction and joy. Next, you define your priorities and revise your schedule so it reflects them. Then you figure out what actions, issues, and people are draining your energy and start to "plug those drains." The next step is getting your financial house in order. And so on, through seven progressive strategies that free you to live an authentic, high-quality life, embracing your spiritual, emotional, and financial well-being. Richardson recommends enlisting a friend to work through the book with you: a fine idea to help you benefit from all the guidance that this book offers. Resource lists at the end of each chapter let you pursue topics further. Highly recommended.
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Empowerment
: The Art of Creating Your Life As You Want It, by David Gershon and Gail
Straub
Empowerment builds on two decades of work of its authors working with thousands of people to help them create their heart's desire. It is based on the premise that our thoughts and beliefs create the conditions of our life; if we want to bring about changes in our life we need to change our beliefs. The book assists readers in doing this. It covers seven areas of life -- relationships, sexuality, money, work, body, emotions and spirituality.
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End the
Struggle and Dance With Life: How to Build Yourself Up When the World Gets You Down,
by
Susan Jeffers
This book takes you on a wonderful journey. Jeffers' words are immensely uplifting and transforming. You will gain immense insight into yourself, what you are doing that is making you unhappy, and what you can do to make yourself happier.
This opened up a whole new world for me, philosophically speaking, and I can now look at life with a more positive slant. I enjoyed all the quotes she included, as well as the dozens of apt analogies and affirmations. As a bonus, it is chock full of suggestions for further exploration and contemplation. Don't wait - it is an easy and delightful read.
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