I began reading Self-Care for Life: Find Joy, Peace, Serenity, Vitality, Sensuality, Abundance, and Enlightenment - Each and Every Day several months ago. When I first received an email describing what the book was about I felt immediately drawn to it. It fascinates me how certain books seem to call to you. I like to think of it as our intuition guiding us towards a new lesson to be learned, a piece of wisdom that you need and maybe the book contains.

For so long I’ve wanted to write this review but put it off. You see, I’m not even half way through the book yet and I have an incredible urge to share it with you. This book contains daily insights, 365 entries, with fantastic ways in which you can practice self-care and boost your well-being. Self-Care for Life has meant so much to me that it has become a part of my daily meditation ritual. Something I take very seriously! Each day before my meditation I read one or two passages to help calm and sooth my soul and most importantly get my head in the right place before entering the silence and stillness meditation provides.

Rushing through this book in order to write a complete review would be a shame. It is too precious to me, and so I choose to slowly enjoy it throughout the year and let the pearls of wisdom unfold each day as they are meant to, one at a time. On the other hand, I couldn’t go another day without sharing Self-Care for Life with you because it is a treasure, and I believe in my heart some of you will also feel the calling of this book, and choose to take in its daily gems.

I’ve learned so much from the book already, including information about the power and energy of crystals, which I previously knew nothing about. One of my favorite parts of the book is the daily quotations. I’m a girl who adores a good quote. Wisdom in a few power packed words!

Genuinely I can say I feel this book enriches my life, one glorious day at a time, and if you’re feeling drawn to it I hope you’ll consider it too!

“The best way to take care of yourself is to care for your Self. With its unique three-fold approach, Self-Care for Life helps you nurture and nourish the mind, body, and spirit within the natural course of every day.”

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You can order Self-Care for Life: Find Joy, Peace, Serenity, Vitality, Sensuality, Abundance, and Enlightenment - Each and Every Day by Alexander Skye, Meera Lester, & Carolyn Dean MD on Amazon here.

Never Give Up touched my life deeply. I will never look at my children the same way again. I always knew they were a gift, but the extent that I understand how truly precious my time with them is has completely changed. 

Never Give Up was written by Ruthe Rosen, mother of the beautiful Karla who at 14 years old was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. When Karla passed away Ruthe and her husband Michael founded the Let It Be Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps meet the needs of families with children who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. Reading Never Give Up: How to find Hope and Purpose in Adversity was a gift to my soul.  

I walked away from the book really understanding in a way I hadn’t fully understood before that all of life is a gift, including everything that comes in and out of our lives. Problems are nothing more than I matter of perspective, and Karla Ann Asch-Rosen had the most incredible and wise perspective on life! Ruthe teaches us that you can get through your pain, even when you can’t see the light.

This book will fill your eyes with tears, but it will also fill your heart with love. A different kind of love than most of us have ever known. A love for someone you don’t know. Someone you have never met, but whose life has touched you so deeply you will never forget.

As soon as you read this book you’ll know what a gift Karla was and still is to this world, and how blessed we are to have her Mom, Ruthe, sharing her story. I would very much love for you to read Never Give Up. It will not only enrich your life, but the lives of others as proceeds from the book go to The Let It Be Foundation.

Your appreciation for your children, for your loved ones will be enlightened. You will never look at them the same way again.

Thank you, Karla for enriching my life and the lives of my family. Your love still shines bright!

Never Forget Karla!

Never Give Up!

Amen

Listen to: Let It Be by The Beatles

p. 91      “Never, never, never give up!” ~Winston Churchill

p. 103    “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, only saps today of its joy.” ~Leo Buscaglia

p. 115    “When your worst fear stares you in the face, don’t turn away; if you can find the courage to look it in the eye, you’ve accepted God’s great gift of strength.” ~Ruthe Rosen

p.121     “Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.” ~Mary McLeod Bethane

p. 126    “Learning to let go isn’t about accepting loss, it’s about letting the person you love live life to the fullest, even when it means sharing them with others.” ~Ruthe Rosen

p. 141    “And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Some days feel like a rollercoaster ride. One minute you’re smiling because your kids are so darn cute! The next, you’re completely wiped and the house has somehow exploded before your eyes. Those are the times I’m tempted to get rid of everything (mainly TOYS!) and start over. Everyone needs a pick-me-up throughout the day. Or what I like to call a spirit booster.

One of my favorite spirit boosters is a good quote. Quotes can put you back into a positive mindset in a matter of seconds. They can make you feel not alone in the feelings you are experiencing. When I heard about the book Happiness Quotations: Gentle Reminders of Your Preciousness I was immediately drawn to it.

The book exceeded my expectations, and I had a hunch I would like it ;). The book became a treasured part of my daily routine. Every day, right before my 15 minutes of meditation in the afternoon, I would read one or two passages from Happiness Quotations. The passages were extremely moving and had the incredible ability to lift my spirits to a higher energy plane, which is a wonderful way to go into a few minutes of quiet time.

Happiness Quotations reminds you of just how precious and special you are. Something I don’t think we focus on enough. You are special and here for a reason. The more you are in touch with that, the more you have to give, and the more joy you receive from life. This book helps you to remember in a soft, gentle way.

I would highly recommend Happiness Quotations: Gentle Reminders of Your Preciousness by Erica M. Nelson. It has been a joyful part of my day. One that I truly cherish. Thank you for sharing your light Erica! The gentle reminders helped me to create a more beautiful day.

p. 11      “Identify victories daily yet dream very big dreams that pull you toward the wings of angels.”

p.17       “Music brings you closer to your true self.”

p.35       “We are all of the same fabric, quilted together in a pattern of stars in the sky each unique, each perfect, each connected to the whole.”

p.91       “Songs have power to change you into becoming closer to your most spiritual being.”

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www.HappinessQuotations.com

www.EricaNelson.com

https://www.facebook.com/HappinessQuotations?sk=app_7146470109

Part of the human experience involves dealing with the shadow.  I believe the shadow exists to help us learn important life lessons and grow.  The fact that we understand deep unconditional love and compassion stems from our ability to relate to the shadow in others.  It gives us the opportunity to let go of judgement and allow pure love to erupt from our soul, even in the hardest and most challenging circumstances.

It is not in denying the presence of our shadow, but in shedding light on the shadow that its self-sabotaging effects begin to disappear.  The Shadow Effect was created by 3 best selling authors: Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson.  It is a book that helps us recognize our shadow and its impact on our life so that we can move forward in a new light and release the harm it does to us and others.

The fact that this book includes the words of three great spiritual teachers is a blessing.  Sometimes when you hear a message it can take on a completely new meaning or understanding depending on your ability to connect with the teacher.  Although the shadow is the topic of discussion by all 3 authors, I walked away with different aha moments from each one.  If we want to change or correct our harmful behavior, awareness is the first vital step.  Often I don’t think we are even conscious of the effects of our shadow.  Denial can be a comfortable place to live.

Once we open the door and acknowledge what our wounds are, own them, take responsibility for them and the destructive behavior they may cause, we can then shed light on our shadow.  Doing so not only alleviates its effects, but it can in turn be used for a greater good, to spread more love and joy.  This also allows us to face what we view as character defects in ourselves and others in the light of compassion.

Throughout The Shadow Effect, Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson shed their own light on the shadow for us to better understand and recognize.  Each author offers valuable lessons, that when received on the soul level feel like packages of love.  This book illuminates the darker areas of human existence we so often struggle with, and that powerful light has the ability to set you free if you allow it into your life.

p.44       “So consider any negative reaction as though it were like an allergy or the flu, something that changes your situation for the moment only.  An allergy is yours, but isn’t you.”            ~Deepak Chopra

p.117     “Projection is an involuntary defence mechanism of the ego; instead of acknowledging the qualities in us that we dislike, we project them onto someone else.”   ~Deepak Chopra

p. 125    “Ultimately, we must come to a place where we can uncover, own, and embrace every quality that exists, so that we no longer have to project our disowned aspects on others, so we can be free to see people through the wide lens of compassion rather than the illusional lens of projection.”              ~Deepak Chopra

p.157     “Consciousness is a dynamic, creative energy.”  ~Marianne Williamson

p.161     “We can forget the truth, but the universe never does.”               ~Marianne Williamson

p. 168    “But the true seeker says, “What did I do wrong?  What was my part in the disaster?”    ~Marianne Williamson

p.170     “Your character defects are not where you’re bad, but where you’re wounded.  But no matter who or what causes the wound, it’s yours now and you’re responsible for it.”             ~Marianne Williamson

p.178     “There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.”    ~Marianne Williamson

Reading The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle felt like a gift.  It is nearly impossible to sum up how I feel about this book, other than to say I wholeheartedly recommend it.  If you allow yourself to enter into its pages with a truly open mind and heart, the ability to walk away from the book with great wisdom and a true sense of peace is at your finger tips.

To be honest, if I had read this book at any other time in the past the message may not have impacted me the way it has now.  The further into the book I journeyed the more awake and conscious I felt.  I took my time reading this book.  Often I would re-read passages several times until I felt in my heart that I understood the message.

The Power of Now has helped me in my everyday life.  The gift I received from this book was the ability to recognize the dysfunction of the mind, especially when the mind travels too much into the past or future.  Now when I feel this happening in myself I have a great tool I carry with me- the ability to shift myself back into the present moment.

Focusing on the present moment removes anxiety about the future, and pain from the past.  It opens the door to peace and joy, like no other moment in time can do.  When living outside of the now, life seems more like a pain/pleasure cycle, but within this very moment is where true love and joy is found.  This is not something I felt completely conscious of until reading this book.  That is the gift you receive from the words Eckhart Tolle shares.

Eckhart Tolle’s ability to be in touch with this ancient wisdom and pass it on is a true gift of love.  Love from the source of greatness we are all a part of.  Living consciously is the greatest gift of all.  The Power of Now is an open door.

Thank you, Eckhart Tolle for holding the door open for me and countless others! ♥

With Love,
Wendy Irene

Negativity

p. 189    “The ego believes that through negativity it can manipulate reality and get what it wants ... Instead of dissolving and undesirable one, it keeps it in place.”

p.191     “But as long as negativity is there, use it.  Use it as a kind of signal that reminds you to be more present.”

Surrender

p.205     “Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.”

p.208     “Surrender reconnects you with the source-energy of Being, and if your doing is infused with Being, it becomes a joyful celebration of life energy that takes you more deeply into the Now.”

Forgiveness

p.120     “The moment you truly forgive, you have reclaimed your power from the mind.”

p. 168    “A victim identity is the belief that the past is more powerful than the present, which is the opposite of truth.”

p.229     “...this renders the past powerless, and you realize deeply that nothing you ever did or that was ever done to you could touch even in the slightest the radiant essence of who you are.  The whole concept of forgiveness then becomes unnecessary.”

It is with much excitement today that I share with you my latest read- Carrots ‘N’ Cake!  Carrots ‘N’ Cake is actually a blog and now a BOOK!  The author, Tina Haupert, is someone very special.  I met Tina while at college in Upstate NY.  I had the pleasure of being one of her sorority sisters.  Our college had a big Greek scene.  Needless to say, we definitely found our fair share of fun while attending school.

Tina is one of two major influences for me on starting this blog.  Before her I really had no idea what blogging even meant.  Tina has managed to turn her dreams into a reality and became a full-time blogger who masterfully created her own career.  Now Tina is an author!  To say I am proud of her would be a complete understatement.  She absolutely ROCKS and I am completely thrilled to share her book with you.

Carrots ‘N’ Cake: Healthy Living One Carrot and Cupcake at a Time is Tina’s very personal journey to find a healthy lifestyle that included some of her favorite treats.  Hence the name Carrots ‘N’ Cake!  She knew that to get to her ‘feel great weight’ she needed to find a way to live healthy that worked for her.  Tina shares her ups and downs, from high points of rockin muscles to lower ones that include the occasional binge.  Her story is very real and honest.  She shares more in her book than you may have seen on her very popular site.

While reading Carrots ‘N’ Cake, the book, I couldn’t help but be reminded of how true it is that often we teach best what we most need to learn.  I know that to hold true for myself and this site.  The more I teach about consciousness and love, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I teach.  It is truly a beautiful cycle. 

Tina teaches us how she achieved a healthy lifestyle and how she works to maintain it.  She opens her heart and her life to her readers.  She shares her personal journey, and in turn teaches us what it is that she has learned along the way.  It is a great gift she gives us all, for so many of us share in her struggles and can benefit from her wisdom.

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If you are looking for a book to help inspire you to choose a healthy lifestyle, I hope you’ll consider Carrots ‘N’ Cake.  The book includes everything from exercise tips and routines, to over 50 of Tina’s favorite go-to recipes.  Tina is the girl next door, who had big dreams and turned them into reality!

In the first month of our 3 month challenge my husband and I conquered fast food and soda.  We had a pretty successful month, except for the cheat of pizza.  Even though it has been more than a month since I have had any soda, I still get the occasional craving.  For some reason writing about it makes me crave it, weird!

This month we are kicking things up a notch to break more of the addictions we have to processed foods, while turning our diet around into one that truly focuses on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.  For inspiration and motivation we are reading Dr. Neal Barnard’s 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart.

This program is totally pushing us out of our comfort zone because it involves a vegan diet.  Vegan simply means no animal products, that includes dairy, eggs, and meat.  Not only that, we are keeping oils at a minimum and not eating processed foods.

Some of you may be thinking I lost my marbles, but hear me out.  Sometimes getting outside of your comfort zone induces the most growth.  I never considered myself to be much of a meat eater.  I always felt I could take it or leave it without too much trouble.  However, this is the first time I have ever tried going without. 

Eating this way, even after one week, has made me realize the absurd amounts of animal product that were in my diet.   Let me tell you, Coke is not the only thing I am addicted to.  I’m addicted to cheese!  I never totally realized how much I consumed until I tried leaving it out of everything.  No cheese is by far the hardest part of this diet for me.  I consider that to be a good thing.  It has made me much more conscious of how much I consume, and for that I am grateful.

This program does not focus on the long term, and I think that is good.  Life is about living in the now.  When we live too much in the future or the past, we cause problems for ourselves.  Right now I am happy to be trying something new outside of my comfort zone.  I feel like I am learning a lot, and that has great value to me.

Going out to lunch and ordering a sandwich, hold the meat, and hold the cheese.  I realized there is also animal product in the mayo, and on the butter to toast the bread.  That is an awful lot of animal product for just one sandwich, and I am one person eating one meal.  Think about the huge quantities we eat as a country!

Being conscious is of upmost importance to me.  Spending this month completely conscious of my eating habits is going to help me moving forward into the future.  Going from allowing processed foods into my diet to none at all, is a HUGE eye opener.  I didn’t think I ate a lot of processed food, until I cut it out completely.  Now I realize I was wrong.  I was eating more processed food than I was aware of. 

This month is about pushing us outside of our comfort zone for growth by test driving a vegan diet.  Dr. Barnard’s 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart is our guidance and source of motivation for this month’s journey.  Be on the lookout for more Vegan recipes and updates on how this way of eating has impacted us.  Maybe I’ll even be able to convince my husband to write a guest post about his experience with the program at the end of it...wink wink, hint hint Hubby ;-)

Have a great weekend, friends! ☼
 

Here is a video of Dr. Barnard on the Dr. Oz Show

While in the process of reading Discover the Power Within You by Eric Butterworth, a book that forever changed me, I received an email with the opportunity to review How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save Your Life by Nicholas Kardaras.  To be honest, I am blessed with lots of opportunities to review books, most of which I decline, not because they aren’t of value and important, but because they deserve more time and energy than I am currently willing to commit.  A book needs to, for lack of a better way to put it, really call out to me for me to invest myself in it.

As I go further along in my journey I have become more and more attuned to the energy I receive and feel, and in turn try my best to listen to that.  Something about How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save Your Life captured me even though I knew little about what to expect.

The book begins with Kardaras speaking about his life “addicted to excess as the owner of New York nightclubs frequented by the likes of Uma Thurman, JFK Jr. and Tom Cruise- until he wound up comatose on the sidewalk outside his own night club as the result of a drug overdose.”  As one might imagine this intimacy with death propels Kardaras on a search for answers and wisdom, in which he find some of his greatest teachers to be the ancient Greeks.

When the journey begins and I start to learn through Kardaras the lessons taught by some of the world’s most well known ancient Greek philosophers, which is the heart of the book, I almost fell out of my seat.  Somehow I was re-reading the very same messages that changed me in the last book I read, only through a different lens - the philosophical lens. 

You might think I sound crazy when I say this, but it felt as if the universe was speaking to me.  It was saying- just in case you didn’t fully comprehend the message the last time around I am sending it to you again, with more examples, through more of the world’s greatest teachers.  I was blown away.

When you read this book, prepare yourself for a ride, a journey of great meaning.  You will go from meditative practices, to downloading sounds from a website in order to listen to the music of the stars (Yes!  The stars create music!).  You will discover times when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.  That for me is a sign of hearing profound truth.  One instance of this happening to me in the book was during the story of an 8 year old heart transplant recipient.

Trust me when I say, How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save Your Life: The Ancient Greek Prescription For Health and Happiness is a meaningful ride.  These messages keep reappearing in history over and over again through the world’s greatest teachers, and I don’t think they will ever stop.  Not until we as a whole decide to listen and wake up to the profound message being taught. 

There is a reason the work and teachings of these ancient Greek philosophers far surpass the length of their human life.  This is still happening today.  In my opinion, Oprah is one of the greatest teachers of our time and if you listen, truly listen to the message she is teaching, you will be forever changed.  I think it is safe to say Oprah’s work will also live on for many, many generations.  Why do you think that is?

Although I have never been a NYC night club owner, or battled a drug addiction, I can nonetheless strongly relate to Kardaras’ journey to have a greater understanding for life and the infinite.  The miraculous side effect of this journey is more peace, happiness, and the ability to really, truly forgive.  This book even re-ignited my passion for math.  For me, the entry of this book into my life was anything but random; it is my hearts openness to the information.  Something we can all do if we choose.  Sometimes a good journey is just what we are in need of to find more meaning and joy in the life that we have. 

I would like to thank Nicholas Kardaras, psychotherapist and professor of transpersonal psychology, for the incredible lessons he has taught me through his work, and his teachings about the philosophy of the ancient Greeks.  I am very grateful to have received this information, and as I move forward I will carry it with me and do my best to pass on what I have learned.

It is early morning.  The sun is streaming in a beautiful pattern through my window.  My indoor plants look especially peaceful in the morning light.  I’m curled up under a cozy blanket, with a steaming cup of tea, writing by my bedroom window.

Today is the first day I have wanted to wake up to write in the early morning hours.  There is something glorious about it.  I’ve heard many writers express their love for writing in the morning.  The advice always sounded good but there is that part of me that says I need all the sleep I can get!  Maybe today is different because of my shear excitement to share with you the best book I have read thus far in my adult life.

Discover the Power Within You is the Angelina Ballerina of my adulthood.  Just as I keep Angelina Ballerina with me on my journey and read it from time to time, I know that Discover the Power Within You will travel with me, and be my reminder and inspiration to live consciously and in the moment.

Discover the Power Within You: A Guide to the Unexplored Depths Within is a book I picked up along with two others- The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents by Deepak Chopra and The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  The title is what appealed to me, but of the 3 books I knew virtually nothing about it, and for that reason it was the last one I read.  When I picked up the book to start reading and realized there was a passage from Oprah on the back, and a forward by Maya Angelou, I was truly excited.  These women, who I considered to be two of the greatest teachers of our time, had read this book and were completely moved by it.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this book changed me.  It took God outside of the box for me and for the first time spoke about the divine in a way that actually makes sense and that I could understand.  Butterworth brings God out of the sky and into all things.  He speaks of God-consciousness as something we can achieve within ourselves.  I feel more at peace after reading this book than ever before.

Discover the Power Within You is the switch to turning the light on, your divine light.  It awakens the sleeping greatness within you.  It speaks of consciousness in the most profound way.  We are truly creating our life experiences in our minds and the more aware of that we are, the better life we can create for ourselves. 

Many of us know the benefits of focusing on our blessings.  Focusing on blessings creates more blessings and happiness, while focusing on lack only creates more lack and misery.  If you believe that statement to be true.  If you believe that your mind is the driving force behind how you experience life, than this book may have the power to completely change the way you think.

Discover the Power Within You is the greatest book of my life up until this point, and most certainly will become a part of my daily meditation.  This book has changed me the way a great writer and teacher can do.  It has given me a much clearer understanding of many other books I have read and loved.  I believe those authors already knew what this book was teaching and now it all makes sense to me in a life changing Aha moment.

While I cannot promise that this book will transform your thinking as it has mine, I still feel the urge to do as Oprah wanted to do with The Color Purple, and hand it out to all those who are interested.  Certain growth in life is about finding the right student-teacher relationship, it cannot be forced.  Discover the Power Within You was the perfect fit for me.

Namaskar!