Truly Inspirational

I really enjoyed reading The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Bringing awareness to my own life, I could see how many of things Rhonda writes about has happened to me. What stood out for me is the very first chapter. It is summed up on page 25 in Secret Summaries."Your current thoughts are creating your future life. What you think about the most or focus on the most most will appear as your life. I can see that when I believe I can do something I do and when I think I can't I don't.<br /><br />The chapter, The Secret to Relationships, was also an eye opener. Dr John Gray says"You become the Solution for you" It was an eye opening idea that if my relationship isn't working the other person is not to blame and that I need to look at me. This brought to mind another book I've read and highly recommend:How To Create a Magical Relationship" Ariel & Shya's book is brilliantly written and guides the reader in how to have a Magical Relationship and how having a magical relationship is up to you and not your partner.<br /><br />Thinking of both these books makes me smile. I highly recommend them both!

Good Follow Up To the Power of Now

A good follow up to The Power of Now. I wrote the following review about TPON and here it is repeated, but additional comments.<br /><br />Reading this book was like a condensed version of the many classes I have attended from my spiritual teacher. Eckhart Tolle presents difficult to comprehend subjects in simple to understand language. However, do not expect that this"easy read" will result in instant enlightenment. He sets the basics down, it is up to the reader to absorb and act upon the lessons.<br /><br />I always leave a weekend workshop at my spiritual teacher's ashram on a natural high. This book gave me that same feeling. It is a wonderful book to help guide you on your spiritual journey.<br /><br />A New Earth guides the reader further along the path with excellent commentary. The book is grounding. Good reminder to keep my ego out of my way!<br /><br />Author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet.

No, you can't

Sorry, Paul, but YOU can't make anyone anything. The title of your book is completely misleading and manipulates our desperation for a 'solution' to being overweight. There is none - apart from what we all DON'T want to hear! Eat less, move more. The end.

The peace and joy of conscious presence

On one of the online forums to which I belong, whenever anyone asks for book recommendations to help them with personal development, spiritual growth, becoming more intuitive, meditation, relationships or the Law of Attraction, the first book recommended and endorsed over and over again, is Eckhart Tolle's The Power Of Now. This book has clearly had a profound and powerful effect on many people's lives, including my own.<br /><br />Like Tolle himself, this is a quiet book. And it is in this quietness, in the spaces between the words, that the book's power becomes apparent. The book gently and lovingly, yet firmly, deconstructs our egoic minds and allows us to experience the pure spiritual presence that lies behind the identities created by our egos. Letting go of the incessant chatter of our analytical minds, and living in The Now, is far from being an empty and boring place to be (as many people starting out on this journey imagine). Instead it is a rich and fulfilling experience, full of intense joy and peace. It can be quite overwhelming the first few times you experience this - I dipped in and out when I started, each time increasing the length of time for which I was able to sustain such presence. <br /><br />The concepts Tolle discusses are both profound, yet simple, but it can be a challenging process to implement. Our egoic minds are strong and they do not give up their hold on us easily! But, the more you practice the principles, the easier it does get. It is worth persevering - the rewards for doing so are enormous. For example:<br />* Going about daily life with a strong background hum of joy and peace is infinitely preferable to one of anxiety and stress. And this is noticeable to others as well - people have often said things to me like"I enjoy being around you, you have good vibes".<br />* You are able to focus on tasks before you with much more clarity. The full strength of your mind is brought to bear on your work (and play!) as it is no longer cluttered with unrelated issues.<br />* You feel alive and your health usually improves. You glow with vitality. Tolle himself is one of the best examples of practicing his own teachings - he looks about 40 years old, but is actually in his early 60s!<br />* Your life circumstances change to reflect the abundance of love, joy and peace to which you are connected. Life flows more smoothly, problems seemingly disappear, and new and exciting experiences and things are drawn to you.<br />

Outdated, unethical and downright dangerous

That's Cesar Milan and his views on dogs and dog training.<br />Never has a theory been so over-used and under-proven as the Dominance myth. Based on flawed research, incorrectly interpreted and used as a panacea for every problem. <br />If you want a shut down, ticking time bomb of a dog that you have to manage, and you're happy employing a sharp kick to the ribs, or a prong collar, then follow cesar milan and I'm sure you'll be very happy. Your dog won't be but that doesn't seem to matter, does it? The only thing he's right about is that dogs need exercise, both mental and physical and that they need rules and consistency - but that's hardly revolutionary, is it? <br />If you want a dog with its own self control, that doesn't need you to constantly put it in its place or tell it to stop barking, then look at the really great dog people like Kay Lawrence or Jean Donaldson.<br />Don't buy this - give your dog a break.

A superb book packed with common sense advice for a fear-less life...

I'm one of Susan's authorised trainers in the UK, and know from experience how helpful this book can be.<br /><br />With so many self-help titles on the market today, this stands the test of time and is a model of excellence in its field.<br /><br />You won't be disappointed!<br /><br />Andy Garland<br />YOU...bethebestyoucan<br />

Masterpiece amongst self help.

The modern trend for self help seems to be books on cognitive behavioural therapy, a subject which is very dear to my own heart having edited one or two of these, but personal life coaching should never be under-estimated. And if it is life coaching you are after, then there can be no better starting point than Covey's masterpiece - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Previous reviewers have done an excellent job of breaking the book down so no need to do that again. What I hope to achieve is my aim of getting as many as possible familiar with the core concepts within, and with the book so cheap through Amazon these days it could be sitting on everyone's shelf. With a basic grasp of what Covey teaches, you really are heading towards a less stressful, less frustrating, more productive life.

The Key

We've all heard about The Secret and at least for some it seems to work. They simply focus on what they want and draw it to themselves. How come it works for them but not us? When it comes to fulfilling our deepest wishes, our goals, and our fantasies, often the only thing holding us back is ourselves. <br /><br />The Key builds on Joe Vitale's book The Attractor Factor (featured in the The Secret). This book looks to the reasons why manifesting our dreams sometimes fails to work. The key to this is our beliefs. We may really want a million dollars or a new car but deep down we feel it is wrong to be so materialistic. We feel that anything we get must gain through hard work and sacrifice. Then, we wonder why we must struggle to get money. Simply put, our beliefs are actually counteracting what we say we want. <br /><br />The Key details a variety of methods that we can use to explore our beliefs, see how these ideals interfere with our dreams, and then cleanse our system of obstacles that keep us from being happy and content. The exercises are simple to undertake. They are also surprisingly effective for self knowledge purposes and for understanding why how we unconsciously create obstacles for ourselves. <br /><br /><br /><br />

Forgotten Way

Half way through and thoroughly enjoying the book and results. <br /><br />I remember watching a nature program about big cats hunting mountain goats in some far outreach of Northern Asia. In one shot they showed a mountain goat resting on an outledge surveying the valley. In it's state it made me think we humans have lost something about being in touch with nature and what it is to be human. The power to be, not being distracted by the seemingly never ending stream of attempted assaults on our awareness that come at us throughout the day. Adverts, TV, radio, peer pressure, addiction - noticing rather than reacting to!<br /><br />This book shows you the way to a more natural state of being imho. One of being calm and aware and leaves you with a feeling of general clarity!<br /><br />

An Enlightening Read

I found Eckhart Tolle's newest book"A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" an enlightening read. I really liked chapter 5"The Pain Body" It had never occurred to me that thinking is involuntary, that it is no different then other bodily functions such as circulation or digestion. How true it is that many people are totally lost in their thoughts never present or listening to a word anyone says. In chapter 6"Breaking Free" Eckhart Tolle tells us how to break free. I kept thinking to myself (what I have thought so many times before) the only thing that gets in my way is me!<br /><br />Another book I really enjoyed reading is"Being Here Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" by Ariel & Shya Kane. It is a light and delightful book of short stories about 'being' that will keep you entertained and put a smile on your face.<br />

Yawn

This book was passed around a large group of my friends and I during a pool holiday and opinion was, sufficed to say, mixed! Some loved it, some loathed it: I fall into the later category. I found it preachy and dull and reminded me of Sunday School lessons (not a good thing!)<br /><br />The saving grace was that it only took a couple of hours to read and it passed some time by the poolside. If you've got time to kill and NOTHING better to do then sure, give it a go and see what you think for yourself.

Best D-I-Y Manual to the Self

This is the book that cognitive psychotherapists often recommend to their patients to support their work together. Self improvement books are of questionable value to those suffering from emotional disorders, but this is an exception, though even more effective with therapy. The practical exercises can be undertaken without assistance however.<br /><br />Its American idiom occasionally grates but the material is sound. Underwriting the commonsense elements is a proven framework of cognitive behavioural pyschology derived from the original work of Aaron Beck.

The martial art of communication!

Don't let the term Neuro Linguistic Programming put you off the idea of learning about this amazing subject. NLP is literally the martial art of communication and this book is a first class introduction.<br /><br />Everyone can benefit from NLP, either in their career or personal life. NLP is actually a whole range of tools and mental processes that enable one to develop the skills for understanding people more clearly and also how to influence others. Some of the techniques in this book are extremely powerful, you will discover a lot about yourself as you learn!<br /><br />The book is clearly written and avoids too much jargon. The authors also have a sense of humour!<br /><br />

Change your life ...at your own pace

I agree wholeheartedly with the rave reviews others have given this book/CD, and I second the notion that the"7 Days" part of the title is quite ambitious. But no one can predict how much reprogramming their own mind will need until the work gets under way. In my first few days of listening and reading, before I noticed any real changes in my outlook or my behaviour, I found myself looking forward to the time I would spend on this. So maybe there were changes already happening that were a bit too subtle for me to recognise them. Within about 3 weeks' time, there was no mistaking that my thought patterns were becoming more positive and now (about 3 months since I first bought the book/CD), it's clear that much of the content has stuck with me and plays itself in my head automatically. <br />The big message is that you can't just spend 7 days and imagine that your life is"fixed." Buy the book and CD, use it steadily for a week, then come back to it from time to time to make sure you don't take a backward slide into old ways of thinking. <br />The single most important thing that has stuck with me from this CD is that whatever occupies your attention most is what you will create for yourself. So you are the only one who can decide what that will be, but Paul's book and CD can certainly help make it positive and constructive.<br />If you find you get tired of listening to the same CD over and over (which did happen to me after about 10 days), try alternating this one with Glenn Harrold's positive thinking CD, which is a bit more relaxing. (I like Paul in the morning and Glenn at night. ;) <br />So off you go to change your life. Who else is going to do it?<br />

Dated, but still of value if you go with the flow

There are two ways you can look at Dale Carnegie's seminal personal development work, written in 1936 but based on Carnegie's lecture notes from 1912 onwards, last revised by him in the 1950s - he died in 1955 - and thereafter by his wife and daughter:<br /><br />1. It is an out-of-date book, quoting examples of once influential people all long since dead, like Abe Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, John Rockefeller, Charles Schwab and others of whom even the best read will probably never have heard, and which espouses a series of unsubtle, insincere and manipulative techniques to get people to do what you want. Who, after all, wishes to"win" friends when you might, by simply being a nice person,"make" them? <br /><br />2. It is an easy to read, simple and sincere book. Written by a farmer's boy from Missouri, who became a successful salesman, the first personal development guru and thence a self-made multi-millionaire, it is still a useful guide to being effective if you are prepared to"go with the flow" of somewhat dated examples and somewhat homespun wisdom.<br /><br />This book is dated but to me that makes in interesting as a period piece as much as a commentary on the human condition - which surely has not changed that much in a mere 50 years. Dale Carnegie collected the profound and the practical, and his philosophy is actually to be as passive in influencing as you can be. He extols the virtue, for example, of influencing others only be complimenting them on what they have done well (without ever criticising them for what they may have done badly). If you have to be influenced - or even manipulated - by anyone, then you would mind less if was done the Carnegie way, which is relentlesly polite.<br /><br />Perhaps there are better personal development book for this type. "The seven habits" by Steven Covey is certainly less dated, and is perhaps based on a more developed meta-philosophy, but (and for all Mr Covey suggests) it owes more than a little to Dale Carnegie, and they both share a common sage in Benjamin Franklin. <br /><br />Sometimes these days you do have to criticise people, however, to correct them straight away and with clarity. In his day, for example, you may have been able to"let someone go" while saying only nice things about them - you certainly can't do that in the UK today. In those cases, Carnegie is of less help perhaps than some more modern writers and thinkers.<br /><br />Dale Carnegie is still worth reading. If you don't know who the people he quotes or mentions are, check them out on Wikipedia. This may not be the last word on being a better (or mre effective) person, but there is little in it that is not helpful. 236 pages worth reading.<br /><br />

Hits a high note

I liked this book very much, and the idea that self-hatred causes so much illness is, in my opinion, very true. If you are of a happy disposition then you are going to stand a good chance of being well inside. Self-hatred can eat away at you, this book guides you through a maze of self-discovery.

The Emperor's new clothes of time management

This book should be sub-titled"How to Make the Simple Complicated". After I read it I had to lie down in a dark room to recover from the mind-numbing headache it gave me. <br /><br />This really is the emperor's new clothes of time management. Very quickly you begin to realize that this is total nonsense passed off as cutting edge wisdom. After setting out its grand life changing aims,it quickly settles down into tired, jaded and well worn formula.<br /><br />The writing style is plain awful, it's hard to read and is totally confusing. Its style is mechanical and lacks any flow, forcing you to plod through a meandering rats maze. Not surprisingly you wind up at a dead end, re-reading chapters and still scratching your head.<br /><br />If you have the energy to labour through this cure for insomnia, you will eventually come across a Wizard of Oz type moment when you pull back the curtain and realize this guy has nothing of substance to say.<br /><br />It's unintentionally funny (if you're a fan of black comedy) talking about"emptying buckets" when in fact the book should be flushed down the drain. At this stage anger sets in when you realize time management has turned into time wasted.<br /><br />The author clumsily mentions invented high-powered situations where he's used these" proven techniques" successfully. A child would see through these tissue thin stories. They are cobbled together in a cheesy attempt to add weight to this book.<br /><br />If your life is already complicated this will tip you over the edge, turning your thought process into mangled spaghetti. I questioned if David Allen believed in the rubbish he has written, one positive in Allen's book is the accidental creation of a new english dialect which I affectionately called Garble. <br /><br />Think about a disappointing Christmas morning where you tore off the fancy wrapping paper only to discover an empty box, there is no happy ending here. Instead of a book an A5 sheet of paper could have housed its"key ideas" and still left plenty of space. <br /><br />After finishing the book I came up on my own personal meaning for GTD ( Garbage Trash Dire ) Trust me, be nice to yourself, your time is better spent reading anything except this nonsense! <br />

A book that shows happiness should not just be your goal, but your duty...

I was drawn to this book having read the chapter about it in Tom Butler-Bowdon's 50 Psychology Classics. I had never heard of 'positive psychology' before, but its aims - to increase the happiness of 'normal' people, rather than cure the psychoses of 'ill' people - has definite appeal. <br /><br />Authentic Happiness suggests that happiness should not just be a goal in itself merely because it makes us feel good - but also that it has an evolutionary advantage. I've long been aware of the way in which as negative mood can aid evaluation of a situation, but I'd never thought that when we are happy we would have the advantages of creating an expansive, tolerant and creative mindset. In short these positive feelings maximise the social, intellectual and physical benefits life has to offer.<br /><br />But how do we achieve such happiness? As ever, that's the million dollar question. One of the answers is through optimum experiences which Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi calls 'flow'. Indeed it is one of Seligman's characteristic flourishes he relates the story in which he rescues Csikzentmihalyi. Make no mistake, there's a lot of information to digest in Authentic Happiness, indeed I'm looking forward to re-reading it to get even more out of it. Yet while it is academically thorough, Seligman adds personal touches which make the book much more easy to digest. <br /><br />The later stages of the book will be of particular interest if you have children. Fittingly Seligman has a optimistic view of human nature. He has his own ideas of how we can achieve transcendence and how we can all part in the evolution of the human race, but you'll have to read"Authentic Happiness" to find out what these are.<br /><br />I can't say I agreed with everything that Seligman had to say - and I'm not really one that enjoys filling out questionnaires, though if you are you'll be in form heaven here - but this is one of the books I find myself recommending to other people and can see myself returning to again and again.