A Whole Lotta Reading

Summer is coming to an end and books are scattered throughout my home awaiting for me to pick up and continue reading. The content of these books are SO rich, I must share them with you. I have embedded active links to Amazon for your convenience, should you desire to explore them further.

Boundaries, by Dr. Henry Cloud and John Townsend

I watched a TED Talk on rejection where the speaker, Jia Jiang, consciously set himself up for 100 days to be rejected so that he could get over rejection as a driver for his behaviors. (to see the TED Talk, go to my Facebook page: Facebook.com/bonnieannebarnard). I was determined to have a 100 day challenge for myself, and I chose boundaries as my challenge. My boundaries can be so flabby they need their own workout program. SO, I decided to give them one. So far I am on day 10 of 100 and I am now able to see where I violate myself, and I have only twice in ten days put a boundary in place and reinforced it; compared to 22 where I saw my opportunity and passively let it pass. This book Boundaries, does an amazing job of describing what they are, what was missed in childhood to establish boundaries, and how to develop them as an adult. The two authors are Christian (lots of scripture) therapists and the book is rich with interpersonal, family, and workplace examples. I am half way through the book. The following is a quote taken from Chapter 9, under the heading, Is It Yours, Mine or Ours,

The problem lies in who is responsible for the want. It is your want not his. You are responsible for getting it fulfilled. That is the rule of life. We do not get everything we want, and we all must grieve over our disappointments instead of punish ourselves for them. page 156

SQ 21 The Twenty-One Skills of Spiritual Intelligence: by Cindy Wigglesworth

I meet with four female ministers once a month to vision and pray for three to four hours. We begin our sessions by sharing our growth from the previous month. A colleague spoke of this book several months in a row, and I was intrigued. Intrigued enough to share with my friend who I read with over the phone each night. We just finished the book last night at 11 pm. The SQ21 author was a corporate trainer with Exxon and knew that spiritual acumen strengthened leaders. She was inspired by Daniel Goldman’s Emotional Intelligence, and built a validated assessment tool to measure Spiritual Intelligence and wrote this book to explain what the 21 spiritual skills are that can be self-measured. A few of them include: Awareness of Ego self/Higher Self, Sustaining Faith, and Making Compassionate and Wise Decisions. This book is quite thoughtful and important for those of us in the spiritual field.

DIY in a WTF World: How to Speak Up, Get Creative, and Change the World, by Krista Suh

This book is fun, light, and SO much fun. I bought it at a resort when traveling with friends. It was written by the young woman who started the Pussyhat Project as a symbol for the Women’s Marches. The book provides brilliant insights for entrepreneurs on how to activate and lead a grand scale idea. It is a personal development book with stories on esteeming oneself. It is funny, daring, and real practical. I am about 7/8 of the way through the book. I give myself a chapter or two each day, like doling out chocolate pieces. I enjoy savoring each chapter and find myself looking forward to reading what she says next. Each chapter has artwork that perfectly matches the message. I have uploaded the art for chapter 14: Idea Squelchers vs. Idea Nurturers.

The Finders, by Dr. Jeffrey A. Martin

This is a spiritual geek book. The title implies that The Seeker is The Found and in the finding becomes a different person. Through 12 years, Dr. Martin conducted in-depth interviews with 455 participants across the globe who were no longer living from their personality self, but from a place of inner peace. He was able to document stages of what he calls “Fundamental Well-Being” and note how one’s world shifts with this change of being, and how it doesn’t. I finished this book a few weeks ago and aspects of it continue to arise in conversation with my equally geeky friends.

Grow a New Body: How Spirit and Power Plant Nutrients Can Transform Your Health, by Dr. Alberto Villoldo

This book is my new love. The author was dying. He needed a liver, heart, and brain transplant, and instead of going the Western Medicine route, grew three new organs. You’ve gotta love this story. I started the book yesterday, then ignored my day, cleared the decks and read it half way through, stopping to watch the author in interviews on Gaia TV before returning to the next chapter. This past week I had a significant breakthrough on my journey where my personality changed places with The Presence (this has happened several times in my journey) and with it a new inner reorientation. I got cleared from my doctor to go on a ten day water and prayer fast beginning this weekend. As serendipity would have it, the author speaks of fasting as part of a larger protocol, and spiritual inner dimensions to make permanent change. The author is both a scientist and shaman, and so I am digging his holistic approach to well-being.

It’s Not Your Money: How to Live Fully from Divine Abundance, by Tosha Silver

Back for seconds. My reading buddy and I decided to revisit Tosha Silver’s book, It’s Not Your Money for a second read-through. The author’s orientation is that NOTHING is ours, including our money. Her book is based upon a course she taught of the same name. Her writing is articulate, feminine, and from the mystical not metaphysical realm. Silver has a money prayer in her book that resonates with my reading buddy and I and so we close each of our nightly reading sessions together reading it. It is as follows:

Divine Beloved, allow me to give with complete ease and abundance, knowing that You are the unlimited Source of all. Let me be an easy, open conduit for Your prosperity. Let me trust that all my own needs are always met in amazing ways and that it’s safe to give freely as my heart guides. And equally, let me feel wildly open to receiving. May I know my own value, beauty, and worthiness without question. Let me allow others the supreme pleasure of giving to me. May I feel worthy to receive in every possible way. Change me into one who can fully love, forgive, and accept myself so I may carry Your Light without restriction. Let everything that needs to go, go. Let everything that needs to come, come. I am utterly your own. You are me. I am You. We are One. All is well.

Many years ago I heard a spiritual teacher speak of authors as her friends. I feel that way more now than ever.

May you continue to Grow, Prosper and Love,