Recommended Books
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The Diamond In Your Pocket: Gangaji
(Synopsis from Amazon.co.uk) A brilliant series of contemplations and insights examines one's never-ending search to find fulfillment, revealing how to stop the endless activities of one's mind and experience the brilliance and radiance of who one really is in the present moment.
The Dance: Oriah Mountain Dreamer
"What if the question is not why am I so infrequently the person I really want to be, but why do I so infrequently want to be the person I really am?"
(Synopsis from Amazon.co.uk) This text provides a sequel to "The Invitation". Each chapter begins with a line from Oriah Mountain Dreamer's poem "The Dance", and explores our ability to open up to the adventure of living - facing love, sorrow and anger and learning all they have to teach us. In "The Dance" Oriah Mountain Dreamer considers: relationships - what we get wrong and how to fix them; money - what it means and how to enjoy it; ways to overcome fear and loneliness; humour - how to be happier; and how to find balance and harmony in your life. She answers each of her questions by taking readers with her on a personal, yet universal journey of the heart.
Living the 80/20 Way: Robert Koch
Work Less, Worry Less, Succeed More, Enjoy More
First, Richard wrote "The 80/20 Principle". Now he's applied it to everyday life. The concept is simple: 20% of time, effort and energy produces 80% of results, whether that be in terms of wealth, achievements, or happiness and fulfilment.
Step by step, Richard helps you to discover the things you care most about, then work out how to spend more time doing those things, while doing less overall.
He also explains how compound interest can turn even the lowest-paid individual into a millionaire over time. Worth reading if you've ever doubted the value of saving money rather than spending every last penny!
Inspiration: Wayne Dyer
Your Ultimate Calling
Wayne Dyer is a strong proponent of the concept that: "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change."
In this book, he describes what it's like to live 'in spirit', citing examples from his own life to explain "how life looks when I'm inspired". He offers ideas for finding your way to an inspired life, and at the end of each chapter he suggests ways to put what you have read into practice.
The Success Principles: Jack Canfield with Janet Switzer
How to get from where you are to where you want to be
I avoided buying this book for ages, because I was put off by the photo on the front cover. Then a friend read a couple of extracts from it, and I decided it was worth giving it a go. I'm glad I did. It's the kind of book you can keep dipping into from time to time, for ideas.
The book combines practical advice on figuring out what you want and how to go about getting it - including finding people who can help you - with anecdotes about people who are at various stages of the journey.
Jack Canfield is also co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, with Mark Victor Hansen.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: Deepak Chopra
A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of your Dreams
What I like most about this book is that it gives you a topic to focus on each day of the week, the idea being that, if everyone who reads the book focuses on the same topic each day, the effect is multiplied.
Unconditional Success: Nick Williams
Loving The Work We Were Born To Do
Unconditional Success is about allowing your true self (your unconditional self) to come to the fore, rather than running your life according to the demands of your ego (your conditional self). I recommend reading this book if you'd like to find out how to make a success of being your true self.
The Art of Possibility: Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander
Transforming Professional and Personal Life
The premise of this book is that anything is possible if you change your assumptions about yourself and others. It offers a host of wonderful, creative ideas for 'stepping into a universe of possibility' and developing collaborative relationships at work, in schools and at home. Chapter three is an absolute must-read not only for musicians, but also for anyone who plays second fiddle...
Who Moved My Cheese? Dr Spencer Johnson
An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life
This short book tells a story about what can happen when you choose to embrace change, and what happens if you don't. The message is clear: "when you change what you believe, you change what you do".
Eat, Pray, Love: Elizabeth Gilbert
One Woman's Search for Everything
Once I started reading this, I couldn't put it down. It's a sort of travel anecdote meets spiritual journey, about taking the time to understand yourself and to enjoy life, and it's written in a warm, frank and humourous style.
The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle
A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
I've been meaning to read this book for ages, and have never before found the time(!) It's widely acclaimed and is a very powerful book for getting across the point that the only 'real' time is now, and that we need to avoid living in the past or the future.
Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway: Susan Jeffers
How to turn your fear and indecision into confidence and action.
This is a very practical book which does exactly what it says on the cover. When I read it, I gained a new perspective on so many things!
The Work We Were Born To Do: Nick Williams
Find the Work You Love, Love the Work You Do
To get the most benefit from this book, you need to be prepared to take the time to work through it. There are a lot of exercises which help you to get clarity about what's important to you, what you're good at, and how to work out what you really want to do with your life.
Sticky Wisdom: ?WHAT IF!
How to Start a Creative Revolution at Work.
Suspending judgement is important for the creative process. What tends to happen when someone proposes a new idea is that the team is in analytical mode, and they shoot the idea full of holes straight away. Although analysis is important, its value comes later in the creative process, once the idea has had a chance to develop. In “Sticky Wisdom”, the ?WHAT IF! team describes the processes they have used to encourage creative thinking. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to introduce creativity into the workplace.
A Return To Love: Marianne Williamson
Reflections on the principles of a Course in Miracles.
I wanted to read this book because I was so moved by a quote I had seen, and I wanted to find out more about the author's thinking. The following is an excerpt from the Introduction.
"When we were born, we were programmed perfectly. We had a natural tendency to focus on love. Our imaginations were creative and flourishing, and we knew how to use them. We were connected to a world much richer than the one we connect to now, a world full of enchantment and a sense of the miraculous. "So what happened? Why is it that we reached a certain age, looked around, and the enchantment was gone? "Because we were taught to focus elsewhere. We were taught to think unnaturally. We were taught a very bad philosophy, a way of looking at the world that contradicts who we are."
Excuse me, your life is waiting: Lynn Grabhorn
The astonishing power of positive feelings.
This book was recommended to me a couple of years ago, and was a real eye-opener. I had always had a fairly positive outlook on life, and yet I had never imagined the difference positive thinking can make to what you attract into your life.
Lynn Grabhorn writes in a very accessible style with humour and humility, and her own experiences of the benefits of positive thinking are an inspiration.
How to Mind Map: Tony Buzan
The thinking tool that will change your life
Mind mapping is a way of organising and planning information which utilises your imagination and develops creative thinking.
Instead of lists and endless note-taking, Mind Maps encourage you to draw pictures and use colour to stimulate your creativity. This also makes it easier to remember the details of a conversation, lecture or plan when you review your notes later.
Unstoppable: Adrian Gilpin
The pathway to living an inspired life.
"When I first read Unstoppable, I thought Adrian had written it for me, until I realised it was for everyone." Sir John Whitmore
If you've ever felt you don't know what direction you want your life to take, or wondered how to find direction when you're in completely the wrong line of work, this book is for you.
Adrian is the founder of the Institute of Human Development, "a group of professionals dedicated to the study and dissemination of ideas contributing to human excellence... The purpose of the IhD is to awaken millions of people to a new way of thinking about what it is to be human and what it takes to make life on this planet work for everyone."
The Artist's Way: Julia Cameron
A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self.
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It's a twelve-week
programme which contains lots of really good ideas for getting in touch
with your creative side.
