The Smiling Spirit

Archive for the ‘Book Review’ Category

Today I have an article for you that I’m reprinting.   Anyone who knows me knows that I live my life according to synchronicity.  I wanted to give an example of synchronicity but nothing came immediately to mind, so I decided to use the restroom and wait for Hubby to leave so the house would be quiet and I could think more clearly.  Oddly, I ended up with a synchronicity for an example.   Here’s a short and funny story….

I typed out the first two lines of this post and then went to the restroom.   While in there, I saw a magazine I’ve been meaning to reread.

YESTERDAY, I was getting ready to leave the house and just go out and I picked up my little silver hoop earrings.  Holding them in my left hand, I could see the silver of my earrings and the gold of my wedding rings, and I remembered an article I read somewhere once, quite a long time ago.  It talked about playing up your skin tones by finding out if you have warm or cool tones.   To check, you hold up silver and then gold to your skin.  One of them should look better against your skin than the other.  Gold speaks of warm tones and silver speaks of cool tones.  Easy enough!

So this morning, I saw this magazine under 2 books and a small collection of clothes that’d been tossed up onto the shelf for safe keeping.   I reached up and grabbed it, looked at the cover, then flipped absently through a few pages of ads and landed on a word filled page where I could begin to read/skim through.  As my eyes focused upon the first few words, I found myself looking directly at the article snippet I’d previously read a year ago about the warm and cool skin tones.

Now here I am, recounting my delightful synchronicity to you as an introduction to the one and only Deepak Chopra.  If you’ve never read any of Doctor Chopra’s work, I very highly recommend it.  He’s very synchronicity, God, quantum mechanics, inner = outer reality; esk. LOL

My very very very favorite book of his, which I have, covered in marginal notes and yellow and orange highlighter pen, is The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence.  In my humble opinion, this book is like reading about where God meets and interacts with science.  It made sense of a LOT of things for me.  It took Spirituality and Law of Attraction and defined them scientifically showing how they are the same things and the actual mechanics of how LOA works and why.

Anyway… without further ado, I give you Deepak Chopra on synchronicity.  Enjoy and Happy Tuesday *)

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by Deepak Chopra, M.D., New Age Journal

SynchroDestiny

From time to time, we’ve all experienced coincidences that seem to be
endowed with special significance. Perhaps the phone rings with a call from
a long-lost friend just as you’ve been thinking about that person. Or
you keep hearing a certain word or phrase in your reading and conversation.
Or something that you dreamed suddenly appears in real life. The Swiss
psychologist Carl Jung coned a word to describe these moments of
meaningful coincidence: “synchronicity. ”

A synchronicity is a coming together of seemingly unconnected
events. If you focus your attention, you may recognize that your life is shaped by
those moments of meaningful coincidence. You may even be able to nurture
and participate in those moments in a positive way. Together, this
awareness and intention make up what I call your SynchroDestiny.

In any aspect of life, attention and awareness foster growth.
Whenever you focus your attention on a subject or phenomenon, the object of your
attention will grow stronger. The more you become aware of meaningful
coincidences in your life, the more often you will encounter them.

Moreover, meaningful coincidences are well worth your attention.
According to Vedic tradition, there are two characteristics that define a
person on the path toward enlightenment: First, a sense that worries are
disappearing. Things may go wrong, but they don’t bother you anymore. Second, in
every area of your life, you become aware of a growing number of
synchronicities.

Most people experience at least one coincidence in their lives during
a single day. If you do not, don’t worry. Just cultivate an attitude
of relaxed attention and intention. Nature is built on an infinite
number of coincidences, and their presence in your life will soon become
apparent.

SynchroDestiny and the Conscious Energy Field

Although synchronicities may seem like events that just happen by
themselves, SynchroDestiny is definitely something that must be learned. But
this shouldn’t seem at all intimidating. After all, many things that we
take for granted in our everyday lives are actually learned behaviors and
responses.

Even the nature of the physical world is something that we learn
during early childhood. We are told that the whole truth about things is
available to our senses. Thus, when you look at a table, what you see is exactly
what’s there in space and time. It’s a piece of solid matter composed of smaller
pieces of solid matter all the way down to the level of subatomic
particles. This is a materialist interpretation of reality. It’s the way almost
everyone lives day in and day out.

But there is another philosophy, according to which the world that we
perceive through our senses is only a version of a deeper reality.
The Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato, for example, taught that the world
of our senses is a distortion, a mirage–like a shadow playing across a
wall. Many historians believed that the Greeks were influenced by spiritual
thinkers from India, where the idea of a deeper reality has a very long
history.

In Sanskrit, the word “maya” refers to the illusion that we perceive
the true nature of things through our senses. But we’re really seeing only a
very selective aspect of reality. That’s because beyond the manifest
physical universe, there is a field of energy, information, and intelligence
that orchestrates and governs the material environment. This ground-state
of creation is the conscious energy field.

The conscious energy field does not exist independently of our
perception of it. In other words, reality is a two-way street. We are both
transmitters and receivers of information. We are both the creation and the
creators of the conscious energy field. We are participants in a consciousness-
created universe.

This doesn’t mean that there’s no external reality, or that the
universe takes place inside our heads. What it means is that the physical
universe has no qualities or attributes in the absence of a conscious
observer.

For example, we see color as an attribute of physical reality. When
we look at an American flag, we see red, white, and blue. When we look at
the grass, we see green. But colors are not really inherent to the reality.
Instead, the phenomenon of color is a response made by the human nervous
system to stimuli from the environment.

We experience color as if it’s happening outside us, but we’re
actually projecting it from inside us. Color does not exist in the absence of
our observations. We create the phenomenon of color in the conscious
energy field. And we can create other phenomena as well, including
meaningful coincidences.

The Power of Intention

The power of intention is a critical factor in all areas of life.
Simply by intending to create synchronicity in your life, you can nurture that
result.

In Vedic teaching, there is an important concept relating to
spiritual evolution and the role that cosmic intention plays in our lives.
This is the concept of “dharma,” and understanding what dharma means is essential
to bringing synchronicity into your life.

“Dharma” is a Sanskrit word that refers to the natural path a person
is intended to follow through life. Your dharma is your destiny–but it
is destiny without any hint of compulsion or force. On the contrary,
your dharma is the path of least resistance. It’s the course that is most
right and most nourishing– that brings you the greatest fulfillment and the
most happiness.

Each of us has a gift, a special purpose that we alone can give to
the world. This is our individual dharma. We are meant to discover and share
this unique gift. When we do, we have achieved our true purpose in life.
If you are in harmony with your dharma, you will always remain anchored in a
sense of purpose and meaning.

Exercise: Finding Connections

To begin, just look around at the environment you’re in at this
moment. Pick out a certain detail. It may be from the color of the wallpaper of
the room you’re sitting in. It may be an image on a magazine cover. Keep the
image clearly in the mind for a moment.

Now listen to all the sounds that are in your environment. Is there
a conversation going on in the next room? Is there a radio or
television playing? Is someone using a loud lawnmower outside your window?
Pick a sound and hold it clearly in your mind.

Next, pick out some object that’s nearby and touch it. It can be a
coin, a book, or even a cat or a dog. Whatever it is, touch it with full
awareness, feel its texture, and pay attention to whether it’s hard or soft,
cold or warm.

You’ve had three experiences- -one of sight, one of sound, and one of
touch. Now give each of those experiences a one-word name. If your
experience of sound was of a baby crying, you could call it “baby.”

Over the next 24 hours, pay attention to how those words reappear in
your life–and to the memory of the sensory experiences linked to them. As
you look for those words and sense-memories, you’ll discover a series of
synchronicities associated with them. If you turn those words into
omens through the power of intention, you’ll encounter a series of
meaningful coincidences derived from those omens.
This is truly an exercise in using SynchroDestiny. It can also be a
step toward enlightenment, a step toward a richer understanding of your
destiny and how mysterious and magical your life really is.

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~ September 18, 2009 at 2:44 pm EST ~

For the next 2 weeks we will be in the waxing lunar cycle. This is the building light and a time of strong creative energy. If you’d like to see the dates of the coming phases of the moon, you can do so here.

Take advantage of this time to:

• Create intentions
• Make goal lists
• Work on vision boards
• Create magical movies
• Create and work with new affirmations
• Cast Spells

Anything you’re wanting to grow or expand is what you need to be working with during this part of the cycle.

Focus first upon what you intend to manifest in the short term. What are your goals for the next 30-90 days?
From there expand to longer term goals if you wish. It’s easiest to get the creativity ball rolling from thinking of the immediate future though.

This of course is only a suggestion. You should always do it any way that works for you. That’s the goal, to make it work. Not to do it the same as someone else.

Let’s touch base quickly on what each of the above things entails.

To create an intention, you’re going to focus on one thing. For example, money. If you set an intention to create more money flow in your life, you would sit down and figure out exactly what you want and personalize it to you. Then write it out as an intention. “I intend to see a great expansion in money flowing into my life for the greatest good of all.” You can, of course, focus upon more than one intention in the overall. Maybe you’re already focused on certain goals and you’re just adding a new one.

To make a goal list you’re going to focus on a general list of things you want to manifest. This is generally done to get the “big picture” so you can then focus on individual things. When you make a goal list of the over-all goals you want to reach, you’ll want to revise it on a consistent basis. Not necessarily monthly, but at least every six months. As you grow, your goals will change. Keep your list current.

To make a vision board, all you need is a space to post, pictures of either what you want or something that represents it to you and something to affix the pictures with. I’ve used the side of my fridge. My boys use the side of a file cabinet. My friend uses a cork board. I’ve made vision boards on my laptop using “paint” and saved it as my desktop. Any way you can create a collection of pictures and words representing what you desire to give manifestation to will work. Personalize it as much as you can. The more of your creative energy you put into it, the more results you’ll get out of it.

Creating a magical movie is a little more in depth. Fun though! I use Windows Movie Maker, which comes free with every version of windows. You can add music and pictures from your computer and create a movie that plays out like a vision board before your eyes. It’s very useful. And Windows Movie Maker is REALLY easy to use. Don’t be intimidated if you’ve never used it before. It’s REALLY self explanatory. If I can do it, you can too!

Creating and working with affirmations is a wonderful way to help reprogram the little monsters in your mind so you can manifest the things you want. Affirmations should be short and very easy to remember. Giving them rhyme and/or rhythm is a great way to make them so. They should always be spoken in the present tense too. Never, “I will soon have”… but always, “I now have”  or  “____ is getting closer and closer”  or  ” Thank you for ___”.

You get the point?

Spell casting is super fun in my opinion. Spell casting is like setting an intention (because intent is everything), creating a vision board (because there are things to associate by vision), creating a short series of affirmations (called incantations) and preforming a ritual that is meaningful to the solitary with the intention of releasing the intended goal to the Cosmos and/or deity of choice (meditation) to bring manifestation.

There are oodles of practicing witches with websites you can reference. Just google “Wicca” or “Spells”. Some have a coven and some are solitary. What they all have in common is, they all do it just a little different than anyone else. Your magic is unique to you… as is your perception and your life. Embrace your unique magic and create with it :)

For me, I practice solitary. I go my own way and create in my own unique way. My very favorite book for reference is Practical Solitary Magic By Nancy B. Watson. It was recommended to me by a witch I met through synchronicity at least 7 or 8 years ago and was the first book I ever read about manifestation Wicca style. I was STUNNED by how Spiritual it was and how “Law of Attraction” based the psychology behind it was. This book comes VERY highly recommended by me.

Happy Manifesting!

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~ Related Resources ~

The Manifestation Wheel: A Practical Process for Creating Miracles

The Laws of Manifestation: A Consciousness Classic

Not Manifesting? This Book is for You!

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Enjoyed this post and want to buy me a cup of coffee?
Wow! I really appreciate that :)

I’ve had the book “Real Magic” by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer on my nightstand for these first 10 days of August. I’ve not gotten all that far into it. Scott was home on vacation from August 3rd thru August 9th and we were working late nights on our little remodeling project.

I have, however, read 70 pages of this 323 paged book and so far, it is surprising to me how Wayne can explain things the way he does. I get to talking about God and the Universe and LOA and metaphysics and I get all excited and I kind of subject jump as things occur to me. I can’t seem to streamline my thoughts. I think this happens to me because I’m still new to it all and I’m still VERY excited and awed. Although by “new to it all” I mean less that 10 years and I’ve been this excited about it since day 1 so maybe that’ll never go away.

Anyway, my younger brother is only 22 and he’s right at the beginning of his Spiritual journey. He’s seeking. It’s a beautiful thing really. I’ve watched the poor kid struggle with himself his whole life. It’s heartwarming to see him finding his way out.

I’ve decided that this is the book for him! I just saw him last week and one of the first things he asked me is if I could recommend a good book for him. I explained to him that I knew plenty of wonderful books, but that I wasn’t sure if he was in a place where they’d do him any good. Spirituality is a very long path that spans your entire lifetime. The books that make an impact on you will change depending on the place your in on the path. I’ve been on this path for nearly 10 years longer than him so it stands to reason that the books I read wouldn’t touch him in nearly the same way.

I’ve had Real Magic on my book shelf waiting to be read for about 10 months now. Funny that I finally pick it up in a time when I don’t have time to read it but my brother comes looking for a book. And 70 pages of reading has told me that THIS is the perfect read for him.

So, here’s my review of the first seventy pages of the book “Real Magic” by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer.

My baby brother has been very lost. He hates himself. He never believes he’s good enough.

I believe that this book will make a massive impact on his life. I think this would be a WONDERFUL book to give to anyone who is just starting to find their Spiritual footing. Wayne Dyer just has a way with words. This is one of his older books and it’s clear to me that he was in the more beginning stages of his own Spirituality when he wrote it. Again, I say beginning, I mean less than 10 years. I know… that’s a big beginning. But we’re talking about you entire life span. Ten years is only a fraction.

If you know someone who is struggling or just starting out… or even someone you think might be ready to take a step but you’re not sure how to approach the subject… THIS IS THE BOOK! I do believe that Wayne Dyer has nailed the explanation of Real Magic and how it’s accomplished!

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August’s new book will be:

“The Way of the Wizard – Twenty Spiritual Lessons for Creating the Life You Want” by Deepak Chopra.
I LOVE Deepak Chopra and I can’t wait to start reading this book!!

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More wonderful books by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Awesome Children’s Books

 

Are you slowly poisoning yourself and your family?
I’m one of the “Greenest” people I know and it turns out, I am….
I have just finished reading “Super Natural Home – Improve your health, home, and planet – one room at a time” By Beth Greer.

This really was a fantastic book.
It was not only filled with information on what common toxins are found in our homes, food, water, body care products, soaps and shampoos, but also all the different names they go by and how to identify them.

There are suggestions for each and every room in your home on how you can breathe easier and greener in the place you spend most of your time.

Now, I’m a pretty green minded individual myself. And usually I pick things up about how to economize or save money or be greener and I’m always happy that they’re things I already know and implement. It’s like a pat on the back and lets me know I’m doing what I can. It is a bit of a bummer though. I’m always looking for MORE knowledge. What else can I do?! How else can I make a difference?! But they’re always things I already do!

Well, LET ME TELL YOU!!
I learned SO much from this book! I skimmed through it once. Then I read it. Then I skimmed through it again. I keep referring back to it constantly. This is truly a fantastic book for anyone trying to lead a more conscious and green life.

There’s even a list of cosmetics (PAY ATTENTION LADIES!) with toxins in them. But you’ll also find in this book the list of natural, toxin free cosmetics and the surprising list of suppliers.

After you read this book, the illnesses and mental issues that so many people have REALLY makes sense.
I’m SO glad I’ve added this book to my collection and I VERY highly recommend you add it to yours.

The format of this site has changed slightly, but may still be of interest to most if not all of it’s current visitors.

My target audience is now stay-at-home moms, working moms, wives and girlfriends. There is a Spiritual overtone, so ANYONE interested in Spirituality, Law of  Attraction, conscious living, conscious and/or Spiritual parenting, loving the life you live, finding purpose in your life and/or just BEING HAPPY may find this site useful and is MORE than welcome to stick around!

This site is my life. This is what I do. Not the website, but the content therein.

I’m a 30 year old mother of 3 boys, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I’m married to the man of my dreams and we will celebrate 11 years this August!! These 4 people and 16 paws are my life! I’m a homemaker. A deeply spiritual homemaker who’s doing everything she can to create a loving, happy, Spiritual existence here in this life.

I’m doing my best to raise conscious, loving, thoughtful, Spiritually aware children. My boys are 7 (Kyle), 9 (Kevin) and 14 (Thomas). Thomas has lived with his father since he was 2 and I’ve had to learn how to build a loving relationship with a son I see only every other weekend. I’ve also had to learn how to build a relationship with my Ex and his wife which has been very relaxed and easy for most of these years.

I’m here to help and inspire and LEARN from YOU! I hope you can help, inspire and learn from me too :)

To the left you should see a list of the topics I intend to be blogging about. If there’s anything listed of interest to you, stick around!