Spirituality Reviews

'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho The Alchemist is a worldwide bestseller and one of the best known books in the field of personal development. It is easier to understand why. Coelho takes us on a journey with a character named Santiago who begins to discover that life is not about what he thought it was about. This thought provoking adventure is not only a highly enjoyable read, it also finds a way to get to us deeply and provoke us into realising a wonderful secret about life. If you want to learn a hugely valuable lesson about life, this books for you. I highly recommend it. 'DaVinci Decoded - Discovering the spiritual secrets of Leonardo's seven principles’ by Michael J. Gelb Leonardo DaVinci was unquestionably a genius. In this book, Gelb captures the very essence of DaVinci’s life – the seemingly perfect integration of mind, body, spirit and soul. He characterizes the life of DaVinci in seven key spiritual principles. As I read these principles, they described to me the meta-program of DaVinci and provided an excellent insight into his work and his mind. In summary these principles are, 1. Seek the Truth An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning. DaVinci may have been the most curious person who ever lived. 2. Take Responsibility A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes. By rejecting dogma and superstition, DaVinci took responsibility for his own search, his own actions, his own growth, and well-being. 3. Sharpen Awareness the continuous refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience. He describes the five senses as the ‘ministers of the soul’. 4. Engage the Shadows A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty. To truly understand ‘good’, one must understand ‘evil’. This quest led him literally and figuratively to understand darkness. 5. Cultivate Balance The balance of left and right brain thinking, culminating in whole brain thinking. His persona and work express more than just a balance between logic and imagination, science and art; they represent the essential balance of the masculine and feminine principles in creation. 6. Nurture Integration The integration of mind and body through the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness and poise. His outstanding physical gifts and remarkable understanding of anatomy, healing, and wellness were an expression of his integration of body, energy, and spirit. 7. Practice Love The recognition of the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena; systems thinking. He knew that everything connected to everything else. Even though the principles may not exactly fit into the meta model described within NLP, I think they clearly explain the patterns of the genius and provide a practical roadmap for all of us to discover the boundlessness of our own full human potential. The book provides explanations of the principles followed by self-assessments and practice suggestions to develop your potential. An excellent read and well worth the investment. ‘DaVinci Decoded, discovering the spiritual secrets of Leonardo’s seven principles’, is published by Delacorte Press, ISBN 0-385-33861-9 ‘Reviewed by Finbarr Sheehy, Finbarr@finbarrsheehy.com 'Veronica Decides to Die’ by Paulo Cohelo Venonica Decides to Die is another wonderful story brought to you by Paulo Cohelo, one of the best selling personal development authors of this generation. The story deals with a depressed girl named Veronica who decides to take her own life. Things don't exactly work out as she planned and during the aftermath of her attempt she begins to question whether dying is the best solution for her or not. This heartwarming tale reminds us of the beauty of life and why it is so important to appreciate our time alive. Reading it will make you wake up to the wonderment of life. Maybe Logic (Video/Dvd) by Robert Anton Wilson www.rawilson.com Put simply, if you are interested in becoming smarter and understanding reality more profoundly then get this DVD. A fantastic journey through some of the ideas of a complete genius Robert Anton Wilson. Maybe Logic takes you through different reality tunnels like Wilson’s own books. Having such access to a genius is well worth the investment. RAW is according the Richard Bandler ‘the smartest man on the planet’. This video provides lots of information about Robert, lots of his ideas and plenty of extracts from seminars he’s taught on. Get it if you want to know more about life. CD: LOVE IN YOUR LIFE OWEN FITZPATRICK Well, what can I say about Owen Fitzpatrick without appearing like an eegit? Probably nothing. This CD is his first release and is focused on helping you enjoy your relationships more. It is a hypnotic cd designed to enable you to appreciate how wonderful the people in your life are, especially you. Relax into trance with this cd and you will begin to love your life more and be happier and nicer and better to those who you love. Wow, it is really strange talking about yourself in the third person. The Biology of Belief’ by Richard Lipton The Biology of Belief is an excellent book written in the theme of 'What the Bleep do we know?'. It's narrative style makes it easier to read than most books on the topic of the biological structure of belief. Full of fascinating new revelations which explain the power of the mind on the body, this book is a brilliant way of understanding the science and neurology of beliefs and belief change. Well worth a read! Cosmic Trigger 1 ROBERT ANTON WILSON Robert Anton Wilson is one of the best writers out there in my opinion. Being described by Dr Richard Bandler r as the 'most intelligent person on the planet' Wilson writes the kind of books that can surprise you, shock you, inspire you and move you. Written in the form of short chapters which go in different directions but all seem to coherently explain his brilliant insights into life and the world, this is another example of the kind of book from Wilson that makes you more intelligent. By opening up your perceptions, challenging you and teaching you how to see the same things from mulpile points of view this book sets the standard continued in the two sequels. Put simply, if you aren't a fan yet... become one... it can only help your mind. The Four Agreements Don Miguel Ruiz This book is one of the best self help, spiritual books I've read in recent years. Drawing on anchient Mexican wisdom, the author manages to compose an elegant description of human beings, their main problems and the best solutions. He examines the notion of 'agreements' which we make to ourselves and explains how they are the cause of our suffering. He writes very well and clearly offers a fresh system through which to deal with the way you think, feel and act. Once you make each of the four agreements you are asked to hold true to them and it's obvious to see how great results arise from this. This book works extremely well in a paralell way to NLP. You can't help but be drawn in by Ruiz's style and I firmly believe that this is a must read for NLPers, anyone interested in improving themselves, finding themselves and developing personal freedom. Highly recommend it. What the Bleep do we know? (movie) This movie is fast becoming a very popular cult movie. It explains the field of quantam physics and it's importance to us as human beings. It contains fascinating insights into the human mind and body and highlights many of the ideas and concepts that we use in the field of NLP. Basically, at last we have a movie that is becoming mainstream that popularises the basic principles of how we can control the way we experience the world through using our minds more effectively. Let's hope this film is the first of many which open the worlds eyes to the power and potential of using the human mind. This cannot be missed. The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra This book contains a set of spiritual insights which are valuable in attaining success in the modern world. The laws are thought provoking, profound and make lots of sense. Deepak explains how we can follow and apply each law to improve our own lives. It is very easy and quick to read and full of clever, intelligent explanations. Deepaks spiritual perspective is excellently conveyed in this snappy books which I regard to be one of his best. The Wonderful Man Edward Monkton This book is radically different to the majority of recommendations usually given here. It takes about a minute to read but I just fell in love with it's lovely, simple approach. It presents a key point that is so important for people to understand. I have read it over and over again and it is more of something that everyone has time to read. Buy it. Read it yourself and share it with as many people as possible. The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment Isabela Losada This book is a little different to the majority of recommendations usually given here. It is not really a self improvement book per say but it goes through various experiences the author Isabela went through on her own search for enlightenment. Among the seminars she went to is an NLP seminar and no one is spared her brilliant wit. Hilariously funny and enjoyable to read, this is a great holiday book which will open your mind to looking at the world of personal development in a different way. Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson. Robert Anton Wilson, regarded by Richard Bandler as the most intelligent person on the planet, takes your reality tunnel of the world and sends it through many different experiences. Prometheus Rising is a fantastic book. Like many of RAWs books, every time I read it, I feel more intelligent. It installs an ability for you to examine the world through many different perspectives. It gives you the experience of understanding that “Whatever the thinker thinks, the prover proves”. With RAWS brilliant humour and fantastic stories, he manages to convince you that something is certainly true and then definitely false and then absolutely true again till you realise it’s neither. This masterpiece has to be read by anyone interested in NLP, becoming smarter or developing their brains to their full potential. IT IS A MUST. The Seasons of Life JIM ROHN I have a lot of time for Jim Rohn. In this short, enjoyable book Jim provides you with a nice perspective on life. Simple in it's understanding and profound in it's application this book shares with you a unique philosophy about life and it's ups and downs. It is an excellent book largely drawn from Jims motivational talks. It explains how we all go through the different seasons of life from the harsh winter where things don't go our way to the fantastic summer where life is beautiful. He shares how we can more usefully get through the tough times and enjoy the good ones even more. I highly recommend it. The Art of Happiness by Dali Lama and Howard Cutter MD I personally found this a fantastic book. Cutter is brilliant at revealing the Dali Lamas advice through his own humanness and flawed thinking. He describes his conversations with his Holiness in ways that provide insight into the Dali Lamas personality, deeply held beliefs and show how happiness is accessible to all... even those of us who mess up from time to time. This book is a simply brilliant product of wisdom which has the power to truly enrich the uality of your life. Perspectives which seem so simple and when you get past thinking that.. they are... and they make a huge difference to your attitude towards life. A must read. THE LAST HOURS OF ANCIENT SUNLIGHT THOM HARTMANN This book I re-read recently. I forgot just how fascinating it was. Thom, a fantastic author, brings you on a journey of awareness about the situation on the planet and how important it is that we make preparations for the future of our earth. Full of interesting facts and presented in an engaging way I highly recommend this book as an alternative to self help manuals. It is a world help book. TSOG: The Thing That ate The Constitution by Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson returns with a fantastic book satiring with his amazing genius, the political climate of today. To be honest, that's just one of the themes I can pinpoint in Roberts typical style weaving amazing ideas together with a brilliant wit and ability to turn your brain around. Quite simply, everything that comes from the pen of RAW is a classic. To me, he is becoming the literary genius of our time. A pleasure to read and more than that... the book like so many other wilson classics takes your model of the world and gives you so many more. Want to open your mind and make yourself smarter... another way to do it. This latest is as good as ever. Get it. PS I LOVE YOU Cecilia Ahern This book is a book of fiction. It is usually associated with 'chick lit' reading but I found it a very moving, well written and inspiring book. I found that while enjoying the story itself, it helped me get a better understanding of dealing with death. With some moral and enlightening perspectives in the backdrop about death, love and loss, Ahern presents a fantastic book that I highly recommend.