I'll admit it, I enjoy self help books.  Mind you, I include Drive and political autobiographies like Worlds Apart in my repertoire of consciousness expanding literature, I also hold shelf space for the likes of Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer and poets like John O'Donohue.  When I heard that my chapter "Take A Family Sabbatical" would be included in a collection with authors like Jack Canfield and Marci Shimoff, I wondered how my little revelation would fit in with these famous best selling authors and twenty four "up and coming" transformation writers, therapists, healers and paradigm changers?  My second thought after receiving my pre-release shipment of shiny new hardcover copies of  Pearls of Wisdom was "What kind of magic is wrapped in this magnificent package?"

I immediately sat down and found my chapter (page 147) and then I looked at the chapter listings.  The unfamiliar names.  The interesting titles.  Change Your Story, Change Your Life.  Helping Others Helps You.  Recipe for Awakening.  Daily Cup of Calm.

Cool.  

I couldn't wait to find a quiet space to sit and read!  While many of my fellow authors had already begun interacting and cooperating around the book launch with virtual meetings, email exchanges and conference calls, I wanted to invite them each to tea and find out who they are and how they got here.  Whom was I sharing these pages with?  What did we have in common?  What could they teach me?

As an aspiring novelist, Jack Canfield's chapter "Inspired Action Gets It Done" really spoke to me straight off the bat.  His "rule of 5" makes sense.  Do at least five things every day that push your intentions or goals forward.  I love that.  It really makes sense.  I also loved his suggestion that we solicit feedback from everyone in our lives;  business partners, family members, friends.  Find out how we are really doing.  He suggests leaving your ego at the door and really listening to what your partners have to say about their experience of relationship with you.  Ask them on a scale of 1 to 10, "how am I doing?"  Without getting defensive, hear what they say.  And then ask, "What is one thing I could do right now to make it a 10?"

Holy cow!  Can you imagine if the people who matter most in your life could just level with you and tell you what they need to feel better and cooperate more with you in your shared relationship?  Powerful stuff!

The Attwoods' (Janet and Chris) chapter "The Secret to Living a Passionate Life" was a refreshing reminder that pursuing our bliss, what we love, is really the universe or God's way of signaling that we are on the right path.  "What you love and God's will for you are one in the same."  That just makes sense, doesn't it?  Our emotions are always messengers.  The good and the bad.  How cool is that joy and bliss confirm our soul's desires?

Marci Shimoff's chapter "How to Activate Self-Love in Your Life" was full of very practical, hands on advice to get grounded and care for ourselves to cultivate the love and harmony we all deserve.  As a full-time caregiver, I really get that.  It took me many (far too many) years to understand that to be the best mom to my children and best wife to my husband, I needed to care for myself first.  Put the oxygen mask on first so you can help others.  No water comes from an empty well.  I also love that she highlights compassion and forgiveness for ourselves.  We can only do as well as we know in this moment.  Be gentle with yourself.  Great reminder.

Asia Voight's chapter "Trust Your Body's Intuition" stayed with me for days as I recalled her harrowing story of  healing from life threatening burns and paralysis.  I have trained in several energy healing modalities over the years (yes, it's true for those of you who don't know).  Her description of the void, the space of light where energy lives and awaits our intentions, was unique and powerful.  She compared it to jumping rope.  The "void" is the space where you jump, where your intuition in concert with your mind and body instinctively merges.  In that space, there is no time or space.  Only incredible potential and power awaiting instructions.

A dear friend of mine was recently seriously injured in a skiing accident.  As I sat with her in the hospital, I sensed the haze of the painkillers and her body on fire from the fractured bone, tissue and nerves.  I told her Asia's story of sending light and intention to the cells of her own body.  She defied her doctors' prognosis and eventually regained her mobility by connecting to the energy available to us all and trusting her body to repair itself.  She did not give in to doubt and the statistics of science.  Asia's story settled into my friend's heart and seemed to help her relax and remember to trust herself.  "Thank you for telling me that," she said.  Thank you, Asia, for sharing your story so others know they have a very active roll to play in their own healing.

I really connected with the enchanting tale woven by Jacob Nordby in "An Attitude of Gratitude:  The Gateway to Awakening," where he invites the reader to imagine possibility wafting in through the window and transforming the mundane into magic.  Jacob unveils the simplest truth and greatest power of any single human being is to walk with a heart full of conscious unconditional love.  It is deceptively simple in that nothing else is more powerful and more likely to change everything we experience.  And yet, it is a choice we all have.  And one of the easiest doorways to love is gratitude.  For in counting your many blessings, like rabid weeds, they multiply.

Yes.

I absolutely, completely, totally recommend you run out and buy Pearls of Wisdom.  There will surely be a shiny pearl awaiting you and your magnificent life.  And I would be honored and delighted to send you a signed copy.

You can find me at www.lisalabon.com

Namaste.

Lisa Merrai Labon