Gabrielle Bernstein has a lot of cool things to say

Gabrielle Bernstein is an author, life coach, and motivational speaker.  Perhaps you've heard of her as she's been featured by various media outlets from Oprah to the Wall Street Journal.  Her books are:  Add More ~ing to Your Life, Spirit Junkie, and May Cause Miracles.  She is a proponent and teacher of A Course in Miracles, a self-study metaphysical guide with universal spiritual themes which is published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.

I had seen reference to her book Spirit Junkie on a website I like, Tiny Buddha, and also came across it at work at the library when I pulled it for an interlibrary loan request.  So later on, I decided to check it out myself.  I loved it; it contains so many insights.  I think it is the best of her books.  A large part of what makes the book ring true is what Bernstein shares about her own struggle and growth:  she's lived it.

When she speaks of ~ing, she means an inner guide.  "Each of us has disconnected in some way from our relationship to love within," she says.  "And each of us has the power to reignite that connection"  (May Cause Miracles).  A big proponent of prayer and meditation, she includes specific meditations in her books.

The following two points particularly resonated with me.  "My first correspondence with my ~ing unconsciously came through in my journal . . . Feel free to ask your ~ing for help through your writing.  Trust me, you're being heard." (Spirit Junkie).  And from May Cause Miracles:  "Welcome all subtle shifts."

"The Course positions relationships as one of the most significant opportunities for us to learn and grow.  Through another person we can come to know ourselves," she says in Spirit Junkie.  Yet she cautions, "When we perceive that someone is more special than others, we're thinking with separation.  We've forgotten that we are all one, and we've hooked back into the ego's thought system of better-than and worse-than."

In Add More ~ing to Your Life, she talks about manifesting and says,  "When your desires are backed with loving intentions of the greater good, you will feel the presence of an inner knowledge that you're on the right track and everything is lined up."

I recommend Gabrielle Bernstein's books to those who are interested in spirituality or who are looking for their purpose, improvement, or fulfillment.  I look forward to more books from her in the future.

Spiritual growth

The past year has been the most spiritual time in my life so far.  (For the record, I don't currently subscribe to any religion.)  I feel as though I've learned a lot.  For one thing, if you're in a state of concentration and talk to God, he may make his presence known.

I'd never had that before, but at an especially rocky time, I decided to address letters to God in my journal.  All I can say is that I got a particular sense of calm in the succeeding days that I had not experienced before.  It was a sense of calm that I perceived to be generated from outside myself.  I've always cherished time spent journaling and this is certainly another dimension for which to be grateful.

I've also always wanted to simplify--really for peace of mind.  I still have a ways to go on that, but I've gotten rid of a ton of books and plan to keep it up.  The less clutter around, the better I feel.  This is particularly apparent if you've moved as often as I have (whoa, I have this much stuff?).  I don't want to have a lot of things.  In fact, I want to have very few material possessions, which would help me on my spiritual journey.

I feel some sense of urgency to fulfill my purpose.  I don't know what that is but I am interested to find out.  I am confident about being in the right profession but what else should I do?  That is the mystery. Maybe it has to do with relationships with people I encounter?

My reading choices have reflected my deeper interest in spirituality.  I've read a ton of near-death experience accounts as well as books by Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra.