by Barbara Casey | Oct 29, 2015 | Book Reviews, Self-Improvement
The Moment is about life-changing stories… of 125 writers and
Click the book for more reviews
artists… and me.
Do you recall “the moment” in your past when something so significant happened that it was literally life-changing? If so, you’ll enjoy the 125 stories in The Moment, a book of “wild, poignant, life-changing stories from 125 writers and artists famous and obscure.”
In this book, edited by Larry Smith (of 6-Word Memoirs fame), 125 writers and artists submitted (very) short stories of a moment or an event that instantly changed their lives. Usually it was an awakened awareness caused by an unexpected event, an illness, the death of a loved one or a life-broadening experience.
Mary Elizabeth Williams takes us on a journey into her mind the day she gets the phone call that tells her she has
cancer. In a single paragraph, while worrying about a writing deadline, Williams travels from “I guess this means I could die pretty soon” to “But who will pick up the kids at camp?”
Haylee Harrell describes the afternoon recess at school during which she learns that people can hate you because of the color of your skin.
Michael Castleman remembers the evening his mother refused to make supper because she was reading a book. He explains that his mother was devoted to the family, served meals like clockwork and never changed her routine… until she started reading Leon Uris’s Exodus. That’s when Michael recognized that books could take over your life while you are immersed in them. That’s when he decided to become a writer.
Hope Rehak recalls a day familiar to many of us. She was just twelve years old on 9/11 and wondered why her parents were glued to the television set. She can still hear the words they said to her: “They have to find someone to blame.” And she tries to hide under the blankets where the new world can’t touch her yet.
The Moment contains 125 stories of real people feeling their way through something they weren’t expecting, whet
her it was the event itself or their reaction to it. You can read more “moments” at SmithMag.net… and even submit stories of your own.
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In fact, the book inspired me to look at my own life-changing moment. Here it is:
The Floating Purple Head Made Me a Believer
When I began my studies at a metaphysical college, I had to take some of what was taught on faith. A portion of the material was so far outside my experience that, while I could intellectually get what they were saying, I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
Until I did. See it. With my eyes wide open.
I was taking beginner classes, but many of my fellow students were way ahead of me in clairvoyant abilities. I’m still not particularly clair-anything twenty-five years later, but once in a while I’ll see or hear something that shoots my understanding to another level.
Like the first time I saw a purple head hovering next to my teacher.
All during our 2-hour class, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the large purple head floating slightly above and to the right of Karen, our course instructor. Karen was almost 6 feet tall, so seeing this apparition that high above her was quite remarkable. And the head itself was a slightly odd shape, larger on top by a considerable amount.
When I asked about the purple head after class, Karen cleared up the mystery. She told me that I was seeing her spirit guide, Abdullah, who wore a turban and always came through in the color purple. His head was so far off the ground because she always saw him sitting on a “flying carpet.”
This explained the strange shape on top of his head and the reason he was riding so high in the room.
Abdullah’s purple head was my first clear-seeing episode and by far the most dramatic. It helped that the details were verified by a trusted, highly clairvoyant teacher.
After you witness something that “isn’t possible,” you can’t unwitness it.
Now I knew for certain that other dimensions are filled with life and that they intersect with our own spaces and times.
What a springboard for an expanded viewpoint of Life… and a perspective that stretches to eternity.
Even now, I can see Abdullah’s head as clear as day, when I think about that first time. And it still blows me away.
What’s your life-changing story?
What story would you write for posterity? As Larry Smith says in his introduction to the book, “These stories hit us where we live.”
When I showed this story to my son, he was surprised because I’d never told him about it before. Until I started writing and saw myself sitting in class staring at Abdullah’s purple turbaned head, I’d almost forgotten the impact it had on my understanding of the multi-dimensionality of life. What I knew before was nothing compared to what I could glimpse behind the door that was just starting to open before my eyes.
The 125 stories in this book each have outstanding moments like this. And you can’t stop reading them. Even when it’s past your bed-time and you know you have to get up for work the next morning. They make you think… and remember. And think some more.
If you enjoy reading “zinger” books like this, you might be interested in my review of another memoir book from Smith Magazine. It’s called It All Changed In An Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure.
by Barbara Casey | Aug 23, 2015 | Book Reviews, Self-Improvement
Chris Guillebeau’s book The Happiness of Pursuit shifted my perspective on aging
Have you ever read a book that set you on a whole new path in life? Or that joggled your sense of passion and purpose into practical action? I did… and I’m on a 30-year quest because of it… from age 70 to 100.
Last September, I devoured Chris Guillebeau’s book “The Happiness of Pursuit” which documents Chris’s and other people’s “quests” – grand adventures that took them out of humdrum and mainstream and led them to challenge themselves, rediscover themselves and enjoy themselves.
The concept of quest and adventure became so tantalizing to me that ideas kept popping up as I was reading. I took notes and more notes… and then one idea overtook all the others and I knew what my quest was going to be.
People launch quests for a variety of reasons:
- They are discontented with some aspect of their life (or the rut they’re in).
- They feel a calling to do something, without sometimes knowing why. They just HAVE to do it.
- They feel a need to test themselves in a bigger way.
- They want to make a difference in the world.
- They’re ready to put their money where their mouth is or to start their “bucket list” now.
- A life-altering situation such as a job loss, illness or divorce startles them into action.
In my case, the “life-altering” issue was the thought/reality of my 70th birthday in June of 2015. As I read Guillebeau’s book and the stories of the quests begun by people 20, 30, even 50 years younger than me, I recognized that the very long, physical quests were not for me at age 69, when I first read the book.
But I also made a note of the dissatisfaction I felt about the way I was living life… it felt too safe and stale to bring about much personal development. Definitely not much adventure involved. And where was my contribution to the world, I wondered.
I realized that I didn’t want to fall into the rut of “old age.” I also allowed myself to see that what I really enjoy doing is reading and reviewing potentially life-changing books like this, and then posting my thoughts online, with the hope of inspiring others through my words.
Reading a book like The Happiness of Pursuit makes my mind fly. Guillebeau has inspired me to take action. And so I am. And it feels good. As Guillebeau explains, a quest is more than a personal growth project or fitness schedule or get-out-of-debt plan.
Quests have 5 key components:
- A clear goal and a specific ending point.
- A challenge, something that must be overcome.
- A sacrifice of some kind. What are you willing to give up in order to complete your quest?
- A sense of calling or mission that keeps you motivated to continue.
- A series of steps, with incremental progress toward your goal. (It’s not an overnight sensation.)
Guillebeau emphasizes the importance of planning before starting your quest, to make sure you can handle it financially and emotionally. But he cautions readers to not get stuck at the planning stage. This is an adventure, after all, and the journey doesn’t come with guarantees. When you’re “ready enough,” just start.
That’s what I’m doing.
Reviewing thought-provoking books has now become part of my quest to cease feeling like an old fogey and start living an adventurous life again. Butt-kicking ideas will help me achieve this.
I’m also trying to figure out how to translate my fascination with “tiny houses” into an actual physical community for seniors and others with limited incomes.
My quest starts at age 70
My quest has a 30-year span, with the aim of keeping myself young in body, mind, and outlook from age 70 to 100. Anything past 100 is a bonus.
My larger challenge is to stay open to new ideas, to be willing to shift perspectives, and to learn new ways to keep my mind and body functioning at optimum levels. Oh yes, and to develop the discipline to practice what I preach.
Quests aren’t just for dissatisfied workers in cubicles. Society’s elders have lots to contribute and sometimes just need a way to focus their efforts. I’ve waffled long enough. Now I’m ready to get going.
A quest was just what I needed to launch me off the skinny branch and into the air.
I want to be a healthy, vital, active, interesting, adventuresome woman well into the next three decades of my life. Why not?
This sounds like fun to me, because it IS me to the bone. Playing with ideas, even if they’re other people’s ideas to start with. A book like Guillebeau’s The Happiness of Pursuit recharges – even rejuvenates – me.
And that’s the whole reason behind my questing. Making the years between 70 and 100 the most fun yet. I feel excited for the first time in ages.
And grateful… oh so grateful.
by Barbara Casey | Aug 23, 2015 | Book Reviews, Self-Improvement
A heartfelt review of Pam Grout’s book E-Cubed, where she teaches us to play in the quantum field
E-Cubed by Pam Grout… click the book see reviews
As I write the words of this book review, I sip the “Magical Weight Loss Potion” that I energetically created a few minutes earlier, using Pam Grout’s suggestions in Experiment 8. I’m proving that my beliefs are changing my physical body through a harmless placebo (spring water) that I altered simply by using my personal energy and my intentions.
I’ve convinced myself that my magical elixir is the healing tool that will curb my nighttime snacking and cause a drop in weight over a 3-day period. Every time I pick up my glass to take a drink, I thank my magic potion for its good work. It feels right to do and, in fact, I’ll continue this activity for at least a month, to prove my point… and lose weight at the same time.
Grout cites example after example of how the “placebo effect” works in action. She makes me a believer… enough so that I’m telling the world about my magical potion experiment, enough so that I’m sure it will work.
And that’s the point of Pam Grout’s newest book E-Cubed.
A sequel to her highly popular E-Squared, E-Cubed continues to jostle our age-old beliefs about ourselves and the universe we live in. As a student of metaphysical teachings for 25 years, I was already pretty much in alignment with Grout’s ideas in the first book, but she explains things so clearly… and with enough scientific proof to really cement in the new ideas that I pre-ordered E-Cubed before it was released.
Of course, it’s tough to delete or even revise concepts we’ve had for decades, ideas and beliefs we grew up with and “rules” that are reinforced by churches, governments, and parents. Grout acknowledges this at the outset. And then hands over responsibility for belief restructuring to us, by means of 9 experiments that prove what she is saying.
Grout introduces us to Worldview 2.0 which shows us how the energetic world most of us can’t see is the foundation on which everything else rests. Scientists often call this energy “The Field,” and Grout explains in very clear language how we, as humans, can impact the energy around us – our life, in other words – by our thoughts, words and intentions. She points to the “observer effect” in quantum physics which says that it is impossible for us to look at something without impacting whatever it is we are looking at.
My spring water, for example. My conscious belief in its miraculous properties to curb my snack attacks has created a new elixir that is going to work as long as I believe strongly that it will.
I found the chapter on synchronicity to be quite revealing and underlined a few sections so I could find them easily when I needed a reminder that “coincidences are a glimpse into the underlying order of the universe.” We can never feel alone when the connectedness of all things aligns into solutions that help us out when a strong need arises. I’ve also heard it said this way: “The Universe conspires in our favor.”
Each of the 9 experiments is designed to prove a point, whether it’s “finding” money in the chapter on changing money beliefs or understanding that all of nature is sentient and could have messages for us, if we would just notice and listen.
The first 60 pages of E-Cubed present the theories that Pam Grout wants us to prove through her experiments. Like Pam, these are more than theories to me; they are more like a way of life. But for many, they are new (possibly disturbing) ideas that contradict many (most) mainstream teachings.
Who has ever told you that happiness is the big game-changer? Who urges you to start the day with “happy” music? Who claims that the more fun you have, the better your life will work? Well, Pam Grout does, for one.
Fear is such a motivator, one wonders why it’s so prevalent. Is it on the school curriculum? Is it the method through which businesses remain financially secure? Is it how governments maintain such control over people’s lives?
Pam Grout, in her two books, attempts to hand control over our lives back to us. She does this in plain language with convincing examples of how we gave so much of ourselves away. She isn’t into judging, casting blame, or advocacy. She just explains it.
And presents a few ideas of what we can do about it.
As a “senior citizen” in a culture that doesn’t value its elders, I’m all in favor of tapping into as much help as I can get from the field of infinite potentiality. I know it’s there; I’ve had personal evidence of it. But I haven’t got the hang of using it in a consistent way yet.
I’d like to get better at receiving messages from the unseen worlds, for example. Not because I’m preparing to cross over to where they are – not yet! But because I’m semi-retired and have the space in my life where I can do this now. Life is so full of possibilities – and I’m ready to experience and enjoy them.
Books like E3 remind me to expand my life’s options, rather than contract into the stereotype of old age. And, I can honestly say that I feel more fired up than I have in a decade or more.
I feel like an adventurer.
P.S. -Here’s a link to the first book, if you haven’t read it yet: E-Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality
by Barbara Casey | Aug 23, 2015 | Book Reviews, Self-Improvement
“Think Like A Freak” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
If you’ve read the Freakonomics books, you’ll know that “thinking like a freak” often means going against conventional wisdom. This new book – Think Like A Freak – hammers home the idea that our biases and current set of beliefs color our decision-making more than we know.
And it’s not always easy to change the way we think.
Consider the concept “moral compass,” which many politicians refer to when they attempt to control masses of people with their way of seeing the world. Is emotion the “right” way for elected officials to make decisions that could affect millions of constituents, many of whom may not agree with their rulers’ assumptions?
The authors look at everything from health care to economics, advertising, wine-tasting, hot dog eating contests, school performance and more… demonstrating how we tend to place barriers or limits on what we think we can do, because “it’s always been done that way.”
They challenge us to change our way of thinking by giving examples of people who have broken through commonly accepted limitations to make names for themselves. They also illustrate their ideas with concrete statistics that turn our heads away from the “easy” answers.
Homicide Rates: UNConventional Wisdom
For example, the homicide rate in the United States began to fall in the 1990s, after reaching historic levels around 1980. Common wisdom might suggest that the causes for the drop in homicides were more police officers, increased prison sentences, more capital punishment or a surging economy.
The authors, however, identified another factor: the legalization of abortion in the early 1970s. They theorized that, with fewer unwanted children being born, fewer children lived in the types of circumstances that might lead to criminal activity. Thinking “like a freak” meant going an extra step to find a possible root cause of a problem. Along with an unanticipated solution to it.
Some root causes go back centuries. Even the causes of illnesses and disorders that only affect specific segments of the population. They give examples and slightly hair-raising remedies. Fascinating stuff, including fecal transplants.
Why Kids Don’t Learn: More UNConventional Wisdom
Who would have thought that poor eyesight affects one in four children in the world… and that “problem learners” can often be turned around with a simple pair of eyeglasses?
Conventional wisdom might have said that class size, bad teachers, or out-dated text books caused the problem when, at a closer “freakish” glance, it became apparent that the children just couldn’t see the blackboard.
As Levitt and Dubner consistently point out, changing people’s ways of thinking means first finding out what really matters to them, not what they “say” they care about. The trick is to change the “default” settings of our beliefs. To stretch our mental options. To switch perspective.
Is Quitting Better Than Toughing It Out?
The last chapter of Think Like A Freak affected me the most. It’s called “The Upside of Quitting.” What do you do when your work isn’t fun anymore? Do you hang in for the benefits, go back and live with your parents, or find an alternative area in your field that might interest you more?
Or… do you let go of the obvious routes altogether? Let go of conventional wisdoms; let go of artificial limits that hold you back; let go of fear of change, and just… well… go.
When it stops being fun… quit.
As Levitt and Dubner point out, using themselves as examples, quitting doesn’t necessarily lead to misery. And sometimes it’s okay to just flip a coin when you’re making big decisions. It keeps you on your toes… and free of mental chains.
They claim repeatedly that “I don’t know” is one of the most freeing sentences there is.
I don’t know what my next career move is, either. But having expressed that thought to myself, ideas have started jumping in like rabbits. What I thought I was going to do is back on the table and I’m allowing myself to climb out of that box.
I’m allowing the feeling of fun to be part of the equation. As the authors frequently mention, fun is important, “because if you love your work… then you’ll want to do more of it.”
Yep.
Read the reviews for Think Like A Freak on Amazon.
by Barbara Casey | Aug 23, 2015 | Book Reviews, Self-Improvement
The book Zen Driving taught me to enjoy driving a car again
Zen Driving by K. T. Berger is a remarkable book that can change your driving habits, your attitude toward other drivers on the road and, maybe even, your life.
The authors are two brothers Kevin, a freelance journalist, and Todd, a California psychotherapist. Between them, they have put together one of the best “lessons in life” books that I have ever read.
I came across this thought-provoking book around 20 years ago, when my daily commute was on one of Pinellas County’s most highly-congested roads. From my perspective, Ulmerton Road was populated daily by thousands of cut-throat drivers hell-bent on getting to work on time. And I was one of those urgent, anxious drivers.
You know the saying, “you get back what you give”? Well, I was giving out cranky, me-first vibes and found myself surrounded by more of the same. Sound familiar?
Me? A Buddha Behind the Wheel?
I had recently started taking classes in metaphysics and spirituality and one of my classmates recommended this book Zen Driving, whose subtitle is the intriguing “Be a Buddha behind the wheel of your automobile.”
By the end of 176 pages of uplifting encouragement and gently inserted Zen lessons, I changed my attitude toward driving almost overnight. I especially altered the way I felt about the other drivers who shared the road with me. From middle-finger salutes to “Bless you, have a good day.” No kidding.
How many books have you read that can do that? That can alter deep-seated attitudes and behaviors so easily and quickly.
Zen Driving isn’t an instruction book about driving, either. It’s a gentle, flowing lesson about Zen Buddhism and how to apply Zen principles in everyday aspects of your life. The example the authors chose to use is driving, but the spillover effect is huge.
There’s a very thoughtful chapter called “The Beginning Driver” which points out some of the problems in classic Driver’s Education courses. If you’re planning to coach your teenagers in the art and craft of driving, this book will give you some food for thought, especially when it comes to the fear-based agendas that are presented by state officials, insurance companies and… us parents.
The Road-Car-Driver Ecosystem
The main premise of Zen Driving is that when we get behind the wheel of our automobile, we become one with a road-car-driver ecosystem, where the flow of traffic should occur like a “large, choreographed dance.” According to Zen Buddhism, everything is one interconnected flow that is constantly changing. And that should translate over to freeway driving, as well.
The authors emphasize that driving can be an enjoyable, rather than fearful experience. Relaxing, not gut-wrenching. They explain how awareness of other drivers and circumstances comes through a practice called “Moving Meditation,” where we observe without critiquing (even if a driver cuts you off)… “Bless you!”
By staying in the here and now, by not dwelling on yesterday’s anxieties or anticipated fears, we can learn to achieve a 360-degree awareness of what’s around us in every moment. That is how we flow in concert with the traffic and stay alert to those who momentarily lose their sense of being part of the whole.
After I read this book so many years ago, I was able to relax more about the half-hour drive to work. When I stopped competing with other drivers and saw them as friendly, helpful co-owners of the driving universe, I noticed that people let me in if I needed to change a lane quickly. Or they smiled at me at a traffic light. Tailgaters disappeared.
Nowadays, if I fall out of my “serene driving vortex,” for whatever reason, I can get back into it more quickly than I used to. I’m not quite to the point where I feel my car around me “as if I’m wearing it” but driving is no longer the chore it once was… or just a way to get from point A to point B. It’s become part of the dance of life, not a means to an end.
Your Car As Sacred Space
What about you? Does sitting behind the wheel put you in a sacred space? Or have you become (or do you know) an aggravated driver who has “fallen from grace with the highways?”
Just the act of reading this book raises vibration. The gentle humor, the fun way with words, the amazingly pithy subheadings (“One Drives as One Lives”) blend into a flowing journey of enlightenment about something we all take for granted.
All we need to do is remember that Zen Driving can’t be taught or learned in a classroom or book, even a book with this particular title. So read the book and then take yourself off onto the open road with an open mind. The rest of it you already know how to do.
