August Books Read
Now that my daughter is 18 months I have declared she can no longer be an excuse of me not having time to read.
The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion, & Connection by Brene brown
This is an audiobook from a lecture. My favorite take aways from this book was on Shame and guilt. Shame is when we do something bad and we feel bad about who we are verses guilt we only feel bad about the behavior. We teach our children this self talk by how we talk to them. Now I am really aware of identifying the behavior in my kids or my husband I am not okay with while emphasizing I still love who they are. So many good points. I will be listening to this many times.
No Mud No Lotus by Thich Nat Han
This book is about suffering and happiness and how one does not exsit without the other. That is like thinking we can have a right side without a left. He talks a lot about mindfulness to be present to realize how much of our suffering is happening in the past or future. By being mindful we can notice if suffering is happening in the moment, how to turn into it and care for it like we would care for a crying child while also noticing the many blessings and reasons to be happy in every moment. I love the many meditations he gives at the end including mantra, pranayama and walking meditations.
White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path ? from One Seeker to Another
Book by Danielle LaPorte
I have a crush on Danielle. The book was like one long conversation with a good friend that was honest, vulnerable with no bull shit and lots of laughs and crys. I love how she shares her personal experience of a women on the path of transformation, spirituality and service. I love how she shares about all the forms of spirituality and healing she has practiced without being preachy. I love how she shares her personal transformation, struggles and vulnerabilities. She points out how spirituality and self help can become self criticism which I think is a very important thing to remember as someone who wants to keep improving myself while remembering I am enough and I am good. "You think you need an architect, but you are already a temple." I also love the quotes she uses throughout the book. I plan to read everything this women writes. She also has a terrific blog. Short sweet and deeply wise. I recommend this book. Visit www.daniellelaporte.com
Light Is the New Black: A Guide to Answering Your Soul’s Callings and Working Your Light by Rebecca Campbell
I didn't like this as much as I thought I would. It had a lot of really good reminders in it encouraging readers to shine their light. I love the sourcing meditation she talks about frequently. Most of the stuff in this book I felt I already knew however it's always nice to be reminded and to focus on the light over the black. One of my favorite teachings from this book was that our individual obstacles didn't happen to us, but for us. "Believe that your tragedies, your losses, your sorrows, your hurt happened for you, not to you. And I bless the thing that broke you down and cracked you open because the world needs you open"
The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz
This book has been in my pile of books to read for so long. I love this author and the way he sums up such complex concepts in simple principles rooted in ancient earth wisdom. I love what he teaches about the track of fear and the track of love. I definitely feel myself getting pulled into the fear thinking of what ifs and not wanting to let people down. He also talked about partnership and how we need to love our partner for who they are without expectations and love ourself in the same way. I learned so many good things and have applied them to my marriage. Like only being responsible for my half of the relationship and not trying to manage my husbands side.
Shakti Meditations by Sally Kempton
I have been a student of sally Kempton for many years and devour her writings and soak them into my soul. I loved all of the meditations, visualizations, mantras, teachings, and beautifully told stories about each goddess. I could see them so clearly in my minds eye and feel them so powerfully alive in my body. I have stored many away into my tool box to call upon when varies challenges come up in my life.
Here are some brief notes on each goddess:
Durga (Hard-to-Conquor), the warrior, cosmic protector, and empowering Mother. Durga and Kali have been the main goddess
I invoke regularly.
Kali: (the Black One)—the mysterious terrifying, fiercely loving goddess who brings radical change into your life, and ultimately dissolves all forms into the Void. Among her forms are Tara and Bhairavi.
Laksmi (Auspicious)—the goddess of good fortune, wealth, and inner and outer abundance.
Saraswati—goddess of creative intuition, music, eloquence, and speech.
Lalita Tripura Sundari—Goddess of sacred sexuality as well as the highest form of mystical experience, whose blessing unites the energy of the body with the energy of spirit.
Dhumavati—the crone goddess, who teaches us how to turn disappointment into spiritual growth. This goddess was the most fascinating to me!!!
Sita—The faithful wife, guardian of the womb, goddess of the earth and its mysteries.
Radha—the goddess of erotic devotional love, who carries the gift of divine longing and mystical surrender
Bhuveshwari—Goddess of sacred space, who dissolves all limitations into herself, and then creates new forms out of the infinite space.
Parvati—Goddess of the sacred marriage, the divine yogini, who embodies the power of creative will. “By practicing the Five Agreements, what you are really doing is respecting everything in creation. You are respecting your dream; you are respecting everybody else’s dream. If you use these tools, your effort is really for everyone, because your joy, your happiness, your peace, and your heaven are contagious. When you are happy, the people around you are happy too, and it inspires them to change their own world.”
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