A thorough, accessible investigation that will guide seekers through the difficult but ultimately satisfying journey of...
A guide to personal exploration of enlightenment.
Burgess Novak’s debut self-help title makes a strong case for acceptance and surrender as a path to one’s higher self. Expansion of the mind can come by following a simple three-step recipe: “Awareness leads to Consciousness, which leads to Enlightenment.” Put in practice, these transcendental transitions may be difficult, but they are profoundly worthwhile. Through an in-depth look at our four aspects—mental, emotional, physical and spiritual—Burgess Novak tackles such issues as the holographic universe (how can we know anything within or outside of ourselves?), the daily struggle against the ego and the unique path each of us must follow to reach Consciousness. One noteworthy chapter devotes itself entirely to exploring the concept that everyone is a unique aspect of God; with faith and trust, she says, we must open ourselves up to embrace this simple, beautiful idea. The energy radiating from us allows us to manifest our desires, Burgess Novak says, and the only real obstacle between each of us and enlightenment is our “egoic child’s mind,” or ecm: “I use lowercase letters for this acronym because I want to emphasize that this is a small, limited, and spiritually, mentally, and emotionally immature part of us despite the fact that this energetic construct of the ego often runs the show.” Its tendency to keep us alive and safe through fear of change and the unknown presents an antagonistic force we must overcome. The ecm develops during the first few years of life, as one struggles to comprehend the world, building a worldview based on misperceptions and contradictory emotions; the somewhat-flawed assumption, though, is that the ecm always forms in a dysfunctional environment and is therefore always fear-based. Despite this subtle logic gap, the central tenet holds true: In surrendering the energy we use for survival and opening up to using that same energy toward creating the life we want, we find peace and enlightenment.
A thorough, accessible investigation that will guide seekers through the difficult but ultimately satisfying journey of enlightenment.Pub Date: March 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1491232132
Page Count: 186
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An easy reading book of supportive encouragement to follow one’s dreams.
More than 40 career-changers tell their stories.
Introduced by Facebook executive and founder of Leanin.org Sheryl Sandberg, Lewis’ second cousin, the book offers exuberant advice for people who want to make a leap—daring or modest—from one career path to another, just as he did. At the age of 24, working for the investment firm Bain Capital, the author felt restless and dissatisfied. “I began to realize,” he writes, “that I wanted this life mostly because I thought I should,” but he heard “a very distinct if faint voice” urging him to try something “very different.” As he considered following his passion to become a professional squash player, Lewis sought advice from others who made similar jumps: a banker-turned-cyclist, for example, and a journalist-turned-politician. From them, and the others whose stories fill the book, he came up with the idea of the Jump Curve, a process of four key phases: listening to your inner voice, making a practical plan, believing in your own good luck, and rejecting regret. “You will come out stronger,” Lewis insists, even if your initial plan fails. “I keep coming back to the idea of agency,” said a man who made a move from corporate hospitality service to restaurant ownership: “the difference between life happening to you versus you making life happen.” Among the individuals profiled are a nurse who, at the age of 50, became a doctor; a football player–turned-writer; an investment professional who became coxswain of the U.S. Paralympic Rowing Team; a PR executive who found her calling as an Episcopal bishop; and a lawyer who sued the New York fire department to admit women firefighters—and then became the first woman hired. “Harassment, discrimination, death threats,” and physical abuse dogged her 25-year career. But, she says, “this was a jump worth fighting for,” a sentiment that Lewis underscores. Changing careers is risky, but “there is a risk to not taking a jump at all.”
An easy reading book of supportive encouragement to follow one’s dreams.Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-12421-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
A moving, heartfelt account of a hospice veteran.
Lessons about life from those preparing to die.
A longtime hospice chaplain, Egan (Fumbling: A Pilgrimage Tale of Love, Grief, and Spiritual Renewal on the Camino de Santiago, 2004) shares what she has learned through the stories of those nearing death. She notices that for every life, there are shared stories of heartbreak, pain, guilt, fear, and regret. “Every one of us will go through things that destroy our inner compass and pull meaning out from under us,” she writes. “Everyone who does not die young will go through some sort of spiritual crisis.” The author is also straightforward in noting that through her experiences with the brokenness of others, and in trying to assist in that brokenness, she has found healing for herself. Several years ago, during a C-section, Egan suffered a bad reaction to the anesthesia, leading to months of psychotic disorders and years of recovery. The experience left her with tremendous emotional pain and latent feelings of shame, regret, and anger. However, with each patient she helped, the author found herself better understanding her own past. Despite her role as a chaplain, Egan notes that she rarely discussed God or religious subjects with her patients. Mainly, when people could talk at all, they discussed their families, “because that is how we talk about God. That is how we talk about the meaning of our lives.” It is through families, Egan began to realize, that “we find meaning, and this is where our purpose becomes clear.” The author’s anecdotes are often thought-provoking combinations of sublime humor and tragic pathos. She is not afraid to point out times where she made mistakes, even downright failures, in the course of her work. However, the nature of her work means “living in the gray,” where right and wrong answers are often hard to identify.
A moving, heartfelt account of a hospice veteran.Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59463-481-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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