Book Review – Superpower

Book Review of The Self-Love Superpower

Book: “The Self-Love Superpower: The Magical Art of Approving of Yourself (No Matter What),” Tess Whitehurst, Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd., 2021.

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book Available September 8, 2021

I was quite interested in recognizing how self-love could be a superpower simply by approving of myself/yourself. Overall, I found the author to be quite knowledgeable about many spiritual and psychological matters. I found she has incorporated many works from previous authors that I have read and whose books I have previously reviewed. It was nice to see these concepts being congealed in such a well-developed way.

I believe the author to be quite young as her references indicate someone of a younger age. This is not a problem other than many of the cultural and societal references she discussed were not in my sphere of knowledge or influence. So, for that reason, I would recommend this book for younger or middle-aged people.

One of the best insights or lines she has is, “I am choosing to need nothing, expect nothing, and even be nothing. And so I am open to everything.” She goes on to say how liberating it is to have this kind of thought. This is in line with Buddhist philosophy of non-attachment.

Overall, she does come up with some very good ideas but again, they are ones I have read in many other books but it is nice to see it collated here as an inclusive manner.

Tess also goes over chakras which for me was just a review. It seems most books I pick up nowadays include something about the chakra system. If you are new to this, then definitely read this.

Overall, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 based on the attempt to have a cohesive nature of spiritual philosophies and ideas in one book.

For more book reviews, check out my wordpress website under Mary Mikawoz:https://mikawoz.wordpress.com/category/book-review/

Tags: Mary Mikawoz, Book Review, New, Book, Tess Whitehurst, Llewelyn Worldwide, Approval, Spiritual, Self-Love, Superpower, Psychological, Intuitive Eating, Desires, Relationships, Dynamics, Fear, Boundaries, Love, Body, Truth, Chakras,

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Goal Mapping Book Review

Book: “Goal Mapping: A Practical Guide to Turning Your Dreams into Reality,” Brian Mayne, Watkins Publishing, 2020

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book available: May 12, 2020

I read this book awhile back when the Corona Virus was taking root in North America and we started lockdown in many areas of the world. It was a good book and I am sorry I have not reviewed it sooner but felt I needed to give it some more thought.

I am encouraged by the personal story of Brian Mayne and the things he had to do to overcome his educational problems and learning difficulties. That itself, is an inspiration.

Brian puts a number of good and appropriate quotes throughout the book, however, I read it on a Kindle and so there was just a jarring of quotes in a haphazard format that intruded on the flow of the actual text of the book. I do not know if the physical book is formatted differently. It is do-able though. You just need to read and remember where you were at and what the last point was.

If I were to glean the main points of the book are, I would have to say that it is important to use your left and right sides of your brain. Brian Mayne has developed a way to write words from the logical, left side of the brain and then incorporate images or drawings by using the right side or creative side of the brain. It is a way of reinforcing goals in a way that makes it more impactful. In this regard, the author provides some drawings to explain his point, however, I would have appreciated more drawings with accompanying explanations of what they meant to illustrate and really bring home the point of how the goal mapping system works. It would have added so much more to the book.

You can try your own by going to Brian Mayne’s website at https://goalmapping.com

I give this book a 3.5 out of 5 for effort and for his explanations. It is a good starting point for someone who would like to reinforce their vision with words and images.

Tags: Goals, goal mapping, Brian Mayne, school, education, learning disabilities, left brain, logical, right brain, vision, images, drawings, creative, quotations, success, Mary, Mary Mikawoz, book review, teacher, author, illustrator, impact, importance, explanations, system

Death and Dying

Book: “What the Dead Are Dying to Teach Us: Lessons Learned From the Afterlife,” by Claire Broad, Watkins Publishing, 2019.

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book available September 10, 2019

Claire Broad tries hard and for that I have to give her some credit. She has written a basic book about mediumship and what the dead are trying to teach us. It is a good beginner introduction but if you are aware of anything about what decease spirits are saying, it is repetitive from other sources. If you watch Long Island Medium, Mama Medium, Mom’s a Medium or have seen John Edward, Colette Baron-Reid, John Holland, James Van Praagh you should be aware of the major points spiritual people are making.

I found myself becoming quite busy and so had to leave the book mainly read but not entirely. It was a mistake because I was not “called” back to the book. I eventually came back to it to finish it off and give it a proper reading. I am sorry to say but much of what has been said in this book has been said by many others beforehand.

Here are the seven main points. “You are spirit or conscious awareness. Death is an illusion because consciousness is not confined. You are never alone. You can rise above fear. Love never dies as your life has purpose. Ask and it will be given. And nobody dies alone.”

To be fair, I went over my notes and I found that I liked Claire’s Call to Action sections.

To conclude, I would have to say that if you are dealing with death or are curious about the afterlife, this is a good introductory book. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. If you interested in life between lives, I would recommend the hypnotic work of Dr. Michael Newton of the Newton Institute.

Tags:  Claire Broad, Waktins Publishing, death, medium, mediumship, dead, spirit, spiritual, psychic, Long Island Medium, Mama Medium, John Edward, Colette Baron-Reid, John Holland, James Van Praagh, spirit, consciousness, illusion, fear, love, purpose, Dr. Michael Newton, Newton Institute, Mary Mikawoz, Mikawoz, Book Review

Trust

 

Book: “Trust: Mastering the Four Essential Trusts” by Iyanla Vanzant

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

This book of “Trust” by Iyanla Vanzant is very involved. She covers trust from the perspective of Trust in Self, Trust in God, Trust in Others and Trust in Life. “Cause and effect, correspondence, vibration, attraction, love and forgiveness are all concrete laws that govern the movement and unfolding of life.”

This book is a good read from the beginning stories of Iyanla’s life when she had to claim bankruptcy in her life. She had to live in a renting situation for years even after starting the “Iyanla: Fix My Life” TV series on the OWN network. After having risen from poverty to a high state of living, she was not used to this style of life. When her relationship with her husband broke down and other relationships broke down in her personal and professional life, her standard of life went downhill. She prayed to God for direction. She was happy to be living in a rental situation with limited opportunities when friends asked her when she would be moving on. She gave it some reflection over a couple of years. She had to overcome her bankruptcy situation. She had to be pre-approved for a mortgage. She found a place in need of much repair. To make a long story short, it was her friend, Oprah Winfrey, who came in with Nate Berkus and repaired it for her as a surprise. She was very grateful.

Next comes the part of trusting in God. Actually, this theme carries throughout the book. Without God’s prime direction, you are missing out. It is God who provides the lessons to be learned. It is with trusting in God that he/she has your back that good things happen to you. It is through God, that you are able to listen to your intuition or your inner guidance system. Plus, if you are able to say “No” to circumstances that do not serve your better interests or desires, you will be better off.

Dealing with trust in others is an interesting expression of situations that Iyanla has found herself in. She is able to tell interesting stories of people she has met on their path. Some of the stories seem so dramatic but it is only because I find the stories so heart-wrenching. Person after person, has been let down by their parents, by their spouses, by their employer or by their business. Lessons need to be learned and through the process of identifying issues affecting the small little girl or boy inside, it is necessary to deal with the past issues without getting stuck there. People make progress by believing in God and trusting their intuition. They lean into trust and make hard decisions. Iyanla even speaks of Jay, the man who fathered 34 children with 17 different women that was featured on “Iyanla, Fix My Life.” Somehow he was able to convince all these women to trust him and that he would change just for them.

Finally, Iyanla speaks of trust in life. She outlines many people who were cut off before they even started. She mentions people like George Lucas who spent four years trying to sell his script for Star Wars which is now a block-buster set of movies. Then there was Michael Jordan who was cut from his high school basketball team and came to be a legend in and of himself. It took Harland David Sanders 1010 attempts to sell his secret chicken recipe before he got a bite and became Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. Walt Disney was fired from his newspaper job for lacking ideas and went into personal bankruptcy before he was able to establish the world famous Walt Disney Theme Parks. Fred Astaire after his first screen test was given a less than passing mention and was said to be able to dance a little bit. Vince Lomardi was said to have minimal football knowledge and went on to be one of the best NFL coaches. Tyler Perry was so poor he lived out of his car for six years while trying to establish himself as an actor and movie mogul. Forbes put him as the second highest earning man in 2011 and then there is J.K. Rowling who was a depressed single mother trying to make her world of Harry Potter come alive. Now she is a billionaire author. Success came to these people because they continued to try and so can you.

Trust in the process of life. I would recommend this book to those willing to explore this process of life and trust.

Tags: trust, self, God, others, life, Villa Nova, bankruptcy, Iyanla’s life, Oprah, Nate Berkus, God, spirit, inner guidance system, intuition, personal stories, George Lucas, Michael Jordan, Harland David Sanders, Walt Disney, Fred Astaire, Tyler Perry, JK Rowling, process, life, Course in Miracles.