Making Sense

“Making Sense of Mindfulness: Five Principles to Integrate Mindfulness Practice Into Your Daily Life”

Book: “Making Sense of Mindfulness: Five Principles to Integrate Mindfulness Practice Into Your Daily Life.” Keith Macpherson, Morgan James Publishing, 2018.

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book Available Now.

I knew I was meant to read this book when I received it in the mail and lo and behold there was the postage reading in an angelic number. It was meant for this book to fall into my hands. It was destiny at its best. I definitely noticed the significance at once and appreciated it.

I have known Keith Macpherson on the periphery as an interested person. I had him as a yoga instructor although we had not been formally introduced. I had seen him perform with his group, Keith and Renée. Further to that, I had, as many Canadians, seen him perform on Canadian Idol but as a spectator watching TV from my living room. As well, Keith and I are both teachers with a Bachelor of Education degree.

What I find interesting about Keith is how he is able to meld his singing career, yoga and spiritual quest search altogether. He highlights that Wayne Dyer was a mentor with whom he had studied with many times in Hawaii. For me, I had been introduced to Wayne Dyer’s first book “Your Erroneous Zones” which I read in the 1970s as an avid and interested teenager. At that time Wayne was more into the psychological aspects of life and not onto the spiritual aspects quite yet. This self-help book was on the New York Bestsellers List for 64 weeks and sold over 35 million copies. If Louise Hay and Shakti Gawain are the grandmothers of spirituality, then Wayne Dyer is the grandfather of spirituality. His influence is and has been immense.

To have been in the presence of this incredibly, influential man such as Keith Macpherson has had the opportunity to learn, would have been so profound and there is evidence of this affect and effect in his book.

Keith’s book, “Making Sense of Mindfulness” bridges the information between many thought leaders that are promoted and published by Hay House. As a person, who has reviewed many spiritual and self-help books, many of which are from Hay House authors, I find Keith has found a good way to combine and glean out for you, a combined knowledge of what are the essential kernels of truth from many of these same authors. In effect, you are getting the most important aspects of spirituality found in this book.

I think one of the most important pieces of this book is the section that deals with those of us, which is most of us, who do not deal with our emotions. It is kind of a culturally learned behaviour and expectation that we do not expose and relate positively to our feelings and stuff them down into a cellular level in our bodies which causes us, as Louise Hay would say, dis-ease. It is important to acknowledge and release that which we refuse to look at in order to move on.

Keith shows you a number of mindfulness techniques. I have previously reviewed mindfulness books in the past and have also taken mindfulness classes through a variety of places having worked in Social Services and Education. He is able to highlight and delve into what is important to know and practice in your daily and moment to moment life.

I would have loved to have met and known Wayne Dyer, but with Keith Macpherson, you get the next best thing. Further, I have also taken Keith’s Mindfulness course online. He reviews 5 principles of mindfulness with online videos, meditations and exercises. You can find out about it and other valuable material at his website:https://www.keithmacpherson.ca

I would like to start to wrap up by saying that I think there is a beauty in the way Keith writes that I believe he gets from his musical background in that some quotes and passages were lyrical and musical in presentation. I felt as if he said certain things in a very meaningful and poetic way that comes from a person who has the ability to capture life by writing lyrics into songs along with melodies. The passages are melodic.

Finally, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 and I believe that if you are stressed in any way and are not sure how to deal with it, this book is for you. Keith combines all his experience as a yoga instructor, student of Wayne Dyer and also a life coach with knowledge and actual practice with valuable insights. He offers courses, personal coaching, leadership coaching, online yoga and now offers an online community called “Mindful Tribe.”

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

Tags: Keith Macpherson, Mary Mikawoz, Mindfulness, Making Sense, Practice, Skill, Ability, destiny, significance, angel, numbers, mail, Canadian Idol, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Shakti Gawain, Hay House, Publishing, spiritual, self-help, authors, mentor, singer, yoga, instructor, life coach, personal coach, leadership training, Mindful Tribe, songs, disease, illness, lyrics, poetic, meaningful, writing, Author, student, Mentor, coaching, online, community, stress, teacher, education, melody, melodies,

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Book: “Visualization for Weight Loss” by Jon Gabriel

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

The “Jon Garbriel Method” was the first book written by this author. I read it and thought it was interesting but did not actively pursue it or the visualization that he provided. Now, that I am faced with this second book, I am more intrigued. Jon uses visualization much in the way that Shakti Gawain suggests in her book, “Creative Visualization.” He has taken it one step further, however, and has made some excellent visualizations that look they would work.

They encompass using white light and predominantly the navel as a focal point. Other areas include the forehead. Both of these are near important chakra points and so the visualizations are more powerful.

Jon discusses stress, trauma and fear as factors in being overweight. It is not simply a process of calories in and calories out otherwise diets would work but they don’t. Dieting is an industry onto itself. The food industry system is into marketing processed foods that are cheap to produce and sustain on shelving and so not that good for the human body. The more raw and alive products with one ingredient is much more valuable to the body than products that have been laced with herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, chemicals and dyes.

Jon believes in visualization and offers a 16 week program near the end of the book in which he uses a variety of topics to serve as focal points for morning visualization sessions. In the evening, there is a visualization that you can fall asleep to.

Overall, I found the book to be informative because he backs up his work with scientific researched work which is nice to see. The most compelling part of the story is Jon’s own transformation. He went from plus 400 pounds down to 186 pounds. Plus, he does not have extensions of lose skin all over the place. In fact, he looks as if he never was fat. This is compelling evidence to me and although it may be anecdotal evidence, it is pretty convincing to me and serves as a ray of hope.

I was not financially compensated for this post. I received the book from Hay House for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

Word Power

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book: “Power Words” by Sharon Anne Klingler

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

I just finished reading this book, “Power Words, Igniting your Life with Lightning Force” by Sharon Anne Klingler. Overall, it is very well written and an easy read.

I found that this is a basic book regarding the power of words whether they are affirmations, prayers or trigger words. If you have ever read any material by Shakti Gawain or Louise Hay, then you are knowledgeable about affirmations. Sharon Anne Klingler shows how words and even thoughts are important in that they carry either positive or negative energies. Sharon discusses a number of studies to show how positive prayer affected some patients as compared to the control group.

She compares a number of words by asking you to go into yourself with eyes closed to feel the energy of the word. For example, if you close your eyes and think of a word such as “hate,” you may feel a heaviness in your body, perhaps in your heart area. Then, you are to blow out that feeling and replace it with the word “love.” Again, you may feel something in your heart area but this time it is lighter and not as negative as the “hate” word.

I found that doing these exercises reinforced how negative words ended up showing up in my lower chakras and sometimes in my heart chakra. I found that positive words ended up showing up in my heart chakra and above. There is a direct relationship of feeling between the two energies of the two words.

Doing this feeling work of energetic words in my body was a visceral experience for me. I really felt it in my core.

I have not read any other material or books by Sharon Anne Klingler so I was pleased to see that this book was well-written based on what she said and how she did give case examples of people who have changed their lives while focussing on power words. I found some of the material reminiscent of what Rhonda Byrne talked about in “The Secret.” The difference is that it is not only the word that is followed but also the need to make some action towards the goal or objective. You can not idly stand by and hope your situation will change on its own without some work on your part.

I particularly liked the reference to Dr. Masaru Emoto who photographed water crystals and how they were affected respectively by words. If the words were negative, the water crystals were not clear and in most cases deformed or malformed. However, if the words were positive, the water crystals were beautiful and symmetrical.

I also appreciated knowing which areas the Archangels are responsible for when invoking higher beings to help with your problems.

All in all, after having read and reflected upon this book, I would recommend this book for people who are interested in learning about energies and are new to the New Age philosophies or if you would like a recap or reminder of how important your words are to manifesting your desires.

I was not financially compensated for this post. I received the book from Hay House for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.