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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Choose to Win

Choose to Win

 

Book: “Choose to Win: Transform Your Life, One Simple Choice at a Time” Tom Ziglar, Harper Collins, 2019

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book available: March 5, 2019

Tom Ziglar is the son of Zig Ziglar, an influential speaker over 40 years time. Tom has essentially followed in his father’s footsteps. He has written a book called “Choose to Win.” In it, he recounts the Wheel of Life which Zig Ziglar has used but not exclusively to him. I heard of the psychological concept about 20 to 30 years ago and many people have used it to balance life’s priorities and seven areas of life from the mental, the spiritual, the physical, the family, the financial, the personal and the career. The seven spokes are evaluated based on how well you are doing in each area. If you are well balanced in all areas, your spokes and tire pressure will be the same and all inflated to a good height level.

He reviews the areas in quite a bit of detail with individual chapters. He, however, repeats the same thing at the end of each chapter and so it is repetitive. He essentially says to replace a bad habit with a good habit. The premise of the book is basically this which to me is not a novel concept and is only common sense. I do not know how this is a new and exciting concept. Of course, you change a bad habit with a good habit and of course, you do it in incremental baby steps. Tom says you should do something for 66 days, but I have heard of 28 days, one month and so forth as other optimal times to make a habit habitual. James Clear agrees with Tom Ziglar but according to the Phillipa Lally’s study, it can take anywhere from 18 days to 254 days to form a habit depending upon a number of factors.

The other predominant concept in the book is to leave a legacy behind because you are already are either intentionally or not. This reminds me of another book I reviewed which deals in entirely with leaving a legacy by Terrie Davoll Hudson called “Leave a Legacy that Counts: Create One at Any Age.” It is quite a bit shorter but the messages between these two authors are similar.

Finally, the steps necessary to fulfilling a goal are as follows:

Step 1 – Identify your goals

Step 2 – My benefits to reaching this goal

Step 3 – Major obstacles and mountains to climb to reach this goal

Step 4 – Skills and knowledge required to to reach this goal

Step 5 – Individuals, groups, companies and organizations to work with to reach this goal

Step 6 – Plan of action to reach this goal

Step 7 – Completion Date”

Overall, this book has some good information in it. I found it heart-warming to hear of the last few days of Zig Ziglar’s life from the family perspective. As well, Tom Ziglar asks some very good questions throughout the book to help the reader along and has some good tips added in.

His trust and belief in God and Jesus Christ is paramount and not so different than the spiritual books I normally review.

I give the book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I have changed my mind since and now give the book a 3.75 based on the very good questions he asks.

Tags: Business, Self-improvement, Self-development.Individual, Goals, mental, spiritual, physical, family, financial, personal, career, legacy, Tom Ziglar, Zig Ziglar, Attitude, Effort, Skill, Transformation, Religious, God, Jesus Christ, Bible, Mary Mikawoz, Mikawoz, Book Review

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