My Growth Journey -The Books That Made Me

Hello dear friend, 

Welcome to 2022. I hope you are looking forward to a more fulfilled year, at least more than the last. A few undesirable realities are still with us and will continue to be a part of our lives in 2022. The Covid-19 pandemic is one glaring reality that has innevitably come with us to 2022. I hope you and your loved ones are safe.

I start this year with a lot of gratitude, because feel I achieved what I set out to do last year under the circumstances. For the most part of the 2021, I felt that I was in control of my destiny. And that is not a usual thing to say nowadays, given the uncertainity that has been a big factor of our lives. In the few situations where I could not do what I desired because of circumstances beyond my control, I consciously and willingly relinquished my strong desire for control and went with the flow. That for the most times gave me peace. I quickly recognised when I was off my path and made plans to get back on track, and what I was not able to do, I determined to try again later, or let go after a re-evaluation of my current options. I do remember a time when a friend remarked to me that "isnt that like giving up and being resigned?" My simple answer was that I am not giving up, I am simply re-evaluating my course of action. I kept focus on what I can do, what is possible; not what I could not do at the time.

I must sound like a really chill person, a happy go lucky soul, an optimistic fool. YES. I feel that I am all that and more. I have learned over the years to live a life of no fear. I am generally not afraid of stuff most people try to avoid at all costs like uncertainity, failure, getting ill, looking bad infront of others, being judged, knowing that people maybe speaking negatively about me behind my back, being different and all things that hold people back.I am generally ok with all that. 

Why is it that I am not afraid? Because I have learned to be intentional about life, I have learned that no situation is permanent, that life is meant to be good, that I am in control of my destiny, and that when I ask, I shall receive. Simple as that. I truly believe that I control my reality. It is the very nature of God, of the universe, of me who is created in that image. 

In this blog, I want to share with you how I have come to this state of being over the years. I want to share with you the books that I have read, and some that I still want to read this year to continue on this path of blessed assurance. It maybe a long read, but bear with me. I get excited and carried away when sharing. 

Please note: Below each book is a link with buying options by region. This is because as an amazon associate member, I get a commission when you make a purchase using my associate links. I thank you in advance for your support  

 

1. Ask and It is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther and Jerry Hicks

This is probably one of the most amazing books about the law of attraction that I have ever read. I got interested in understanding the law of attraction after watching the movie documentary THE SECRET in 2010. I was so amazed by the infinite possibilities and felt that this is surely how life should be. I later came across the teachings of Abraham by Esther and Jerry Hicks. These have shaped the way I see my place in this life. 

The book Ask and it is given puts life into perspective. I am a religious person (raised and practicing Roman catholic) and I feel that these teachings have been beneficial in my spirituality, unlike most would imagine. I had the pleasure to attend one of Esther's law of attraction seminars and my life has become one joful ride as explore life guided by the natural law of attraction. I have started to read this book with my daughter and its amazing seeing how much she gets it.

From this book, I have learned and continue to learn that: Life is meant to be good, that I can do or be or have whatever I want, that the universe has the power to orchestrate events to my advantage, that when I ask, it is given. All I need to do is line up with what is given and it will become my experience. It has helped me understand the things I knew all along, the things great prophets tried to tell us through religion. I highly recommend it. It is also available as an audio book 

In Germany and the EU you can buy it here 

In the UK, you can buy it here 

In The USA, you can buy it here 

 

2. Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself by Florence Littauer  

There are many books about personality type systems and clasifications. I got more interested in personality types about 12 years back when I read the book "PERSONALITY PLUS" by Florence Littauer

This book is a valuable guide on "How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself". 

According to the personality profile test, I am a Choleric personality. Each person has aspects from different personality types but there will often be one dominating. I am more more than 90% choleric. As a choleric personality, I can be bossy, dominating, always right, a workaholic, relentless...etc. Most people who have known me for a while(more than 15 years ago) would not disagree with this description of me. I would not disagree with this description of me. But those who know me more recently can hardly believe it. That is because after reading the book Personality plus, I recognised that being all those things can be challenging for others to deal with me. So I used the tips and insghts from the book to focus on and enhance the positive aspects of my personaity type, while minimising the strongly negative ones. I can say that with practice, have been successful in my effort to be more agreeable, listen to and consider other people's views, take time off from work to relax. And because I have understood ME, I find it easier to understand others, to understand their journey towards self understanding; and to know that people of different personality can see things differently from me and that is ok. This has made me a better person and leader. I highly recommend it.

In the EU, you can buy it here 

In the UK, you can buy it here 

In the USA, you can buy it here THIS IS CURRENTLY ON DISCOUNT SO DONT MISS OUT NOW

 

3. The Five Elements: Understand Yourself and Enhance Your Relationships with the Wisdom of the World's Oldest Personality Type System by Dondi Dahlin

Last year, I came across the five elements from a friend and this took understanding of myself and others to another level!  

The Five Elements brings the wisdom of an ancient healing system to modern readers, helping them understand themselves--why they do what they do--better. The five elements originated in ancient Chinese medicine over 2,000 years ago. 

In this book, Dondi Dahlin shows us that we are all born with individual rhythms that go beyond the influence of our genes and upbringing. Chinese medicine teaches that the universe is composed of five forces: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Understanding these elements helps us stay in balance physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. By explaining the efficacy of wood, the depth of water, the joy of fire, the compassion of earth, and the wisdom of metal, this book helps people understand themselves and form lasting connections to others, answering the age-old question of why we do what we do. 

According to this system, my personality is predominntly of the wood element. That is not so different from the Choleric personality. But my daughter is a fire element and no wonder we do well together because when I am getting buried in my workaholic life that is typical of woods, she will snap me out of it and involve me in a dance or shopping spree or "seemingly senseless but exciting" chatter about a topic she is currently intersted in. I have learned that certain foods and go well with my body rythm while others (those that burden the liver's detox process) will give my wood body a hard time. I also understood why I particularly get such strong muscle tension in stress, and why a strong Thai massage will be more effective for me to relax than a gentle Swedish massage. This could be the opposite for an earth personality. Such fun insights

This book also guides you on which foods in general will help your body and which to avoid if you are of a certain element.If you want to understand your self and others, this is a must read. I highly recommend it 

 If you are in Germany (EU) you can buy it here 

In the UK, you can buy it here 

In the USA, you can buy it here THIS IS ALSO ON SALE SO ORDER NOW AND YOU COULD SAVE SOME $$$ 

 

4. Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny by Sadhguru

I cant wait to get my hands on this book. Its the latest addition to my reading list.

I am such a huge fan of Sadhguru and his teachings are literally life changing, at least my understanding of life has been redirected by his teachings. You have all heard people say, especially when something bad happens to someone, that karma is paying them back, or that Karma is a bitch. Listening Sadhguru, I have learned that Karma is not about punishment of sin, or a way of balancing good and bad deeds. By reading this book, I want to restore my understanding of karma to its original potential for freedom and empowerment instead of a source of entanglement. I want to learn even more, how to live intelligently and joyfully in a challenging world. I encourage you to read it. 

If you are in the USA, you can buy it here 

If you are in the UK, you can buy it here 

If you are in Germany or the rest of the EU, you can buy it here THIS IS ALSO ON SALE SO ORDER NOW AND YOU COULD SAVE SOME $$$

 

 5. Love Notes to a DEAR DAUGHTER by Jalia Kangave

Over the years, as I worked in early years education, I enjoyed looking at how easily children take life. They laugh easy, they are easy to please life is good in a child's eye. Over the years, I decided that I will not grow old. Yes I may add a few years over time, but I want to remain a child at heart. 

In February 2021, a friend of mine published her book Love notes to a dear daughter. This book is just what we need to remind ourselves to be playful. It is an easy read and here is her summary of it "We spend a lot of time beating ourselves up over the mistakes that we have made in the past. We put pressure on ourselves to be perfect. We are afraid to cry or ask for help because we are taught to act strong. We rely on others to make us happy. We stop singing because we think growing up means stopping to play. This is a book to my younger self. A reminder to be gentle with myself. To be playful. To ask for help when I feel burdened and to cry when I need to." 

I got this book 6 months ago and I still go back to it to remind myself to be playful with life, but also to make sure that I do not forget this as I go about parenting my children. This is so important for me because of my personality type, I often get too serious with life. 

If you are in the EU, you can buy it here 

If you are in the UK, you can buy it here 

If you are in the USA, you can buy it here

Thank you for taking the time to share my insights. I hope you will find a book or two from my list to add to your reading list for 2022. If not for you, these also make great gifts so save this for future reference. Share this review with a friend or two, they maybe at a time in their life when they need this. I hope to be of service to my readers this year. Feel free to contact me for any questions or deliberations on anything covered in this blog and more.

Its not too late for me to say... 

BEST WISHES FOR 2022! I LOVE YOU ALL DEEPLY AND HOPE THIS WILL BE A FULFILLING YEAR FOR YOU