I was recently sharing a morning coffee with my friend Michael when he asked if I had read this book.  While he started to discuss the topics covered by this book something from my past immediately came to mind.  I interrupted him and asked if the book discussed the interpretation of our internal voice, and if the voice was our true self or what was listening to the voice.  This idea was something that I happened upon years ago and have always mentally struggled with it.  Mike then responded that it was indeed about that, and a whole lot more.  I immediately bought the Kindle edition of the book from my phone.

This book has helped me better understand anxiety, judgement, and love.  There are a few sections of this book that really resonate with me as I can relate to them on a personal level.

The chapter entitled “Transcending the Tendency to Close” really struck me because the topic of “letting go” reminds me of a few scenes in the movie Fight Club.  While this book explains, through words, that letting go is the only way to remove energy blockages from around our hearts, I find the movie Fight Club to be a great dramatization of this philosophy.

Since first seeing Fight Club years ago, the line “Just Let Go!” will always come to mind when I’m confronted with a situation that makes me feel like I don’t have control.  This could be a difficult conversation with someone, the stress of not getting something completed on time, or those delirious thoughts that race through my mind that somehow I won’t be able to provide for my family.  “Just Let Go!” I tell myself… “Control is an Illusion”… these phrases will always bring be back from the brink of anxiety and recenter me.

I have not seen this movie in a few years but I believe there are other scenes in the movie that correlate to the ideas discussed within this book.  I plan on watching this movie again, with this book in mind, to see what other cross references I can find between the two.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”.  This phrase from the bible has always been in my mind for as far back as I can remember.  I am not religious but I would always say it to myself when witnessing people acting against others or myself; emotional pain, physical pain, judgement, or any other non loving action.  

The final chapter of this book discusses this phrase briefly in trying to explain unconditional love.  Over the past several years I viewed my thoughts about this as a weakness, as being passive.  I was led to believe that others need to behave a certain way lest they be judged or shunned.  As I read the words in the book and reflected on my life I realized that I had it right all those years ago, that forgiveness, acceptance, and unconditional love are truly the right way to go.   It was at this moment, as my eyes welled up, that I repeatedly said to myself “I see love”.

I highly recommend this book to those that are trying to reach the next level of their spiritual journey, need help with anxiety, or are looking for help opening their hearts to love.