Life-Changing Reads: 4 Books That Transformed My World (and Might Transform Yours)
Oct 01, 2023Discover hidden gems that could unlock your potential
I was 8 years old when I wrote my first book, a novel entitled The Sapphire City, and that is all I remember about it! I wrote it by hand in an exercise book (AKA composition notebook), drew the title on the cover and went to my local library with my mum and handed it to the librarian.
The whereabouts of the manuscript right now are unknown. I fear it was "filed" never to be seen again.
My addiction led me to frequent a second hand bookstore in my neighbourhood as a young adult picking up bargains. I could spend hours amongst cluttered shelves, piles of books on the floor yet to find their home in a specific section. I loved the smell of the old paper, and it hit me and thrilled me every time I entered the store (which was a lot), and I rarely left without buying something for a couple of quid.
My own shelves bulged with books with all the things that interested me back then (and still do) such as psychology, death, the supernatural, metaphysics, chakras, language, therapy, the mind, magic, dreams...
I don't have all my books anymore, I could probably have opened a small library with them myself and I would have welcomed 8 year olds with hand written novels!
My books have travelled as much as I have... to different friends' houses, to charity shops, and most recently into storage (after I made myself of no-fixed-abode last November I still don't have a bookshelf to call my own).
Anyway! That was ruddy long unplanned preamble. But I've written it now so it's staying!
Today I'm writing to tell you about the 4 books that changed my life.
“Books don’t change the world, people change the world, books only change people.”
— Mario Quintana
These books found me when I needed them most. And they changed me, I tell you! Changed me.
📘 Living Magically: A new vision of reality by Gill Edwards
This book introduced me to metaphysics and radical personal responsibility.
I was a furious teenager but I had a "knowing" that life was meant to me more than feeling isolated (I felt alone after my dad died when I was 7), angry (for being abandoned), and misunderstood ("f*ck you world 🖕🏼!!" was my mantra).
Living magically taught me that being a victim is a mindset, and that I create my own reality. All of it.
After reading it I swore I would never view myself as a victim ever again, not matter what!
📘 Handbook for the Urban Warrior: A Spiritual Survival Guide by Barefoot Doctor
This book introduced me to Taoism, meditation, and how to be a rascal!
The Doc taught me how to be a warrior not a worrier, and to look our for suggest of joy in everyday experiences.
One of my favourite quotes of his is: "I love doggy doo on my shoe." Which is to be used as a mantra for when things aren't going too well but you know that it's all part of the "grand plan" and that it will all work out because that's how the universe works!
This book has travelled with me all over world. I even have it with my own this latest of adventure where I'm "in the wind" and of no fixed abode in the wilds of Europe.
📘 Supercoach: 10 Secrets to Transform Anyone's Life by Michael Neill
This book introduced me coaching and how to create a deeper, more meaningful experience of being alive.
Aaaaand it confirmed what I'd begun to suspect from reading the other ones - that our individual reality is created from the inside out, and that everything (victimhood, misery, happiness, joy etc) is a choice.
It was a most empowering, easy, and fun read! Personal growth needn't be a chore. Yes, it can be challenging, even difficult at times because you have to look yourself in the eye, and be brutally honest about where you are and where you headed from where you are.
📘 A Happy Pocket Full of Money by David Cameron Gikandi
This book helps me get my head around quantum physics (as much as it can), the nature of the universe, and the power of being present.
I'm on the second reading of it right now, and it's amazing how a second reading of a book can deliver new insights. This time it's personal!!! I'm reading it with a pencil and I'm underlining everything that stands out. Yes, I have to resist underlining the whole book cos that would be pointless.
🦩 Work with me: Book 1:1 session
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