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                 Making Self-Help work for YOU! 
                 
                “If you feel that you have fallen short of getting the
                promised results from self-help programs, you need to know that
                the real problem isn’t you personally or the advice you’ve
                received.” –Janne Ruokonen 
                What do you dream about becoming? There is probably a book
                out there for just about anything you have ever thought about.
                But how do you achieve your dream? Is reading the book enough? 
                This is the first guide to show how you can use personal
                development books, tapes and seminars. Janne Ruokonen will show
                you how to: 
                1. Find and use the best personal development advice 
                2. Understand why you may have failed before 
                3. Avoid the common self-help- pitfalls 
                4. Make sense of gurus and their ideas and methods 
                5. Discover how ordinary people achieve extraordinary results 
                By reading this book you will see how to get the most out of
                the advice self-help books give. This is a realistic guide that
                shows you what works in real life and how you can create lasting
                change. Janne has come to the realization that many books fail
                to show the reader how to take the advice and use it to achieve
                maximum results. 
                He started collecting self-help books, interviewing people
                who used the books and participated in online discussion groups.
                He soon saw a pattern emerging. In the last section of the book,
                he lists page after page of books you will want to read. I’ve
                always thought a good book was one that recommends other good
                books! 
                The Contents Include: 
                Part One: What You Can Achieve and Whose Advice to Follow 
                Part Two: Why Self-Improvement Fails and How to Succeed 
                Part Three: From Advice to Action: Making a Lasting Change in
                Your Life 
                Janne also gives lists of what people are reading and
                listening to. Then he shows you how to read effectively and
                “actively.” I like that he says you should make notes and
                almost “review” the book. I’ve found that if I review a
                book I really do absorb more of the content. I’m not sure I
                could only read two chapters per week, but many people are
                probably encouraged if they can read two chapters of a self-help
                book each week. After all, that might not be all you are
                reading. 
                Janne Ruokonen has worked as a manager and consultant. He
                knows how to put personal development ideas to work for himself
                and his staff and his career includes working at a leading
                personal development and sales training company. 
                In this book you will realize that life is far too short to
                learn everything on your own by trial and error. Why not learn
                from other people’s mistakes or success? 
                Who would have thought you would need a self-help book to
                read self-help books, but it makes complete sense. 
                One of my main problems is that I tend to think Big and then
                try to take Big steps. That is why I’ve failed with self-help
                on numerous occasions. When I sat down and realized that each
                time I tried to get fit, I was jumping in too fast and
                exhausting myself from the onset, I started to realize that at
                time if you take smaller steps at the start, you will be able to
                more easily reach your final goal. You would think this would be
                obvious, but ambition can often blind you to reality. 
                I mean, you can sit and watch a workout tape all day, but if
                you don’t get on the floor and start working out, it isn’t
                going to get you very far. Sure, the tape is fun to watch and
                review, but the satisfaction comes from looking in the mirror
                and seeing the results you have achieved. I also found that
                watching movies while walking on the treadmill keeps me more
                interested in walking. So, everyone had to find that secret way
                to motivate themselves. Rewards do seem to work. 
                Janne says that many people go wrong because they try to just
                focus on the “goal” and not on the “steps” to get to
                that goal. He also discusses Procrastination and “The Overload
                Barrier.” 
                “How to Read How-To & Self-Help Books” is a balanced
                approach to achieving your goals, gives you the motivation to
                take the steps needed to improve your life and shows you how to
                realize your dreams! 
                ~The Rebecca Review 
                  
                  
                Beyond the Breath Meditation
                 
                  
                 Creating
                a Soul Sanctuary, October 13, 2005 
                 
                "It's been said that we learn more from our mistakes than
                our successes - and I think that's true - but only if we
                eventually have success; otherwise we just keep making the same
                mistakes over and over." ~Marshall Glickman 
                 
                Learning to take care of our bodies by eating correctly and
                exercising seems a true journey all on its own. When you decide
                to incorporate a style of meditation into your life then a
                whole-body Vipassana might bring you more peace of mind. It is a
                sensation-based style of meditation. 
                 
                Marshall Glickman has a beautiful writing style and his ideas
                connect perfectly with the modern reader who may or may not be
                familiar with meditation. His ideas are presented in a way that
                makes meditation come alive. I used to think meditation was
                complete stillness and lack of thought, but there are ways to
                focus on sensation that bring you to a deeper understanding of
                yourself. Some of the intellectually intriguing aspects of this
                work include: 
                 
                The Power and Pleasure Principle 
                The Biochemical Basics of Pleasure 
                The Neurochemistry of Karma 
                 
                There are chapters filled with instructions on how to meditate,
                but the real highlights of this book are the insights into
                living life effectively and understanding how our bodies
                function on the chemical level. 
                 
                "Focusing on sensations puts us more directly in touch with
                what's motivating us, while at the same time helping to free us
                from the storylines which tend to obscure our feelings. In this
                way, greater awareness to our sensations increases our emotional
                sensitivity." ~Marshall Glickman 
                 
                If you have trouble settling into a meditation session, do yoga
                first. It helps your body to work out all the extra energy that
                might keep you from sitting still. You can also meditate while
                reclining in bed or while sitting in a chair. You don't have to
                meditate in a guru-style seated position. I normally meditate
                while laying flat on my back after an invigorating yoga
                practice. Some of the most blissful happy places I've ever been
                have been after doing a Chakra Yoga workout. I finally
                understood the place meditation could take you. I like imagining
                colors inside my body and working with sensations and the
                release of negative thoughts. I've noticed that when I do
                meditate I think more clearly and can solve problems more
                effectively. When I don't meditate, chaos creeps into my life. 
                 
                After reading this work, you may also enjoy Tobin Blake's
                "The Power of Stillness: Learn Meditation in 30 Days." 
                 
                ~The Rebecca Review
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