The Light: A Book of Wisdom: How to Lead an Enlightened Life Filled with Love, Joy, Truth, and Beauty
288
The Light: A Book of Wisdom: How to Lead an Enlightened Life Filled with Love, Joy, Truth, and Beauty
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Overview
Covering topics from co-creating a peaceful world, forgiveness, healing, and finding purpose and happiness, to chapters about health, well-being, destiny, and the mysteries of kundalini, The Light also includes practical exercises and guidance, empowering readers to achieve their greatest potential.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781601634320 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Red Wheel/Weiser |
| Publication date: | 10/20/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 288 |
| File size: | 3 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The Home: Our Sanctuary of Light
By Ken Lauher
"We can't change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust the sails."
— Indian proverb
One day I meditated on the question "Who am I?" After several hours the answer came to me in three simple words: "I am Light."
Light is all around us and it is one of the many forms that energy can take. We are all Light because Light is energy and we are energy. Everything around us is also energy and Light, which means we are One with everything.
When we look at a house, a plot of land, or a forest, we will see that some areas have no animals around, the vegetation is dead or dying, and it is not very vibrant — that place has a negative flow of Light. Then we go to another area and we see that the grass is green, the trees are growing, and the birds are singing — that place has a positive flow of Light.
In the same way, the Light in our homes reflects our inner Light and we create the Light around us based on our thoughts, actions, and patterns. We can use the power within us to create everything we desire simply by bringing our own energy — and the energy around us — into better alignment with what we want.
The Light that travels through our home and workplace carries valuable information. If we are attuned to it we can discover amazing things about ourselves. The way Light flows through a space reveals certain patterns and outcomes in our lives. These patterns may serve us, leading us to success, happiness, and fulfillment — or they may not.
For instance, if the entryway in a home is extremely bright and welcoming it shows a pattern in the lives of the residents. They are people who welcome opportunities and frequently recognize and take advantage of these opportunities as they appear.
On the other hand, if a home's entryway is dark and uninviting the residents may perceive themselves as unlucky. However, in reality, the Light that carries opportunity is not attracted to their home. The inhabitants may not be attuned to recognizing good opportunities when they come their way because they are not accustomed to seeing them.
As we get more in touch with our spiritual side we take steps to prepare ourselves for the amazing things to come. Just as we prepare our bodies for the Light to flow through, we can use Feng Shui to prepare our home.
Once we learn to harness the Light around us so that it flows in alignment with our goals, everything else begins to fall into place. As we are Light, when we begin to make changes to our space, we also begin to change.
In essence, Feng Shui is about harnessing the energy of our living environment, including the way the Light flows and collects in our space, to help us achieve our goals and live a more fulfilling life.
Feng Shui can help us to rediscover our inner Light and return to our true Self. When this happens we feel a sense of peace and calm and we begin taking life's small annoyances in stride. We start to want to give back to others and, when we do, it feels effortless. Most importantly, things will have a sense of natural flow — the energy in our space, the opportunities we have made room for in our life, and everything we need and want to fulfill our goals will begin gravitating toward us.
Have you ever been in a space where you felt completely at peace, creative, mindful, and in the moment? Maybe, for you, it is out in nature, perhaps in the master bedroom or the bathroom of your home, or maybe you have a special sanctuary. That space feels right to you because the Light in it is in alignment with your goals and with your true Self. Often, when we feel stuck, we put up blockages in our mind and those blocks manifest in our space. By being on the look-out for these blocks, usually shown by the way Light travels through our home, we can correct them with simple Feng Shui adjustments.
Feng Shui Your Main Entrance To Welcome Opportunities
Start by viewing your space from the outside in, looking for patterns, and seeing where you may be blocking the flow of energy and opportunities into your life. When you first consider your home, stand quietly at your doorway or on your front lawn and listen to your inner voice. What does your intuition tell you about the space? Quietly observe the Light and life energy of your environment; are plants, trees, and even living animals in good health? Is the property filled with happily singing birds or does the environment seem dead to you? Is water on the property flowing in a healthy way, or is it stagnant?
What about the neighborhood and surrounding houses? Overall, is there a positive sense of life and energy in the environment? On some level, you may have chosen this particular space and this neighborhood because it was in alignment with your goals and your focus. If the space feels dead and uninspiring to you, you may have chosen that (or created it) because you were feeling blocked in your life at the time, too.
Pay close attention to the path to your front door. Is anything blocking that pathway, such as large trees, building pillars, or broken pavement? Your home's front entry, both inside and out, is one of the most important areas; it is a space that reflects how you are viewed by the outside world, how you view yourself, and your willingness to allow opportunities into your life. It is also the primary means by which Light flows in and out of your home.
Once inside your home the front entry or foyer should be well-lit, spacious, and open, and immediately make you and visitors feel comfortable and at peace. The door should be able to be opened a full 90 degrees with nothing behind to block it from opening. Walking into your home after a long day you should immediately smile, knowing you are in a space that is in alignment with your true Self. Here are some simple Feng Shui changes you can make to your front entrance.
* Add plants to introduce life energy.
* Paint the foyer beige, light blue, or light green to open the space and create a sense of brightness.
* Add lights on timers so you come home to a well-lit space for a feeling of comfort and security.
* Place a mirror on the wall, especially if you face a wall when you enter your home. Make sure you can see your entire face in the mirror. A mirror reflects light to create a brighter space and can also boost your confidence as you leave your home to interact with the world.
Feng Shui in the Master Bedroom
Not only do simple adjustments to the Light in your environment help opportunities, income, health, and happiness flow more easily, but these changes also serve as constant, subconscious reminders of your true intentions as the Light in your environment shifts to match your goals.
The bedroom plays a significant role in your self-confidence, health, and happiness. It should be a private retreat where you feel nurtured and comfortable in order to get a good night's sleep. You should awaken feeling well-rested and The Home: Our Sanctuary of Light should be refreshed in order to pursue your goals.
Set your intention to make the bedroom a nurturing space, even if you just make small, inexpensive changes. As you begin to love your bedroom, you will find your energy levels and your confidence increasing. These are two major components to happiness and success. When you are well rested you will find it so much easier to find happiness.
* Place your bed in the command position for a good night's sleep. When your bed is in the command position, you have a clear view of the door to your bedroom, but you are not directly in line with the door.
* Create a sense of balance in the bedroom by placing your bed so there is room to walk around it on both sides, with matching nightstands.
* Your headboard should be solid and firmly attached to the bed.
* A queen-size bed is the best size. A twin or full-size bed is too small and does not leave you room to grow emotionally or spiritually. It also does not leave room for a partner in your life. A king-size bed, which often has two foundations or box springs, can split your energy.
* Do not store anything other than soft linens or blankets under the bed — nothing sharp or metal, no paperwork, no photos, or no mementos from past loves or experiences.
* Do not place family photos (other than pictures of you and your significant other) in the bedroom.
Feng Shui in the kitchen
For most people, money, career success, and recognition are at least small parts of their quest for happiness. Career success helps attract income that lets us buy the things we need and want for comfort and enjoyment.
In Feng Shui, the kitchen plays an integral role in our status, how we are viewed by others, and in our career success, which often leads to greater income. Follow these tips to Feng Shui your kitchen.
* Do not cook with your back to the kitchen entry. If your stove faces the wall place a mirror in front of it so you can see people enter and leave the kitchen.
* Additional mirrors to the side of your stove, reflecting the burners, will symbolically double your wealth.
* Keep your stove clean and make sure all burners work properly, as the stove represents how you are viewed by others. Use the stove every day and use each burner regularly.
Feng Shui in the living room
As one of the rooms where we spend the most time with friends and family, engaged in activities or hobbies that bring us happiness, the flow of Light in our living room tells us a lot about the patterns of our lives. Look around your living room or family room and decide what stories it tells about the life you are living right now. Is it in alignment with what you want, with your own true purpose and inner Light? If not, you can make changes to the space that will improve the flow of Light and provide everyday reminders of your life's goals, helping you stay on track to achieve them.
* Clear clutter from this room to create a stress-free environment where you can relax and entertain.
* Furniture should be placed to encourage the flow of Light and avoid dark corners. If people cannot navigate a space easily, neither can the Light.
* The best colors for a living room are yellow, beige or tan, and green or blue. Energize the Light in a living room by adding a variety of brighter colors, shapes, shades, and patterns.
* Add live plants to the living room to introduce more life chi into the space, especially if you have a corner that tends to attract clutter and stagnant energy.
Feng Shui in the bathroom
One place where you can really nurture yourself is in the bathroom. Many people neglect their bathroom, not realizing how this space is tied into self-confidence, sense of self, and success. Your bathroom should provide the lift in confidence that you need to go after your goals without fear or hesitation. More so than any other room in your house, it should make you feel like your best self before you step out to meet the world. Self-confidence, after all, is a key component of success and happiness.
What stories is your bathroom telling about you? What would you like it to say instead? A bathroom that is neglected may be saying your confidence and finances require attention. Constantly dripping water not only wastes water and raises your water bill, it creates a sense of neglect in the bathroom. When water escapes down the drain, positive energy, good fortune, and opportunities go with it.
Like the bedroom, the bathroom is a private place you can stock with all the things that raise your confidence and help you to feel pampered. If you have a makeup or perfume collection you treasure, showcase it on shelves or your bathroom counter. Stow electrical items like hair straighteners, curling irons, and hair dryers neatly. Getting ready in the morning and winding down at night should be effortless experience that make you feel good — almost like going to a spa and having someone else take care of all your needs.
When you decorate your bathroom pay attention to all of your five senses. For instance, luxurious towels — the kind you would find at a five-star hotel — can make you feel pampered right out of the shower or bath. Here are some more easy changes you can make in your bathroom.
* Make sure your bathroom offers proper ventilation. This prevents unhealthy mold and mildew from sprouting, improves the air quality, and ensures the plants and people in your home will thrive.
* Keep the toilet seat down before you flush and when it is not in use. This prevents wealth and opportunities (in the form of chi) from being flushed down the drain and it also keeps bacteria out of the air.
* Add lighting for personal grooming tasks like shaving or putting on makeup and lights on dimmers to create a luxurious sanctuary at bath time and in the evening before bed.
* Your bathroom mirror should permit you to see your entire face comfortably. Mirrors that cut off the top of your head or any part of your face can symbolically hurt your self-esteem and prevent you from living up to your true potential.
* Add live plants or fresh herbs such as wheatgrass, rosemary, lavender, or mint to the bathroom to introduce living chi and infuse the air with fresh scents. Avoid artificial air fresheners.
Creating a private sanctuary for meditation
It is important to stay attuned to our inner Light as much as possible; one way to do this is through meditation. Although we can meditate nearly anywhere and at any time, building a meditation room or sanctuary within our home is one way to make meditation and spirituality a focal point in our life. A meditation space does not have to be large, expensive, or ornate. In fact, the simpler the better.
* A meditation room should be decorated in pleasing, sedate Feng Shui colors, with no patterns to create a busy environment. Consider colors such as earthy green, light blue, or colors designed to enhance spirituality, such as black. Muted reds and yellows can also work.
* A water element can be a pleasing addition to a meditation room. The soft lull of the fountain adds to the calming and peaceful environment.
* Lighting should be soft, low-key, and pleasing. Himalayan salt lamps have cleansing properties and emit a soft glow that is ideal for a sanctuary or meditation room. This room will exemplify the way you have used Feng Shui in your home.
Adopting Feng Shui measures in our home and our lives creates new pathways for the Light to flow. As a result of some simple changes, you will be more connected to the Source than ever before.
CHAPTER 2The Body: Our Temple of Light
By Taran Cameron Macdonald-Parker
"Do you not know that your body is the temple of The Spirit of Holiness who dwells within you, whom you have received from God?" — Corinthians 6:19
Yoga is a profound Sanskrit word that has many layers of meaning. Often these sacred words get overused and misunderstood when they enter the Western world, losing their essence and potency. The word yoga probably invokes stereotypical images of designer-clad ladies clutching their colorful mats or Eastern ascetics sitting in the perfect lotus posture. Though both hold a part truth, neither image reflects the whole truth. In a mundane sense yoga means the yoking together of horses or oxen to pull a cart. Yoga is also a series of proven techniques applied to bodies, minds, and spirits, enabling us to expand our awareness and explore our multidimensional depth, in order to reveal our true nature and potential as human beings. In the deeper sense it describes the joining together and the uniting of the individual with the universal. In other words, yoga is the union of the individual's consciousness with the Infinite consciousness and this is the ultimate relationship and goal of all spiritual practices.
Preparing the physical body is the first facet of yoga we must master and understand, as the body is our vehicle with which we travel through this life. The inner workings of our physical body are very complicated, yet it is also a subtle system and an amazing design. The body has glands, blood, circulation, skin, bones, organs, breathing apparatus, heartbeat, pulsation, a brain, a sensory system, and a complex nervous system. It is an extraordinary gift that needs to be treasured.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Light: A Book of Wisdom"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Keidi Keating.
Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Disclaimer 17
A Note to the Reader 19
Preface 21
Introduction: Seeing the Light 25
Section 1 Preparation
The Home: Our Sanctuary of Light Ken Lauher 35
The Body: Our Temple of Light Taran Cameron Macdonald-Parker 43
Spiritual Nutrition Dr. Habib Sadeghi 55
Healing the Past Richard Waterborn 67
Expressing Gratitude Vishen Lakhiani 77
Section 2 Practices
The Power of Meditation Deirdre Hade 87
Flowing With the River of Light Mike Robinson 95
Happiness: Our True State of Being Marci Shimoff 105
Getting in Touch With Your True Self Terry Tillman 113
An Experience of Following Your Heart Janet Attwood 125
The Divine Artist Lauren Sebastian 131
Peace Through Co-Creation Barbara Marx Hubbard 143
An Enlightened Economy John Perkins 155
Section 3 Experience the Subtle World
The Paradox of Forgiveness Julie Chimes 169
Karma and Destiny John-Roger 183
Connecting With Our Angels Molly Ann Fairley 193
Manifesting Miracles Dr. Sue Morter 211
The Colors of Love Don Miguel Ruiz 223
Understanding the Light Michael Hayes 233
Quantum Light William Arntz 243
Conversations With the Light Neale Donald Walsch 255
Epilogue: The Supreme Experience 269
The Light Poem 273
Resource Page 275
Index 277
About the Author 283