Inspiration comes from many sources and once in a while we need a little help finding our way. For me the best source is that of books. They are an escape from what's bogging me down and a source for lifting me up again, allowing me to find my way in a more passionate state of mind.
These authors are not just writers, but teachers and encouragers that will help you see life as its meant to be, not how our negative emotional mental state wants it to be. I hope you find more than just a book to read, I hope you find a whole new reason for being here.
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What if our beliefs were not what divided us, but what pulled us together?
In Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom offers a beautifully written story of a remarkable eight-year journey between two worlds--two men, two faiths, two communities--that will inspire readers everywhere. Albom's first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, Have a Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an eighty-two-year-old rabbi from Albom's old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy. Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he'd left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor--a reformed drug dealer and convict--who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof.
Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Albom observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat.
As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Albom and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers, and histories are different, Albom begins to recognize a striking unity between the two worlds--and indeed, between beliefs everywhere. In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor's wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the rabbi's last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself.
Have a Little Faith is a book about a life's purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man's journey, but it is everyone's story.
Ten percent of the profits from this book will go to charity, including The Hole In The Roof Foundation, which helps refurbish places of worship that aid the homeless.
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Lama Surya Das has a hip delivery that belies his years of sheltered training in Buddhist monasteries. In Awakening the Buddha Within, he borrows a time-tested bestseller format for a 2,500-year-old tradition that comes off as anything but ancient. With the "Five T's of Concentration," the question of "need or greed," and the story of the monk who bares his backside to prove a point, Surya Das invokes a path of wisdom that is as accessible and down-to-earth as a worn pair of loafers. It's not an easy path--it demands thought, effort, and discipline. But Surya Das is there for you, lighting the way to wisdom training, coaxing you into ethics training, and laying out step by step the path of meditation training. And if that's not enough to get you to live in the now, consider these words of the enlightened lama: "You must be present to win."
This is truly a book for all to read and one you will go back to again and again for reassurance that you are following the right path.
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I have watched Joel Osteen on tv several times, but had never purchased one of his books before. Something told me I needed to read it and as always I follow my intuition. (You can read the first chapter online by clicking here.)
It took me five days to read it. Not that I was slow, but that it is meant to be read in five sections and I felt that my letting each section "digest" in my mind each night would give me a better grasp on what he was saying, and I'm glad I did. This book has really helped to lift my attitude about what is going on in the world and how I was letting it all affect me. It allowed me to look at things in different way. It helped me to understand that this is not it for me, or you, and that my life is about to make drastic changes if I would only remember who's in charge!
Now I wake up connecting to God in a new way and praying bold prayers, for increase, health and diving connection. I have learned a lot from this book and it was no coincidence that I was meant to read it. I have since passed it on to others and even downloaded the audio book to my IPod (via ITunes) for easy referencing when I feel I need encouragement again.
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For anyone trying to make a change in life this is a must read.
Journalist Katherine Lanpher spins cultural vertigo into comedy after forsaking her native Midwest for New York in 2004, at the age 44, to cohost Al Franken's radio show on Air America—a gig that demands the good-natured wit and epigrammatic aplomb on display here.
"I came of middle-age in Manhattan," she writes, a city in constant flux that strikes her as a fitting spot to undergo her own transitions. Recently divorced and largely friendless, she readily acknowledges the hurdles she faces in the Big Apple—compounded by the insecurity of living in a younger, slimmer city. But Lanpher finds kindness in the crowds, and her zingers (often flung at her own expense) render her narration upbeat. Though her name is linked with liberalism, her memoir's focus is more personal than political: a reflection on midlife's transition and a cultural comedy of manners, as she marks the rituals of becoming a "true New Yorker," growing savvy about everything from the corner bodega to the wheel-greasing "baksheesh." First flummoxed, then smitten, by Manhattan's "tough-love" demeanor and colorful hordes, she rehashes her "fish-out-of-water" encounters with poignant candor and unconcealed wonder, all in a quest to find a way to call Manhattan home.
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In the latest installment of Kiyosaki's Rich Dad series, he opts for an innovative approach with largely diminished returns: struggling with a way to inform average citizens on the current economic crisis, and how to rise above it, Kiyosaki decided to write a book in online installments, seeking the questions and comments of his readers (which are peppered throughout this print version). In late January, 2009, Robert Kiyosaki launched CONSPIRACY OF THE RICH - a free online book which was written in serial basis to help people understand how the current recession came about, and what they need to learn on how to survive through the coming rough years.
An unprecedented publishing event for Kiyosaki it is an interactive, "Wiki-style" project in which Kiyosaki has invited feedback, commentary, and questions from readers across the globe. The response so far has been totally fantastic. Millions and millions of readers have flocked to the website to read what Robert has to say about the recession, and the readers have posted thousands of comments. Some of those reader comments will even be included in the final trade paper version.
For me, I have only read his first book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, but something told me I needed to read this book. I never knew what went on with the government or that our dollar was secured by our DEBT (another Nixon credit) and what cash flow really means and why I want to have it. I assure you reading this book is not a waste of time and you will learn much to help you with your own financial abundance.
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