Books to Blow Your Mind

The truth is I have a problem. I am completely and utterly addicted. I cannot give up.

Books - they make my heart leap and my head spin. I could sit for hours and hours in bookshops paging through one diamond after the next. 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' - PLUGH I say to that! There is no gemstone that could replace my shelves of books and the feeling I get from finishing something that shifts my consciousness ever so slightly.

Buying new books - now that is enough to make my brain explode! Before I can even walk out of Exclusive Books, I have the first page open and am trying to stuff as many lyrical sentences down my throat as possible. In the car, the book sits eagerly on my lap and at every red robot, my hands cannot move fast enough to pick up my little love and gobble down some more facts and fiction.

Bed is just a whole different world when I have a new book. It is no longer the place I go to sleep, but rather my own mystical haven of enchantment and wonder. I spend hours on it: late at night, just before lunch, just after lunch and my favourite time to read - first thing in the morning before the sun smiles and the birds laugh. Me and my book - spooning has never felt so magnificent!

Today I hope to inspire more of you to join me in my world of splendour by listing a few that have made feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

WARNING: To those of you who don't know me - I am a self-confessed self-helpaholic, so most of these are 'those' type of reads:

• The Journey - Brandon Bays
• The Power of Inner Peace - Diana Cooper
• The Game of Life and How to Play It - Florence Scovell Shinn
• The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay
• The Book of Secrets - Deepak Chopra
• Steering by Starlight - Martha Beck
• 29 Gifts - Cami Walker
• Wired for Joy - Laurel Mellin
• Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
• Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
• The 4 Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
• The Emotional Healing Strategy - Geal Lindenfeld
• Natural Highs - Patrick Holford
• Women Who Love Too Much - Robin Norwood
• In the Meantime - Iyanla Vanzant
• Bounce - Gill Hasson and Sue Hadfield
• Opening Your Heart - Anne Jones
• Healing Negative Energies - Anne Jones
• Making a Difference by Being Yourself - Gregory Huscczo
• Count Your Blessings - John Demartini
• The Power of Intention - Wayne Dyer

To all my lovely friends and family who have heard me quote from one or more of these treasures before - thank you for being so patient. I am working on my very own at the moment, so hopefully all my talking will be put to good use when I get published one day :-) I hope one of these tickles your fancy in the meantime!

Meditation Made Easy

Meditation really isn't as complicated or as taxing as many people may think. Here is an easy and effective method of meditation called the Metta Bhavana, which means Loving Kindness Meditation.

1. Lie in a comfortable place with your eyes closed. Esnure there is no background music or sounds unless the music is specifically designed for mediation (no Britney on the radio please!)
2. Allow your thoughts to float freely through your mind, not judging or worrying about the implications thereof. Simply let thoughts come and go.
3. Bring your attention to your breath and focus on taking long inhalations and exhalations.
4. Imagine your heart as a lotus flower, slowly opening up and see the middle of the flower as a space of light.
5. As you feel a warmth creeping up through your body, turn your attention to yourself and repeat the following phrase in your mind a few times - 'May I be well, may I be happy, may I be free'- until you really feel a sense of well-being and happiness for yourself.
6. Now pick someone you know - the first person who comes into your mind and wish them the same - 'May they be well, may they be happy, may they be free'.
7. Next think of someone who you have not spoken to in a while, perhaps someone you had an argument with and do the same.
8. Expand your well wishes to someone who you do not know but see often - that homeless man on the street, your security guard, the old lady at the shops, the kind man at the gym and wish them well in the same way.
9. Now visualise as many people as you can think of, all the people you know, and wish them well.
10. Go even further and think about everyone in the world - 'May they be well, may they be happy, may they be free'.

Once you have extended your wishes of well-being to as many people as your mind can imagine, slowly bring your awareness back to yourself and the present moment, and know that just through your 5 minutes of thought, the energy of the world has shifted into a more positive space.

Thank you!