You know I like a book when large sections in every chapter are underlined and starred ***. Reading Alan Cohen's book Enough Already is like getting advice from a trusted friend who always seems to have all the right answers. As soon as you start reading, a calmness washes over you. He tells you that everything will be and is OK. He gives you permission to exhale and makes you feel better than when you started--trust me.
To give you a brief overview of the book, there are 32 chapters, each covering a different life topic including relationships, money, work and everything in between--all designed to teach through example how you can overcome the challenges in your life with a shift in perception.
Alan teaches us about money, relationships and all the issues in between through his personal stories. Alan says, "Enough Already can...mean refusing to accept any situation not in harmony with your well being. We have all engaged in relationships, business situations, and living arrangments that demean us or lack integrity. Upon recognizing that we have sold out to fit in, we must say no to what does not serve us so we can make space for what does. You cannot afford to settle for any situation that dampens your spirit. When you discovered you have detoured, you must do whatever it takes to return to the path of joy. Putting your foot down is a prerequisit to stepping ahead."
I'll step ahead by starting with the end in mind, the last chapter in the book called All Ready, Already. Alan says, "The thing you envision is already so, and you pluck it from universal mind. When the object of your intention becomes sufficiently real in your inner world, you generate the momentum to birth it in the outer world."
As I read this chapter, I thought about a professional Board I sit on. We run seminars several times a year so members can receive the continuing education credit they need to maintain their professional designation. A few years ago, a bad apple fell onto our Board. He was a State worker who always saw the glass half empty. His whole department was steeped in bad news coming out in the paper every day. In turn, he brought his negative energy to the Board--a Pig Pen person I call these people after the Charlie Brown character who walks around in a cloud of dirt.
Each time someone on the Board came up with an interesting topic for a seminar or a new speaker they wanted to invite in, Mr. Pig Pen always found a reason to shoot down the idea. "No, we can't do that. It will cost us too much." Or, "No, we'll never attract enough people to the seminar to afford that facility."
On and on he went. I decided to propose a new venue for our seminars--a boat. We would have an all day seminar aboard the Isle of Shoals Steamship then take a one hour guided tour down the Piscataqua River in Portsmouth, New Hamsphire. I said, "Wouldn't it be great to get out of a hotel conference room and do something different?"
Everyone on the Board was excited about the idea except Mr. Pig Pen. "No, No, No, that will never work. That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard. No one will sign up for this seminar."
I said, "I'll bet you they will"
He said, "Fine. If we fail, it's all your fault."
I said, "We won't fail. We'll attract more people than we ever expected."
"You're dreaming," He replied.
The Board was watching the war of light and darkness play out. Several weeks went by and only a few people signed up. Pig Pen kept sending out "I told you so," emails to everyone. At one point he said, "I think we need to pull out and get our deposit back."
I told the other members, "His bad energy is sliming this seminar. I refuse to let this guy sink the ship." I sent prayers out and envisioned registrations coming in through Paypal. I get the Paypal email when someone registers so I looked through old Paypal registrations and imagined they were current registrations. Two weeks before the seminar, registrations started coming in.
On the day of the seminar, Mr. Pig Pen sat in the front row. I watched him as he was engaged as anyone in the topics of the seminar--topics he complained were too "touchy feely." The seminar included topics such as How to Think Outside the Box for Auditors, Reaching Higher, How to Sell Your Ideas to Key Stakeholders.
As I watched him from the back of the boat, I realized he was a man starving for inspiration. I wondered if he would learn something and drink in the inspired energy of the seminar or crawl back into the same dark hole he usually lived in.
Shortly after the seminar, he quit the Board. I had my answer. As Eckhart Tolle says in A New Earth and A Course in Miracles says, "Darkness can't exist in the presence of light. It finds it completely indigestible."
For me, the whole experience was a success. Others on the Board learned that a positive attitude attracts successful outcomes. They saw what a negative attitude could potentially do if it's not nipped in the bud. Everyone learned that they must believe in a successful seminar in advance for the reality to manifest just as Alan Cohen teaches in his book Enough Already.
I have one more secret to confess. I also saw (in advance) Mr. Pig Pen stepping off the Board. It was my Enough Already desire as a win-win solution for all concerned. The object of my intention (his departure) had become sufficiently real in my inner world, that I generated the momentum to birth it in the outer world (with his resignation). I can now say that I'm radically content with my participation on the Board. I plucked the outcome from the Unviersal mind.
Explore Beyond the Usual gives this book 4 stars!
Disclosure: I am a Hay House Book Reviewer which means I may receive a book free of charge for review. My credibility is extremely important to me. This site is independently owned and the opinions expressed here are my own. Sometimes that's very obvious. I am also an affiliate of Hay House Publishing and Amazon. This means I receive a commission if you purchase Hay House or Amazon products linked from this website. True Story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R. Ann Rousseau writes about metaphysical, spiritual and astrology topics on her blog Explore Beyond the Usual. She is author of the new novel Portsmouth, A Love Story. If you would like to be notifed when the novel is available for sale, please email us info@explorebeyondtheusual.com
Other Blog Posts by R. Ann Rousseau: Astrological Forecast April 2012, What Do You Really Love to Do? Wishes Fulfilled - Oprah's Super Soul Sunday Discussion with Wayne Dyer, A Facebook Message from a Friend in Spirit, Are You Having a Life Crisis? Do You Know What Integrity Is? Wishes Fulfilled - Mastering the Art of Manifesting Book Review, Authentic Power - Oprah's Super Soul Sunday Discussion, KEM - Sophisticated, Sexy, Soulful and Spiritual, Are You Out of Alignment? Choice Point Book Review, The Middle Lane, Clean Your Mirrors, Three Feet From Gold - Book Review, Do You Need a Most Benevolent Outcome?, We Are All Connected Oprah's Super Soul Sunday Discussion, Release the Anger: Oprah's Super Soul Sunday Discussion, One Big Global Blogging Family, Book Review - Psychic Exploration A Challenge for Science, Hay House Radio's New Show SoundWave A Bit Hit!, Do You Believe in Soul Mates, The Future of Astrology, You Always Had the Power- Oprah's Life Class Discussion, Love Doesn't Hurt - Oprah's Life Class Discussion, The Unconditional Love of Animals-Oprah's Life Class Discussion, Your Life is Whispering to You. Pay Attention. Oprah's Life Class Discussion, The Power of a Second Chance: Oprah's Life Class Discussion, Aging : Oprah's Life Class Discussion, Connecting the Dots- Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech, The Truth Will Set You Free, Discussion of Oprah's Super Soul Sunday Premiere: The World Beyond, A Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom Moment, Breaking Out the Top Shelf Advice for Rough Times, Eat Dessert First -The Art of Extreme Self Care, Queen of the Law of Least Effort-Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Book Review, The Secret of Instant Healing Book Review, Transforming Fate into Destiny Book Review, Awakening the Lightworker Within Book Review, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane Book Review, Trust Your Gut Book Review, The Spirit Whisperer Book Review, Astrology for the Light Side of the Brain Book Review, My 9/11 Story, How to Be Inspired Book Review, Infinite Quest Book Review, Biology of Belief Book Review, The Morning Breeze Has Secrets to Tell, The Gentle Way II Book Review, Do You Fear or Respect Mother Nature?, You Can Heal Your Life Movie Review, Hereafter Movie Review, North Wind Blowing -Time for a Change, Presence University, Impossible Situations are Great Opportunities, Do You Have Enough?, Moon Tides Soul Passages Book Review, Compromise with the Varmints! Yankee Doodle Discord Book Review, A Wright Brothers Moment! The Sacred Promise Book Review
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