Quiet, please...

The one that started it all, circa 2010. My aunt told my mum about it, and then my mum told me. And what an intriguing title! Beyond being told it was about positivity and stuff, I didn't know much more, so I was dying to find out what this secret was.

The Law of Attraction seemed far too good to be true. As I read more and more, increasingly confused by this apparent spellbook, I started wondering how I'd do by following everything to the letter. It took a few more reads over a few more years to realise that my initial and embarrassingly simplistic view of attracting anything was actually hindering progress. I needed a mindset overhaul, and I wanted to read around to understand and appreciate this book even more once I revisited it with refreshed eyes.

It's very appropriate that I started my journey with this book since it revealed a secret within me, too: I didn't know that I was about to embark on the ultimate self-improvement spiritual road trip. The road trip of a lifetime, literally, because it will last my whole life. So, here I am, over a decade later, still bobbing along with 'The Secret' inhabiting a special place in my heart. The best bit? Despite any and every bump, breakdown, diversion, burst tyre, cracked windscreen... (you get the picture!), if I stick to the lessons learned, in theory, it can only ever get better, and I'm so thankful for that.

This one enhanced 'The Secret' for me and took many of those ideas deeper in a way that clicked with how my mind works. I love how it forced a lot of self-reflection and acknowledgement of my flaws, making for uncomfortable truths. Yes, I may have forgotten much of the content, but just the thought of this book takes me down a peg when I need a good dose of humility.

The big thing with this book for me was my introduction to the idea of what is termed 'seen' and 'unseen', the idea of manifesting that which is already in existence but simply not yet perceptible to us... Yes, this concept is what influenced my tagline! This concept also made the next book I devoured slide seamlessly into my good graces.

Personally, this was like 'Kabbalah-lite': Many good things I'd taken from the previous book, broken down into small bite-sized chunks, as well as bringing something new to the table.

I really don't mind when any literature gets rambling and deep deep. I'm evidently a rambler (you probably guessed by now, right?), so I appreciate it when people write in this way to hammer home a point. However, when you need that hit of mindfulness to be neatly inserted into your busy day, being able to both complete a chapter and reflect upon it during the morning commute is what makes this book such a winner for me. That said, on paper, I have no excuse for not dipping into this super-accessible book for such a long time. As I'm sitting here writing this, my eldest is with his grandparents, and the baby is asleep so, in theory, I could be reading it right now. I guess fitting in chapters of this book should be another homework target for me.

I love how this book gets the balance right, perfect, in fact, between thought-provoking depth nestled in miraculously concise chapters. Pretty impressive. 

Circa 2019, it took me three attempts to get into this book properly. Not that this is a poor reflection of the book. Quite the opposite. For me, it got super deep, super quickly. I found that I was so mentally excited and overwhelmed by the words on the pages that I was having to read them over and over before pausing and getting lost in my thoughts as I tried to wrap my head around what the heck was going on. That kind of deep. Then, I would completely lose momentum and have to go back a page or two, trying, again and again, to read and absorb without my thoughts racing ahead of me. To be honest, by the third attempt, I simply resorted to the audiobook version, deciding that looking at words on a page was one distraction I could eliminate to really take everything in. I did slightly better. My habit of going back a page was replaced by the need to keep rewinding the audio but, ultimately, it was better, and I finally got to the end of this book.

What made it a winner for me? The picture I painted above makes the process of completing 'The Power of Now' seem like an arduous mission. However, to say it was worth it would be an understatement. Having a book whip my head into such an exhilarating frenzy was new territory. I was blown away, and I'll definitely be reading (I mean listening to) this one as soon as I can once again.