Customer Reviews

Inner Simplicity: 100 Ways to Regain Peace and Nourish Your Soul

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Elaine St. James is the "Queen" of simplicity. Not only does she give you good advice she also gives it succinctly.

One neat way to read this book is a "hint" per day. Then this little book will take you 100 days to read. You will also internalize some of the messages so much better as well. The odd thing about when you do this, sometimes you hit a particularly pertinent hint on the day you need it.

This book is separated in 6 sections and includes a reading list. I especially like books that include reading lists as they help guide you to similarly minded books.

The six sections are:
1. Things you'll want to do: General ideas for getting in touch with yourself.

2. Easy things to think about doing: Ideas to help you become aware of how to simplify.

3. More difficult things to think about doing: Some real hard steps to pare down. Some of these might be pretty difficult for some.

4.The hard stuff: Well, this is the emotional housecleaning part. Some times our heads are full.

5. Some fun stuff: Cool ideas and further tools to try.

All in all a very jam packed useful little book.

I am a fan of the other "simplicity" books by Elaine St.James, and this one did not let me down. She has organized the book in a way that makes for easy reading. As with the first book in this series, St. James covers 100 topics. Each of these subjects are grouped into "chapters" of sorts, by the perceived difficulty of the task. The material is also cross-referenced quite nicely.

The ideas contained in the book are basic, but extremely powerful. Anyone who's been into selp-improvement for a while will probably have some of these ideas in other forms already. Still, "Inner Simplicity" is a great refresher. It managed to give me a few new ideas, even though I've got many classics of philosophy, spirituality and "new age thought" on my shelf.

At the end of the book, I was very glad I'd purchased it!

When it comes to the art of simplifying one's life it would be hard to find a better practical guide. I highly recommend it- not because I followed it to simplify my own life, but because I found that I had already discovered practically every one of the 100 entries on my own. It was almost uncanny that I had come to the same conclusions and techniques in my own quest towards simplicity (life review, discarding nonsupportive relationships, journal keeping, wisdom literature, listening to one's inner voice, reducing media exposure, discarding useless distractions, practice dieing, weekend retreats, etc., etc., etc.) Of course the author lists Synchronicity as #10, so perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised. It seems that the universe whispers the same hints to all of us, if we merely quiet down enough to hear.

This is not a trivial, hippy-dippy, New Age title. The author is a former business woman. While it is true that she refers to synchronicity, meditation, yoga, runes, and consulting a psychic, she does so not because it is the newest, hip, New Age fad, but rather because it represents an ancient, effective, wisdom.

One of the hundred suggestions listed is to take a year off from work and do nothing. This is sound advice- I grew immeasurably when I did this. Be cautioned, however, that the corporate world will never forgive you for this. If you try to re-enter the corporate structure this will be a permanent black mark on your work record. Of course, once you internalise the other 99 tips in the book you will probably never wish to return to the corporate hierarchy anyway....

INNER SIMPLICITY is a set of 100 suggestions that can improve the quality of your life. Like the parables of old, this little book holds many bits of wisdom that can lead to happiness and contentment. No matter what your life circumstances, St. James words can be applied in some measure. For example, I am using a suggestion she makes for encouraging yourself in a `good' behavior. Each day I remember to exercise, I stick a shiny little star on my wall calender. The calender looks pretty and I feel good (if it works for children, why not reward your own inner child??). Another suggestion St James makes involves "examining the costs of saying no." Along with reducing the need to be "in the know" it goes a long way toward making life more pleasant.

You can use these `readings' as daily guides. I read the book from cover to cover over several weeks, and now refer to various suggestions each day. Each suggestion is a (small) page or two in length, so you can read it at the start of your day. Frequently the suggestions are interlinked. For example, figuring out `what you have to teach others' is linked with `learning to forgive'. I like this book so much I am going to read others by St James - especially `Living the Simple Life'.

I've bought about 10 copies of St. James' first book, "Simplify Your Life" and have given them to friends. "Inner Simplicity" came along right at the right time for me -- when I'd finally jumped off the consumerism race track, gotten rid of all the excess junk (which had me moving from house to bigger and bigger house so I'd have room for all that STUFF)... and realized it was time to start clearing out some of the internal, emotional STUFF I'd been carrying around for much longer. This book and her first are really remarkably simple, written in a self-effacing and non threatening way. St. James is totally non-judgmental. She talks about her own path in a very personal way, offering with plain sincerity some ideas for people who have started down the path to simplicity, but maybe don't know what the next step should be. I've been amazed at how many people have come into my life recently, since I've read St. James' books, who mention to me that they are sick of being "possessed by their possessions." They want to get rid of the boat, the electronics, all the "STUFF" that is supposed to make us happier, but winds up sucking our life energy. St. James says it all, much better than I can, so I always have several extra copies of both of her books on hand. Don't make the mistake, however, of forcing these books on other people -- you'll learn in Inner Simplicity that everyone has to come to this path at their own pace. If you've read through this entire review, and the books sound intriguing, it's probably time for you to read this book (or her first) and start on your own path toward Simplicity. Good luck!

I'm checking in since first reading this little "gem" years ago. It called me from the bookstore shelf and was instrumental in changing my life for the better. Each chapter jump-starts your motivation for, not only rethinking priorities, but re-evaluating the need to separate wants from needs. That had become a blur to me over the years.

St. James is true to her word. The title suggests simplicity, and the content is simple to assimilate. Besides, I'm a sucker for an easy read. It's hard to pick a favorite, but the chapter, Slow Down, started a new improved - hopefully, forever - chapter in my life. It simply changed everything.

The shear beauty of this book comes from Elaine's way of inviting us to reconsider many unproductive constructs by which we stucture our lives. I find it interesting that self-described religious and/or spiritual people find fault with a small part of this book. Frankly, Elaine is not trying to be a catalyst to move people away from religion. On the contrary, she invites her readers to reconsider the most important aspect of religion ... spirituality. Almost every religion could stand to simplify by reducing dogmatic practices that do not add to the true purpose of the religion. Thus, I believe Elaine is constructively bold in her approach. My reaction to reviewers, who profess to be more enlightened about spirituality than Elaine, is to remember their belief is just one in a sea of billions of others. I don't believe Elaine is trying to sway readers to a specific spiritual path. Instead, Elaine encourages everyone to discover a unique spirituality that is free from mandates of organized religions. I find the rest of the book to be an exceptional sequel to "Simplyfy Your Life." I find the fact that Elaine separated outer and inner simplification to be helpful rather than a hindrance. Our attentions spans have grown shorter as part of our "sound bite society." Thus, focusing on the inner and outer, in separate books, helps distinguish important differences between the simplification of each area of life.

The author says that "inner simplicity means getting rid of the extraneous things -- such as worry and anger and judgment -- they get in the way of having peace and tranquility in our lives." That's especially true for stepmoms who have more than their share of heavy issues to deal with! And though this book isn't written specifically for stepmoms, you'll see how it's applicable to your life in many ways. It's brief and a pleasure to read, with each suggestion only a page or two. The book is divided into five parts, and Part Four: The Hard Stuff, is aptly named.

In this section, you're challenged to attack some issues that make stepparenting so tough: self-discipline, acceptance, forgiveness, responsibility. Suggestion 73 is called "Figuring out your big issue," and it involves finding clarity and commitment in solving the biggest problem in your life. As the author says, do this and it will free your heart, mind, body and soul. That suggestion and the rest of these applications will indeed help you regain peace and nourish your soul, just as the title promises -- no matter what problems you're facing or what decisions you have to make.

Each positive suggestion offers concrete steps to help you simplify your life by looking within and making changes there first. Some of the ideas may seem obvious, but it takes a lot of focus and desire to carry them out, and the benefits are well worth the effort. If you've never read this book, start it now and choose a suggestion a day. Do you best and enjoy the rewards of inner simplicity.

I just completed my reading of Inner Simplicity and believe it came into my life just when I needed it. Ms. St. James is so easy to connect with; I felt like she wrote this book just for me. In times when we do too many things, and are on the go constantly, it's nice to take the time to review my life and use this book to selectively weed out the things that are not in my best interest. I'm ready for items 101 - 200. When are they going to be published!

I just finished reading 3 of St. James' books. The first two I thought were great. This one let me down because nowhere in any of her 100 suggestions was anything metioned about GOD. I cannot imagine a person who is trying to grow in her spirituality not looking to God. At one point she even mentions "rethinking your beliefs" - I took it to mean that if you DO worship God/Jesus to re-think that and start looking to the "universe" for your guidance. That, along with her suggestions to see a psychic, just left me uncomfortable. I am on a personal journey to simplify and cut out the things that don't matter and the same time grow in my understanding and relationship with Jesus. It did not occur to me that this would be completely left out.

I am not totalling dissing the book, though. There are suggestions that I did find interesting/helpful. You just need to be willing to skip over certain things.