Customer Reviews

Simply an Inspired Life: Consciously Choosing Unbounded Happiness in Good Times & Bad

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am not a professional critic nor do I profess to be a literary scholar. Plain and simple I am a perfect product from a dysfunctional family trying to get past "surviving" and "overcoming" and on to celebration! This book did more for me than the shelves of self-help books I've invested in. It's practical -- it doesn't offer up saccharine homilies of "keep your chin up and keep on keeping on". It's clear, and useful. I refer to it several times a week. For those that are trying to "just get over it" this is a HUGE step towards that -- it's not lip service, it's love, life, and lessons. Well done, well written, a keeper. It's the response to my request: Show me how!

I have had great difficulty in writing this review - not because I don't like the book - I do, in fact I give it 5 stars! The difficulty lay in embracing and writing about its value for me personally. Not all parts resonated with me, but that doesn't mean those parts may not be totally germane for me in the future. It's a book to re-read and re-read, to keep in sight and at hand - not to shove away on a shelf.
Quite early in the piece, I realized "Simply an Inspired Life" wasn't for the 'faint-hearted' and timid - it's not just another pretty-pretty self-help book you can sail through and then dismiss, in fact it took me enormous courage to confront the veiled parts of myself through its promptings - especially early in the book - I was laid low in Chapter 3 with all my assumed and imagined 'obligations' - all my habitual suffering-inducing patterns. (God! - who'd have known, I had so cleverly hidden them)!!
I was in shock - this was not the easy, happy, feel-good read I had been expecting - it was cathartic!
So I dare you, if you're opening the book for the first time - dare to do the presented exercises, they will stir up the old, subtle, hidden gunk that is clogging the joy from your life. And this ain't pretty or nice - it's downright painful! So you ask yourself: "Do I let myself feel this pain and deal with my pernicious habitual reactions, or do I reach for the usual palliatives - food, TV, etc and stay stuck in my own sludge?"
Did I say it was cathartic? Yes it can be - and for me, I had to swallow the 'medicine' and fearlessly flush out my resistances to change - but after the many layers of self deception are purged you begin to glimpse an entirely new way of being.
For this I am profoundly grateful and cannot recommend this book enough.

Barbara-Joy Weston, Intuitive Sound Shaman.

I picked "Simply An Inspired Life" off the kitchen counter on the way to my bedroom and flipped open the cover to read the opening pages. Within a couple of minutes I turned around, walked to a different room and slid into my favorite reading chair. Several hours later I emerged from a journey.

As a veteran seeker of the meaning and purpose of life, I have read a great many books by the teachers and sages of our generation... Deepak Chopra, Maryanne Williamson, Neale Donald Walsch, etc... but none has provided the clarity as this book by Mary Anne Radmacher and Jonathon Lockwood Huie.

The 200+ page book, subtitled "Consciously Choosing Unbounded Happiness in Good Times and Bad," is centered around eight points: Honor, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Choice, Vision, Action, Celebration, and Unity. Chapters are devoted to stories, approaches, and exercises relating to each point. The interweaving and culmination of these chapters result in an entertaining, heartfelt approach to breaking the cycle of self-inflicted suffering and living an inspired life. The points are presented in a wonderfully balanced style with Mary Anne and Jonathan taking turns sharing insights and bringing clarity to the struggle of living life in a positive, grateful, pain-free manner.

Highlighted sections - Today in My World - contain wisdom and powerful exercises that reinforce the theme of the chapter and encourage the reader to find the answers within. There were so many meaningful exercises packed inside this work... I caught myself grinning at the impeccable timing that each seemed to bring within the rhythm of the book. At times I needed to be pushed, the exercises challenged and drew me out. When I struggled with difficult realizations, just the right words gently guided me through. It seemed to be written just for me.

Sometimes books of this type are hard to get through because of their intense nature, but I never felt that "SAIL" was work. MAR and JLH's light touch and insights throughout kept me engaged and thirsty for more. The process, step by step layout, and pacing of the book was educational and fresh.

I love figuring out what makes life tick and appreciate all other sojourners along the way. But in the case of "Simply An Inspired Life," I feel especially fortunate to have had Mary Ann and Jonathan as navigators.

This book is so good, I don't know where to start to sing its praises. This is a very positive book. With a lot of negative things going on the world and in life, its good to have a positive book that encourages positiveness.

This book lets us realize that we have to choose to be happy and positive. A lot of bad things and negatives come to us and happen to us, but we have to make the conscious decision to be positive and happy (without being cocky or superior).

All I can say is, you should read this book. It is encouraging and inspiring.

Simply An Inspired Life: Consciously Choosing Unbounded Happiness in Good Times & Bad is a powerful pick for any learning to navigate their own life with acceptance and an open heart. It offers clear instructions on how to modify perceptions and attitudes to reach this level of clarity and joy, and is a fine and lovely survey of how to make a conscious choice to live simply and happily. Any general lending library needs this.

This book is unbelievably thorough. Whether you are a writer or just someone in need of inspiration, Simply an Inspired Life is the book for you. I love the Daily Phrase activity and how by merely using a notecard a day your focus or reaction to your day can change or be strongly influenced. Both talented authors Huie and Radmacher have daily messages that are available by email and a wonderful accompaniment to their new book. I bought one for myself and one for friends to share. It would make a meaningful holiday gift! I WOULD GIVE IT 5 STARS, BUT WITH
A TECHNICAL PROBLEM I COULD ONLY RECORD 4.

Simply an Inspired Life was written for people like me; those who strive to keep a balanced attitude towards life, yet need inspiration. What I appreciate most about this book is the practical way they approach managing the storms we face in today's changing world. Jonathan and Mary Ann, with bold voices, give their individual perspective to each of the eight concepts to allow us to see where we might begin to look for ways to view the future. Reminders of respecting the self, opening the heart, using intention and intuition were brought to life by the honesty of their sharing. They have truly given their hearts to this work. I'll keep this book handy because it's the kind of book that can be read cover to cover or by selecting the topics that fit most appropriately to my current life situations.

f you want to know how to use your life as your path to joy and fulfillment, then this book is for you. Rather than promise you that you'll instantly conquer the world if you buy their book, Radmacher and Huie show how to take the ups and downs of your life and use them as the method for getting a life of deep fulfillment. Highly recommended.

Simply an Inspired Life is not motivational or prescriptive, as I find most self-help books to be. Rather it encourages you to be your own teacher---in effect, to take charge of your life.

The authors took an atypical approach to crafting their book. Instead of melding their voices to sound like a single author, each person's words stand on their own. This juxtaposition reinforces their messages. And their main message, the most important one, is that you are your own best self-help book. Most self-help books provide a formulaic method to discover the answers. Instead, these authors provide continual reminders that you hold the answers, or at least the questions. But you have to be willing to ask and willing to listen. Throughout they gently encourage you to do so.

To support this message, the book provides a methodical look at the foundations---what they call the eight points---giving you a platform to stand on. At first I labeled a lot of this material to be too basic to be useful. But the more I continued to read, the more I found their ideas and words staying with me and the more I kept flipping back to reread passages and make notations in my journal. This simplicity is deceiving; in it are many opportunities for greater awareness.

I found this book to be the "kick in the seat of my pants" that I needed. It exhibits vividly the impact of living in a positive world and the effect thatit has on one's life. It is our choice how we choose to live and how we will react in certain situations. We control our feelings and choices they do not control us. Choose the joyful life and reap the rewards!