Archive for the ‘Relationships’ Category
Helene Lerner author of In Her Power – Exclusive Interview
We recently sat down with Helene Lerner, author of In Her Power and founder of WomenWorking.com, a worldwide community of businesswomen and experts. In Her Power give women the tools needed to achieve confidence, creativity, and intimacy in every aspect of life.
How did you come to write In Her Power?
In Her Power draws on over thirty years of my experience supporting women. I have been able to have a unique impact on them as a result of the life lessons I’ve learned in overcoming my own struggles with destructive overeating and depression.
The world today is in a desperate place and I believe that the connective power of women can unify rather than destroy nations. That’s why it was so important for me to write this book now and to have more women stand in their power.
What makes your book so different than what’s been written in the past?
My company Creative Expansions, Inc. has been in existence for over a decade and through various forms of media — television specials, one of the premier websites for career women WomenWorking.com, and speaking engagements — I’ve had access to a huge network of women. The book is filled with their experiences as well as my own. Through these stories, in addition to reflections and exercises, readers are asked to go deeper and explore what has been blocking them from fully expressing their power. The book deals with nine aspects of a woman’s power and the veils or false beliefs that get in the way. It also introduces the three Spiritual Power Muscles: Connective, Creative and Courageous.
The Dalai Lama prophesized that “the world will be saved by the Western woman,” and yet despite incredible advances, the majority of women still feel they have not accessed their full potential. Why do you believe that is?
Often we’re locked into false beliefs that don’t allow us to access our full potential and keep us stuck. We’re not thinking big enough about ourselves. The way out is to know that we are bigger than that and to listen to our inner truth, our intuition. We need to break habits that are based upon false beliefs and courageously move into areas that may feel uncomfortable. For many of us, it’s stepping outside our comfort zone to experience our power and magnificence.
Women are routinely faced with the difficult task of balancing their career with their desire for family. What advice would you give women struggling to “have it all” in today’s world?
There’s no such thing as balance. It’s more about navigating between work and life every day and doing it very imperfectly, as Ellen Galinsky of Families and Work Institute has said. I think it’s particularly useful for women to share what works for them and to be open with each other about how difficult it is. The problem begins when we feel isolated, stressed, and try to tackle it alone. We simply can’t clone ourselves into 150 different people. But if we’re engaged in communicating with other women who are going through the same struggle, we pick up tips on how to make it easier for us.
Can you share with readers one of the biggest challenges you faced in your path to success? How did you overcome that challenge?
Suffering from a food addiction, I was 50 pounds heavier over 30 years ago and ready to jump out of a window of my apartment. I didn’t see any hope in things being different. In my desperation I reached out for help and got it from a group of people who had knowledge about how not to hurt themselves with food. I realized that I needed to have more spiritual grounding if I was going to stop overeating for all the wrong reasons. I discovered a higher purpose for my life — to help women realize their authentic power and claim their voice and unique abilities. I started my company, Creative Expansions, Inc. with this mission.
Helene Lerner’s new book, In Her Power, is available now.
Soul Searching, by Sarah Stillman – Begin your journey of self-discovery
Today, teens are facing a world that is progressing faster than ever before, and struggling with the challenges that come with it. More and more, teens need a resource to help them find who they are outside of technology, celebrities, and their peers. Soul Searching: A Girl’s Guide to Finding Herself presents just such a resource. The book seeks to act as a guide for any girl who longs for inspiration over her own insecurities or wants to unearth her passions, love her body, and find direction.
Originally written when the author, Sarah Stillman, was only 16, Soul Searching is a powerful and unique guidebook “for girls searching for their center, their inner voice, for who they want to be.”
Sarah begins the preface of this fully updated edition by sharing a few examples of how the book has impacted girls around the world for the past eleven years:
“Recently, I woke up to an email from a fifteen-year-old girl in Russia who is recovering from a serious eating disorder and struggling to accept her body. A week before that, I got a note from a teenage girl in Beijing, China, who wanted to share a list of her favorite philosophy books, and a month earlier—tucked away like a gem between spam messages for celebrity diet pills and hair removal potions—I received a Facebook message from a girl in Missouri who hoped to brainstorm ways of dealing with hurtful comments from classmates online.”
This guide, written like it came from your sagely older sister, addresses numerous issues facing contemporary teens: from bullying and body image, to exploring philosophy and world religions. Sarah includes quotes from fellow teens for inspiration and various methods to implement self-awareness including mediation, yoga, journaling, and dream interpretation. Plus, many chapters include quizzes or activities for readers to write down their own thoughts, as well as resources for further exploration.
Soul Searching is:
“…the quest to become familiar with our inner voice, to understand it, and to follow it. A lack of internal communication is at the heart of many problems plaguing teenage girls: eating disorders, drug abuse, loneliness, low self-esteem. If we trust ourselves to begin with, it’s much easier to resist negative media image and peer pressure.”
But the exploration of self-discovery doesn’t end with the book. The community that has sprung up around the book and the idea of Soul Searching can now interact and share their personal journeys on Tumblr and Facebook. After all, as Sarah says:
“There’s no such thing as being totally ‘found’…the fun, I think, is in the searching.”
New Year, New You: The Top 10 Books to Help You Ring in the New Year Right!
As the earth completes its annual rotation around the sun, some things come to an end but others begin. For me, the New Year always implies new beginnings, new opportunities, and the chance to create real change in my life. It’s a time when the world collectively takes a moment to reflect, re-center, and reconnect with the life we want.
Here in the Beyond Words office, we’ve been sharing some of our favorite books to help invoke a New You for the New Year. Whether you’re looking to change your body, mind, or soul, we’ve got a book designed just for you.
Here are our top 10 books to help you ring in the New Year right! (more…)
Forgiveness: Key for the Happy Holidays; Guest blog from Mary Hayes Grieco
Forgiveness: Key for the Happy Holidays
By Mary Hayes Grieco, author of Unconditional Forgiveness
It’s time for our annual cultural schizophrenia about the holidays: “This is so fun—I love this! This is so stressful—I hate this!” Together, we carry around our guiding mythic vision of the holiday “glow”—the fragrant house decorated with twinkling lights, piles of glittering gifts under the tree, loving faces gathered around the laden table, Christmas carolers singing cheery songs outside, soft white snowflakes drifting slowly down. The whole family will gather, and everyone will be mellow and grateful and everyone will get along…except, at your house, it doesn’t look like that.
At your house, you act cranky and stressed because you are exhausted from creeping through a traffic jam to a crowded mall after a long day of work. You’ve been trying to pile up the presents under the tree, but it isn’t very fun because your position at work has been cut way back and you already had too much on your credit cards before the holidays began. Your husband was going to help you with some of this shopping, but he is down with the flu, so it’s all on you. You’re blue because one of your grown children isn’t coming home this year and you miss them. Your whole family will get together, but you aren’t looking forward to it because your sister is a control freak when she is the host, and her husband will make everyone tense as he holds forth with his bitter political views. What you really want to do is stay home in your robe and watch a movie by yourself with a good cup of coffee. You resent the expectations of the holiday season, and you feel guilty about your negative attitude. It’s time to actively practice some forgiveness. (more…)
Daily Deal–Your Every Word Has Power Kit for 50% Off
It takes an average of 21 days to form a new habit. What if, in just 21 days you could change your life by simply changing your words. I don’t think it’s a mystery to anyone that words have power. According to Yvonne Oswald, the very words we say and think not only describe our world but actually create it.
Transform you life with the Your Every Word Has Power Kit for 50% off!
In this kit, Yvonne Oswald teaches us how to filter unsupportive words to produce outstanding results, changing our perspective, relationships, and ability to manifest our deepest desires. The easy-to-follow formula holistically blends the science of language, physical well-being, and emotional cleansing. The “Keys to Success and Happiness” reconnect you with your original empowerment blueprint and develop your understanding for a lifetime of success.
Included in the kit are—
A power-packed workbook full of practical tools, quizzes and exercises, as well as three individually focused 21-Day Success Plans:
- Power, Health & Wellness
- Power Relationships
- Power, Wealth & Abundance
Two audio CDs:
- “Take Action Now” clears procrastination and sends you on the path of change with ease and focus.
- “Success While You Sleep” utilizes intentional language and left and right brain hemispheres to powerfully activate your goals.
32 Action Cards
- Flexible and inspiring, these cards can be integrated into your Success Plans in many easy and imaginative ways.
Seize the moment and begin your transformation, today! And remember, spend $30 and receive free standard shipping.
Staff Picks: Holiday Stress? Learn how to de-stress in The Next Ten Minutes
Now that Halloween is behind us and we all desperately try to avoid eating all that candy in one sitting we know one thing for certain, the holiday season is upon us. The leaves have changed. Turkeys are arriving in the local grocery store. And we all begin to worry about the many obligations that come with this season. For many in our society, what should be a joyous season has become more of a stress-filled marathon. While this time of year should be about joy, family, and giving thanks it can quickly turn into the opposite. As I was thinking about how I could fend off the inevitable holiday stress and really enjoy the true purpose of the season I stumbled upon The Next Ten Minutes by Andrew Peterson on my bookshelf. Aha! I had it! Easy and dynamic ways to distress, re-center, and seize the moment in only ten minutes.
The brilliance of this book is that it takes all the benefits of meditation and applies it in easy ten minute exercises, many of which I can do while sitting at my desk, cleaning the house, or even running errands. You see, the brilliance behind The Next Ten Minutes is in helping the reader discover the seeds of transformation and meaning in even the most ordinary routines. For example, some of my favorite exercises include Relaxing Your Face, Feeling Your Foot, Throwing Something Away, or simply Waiting. Basically, this book invites readers to move more deeply into the familiar task of ordinary life.
Possibly my favorite thing about this book, though, is the index! Yes, the index. It breaks down all the exercises based on the particular emotion you would like to alleviate. Say your in-laws are about to arrive and you’re feeling anxious. You can simply look up anxious in the index and choose between the exercises listed to help you overcome your anxiety and relax. So simple! So easy! And it only takes ten minutes. I think this book is going to find a permanent place in my purse for the next two months, and maybe beyond. (And I’ll definitely be grabbing a few more copies as gifts to my equally stressed-out family and friends!)
And don’t forget to share your favorite ways to de-stress during the holiday season.
The Week Ahead: Events with The Code, Wild Feminine, A Survival Guide for Landlocked Mermaids, and More!
Wow! It’s a busy week for events at Beyond Words, and we hope you’ll be able to get out and experience the inspiration and knowledge found in our books and DVDs in person. Whether you’re interested in numerology with The Code interested in watching a screening of the film For the Next 7 Generations, we hope you take the opportunity to reach out to the people behind these great titles and expand your wisdom and connection with the world around you.
Staff Pick of the Week: The Code by Johanna Paungger & Thomas Poppe
Staff Pick of the Week
One of the best aspects of working at a book publisher is that you get paid to read books! What’s better than that? In the office, we are always reading, passing around, and discussing the newest titles coming out. We decided to take the active energy surrounding our books and bring you in on the conversation. So, we’re beginning a new weekly tradition here on the blog at Beyond Words: Staff Picks. Our hope is to provide all of our readers some insight into the books we’re discussing, what we’re saying about them, and, especially, invite you to join in on the conversation. Please post your comments, share you stories, and be our partners in transformation.
Leah’s Pick of the Week—The Code: Unlocking the Ancient Power of Your Birthday
I firmly believe that the key to strong relationships lies in truly understanding and accepting the people in our lives: What makes them tick? What are their strengths? Where do they need support? It can really be a struggle to unlock these aspects of people in all areas of our lives, from co-workers to friends, family members to spouses. Also, we often struggle with simply understanding our selves and the deeper forces that guide our actions in life.
The Code delivers one way to better understand our selves and the people around us. Rooted in the tradition practiced for generations by the people of the Tyrolean mountains in Western Europe, The Code offers an accessible yet profound wisdom that can be applied to every aspect of ones life and each of ones relationships.
In the book’s introduction, our Editor in Chief, Cynthia Black, describes The Code’s method. “It [The Code] combines two dimensions working together: the power of one’s birthdate and the energies of colors.” These two powers are then combined on the Birthday Wheel, which brings in energetic motion and the points of the compass—North, South, East, West, and Center. This combination allows us to see the picture of the whole person. It can unlock the mystery within our relationships. Why does your spouse react in a certain way? How can I better understand and build stronger relationships with my colleagues.
Most important, The Code is not just about who we are, but about who we can be. It’s a system to better guide your life and fulfill your true potential by living in tune with our natural gifts.
It’s a book that can be referenced over and over again for all aspects of ones life and for every member of ones social circle. I’ve decoded myself, my husband, and am now moving on to my wonderful nieces. So far, the results have been nothing less then enlightening.
Unlock your Code here, then read the book to learn more.
Dr. Jerry Jampolsky on OWN
Tuesday, October 11th on Oprah’s Lifeclass, Oprah will be referring back to one of her favorite episodes on Anger and Forgiveness featuring our author, Dr. Jerry Jampolsky. Dr. Jampolsky is one of the co-founders of the Center for Attitudinal Healing in Tiburon, California, where children and adults with life threatening illnesses can find peace of mind that is transforming for them and their families. Today there are over 130 independent Centers for Attitudinal Healing in 24 different countries.
Dr. Jampolsky is the author of two remarkable books from Beyond Words—Forgiveness: The Greatest Healer of All, and Teach Only Love: The Twelve Principles of Attitudinal Healing. Make sure you tune in at 8:00 pm EDT. 7:00 pm CDT, or 8:00 pm PDT. To find your OWN channel go to www.Oprah.com and type in your Zip Code in the upper right hand corner. Come back and share what you’ve learned about your relationship to forgiveness and love after the show!
Wired to Love
Guest Blog by Don Joseph Goewey, author of Mystic Cool
The term cerebral or brainy is often used to describe a person who is remote, living in his or her own analytical world of thought, emotionally unavailable and socially awkward. These characteristics could not be less related to the neural properties of the brain. The human brain is a social organ, and its neural architecture is built for interpersonal connection. Schizophrenia and autism are disorders that make it difficult, if not impossible, for people to connect and feel connected to others. Both disorders appear to be linked to the impairment of neural architecture. The natural inclination of a functional brain is to connect. Separation makes the brain nervous. Expose an infant primate to an unpleasant stressor, place her in a room with primates that are strangers, and the stress reaction will exacerbate. Place the infant in a room with other primates who are her friends and family, and the stress reaction is mitigated.
