Review of A Course in Weight Loss

A Course In Weight Loss
21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering
Your Weight Forever
by Marianne Williamson


A Course in Weight Loss written by Marianne Williamson offers readers 21 Spiritual Lessons to help people release their excess weight.

Williamson connects spirituality with weight loss and by doing so opens up a new realm of possibility for healing. She offers clear and practical lessons to those suffering from food addictions, compulsive eating behaviors, and eating disorders.

This book looks beyond food, which is not the problem, and delves into the mental, emotional, and spiritual psyche of the person behind the food. Williamson encourages readers to surrender to their higher-power for healing and help. By tapping into this greater power, a person struggling with their weight finds hope to allow healing to begin, faith to bring about miraculous changes, and strength to follow through with their journey.

Marianne Williamson’s book is filled with prayers and easy tasks to complete. She asks readers to stop and reflect on past events, focus on the present moment, and direct their attention to a desired future existence. Readers will also find many positive affirmations to uplift their spirit. There is a journal at the end of the book to record thoughts and feelings. Williamson’s faith, humor, and personal experiences found in this book make it easy to read.

First and foremost, I believe this is an interactive book that does require a reader’s participation in order for it to be successful. I also think this is a book for someone that has a leaning toward spirituality or is spiritually open and is really ready to change; ready to lose weight.

I am a fan of Marianne Williamson and as part of Hay House’s New Release Reviewers Program, I received A Course in Weight Loss for free to review. Since I am not currently struggling with my weight, I would not have readily chosen this book to read. However, in the past I was in battle with my weight for many years so I could easily relate with the content. Like this book states, I found the biggest breakthrough happened when I truly accepted myself as I was and fell in love with myself. I found when I loved me, I treated myself better and all the excess weight started to dissolve right before my eyes. Two years later, I still love me and I am still at a healthy weight.

Within this book, I found many other topics that not only related to weight loss but also related to life in general. Some of my favorite quotes to illustrate this were:

“As with any serious journey of self-discovery, 

there are days when we detour into darkness

as we make our way toward light.”

“You were taught to be self-reliant, and of course 

that is a good thing. But your dependence on God 

is not the abdication of responsibility; it is the ultimate 

taking of responsibility. It doesn’t make you less powerful 

to acknowledge a Higher Power; it makes you more 

powerful, because it gives you access to the power of faith.”

“Fear is like a thief with endless patience, casually 

circling your house in the belief that you will ultimately 

be careless enough to leave one of the doors unlocked. 

 It will simply hide and wait…It is that sly, that insidious, 

and that vicious. Your job is to post enough angels

around your house that the thief cannot get in.”

The Foreword by Dean Ornish, M.D. was very thought provoking and added a great beginning to this book. This book is dedicated to Oprah Winfrey and A Course in Weight Loss was listed as Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things in 2010.

Marianne Williamson’s A Course in Weight Loss, 21 Spiritual Lessons For Surrendering Your Weight Forever, can be purchased at any of the websites below.

Thank you for reading! If you have a story/message that you would like to share and it fits into the topics on Always Believe, please email us. Guest Writers are always welcome!

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“Like the body, the soul must also be nourished daily.”

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Review of Getting Into the Vortex

Getting Into the Vortex
Guided Meditations CD & User Guide
by Esther and Jerry Hicks
The Teachings of Abraham

Getting Into the Vortex Guided Meditations is a user guide written by Esther and Jerry Hicks, guided by the teachings of Abraham, which includes a 70 minute CD.

There are four 15 minute meditations on the CD as well as the Preface by Jerry Hicks and an Introduction by Abraham. The first meditation covers General Well-Being. The second meditation focuses on Financial Abundance. The third meditation is about Physical Well-Being and the final meditation centers on Relationships.

The intent of the meditations is to get participants to focus on their breathing thereby releasing any resistance in their being so they can elevate to a higher vibration. In this higher state, they will be able to enter their Vortex and begin the process of allowing all they desire. When we are aligned with the energy of Source, we are said to be in the Vortex.

The user guide (book) is an extension of the CD. The book expands on the thoughts in the CD offering further clarification and examples to assist in understanding the recorded messages. It is a small book and consists of 138 pages.

I became aware of Esther and Jerry Hicks, when the movie The Secret came out in 2006. The movie prompted me to research the Law of Attraction further (before it became popular and before Oprah heard about it) and that is when I found Esther and Jerry’s website. I did not delve deeper into learning more about them but I definitely knew who they were. As part of Hay House’s New Release Reviewers Program, I received Getting Into the Vortex for free to review. I had not read any books from Esther or Jerry before, so I had to do some research to remember and understand who Abraham was. Their website offered some clarification, although nothing definitive, I now understand the idea of who Abraham is.

I really enjoyed the guided meditations CD. I have many guided meditations however this is the only CD I own that integrates the message with an intense focus on breathing. At first I thought it may be too distracting, but for me, it has been a tremendous support in helping me relax. Whenever I listen to any of the meditations on the CD, I am truly tranquil and able to feel the wonderful physical and emotional sensations that come from being in a state of serenity. Because of this, I have been listening to a meditation from their CD at least once a day.

Getting Into the Vortex, Guided Meditations CD and User Guide can be purchased at any of the sites below:

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“Like the body, the soul must also be nourished daily.”

The Brain Waves of Angels

The Brain Waves of Angels

By Sophy Burnham,

I am still known, to my amusement, as the Angel Lady. People ask me, “What must I do to see angels?” I give workshops on this question, using exercises that I’ve developed over the years. But recently I’ve started thinking about the question from a scientific angle.

By now many people have heard of the experiments at Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research, known as PEAR, in which ordinary people sit in front of a machine and send it an intention—a thought, a prayer, even a wave of love—to behave in a particular way. At statistically significant levels, the energy affects these inorganic machines. Distance makes no difference. You can send an intention from Australia to Princeton, New Jersey and the machines respond.

The probability of chance being involved is millions to one. Time makes no difference. You can send your intention five days before the machine makes a run, and your intention affects the machines. Or evenafterwards! The scientists have determined that what affects the machines is love. Two people in love haveseven times the effect on the machines as two people who are not.

I began to wonder: What happens in your brain when you pray for another? When you enter that slightly altered state, that same state that allows you to see the angels surrounding us?

I went to my friend George Pierson, who is trained in the study of brain waves and the Awakened Mind. George set a band with electrodes on my head. Communicating to a computer screen, it recorded the patterns of the four major brain waves—Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta. I could see them on the screen, each denoted in a different color.

In most people, one of the four brain waves is dominant most of the time. George teaches how to access all four brain waves equally and at will and to operate in what is called the Awakened Mind.

But my question concerned angels. “What’s happening,” I asked him, “when I see an angel? It comes most often when I'm loving, often in a state of prayer. I’m going to do it now.” I closed my eyes and brought to mind a person I was praying for. This was not a prayer of words, but silent, heart-felt loving intent.

When I finished George showed me the brain-wave pattern on the screen with all four brain waves perfectly balanced. They filled up the entire computer screen. I was in awe. There! With modern technology I couldsee the energy that strikes the recipient like a velvet hammer. The energy of love. The power of prayer.

This is how you enter a state in which the angels surround you visibly, palpably, entering your very being. This is the state in which you can move mountains, influence a random-operating machine thousands of miles away across continents and oceans. This is the energy on which the angels ride.

****

Sophy Burnham is the author of 13 books. She is best known for her ground-breaking books on the spiritual dimension of life, including A Book of Angels and the novel, The Treasure of Montsegur. Her new book,The Art of Intuition: Cultivating Your Inner Wisdom will appear in February 2011. Find out more at SophyBurnham.com

Thank you for reading! If you have a story/message that you would like to share and it fits into the topics on Always Believe, please email us. Guest Writers are always welcome!

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“Like the body, the soul must also be nourished daily.”

Faith in Words and in Action

I do not think faith is something that God tests us with. I do not imagine that God is sitting up in Heaven with a scorecard on every human being. We either choose to live in faith or we don’t. But like everything else, it is always our choice.

There is this…if we truly have faith that God/Universe/Spirit will provide for us now and always then we should have nothing to fear. I have come to believe that it is not enough to just say I am faithful but it is also vital to act in a faithful way. Isn’t it stated that actions speak louder than words? Or, I am not what I choose to say, I am what I choose to do.

Anyone can say they are faith filled but it is even greater when someone lives what they speak.

I was staying in a career that made me so miserable but hung onto it because I was waiting for God to create another opportunity to appear before I left because I did not believe I would be okay. That was not acting in faith. Faith is not putting requirements on faith or demanding that God prove Himself by asking Him to do something my way. If I only believe after I receive, then that is not faithful.

All of my actions only supported the act of staying in a career I despised. My actions not only contradicted what I felt in my heart, they were not aligned with the new life I wished to create. God may have had something greater in store for me but was waiting for me to act first. God could not call up all my clients for me and tell them I was closing up; that was my job. In hindsight, God was sending me signs to go ahead and close up but I was not paying attention to them. He was nudging me to act but because I was not in a state of awareness I only saw what I wanted to see which was nothing.

If I really believe God will guide and help me in my life then He will. My role is to be patient, be aware, and act when guided to do so. It’s not about making things happen but letting them happen. I trust that everything I need will come to me exactly when I need it. I live my life being grateful in the present and know that the future will unfold exactly as it is meant to. Living in faith is not always easy but it is possible. In my mind, I have set up a scenario to remind me to let go and let God. I picture myself behind the steering wheel of a sailboat and I am standing there knowing where I want to go but not knowing the best way to get there. I think “hands off” and trust that God will take care of the ‘hows’ by letting the wind guide me through the best route. When I am close to my destination, I know it is safe to grasp the wheel and bring her in. While living in faith, I always work together with God and His angels.

I sense most people are too scared to leap so they stay in a place of false security never really soaring as they were meant to; fear has restrained them. All I can say is that I took that leap of faith back in January and nothing bad has happened to me. I am still here and of course will always believe.

Thank you for reading! If you have a story/message that you would like to share and it fits into the topics on Always Believe, please email us. Guest Writers are always welcome!

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“Like the body, the soul must also be nourished daily.”

Giving and Receiving Help

It is never a burden to care for another or be cared for. The one who thinks it to be a burden or feels guilt about being a burden has made an err in judgment. The perspective is askew and the belief is not aligned with the righteous. It is a blessing to comfort and seek comfort. It is a blessing for the one who provides comfort; for the one who provides comfort is steeped in humility. It is a blessing for the one who receives comfort; for he is immersed in grace. The one who is able to give can only do so from a humble heart. He has put aside his own needs to serve the needs of another. The one who has accepted the kindness of another learns that a charitable heart can open the grateful one. Both hearts need each other to continue to grow. They each serve one another in their congruency. No one is greater. They are equal. The acts of giving and receiving are each a blessing.

Spirited Love

Love is fluid. It is everywhere and in everything. Just like a circle, love has no ending and no beginning. Love transcends time, space, body, and mind. Love is an entity of its own and resides closest to the soul. Its power is limitless and its boundaries are none. I am a part of love therefore I am free to give love and receive love. If I try to withhold, distort, or abuse it, it is no longer love; for love cannot be reshaped into something it is not.

Love is always love. I recognize love in others not by looking at their outer appearance or their status in life but by looking within. My spirit connects with their spirit and I know love. By communing with love, I am able to love someone who is no longer with me and I am able to love someone I have yet to meet. Our souls are all connected and in that connection there is love.

Mind and Heart Exercise

You know you have a challenging week when you are already tired, frustrated and anxious on a Monday. This week is going to be a busy one and will require extra energy to stay calm, relaxed and balanced. Even if all I have time for is some deep breathing exercises I will be sure to fit that in. To balance the surplus amount of energy in my head and begin moving that energy toward my heart my Spiritual Counselor gave me the following exercise I thought others might benefit from as well.

Think of the busy energy in the head as a color that represents that. Maybe it's a mass of colors moving all around in the head area. Now send it LOVE, by sending PINK in from the top chakra (crown) pushing it down and mixing in with it until it is ALL pink, flowing down to your heart. Sending it all love, with thoughts of love and appreciating for how hard your mind works to take care of things in your life and you! Send the love back up into the head until you just feel peacefulness throughout.

Just For Today…Reiki Principles

I received my Reiki book yesterday and was thumbing through it when I came across this version (there are many) of the Reiki Principles by Larry Arnold Sandy Nevius:

Just for today I will give thanks for my many blessings.
Just for today I will not worry.
Just for today I will not be angry.
Just for today I will do my work honestly.
Just for today I will be kind to my neighbor and every living thing.

As I have written, I am working on being happy in my present situation so I will remain in a positive state of mind which will allow many new opportunities to enter my life. Being able to be present in the “Now” also invites open communication with the Spirit World because they are also in the present moment. I believe these principles are an excellent way to begin embracing the “Now”. It is also a great opportunity to make my own, “Just for today” mantras to be able to express my gratitude for anything and everything; and I am able to accept responsibility for my attitude and my actions.

Three Wishes: You Can Have Anything You Want!

So now that I have been reminded about where my focus should be in getting to where I want to go I need to create that end result picture in my mind as vividly as I can. What if you had a Genie sitting right in front of you and he said you could have anything you wanted and all you had to do was ask? What would you ask for? Being placed in that situation can be a bit overwhelming and a little confusing because you need to know what it is that you really want so your request can be manifested into physical form. Once it is manifested you can’t wish it away, it is yours and you are responsible for the consequences of your wish. This is why everyone says, ‘be careful what you wish for’. Envision, as realistically as possible, what it would be like to have what you have longed for and embrace the emotions you would experience and then ask yourself if you really want this picture to become real then listen to your mental or physical response. Make sure what you desire, is really what you want.

I have done this exercise before and found out that what I created in my mind was not actually what I wanted to transpire in the real world. The fantasy was better than the reality. It has also helped me discover in more detail what I would like to experience in my life. I write down affirmations and read them daily and I also have a dream board; two tools that are very helpful. Gwenn has said it is also important to pay attention to the details because what you ask for is exactly what you will receive. For example, if you want to have lots of money ask for financial abundance instead of asking to be rich. The word “rich” is too vague and holds many different meanings. To put this in perspective, I believe God, Angels, the Universe, and the Spiritual Realm collectively is that benevolent Genie waiting to grant your wishes. But instead of just three wishes, you could have an unlimited number of wishes. I will be focusing on what I really want; my end result. What do you really want?

Give Wings to Others

I’ve been thinking a lot about my spiritual path and my life purpose and trying to figure out what it is that I am meant to be doing. I’m keeping an open mind and exploring new options. I am in the middle of planning a Reiki session with a Master/Teacher. Reiki intrigues me because it involves working with energy and your hands; two things which greatly interest me. I know I enjoy helping others but I am not quite certain in what capacity. It gives me joy to help my friends realize what they love doing and offering guidance in taking steps toward the directions of their dreams. It’s kind of like giving them a pair of wings, so they can begin to fly. On the other side of that also lies frustration because just showing someone the door they’ve longed to see doesn’t mean they will go through it. And I can’t shove them through it because it’s not my place or decision to make that choice for them. I take solace in the fact that I’ve helped them acknowledge that an opportunity is there and as their friend I will support whatever decision they would like to make. As I reflected on this I believe it is always important to be encouraging or inspirational to someone else. It never takes a lot of effort to say, "I believe in you!" or "You can do it!" You never know how a simple supportive statement can affect someone. It may just be what someone needed to hear to change their lives.

Making Contact with Spirit Guides

What is a Spirit Guide? I have learned, in essence, it's a spirit you always have near that will help you fulfill your life purpose.

About 4 years ago, way before any kind of spiritual awareness, I was interested in learning my Spirit Guide's name. I do not remember exactly why I wanted to do this I just know I spent the time to research ways in which to proceed. I found a website that laid out an easy plan: Spirit Guides.

Now at the time I didn't fully believe everything on this site and thought it kind of silly especially since the site said the spirit would accept whatever name I gave it. Are you kidding me? Even with that kind of thinking I still wanted to give it a go. I read "Lesson 1 and 2" and thought about it and changed it so it would fit into what worked for me. I laid down on my bed, went into my relaxation mode, and quieted my mind. I sent out the thought, "Hello, spirit guide" and when I felt someone was there, I simply asked, "What is your name?" The name that came to me was Elyse. After that, I didn't do anything and just forgot about it.

Two months ago, in May, I reconnected with someone who has counseled me in the past on a topic completely different than spirituality, and is now my mentor/spiritual counselor, a very real lightworker. In fact I never knew she was a spiritual counselor until I reconnected with her and at our second session she was doing Reiki on me. She was talking about my energy and how relaxed it was and she said, "Your Spirit Guide is here and her name is Elyse." When I heard the name, I paused for a minute but didn't think anything of it. As I was driving home, a sudden rush went through my body and I remembered!!

Presently, I am working on just "feeling" when she is near. I hope to advance my communication techniques with her in the future. I believe the first experience four years ago went as well as it did was because I wasn't trying so hard and I had zero expectations. Trying too hard will just create a block and leave you frustrated; like trying to remember where you left something. When you stop thinking about it, you remember. Just let go.

Now I share my story with you not so that you will do the exact same thing I did but so you will understand that however you go about trying to contact your Spirit Guide is completely up to you. You have to figure out what works best for you. I believe you will find your own way and when you do, let me know.