This post is a part of the Season of Gratitude Series. You can participate by writing a gratitude post and telling me about it. For more details, click here.

What would you have to say about these questions?

How many books do I have? Not sure of the exact count, but it’s about 500. When I did the swag by multiplying how many books on a shelf by the number of books I was shocked that so many are fitting into this tiny space. When I moved in here a friend of mine commented that she thought I’d have more books. Since simplifying, I borrow fiction from the library so that’s cut down on consumption

What’s the last book you read? Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fay Weldon (also known as Big Women). It’s a book about the rise of feminist publishing house in London along with the stories of the 7 women involved in its founding.

What’s the last book you bought? Just Saturday night I bought Loving What Is by Byron Katie. I saw her do The Work with 4 individuals in a movie and I headed straight to the bookstore. I’m looking forward to devouring it and practicing the principles that are in it.

Five Meaningful Books Man, this one’s a tough one because I read such divergent stuff. I’ll have to categorize.

In the chick lit genre which I’m up on since my separation, I’ll have to go with Good In Bed. It’s the first in that genre I read. While Jennifer Weiner might think it an insult to be labeled that way, I just love that the story spoke to me and was an easy read. I read mostly very heavy non-fiction and my life it’s serious, chick lit gives me a place to kick back and relax.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is the best biographical book I’ve read out of a total of about three Seriously though, this book gave me clarity, strength, and courage during a very difficult time. I saw it about 6 months before I bought it and knew I had to have it. It’s Elizabeth’s story of finding herself through the decadence of Italy, the reverence of India, and the balance of Indonesia.

Third up is Retire Young, Retire Rich by Robert Kiyosaki. Of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, this book was the most helpful to me and I think it contains all the concepts of the others. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by itself was a jolt to my subconscious with regard to money and work. I always thought that you had to work for money, and you do. However, the book taught me that money can work for you.

I recently finished facilitating a 6-week book study on Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I was very resistant to reading this book, however I found that it was a very practical guide to the way the Universe works. It’s great as a primer for the world of subjective reality, oneness, and deliberate creation.

Given to me on my 18th birthday, The Way of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, helped me to see the plasticity of the material world. It really all is extremely amorphous and I enjoy playing with it. In the past year I’ve been playing more

Today I am thankful for being introduced to the written word early on in my life. I often escaped into the world of books as a child and continue to be very inquisitive as an adult because I know someone has written about it somewhere. It’s also spawned my love of writing. I give special thanks to Rick who tagged me in this meme. What are you grateful for today?

In Spirit,
Nneka

One of the books that changed the course of my life. When I was 18 my dad gave me The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. It really warped my mind on what was possible. It was then that I began to see that I create my world in a very Matrix-y sort of way. I started dabbling with it and it worked.

This evening I went to see the movie. It was EXCELLENT! Very few movies are able to do justice to their books, but this movie did the job. They didn’t flinch on the hard stuff either. They came right out and talked about your power being in the moment. Even though I read the book many years ago, the acting really kept me in the moment and I didn’t anticipate the scenes. (Of course that might be due to the subject matter.)

The best part was that it returned me to the reason why I started this site: to impart this information to the rest of the world, by example, and through my writing. I think I may have fallen off track a bit. So without ruining the movie, I’ll point out a few Truths that are essential.

The ability to change your life is in the moment. All of the vizualizing and affirming will not do anything to change your life. The choice that you make in the moment is the pivot point. The good news is that the pivot point is always available.

Being present is the only way to access the power to change. Since you can change your life in a moment, if you want to actively create your life you have to be present - aware, conscious - in the moment.

You can only control your choice in the moment. You cannot control the outcome. And you certainly can’t control what’s gone. Only the choice right now, right here is under control, and I don’t mean in an egoic sense. As such, there is no point in being attached to the outcome. The journey is what matters.

Goals and dreams are still important. Being in the moment does not mean that you abandon your goals and dreams. It just means that you recognize that it is a point on the horizon, but the moment is where you decide whether to go towards it, to the left, or to the right. The other thing is that anything can happen, despite your best intentions. Life is about being present, being as aware as possible.

The book and the movie explain it much better. Go check them out!

In Spirit,
Nneka