Books: Our Forever Companions

Dogs might be considered man's best friend, but ask any number of people what items or companions they would want to pack if knowing they were to be stranded on a deserted island and you can almost bet they will mention their favorite books.

Throughout youth and adulthood many voracious readers become victims of life. What this means is the young may find the time they have for reading is taken up by critical and time-sensitive homework assignments. Adults, on the other hand, often feel the pressures of work and other responsibilities prevent them from the recreational reading that they enjoy due to lack of concentration. They have the time but not the presence of mind.

There is no harm in stacking a few good reads on your nightstand to be readily available when the reading-mood strikes. In the past I have recommended some books around this time of the year – and this year is no different. A few that I've found to be educational and inspirational include:

• Love for No Reason by Marci Shimoff - Free Press. Ms. Shimoff is the New York Times bestselling author of Happy for No Reason. In the more recent, Love for No Reason, the author creates a seven step program to enhance the quality of love in your life  – and this includes love of yourself! Ms. Shimoff guides her readers through what they may consider unlovable in themselves, as well as how to come from a place of compassion as a means to communicate and give unconditional love to others. Her straightforward approach and helpful exercises open up the door to a better understanding of love and what it can manifest. Engaging, anecdotal stories makes this a very personal, satisfying read.
• The 11 Karmic Spaces by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati - Kashi Publishing. Interesting that Marci Shimoff, the above-noted author comments that "Unconditional love is the very center of Ma Jaya's teachings! This beautiful, educational tool of love, honesty and spiritual law is illuminating and refreshing in that it categorically states what karma is and what it is not.
• Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn - MJF Books. Broken up into three superlative sections, Mr. Kabat-Zinn's book of mindful meditation is not just a theoretical plan. It incorporates the practice and assists the "meditation rookie" in a manner that appears simplistic in its ease of use. He encourages the reader to be present in their own life, teaching each of us that there are no greener pastures and that contentment comes from within.

 I will leave you with a few beautiful quotes on reading ... enjoy!

“He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes.”
^{- Barrow}

“To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry.”
^{- Gaston Bachelard}

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
^{- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"}