Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life:  Living the Wisdom of the Tao by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Audio Book: ( hours, 9 minutes      Hardback Book 416 pages     


Dr. Dyer offers honey to the soul of the reader/listener of this great book.   He delivers the teachings of Lao-tzu, 81 verses that pretty much sum up the path to living in harmony with your higher power, life, nature, our fellow travellers.   He speaks with an authority whether speaking the words of Jesus who he quotes throughout and Chinese wise man, Lao-tzu.   He quotes the Bible and the Tao Te Ching.    Dr. Dyer made a study of each of the 81 verses of the Tao turning each verse into a study on the life principles it expands upon.    He is also a Bible scholar because he can quote Jesus' teachings and life lessons beautifully and thoroughly sharing the wisdom of both biblical teaching and the lessons of the Tao.   This is a magnificent blending bringing two spiritual paths together and sharing the betterment of man gleaned from each as they compliment one another though delivered in different centuries and diverse parts of the world Lao-tzu in China 500 years before Jesus bringing the good news to man 500 years later in Israel.    Dr. Dyer's essays are fire and ice the perfect blending of the two as if the truth of the ages opens before the reader with the fire of spirit filled zeal and the cool nature that makes it tolerable to the psyche of man.   Hard truths are laid open in an easy to comprehend manner and the reader will literally experience the joy of understanding the wisdom of the ages brought in humble and simplistic language broken down often in parables that the reader may understand and marvel.   An amazing spiritual experience I cannot begin to say enough good things about.   A worthy read for every one regardless of faith.  An explanation as to why we think we are so different from one another when we are really very much alike.   Words that will touch your heart, mind and soul.   WOW!

The Wisdom of Sundays: Life Changing Insights From Super Soul Conversations

The Wisdom of Sundays: Life Changing Insights From Super Soul Conversations by Oprah Winfrey           Audio Book:  4 hours, 54 minutes      Hardback Book:  240 Pages      

In this book, Oprah speaks with several well-known deep spiritual gurus, motivational speakers, writers all, who share their insights into the spirituality of their own soul quests for understanding of the human condition and how we can enrich our lives and find our paths in joining our beliefs or self-searching to find our core spiritual foundation and how to open ourselves to a deeper understanding opening our minds to our own life journey.   They offer their personal ideas on life, their views on how people relate to one another and offer thoughts on how relating could go a step further to honestly hear and see each other rather than phasing out when others start to speak and they encourage the opening of our minds to new ways of looking at and coming to understand ourselves and the others in our lives.   All promote studying to become more aware of the world and thought processes around us.   Learning to love ourselves is the first step to transcendence.   This book has a very metaphysical feel as well as principles of Christianity but there is a good mix of many different mindsets and philosophical approaches.    Some of the speakers are:  Eckhart Tolle, Thich Nhat Hahn, Tony Robbins, Arianna Huffington, Shonda Rhimes, Wayne Dyer, Cheryl Strayed,  etc.     All of the people discuss the healing power of love and connection and forgiveness of ourselves and others in our lives  in one version or another according to their own creeds or school of thought.   They promote the idea of what can be that life can be fulfilling and is full of promise and opportunities if we want to see them.    Very good book, I particularly enjoyed all the different directions each person was coming from and how they all bridged in helping the reader to explore your inner self to achieve universal enlightenment.   Lots of good nuggets of wisdom found here and the reader will learn that each person discussed the different aspects Oprah is striving to understand in her own life and share with the world to make it a better place.    The more we know the more we can do to understand all sides of an issue and the more we can find common ground and if not complete agreement certainly compromise points at which we can come together and reason together.   Well done Oprah, yes, I would recommend this book with the caveat to give it a chance if the reader finds one person’s ideas too far from their own, take each chapter on its own and dwell on the concepts found there, then go to the next and find out what concepts are there till you come to the end.   You will have learned a lot and may come away with a new outlook for your own life. 

 - Shirley J.