Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein

I won’t say much about Gabrielle Bernstein’s Super Attractor. There is something about it that turns me off. I suspect my biases are usually clear, though I don’t often state them as explicitly as I do here.

Much of what you’ll find in term of advice is in Super Attractor is similar to what you might find in other self-help books. It has the New Age perspective that is common among many books of this genre, especially in the wake of Oprah’s popularizing of books such as The Secret.

Bernstein goes a step farther in reviving Spiritualism. She essentially claims to be a medium (though she doesn’t use the word) who is in touch with a spirit guide—and you can be, too. I do not know if she is a sham or if she is playing with fire, but it is a path I cannot take or recommend on either scientific of religious grounds.

“Fear is a gentle reminder of what you don’t want, and therefore it helps you clarify what you do want,” Gabriell Bernstein, Super Attractor

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Acres of Diamonds by Russel H. Conwell

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

Make Miracles in Forty Days by Melody Beattie

Night of the Ghouls (film)

The Real World of Sherlock Holmes by Peter Costello

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

The Secret of the Ages by Robert Collier

Bernstein, Gabrielle. Super Attractor: Methods for Manifesting a Life Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2019.

Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado

In the early chapters of Anxious for Nothing, pastor and author Max Lucado describes the kind of harried, distracted anxiety that people suffer in modern life. Many are depressed by troubling things going on all around that repeat all day on newscasts.

Honestly, that is not the reason I picked up the book. I did not have a particularly gloomy outlook. Nor was I consciously worked up about much. I was driving by an amygdala-induced fear that I didn’t understand. Even so, I read the rest of the book.

Anxious for Nothing is an extended sermon, taking its main text as Philippians 4:4-8. The Main points for the acronym CALM:

-celebrate God’s goodness,

-ask God for help,

-leave your concerns with Him and

-meditate on good things.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind ins Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-8 (NKJV)

For Christians, there is plenty of good to be found in God that can allay our fears. God is in control. He has demonstrated His love and mercy toward us in Christ. He has a good plan for us and He is able to carry it out.

God hears our prayers for help. He invites us to ask for what we want. His own love for us motivates Him to answer our prayers; though sometimes He has better things in mind for us than we might imagine. We can rely on His promises, which He encourages us to rehearse, though He never forgets them.

Because we can rely on God, we can stop worrying. We can let things go. We can remind ourselves of all the way God has already helped us an rest in peace.

Finally, we can choose what we think about. Instead of worrying, we can abide in Christ. We can dwell on what God has done for us and what He has promised, and we can take courage.

Max Lucado also wrote

It's Not About Me

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Philippians

Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Catherine M. Pittman & Elizabeth M. Karle

The Solution by Lucinda Bassett

Lucado, Max. Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2017.

Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Catherine M. Pittman & Elizabeth M. Karle

We can face all kinds of situations that cause anxiety. For some of us, that anxiety can be overwhelming and get in the way of living the life we want. Feelings of anxiety are produced in the brain as a response to triggering circumstances, and we can retrain our brains to lessen our anxious responses. Psychologist Catherine M. Pittman and her co-author Elizabeth M. Karle explain this in Rewire Your Anxious Brain.

The authors devote quite a bit of the book to describing the workings of those parts of the brain most involved in our sense of fear and anxiety. These are the amygdala and the cortex.

The amygdala has a lot of control over our fight, flight or freeze response. It is centrally located and well connected in the brain, so it can produce a powerful response before our thinking mind—the cortex—can figure out what is going on. In addition, the amygdala has its own emotional memories, independent of the cortex, so you may have an anxious response to a stimulus you have little conscious awareness of.

A big part of dealing with anxiety is retraining the amygdala. This can be difficult because it involves exposure to situations that produce anxiety. When you face those situations and see that there is no negative impact, or that they were less than you expected and you can handle it (you didn’t die), your amygdala learns that these situation aren’t so threatening and it will stop producing anxious responses. The authors show how you can take this in steps, starting will less anxiety-inducing stimulus and working your way up, but it may be faster to dive into the deep end.

Retraining the amygdala can be aided by relaxation. The book describes several relaxation practices.

Though the amygdala is always involved in producing anxiety, the cortex can be the source of it or can perpetuate it. Retraining the cortex is mainly a matter of changing your thinking. When you recognize anxiety-producing thoughts, you can change what you are thinking. You might use countering thoughts that you prepared for the situation or you might distract yourself by thinking of something altogether different. Mindfulness is a helpful practice in that it helps you to recognize that your thoughts are not necessarily the reality and you can remain peaceful while the thoughts come and go.

The book is a mix of science and how-to aimed and helping anxious people find relief. The authors strongly suggest that you get help, and I think this is a reasonable suggestion. If anxiety is interfering with your life, you will probably benefit from the aid of a professional. This book can help you understand what is happening and what can be done about it, but you may need some help to actually adapt them your own needs and put them into practice.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel

The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson with Miriam Z. Klipper

Secrets You Keep from Yourself by Dan Neuharth

The Solution by Lucinda Bassett

Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat

Pittman, Catherine M., & Elizabeth M. Karle. Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic & Worry. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger, 2015.

The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

I first glanced through David Deida’s The Way of the Superior Man several years ago. I seemed far out to me. When I saw it recommended in another book (You are a Badass by Jen Sincero), I decided to read it. It’s still far out there.

Deida’s premise is that sexual passion has its source in the attraction of opposite poles, masculine and feminine energies. The book is written as if to a men with strong masculine sexual energy who are attracted to women with strong feminine energy, but he believes that the underlying concept applies to any sex or sexual orientation. The essential polarity is masculine and feminine, not male and female.

Masculine energy is purposeful and giving. Men have gifts for the world and they are only fulfilled when they are giving their gifts wholeheartedly.

Problems arise when men shirk their purpose and put aside sacrifice for the sake of comfort and distraction. If a man allows himself to be diverted, he will have problems in sexual relationships as well as other aspects of life.

Women represent a paradox for men. Feminine energy is focused on relationship, no purpose. However, a woman with strong feminine energy is attracted to a man with strong masculine energy. She wants him to be committed to his purpose as his first priority, but she also wants his devotion and security in the relationship. She will test him in both areas and tempt him to see if he is weak in either.

This may make it seem like women have conflicting desires and spend their days dreaming up ways to drive men crazy. Deida disagrees. What women want is for their men to be all they can be, to be their best selves. A woman can relax with such a man, trust him and allow her own feminine energy to flow.

Deida puts the relationship for successful relationships and satisfying sex on the shoulders of men. If you want it, you have to step up and be the kind of man who can be true to his highest calling and best self even in the face of fear and pain.

Sex is more than an act we perform. It is bound up in who we are, our passion for life and our capacity for  intimacy.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

No More Christian Nice Guy by Paul Coughlin

The Sacred Romance by John Eldridge with Brian Curtis

Deida, David. The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering Women, Work, and Sexual Desire. 1997. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2004.

Suggestible You by Erik Vance

Journalist Erik Vance grew up in a Christian Science home. Though he no longer adheres to the religion, he believed that he experienced and heard many true stories of seemingly miraculous healing. The not miraculous, but still amazing source of these improvements in health may be in the brain. Vance recounts his search for answers in Suggestible You.

Our brains are hard at work predicting what will happen next; we are constantly expecting. What we perceive, and how our brain reacts is powerfully affected by expectation. Our expectations are shaped by suggestion. Though suggestion has many forms, at the heart of each is a story. It doesn’t have to be an actually true story; it just needs to be plausible and resonant.

One area where the power of suggestion is apparent is the placebo effect. Our bodies produce chemicals that can make us feel better, and sometimes it just takes a good suggestion to get it to do so. A placebo is such a suggestion. Placeboes contain no drugs that should be effective and can take many forms such as a pill, a shot, a fake surgery or even the presence of a professional who seems competent and caring. Placeboes work so well that on certain type of diseases that they are better that many treatments.

The effectiveness of placeboes presents a problem for medical researchers. How do you sort out the effect of a treatment from the placebo effect? Modern medical research requires testing to show that a treatment is more effective that a placebo. In the United States, the law requiring such studies was introduced by Senator Estes Kefauver, who readers of this blog may know from his anti-comic book hearings.

There is also a nocebo effect, essentially the brains response to a suggestion that makes us sick. Noceboes are connected to fear, so they are in a sense supercharged in comparison to placeboes.

Vance looks into other ways suggestions can affection or brains, particularly hypnosis and false memories. Science provides some answers for how these things work. Placeboes seem to be tied to chemicals released by the brain, though there seem to be several at work and they may represent only a few of the ways placeboes my work in our incredibly complex brains. Hypnosis is not the same as placebo and its workings remain mysterious.

Suggesting affects us in ways outside of health. Marketers are particularly interested in our suggestibility. Our expectations can influence the way food tastes and our perceptions of value.

Vance finds hope in the still incomplete science of how expectation affects our health. Those who are susceptible to placebo or hypnosis (not necessarily the same people) may have a host of options for coaxing out the healing powers of their own bodies. Better understanding of how these things work may help us make better treatments for those who are less susceptible. He envisions a day when placeboes and hypnotism may be treatments medical professionals apply in much the way the use drugs or surgeries.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Daniel G. Amen

How to Fail at Almost Anything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

Timeless Healing by Herbert Benson with Marg Stark

Vance, Erik. Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brain’s Ability to Deceive, Transform, and Heal. Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2016.

The Magic Power of Self-Image Psychology

Surgeon Maxwell Maltz proposed that we are powerfully motivated to—actually must—produce in reality our self-image. If one wants to improve his life, he must improve his self-image. Maltz elaborates this theory, along with advice on improving self-image, in The Magic Power of Self-Image Psychology.

In an early chapter, Maltz introduces a though experiment. He encourages you to imagine yourself in a theater. You’ll find that you are also the primary actor in the show. In addition you are the writer and director. This is your self-image and you are in control—if you want to be.

Maltz returns to this concept of watching a film or play throughout the book. You can recall previous successes and bring that sense of confidence and accomplishment into the present moment to help you act with boldness. You can imagine yourself taking on challenges and overcoming them before it happens. You can use your imagination to anticipate problems. People often do this to stir up their fear and talk themselves into withdrawing, but you can also do it to invent solutions and find answers to objections so that you can proceed with reasonable confidence.

After introducing the idea of self-image, Maltz uses the remaining chapters to discuss building a healthy self-image to help you be happier and more successful in various situations or aspects of life. This covers a lot of ground, which is not easily summarized. Some of the advice seemed useful and interesting to me.

For instance, he discusses goals. Goals should be your own (not someone else’s). They should be realistic. Visualize your success (in that theater in your mind).

It’s important to be yourself. Don’t be afraid of being different. Don’t be afraid of seemingly perfect people. Accept yourself as a human being with strength and weaknesses; don’t beat yourself up. Express yourself in positive ways.

It’s natural to experience fear. Be open about it; fears seem less bad when they are brought out into the light. Solve problems as well as you can—imperfect solutions can still make things better. Once you’ve done what you can, think about something else.

Throughout the book, Maltz reiterates the basic theme. Your unconscious mind is working to produce what you want. Give it good and clear instructions by having a good, positive, realistic self-image. Your imagination, Maltz refers to it as your “success mechanism,” will guide you.

Maxwell Maltz also wrote Creative Living for Today.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Succeed by Heidi Grant Halvorson

This Year I Will... by M. J. Ryan

Maltz, Maxwell. The Magic Power of Self-Image Psychology. 1964. New York: Pocket Books, 1970.

You Can Become the Person You Want to Be by Robert H. Schuller

As a megachurch pastor of a previous generation, Robert H. Schuller wrote several books about what he called possibility thinking. In You Can Become the Person You Want to Be, Schuller puts for the idea their own beliefs, or “impossibility thinking,” holds that people back. People allow fear and perfectionism to hold them back. The delay to form perfect plans, they quit when they discover the slightest flaw, the turn back when things get tough. As a result, many people are missing out on the life they want.

In contrast, Schuller encourages what he calls possibility thinking. Recognize that there is no perfect plan. Look for the good and start building on it to improve your life.

He offers advice for building possibility thinking. For instance, get to the root of fear. Very often you will find that things you fear are things you can handle, or possibly the aren’t very bad at all. Instead of being insurmountable roadblock, you fears are often things you can handle (or learn to overcome, or get help with) if they even happen.

If you have a good idea, start now. Do not delay. Start small and build in stages.  If you believe you can solve the problems that you must overcome to do a worthy thing, you will. Schuller offers several problem-solving tips.

Throughout the book, Schuller encourages the use of affirmations. He even lists several. Affirmations activate your faith and build your possibility thinking.

Schuller’s book is flavored with religion, as you would expect of a pastor. He doesn’t suggest that God is a major factor in things until the later chapters of the book. Even so, the religious tone of the book are not really any stronger, and only a little more specific, than what you might find in a host of other self-help books.

Robert H. Schuller also wrote

Life's Not Fair, but God is Good

Self-Love

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

I Declare by Joel Osteen

Language and the Pursuit of Happiness by Chalmers Brothers

Positive Imaging by Norman Vincent Peale

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

You Can if You Think You Can by Norman Vincent Peale

Schuller, Robert H. You Can Become the Person You Want to Be. New York: Hawthorn, 1973.

Do Less Get More by Shaa Wasmund

The title of Shaa Wasmund’s book was certain to grab my attention: Do Less Get More. The purpose of the book is to show people how to focus on what really matters to them and cut out what doesn’t.

The early chapters deal with the problems of doing too much. I didn’t need much convincing that I spend a lot of time on things I ought to do and too little time on things I love to do. She then gives attention to the ways a life in which we do (or possibly even have) less is better if those things we do or have are those that are the most important, valuable and meaningful to us. Again, I didn’t need much convincing on that part. Wasmund describes it this way, “Happiness isn’t a consequence of living a successful life; success is a consequence of living happy life.”

The final chapters are practical advice on how to achieve the “less is more” life. I won’t go into all of them. The book is short and written in a simple style, so you won’t have to invest a lot of time reading it if you’re interested in learning more.

Even so, I’ll mention a few things that resonated with me. It’s important to ask for help. Don’t let fear of appearing stupid or weak prevent you from getting help; asking for aid and counsel is one of the smartest things you can do and the humility it takes is a great strength. Concentrate on your strength; working on your weaknesses eats up a lot of time and probably won’t lead where you want to go. By focusing on what you do best, you’ll achieve more and increase your expertise. Concentrate on one thing at a time, especially the best thing you can do right now. Clean up your clutter, get organized, let go of stuff that holds you back.

Especially, value your time. When you value your time, you’ll want to spend it on those things that are most important and valuable to you, that produce the best results in your life.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life by Alan Lakein

Idea Mapping by Jamie Nast

Rapt by Winifred Gallagher

Secrets You Keep from Yourself by Dan Neuharth

Wasmund, Shaa. Do Less Get More: How to Work Smart and Live Life Your Way. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2015.

I Am Spock by Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy is well known for his portrayal of Spock on Star Trek television series and films. As a Vulcan, Spock is of a long-lived species, and his appearance in the 2009 reboot film and its 2013 sequel (Into Darkness) makes him a link between the new adventures and their predecessors. The actor passed away last year (2015).

I Am Spock is Nimoy’s memoir relating to his career as an actor and a director. Of course, Spock and Star Trek play an important role in that career, though Nimoy does not limit his reminiscence to the franchise.

Throughout the book, Nimoy imagines conversations with Spock. As an actor in a series where writers and directors change, he saw himself as a protector of the character (and suggested that other actors take similar attitudes to such characters). This made him passionate about a character known for being dispassionate. At the same time, he had the reasonable fear of being type casted and being unable to get other parts.

Fortunately, Nimoy was able to move on to other things after the three seasons of the original Star Trek series. On series television, he played Paris on Mission Impossible. He also had guest roles on a number of other shows. He also worked on the stage. One gets the impression for the book that Nimoy had relatively few interruptions in his career after bringing Spock to life, though not always with the steady paycheck that comes from being on a series.

Nimoy became interested in directing and tried his hand directing a few episodes of television shows. He got his chance to direct a feature film with Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. This was a success and he was offered the helm of the next film, The Voyage Home. He also had a great success as director of Three Men and a Baby.

As a Trek fan, I’m obviously interested in that part of his career. Even so, I found it almost a relief to break from that and read about Nimoy’s other projects. Though he does not present himself as religious, he seemed particularly to relish projects that provided a connection to his Jewish heritage. Even the distinctive Vulcan salute was taken by Nimoy from a temple ceremony he observed as a child.

The book was published in 1995, so it covers the period up to the sixth Star Trek film, The Undiscovered Country, and his appearance on two episodes of The Next Generation. He gave no hint of imagining that he would reprise the role of Spock 14 years later.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis

Fic by Anne Jamison

The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron

Nimoy, Leonard. I Am Spock. New York: Hachette, 1995.

The Writings

The Writings is a collection of poetic and wisdom books. These books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. In Christian Bibles, these Old Testament texts are typically placed between the historical books and the prophets. These books are organized a little differently in the Hebrew Bible, where they are grouped with other books that some considered to be of similar vintage (the Ketuvim).

Poetry is a link to all these books. Job and Song of Solomon are both long poems. Psalms is a collection of songs, but these lyrics can be read as poems and follow poetic forms used in the other books. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes also use poetic forms; the contrasting or comparing couplet in particular is used in much of Proverbs.

These books also deal with subjects that can be difficult. Job suffers incredible loss, and has long debates about sin and suffering with friends who are supposedly there to comfort him. Many psalms are songs of praise and thanksgiving to God, but in some the psalmist, especially when it is David, freely expresses grief, anger, disappointment and fear. The wisdom literature collected in Proverbs sometimes shrugs its shoulders hopelessly at folly, and Ecclesiastes takes a very dark view of life. Song of Solomon deals frankly with passion and physical love in marriage, possibly to the point of eroticism.

These books address tough issues, but they do not offer easy answers. Sometimes the best they can offer is trust God. Trust God is good advice. Even so, we often would like to hear something else. We’d rather have an answer, or find strength in ourselves or our communities, or be assured that we can reason it all out on our own. We’d rather do almost anything instead of trust God.

Because of this, these books can be tough going for both the faithful and nonbelievers. I encourage Christians to read these books. Come prepared with an understanding of the more straightforward parts of the Bible. You’re going to wrestle with challenges in your life, and you’re not always going to have easy answers, or answers you can even understand. Wrestling with these books, prayerfully and faithfully, can help you prepare to deal with the strange difficulties of real life, where prayer and faith seem to be all you have and even that doesn’t seem to be enough.

You may find these books troubling, especially if you are a new Christian and you’re still seeking answers and encouragement to help you live your new life. You may find yourself asking, “Why would God including this in His Word? Why would he bring up these issues and say things about the I cannot fathom?” I don’t know. Trust God.

Ecclesiastes

Solomon’s reflections on his life, Ecclesiastes, are surprisingly dark.  We might be surprised that such an accomplished, wealthy, and famous man might experience such emptiness and disappointment.

After all, his list of achievements is long. He built the temple to God his father, David, had longed to build. He had incredible wisdom that brought him widespread fame. His reign was a time of unusual peace when foreign nations paid tribute to Israel. He had the opportunity and means to indulge every pleasure, curiosity and whim.

When he measure this against the scale of eternity, he found all these accomplishments, all the things he learned, built and experienced, to be worthless. “Vanity” is the word you’ll find repeated in most translations. The wealth amassed over a lifetime passes on to others. Great structures crumble; if they last centuries, their builders are forgotten. Pleasures are fleeting. We all die, and what we do isn’t worth much. Solomon is frank about his disappointment and frustration, “All is vanity.”

How can someone live in such a world? God made the world, and His creation is not devoid of good. In the later chapters of the book, Solomon encourages people to fear God, do their best, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. He looks around and finds people who eat and drink, enjoy their families, and work hard at something productive. He sees that it is good. It may not last, but it is still good, and people should enjoy life.

Between the lamentations of the early chapters and the conclusion, there is a collection of proverbs. Wisdom is valuable. A wise person will do more good, enjoy more and better pleasure, and avoid a lot of pain.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

First Chronicles

Second Chronicles

First Kings

Proverbs

Psalms

Ecclesiastes. The Holy Bible. New King James Verson. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Psalms

Psalms is a collection of songs. Many of the songs are attributed to the poet and king David. Others are attributed to Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and even Moses. Many are anonymous.

The songs were meant to be sung, and sometimes they contain annotations suggesting a certain style, tune or instruments. I find that sometimes the structure or words of a psalm suggest that it was probably intended for a soloist, a chorus, or a call and response.

Many of the psalms, especially those attributed to David, deal with the faithfulness of God and the blessed life of those who trust Him. Other psalms suggest that David encouraged, and probably enjoyed, corporate singing of praise to God. David is particularly honest in his prayer-like psalms, and is not afraid to express his anger, disappointment and fear. Even in these moments, he is grateful for God’s mercy.

Several psalms have a messianic message, foreseeing and describing Christ before His coming. Jesus even suggests that these psalms refer to Him, along with other Old Testament scripture (see Luke 24:44).

Other songs were written for, or have become associated with, certain ceremonies. The Hallel psalms (113-118) are sung as part of the Passover celebration. The Songs of Ascent (120-134) are associated with pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

You will find there is a psalm that resonates with almost any emotion, mood or experience. Though the music of these songs is lost to most of us, they still invite us to explore our thoughts and experience, reflect, pray, and connect to a God who cares, who’s mercy is at hand. Even the structure of much of this Hebrew poetry, in which ideas are repeated, compare and contrasted, invites one into meditation.

Psalms. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Level Up Your Life by Steve Kamb

Life is not a game, but you can learn from games to make your life more adventurous and fulfilling. Steve Kamb, a gaming enthusiast who turned his attention to physical fitness, used concepts of gamification to change his life. He describes the process in Level Up Your Life.

Throughout much of his childhood and into his early adult years, Kamb spent much of his free time playing video games. It was an escape for a life he didn’t always like. On the down side, these nearly addictive games were not helping him achieve a life he really wanted. He began to look for what made games so satisfying and how that could be adapted to making life more satisfying.

It is surprisingly simple. Our brains enjoy making progress, and it triggers our internal reward centers when we get feedback that lets us know we’ve progressed. Designers build incremental progress and associated rewards into the structures of most video games.

Much of the middle part of the book deals with goal setting. It is not much different from the advice you might find in other self-help or popular psychology books, except for the gamification spin. Imagine your idea life (Kamb calls it your “Level 50” life). Choose some challenging, inspiring, big goals (quests). Break them down into smaller, doable goals (specific timelines help). Create systems of accountability and rewards to encourage yourself to stick to it. Find a group, or groups, of people who can help and encourage you along the way.

In the final chapters, he deals with supporting concepts about overcoming fear, supporting your goals with good health and fitness, stirring up you sense of adventure, travel tips, and making the sacrifices you may need to make to live the life you desire and respond to a higher calling. He takes inspiration from fictional heroes of popular culture: Bruce Wayne (Batman), Jason Bourne, Indiana Jones, and Katniss Everdeen. He also lists several resources, both web sites and other books. If you’re inspired by adventure stories (in games, books, film or other media), you may find in Kamb’s book a framework for building the life you want.

I like that Kamb emphasizes that life, like a game, should be enjoyed. We should enjoy the process as well as the achievement. We should be flexible and open to the adventures we may discover along the way; they can enhance our lives and may prove useful to our quest in surprising ways.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Epic by John Eldredge

The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Small Move, Big Change by Caroline L. Arnold

Succeed by Heidi Grant Halvorson

This Year I Will... by M. J. Ryan

Wisdom from the Batcave by Cary A. Friedman

Kamb, Steve. Level Up Your Life: How to Unlock Adventure and Happiness by Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story. New York: Rodale, 2016.

It's Not About Me by Max Lucado

Many of our problems arrive from our focus on us. The cure, which leads to fulfillment, is a life focused on Christ. Max Lucado makes the case for this idea in his book It’s Not About Me.

Everything and everyone was made to reveal the glory of God. God is holy. It is hard to imagine how higher and more is God than anything else is, and He made everything else. Contact with God changes us and we become holy, different and set apart, too. When Moses was given a glimpse of God, his face shown so that people were afraid to look at him.

We are to shine, too, as mirrors that reflect the glory of God. We have reason to praise Him. He is our stable foundation; He never changes though all else does. He saved us entirely for His own purposes and pleasure even though we could never deserve it. He redeems our suffering, and our fleeting suffering for His name’s sake will be rewarded with eternal blessing. If we have success in life, it is His gift. Even our bodies are His and make to glorify Him, so it important for us to take care of our bodies and avoid sin.

I found a personal connection to one of the stories recounted by Lucado. As a Texan, he was aware of the collapse of the Queen Isabella Causeway on September 15, 2001,when it was struck by a barge. I was vacationing nearby in Corpus Christi at the time. One of my in-laws reacted in fear, assuming my wife and I must have been trapped, or worse killed (even though the bridge collapsed in the middle of the night), and frantically called anyone in the family or at work who might have some contact with us. A close relative of mine shrugged it off, saying a call from the Texas Highway Patrol would come if something happened to us. One reacted with fear (surely, something was wrong), one reacted with faith (we were in God’s hands, whatever happened).

You might note that this happened only days after terrorists crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center towers in New York. On the first day of that vacation, we were struck by another car under strange circumstances in Arkansas, leaving us stuck in Morrilton; we ended up skipping a planned stop at Hot Springs. The collapsing bridge was the last straw, we were too heartsick to enjoy our vacation and we came home early.

Even after all that, we were grateful. We were alive and well when so many others were not. We had our family with us when others did not. We knew God was with us, comforting us, and that even if the worst had happened to us, we would be with Him, which is the thing our hearts long for.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Into the Depths of God by Calvin Miller

Life's Not Fair, but God is Good by Robert H. Schuller

Stop Whining, Start Living by Dr. Laura

Walking with God by John Eldredge

I previously posted a review of this book here->.

Lucado, Max. It’s Not About Me. Nashville, TN: Integrity, 2004.

New & Interesting Stuff April 13, 2014

The Age of Edison by Ernest Freeburg

Best of What I Read in 2013

Even a small reallocation of time...to the pursuit of outstanding thinking could have momentous repercussions

Fear is why we get in our own way

Featured Book Summer 2014

Featured Category Summer 2014

Fic by Anne Jamison

The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman

Giant Sucking Sound

Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior

Having spent decades...abolishing oughts because they constrain us, we...no longer have oughts to defend us

I am convinced that words or names often have more influence on the mass of men than things

I ask that God’s will be done, and I mostly sort of mean it

Kirby by Mark Evanier

Learning & sciences have no material effect in subduing ambition and selfishness

New & Interesting Stuff Jan. 26, 2014

Small Move, Big Change by Caroline L. Arnold

The core of fear is that what hurts...you may never end

The core of fear is that what hurts...you may never end

The core of fear is that what hurts or frightens you may never end.

-Dan Neuharth, Ph.D., Secrets You Keep from Yourself