Self Help, Spiritual Inspiration
Date Published: 06-21-2021
This is a thought-provoking and enlightening exploration of spirituality
and perception. The text functions as a guide to self-improvement, with a
mixture of autobiographical elements and snippets of universal wisdom. The
speaker provides accessible solutions to life’s difficulties, and an outlook
of optimism applicable to any circumstance. The illustrations and graphics
are thoughtfully chosen, and the interactive textual elements give this work
an originality that sets it apart. The speaker’s own experiences and
conclusions are at the heart of this fiction, and the first-person narrative
voice creates a sense of proximity between author and reader. The text
describes itself as ‘a journey to the heart’, and this truthful discovery of
the self is reflected in the speaker’s revelation of his whole self through
the text. The narrative often presents a dichotomy between positive and
negative outlooks or voices.
For example, the speaker includes sections in which his self-doubt speaks,
‘you’ve got no proper education, you can’t spell properly, you’re dyslexic
and your grammar is crap. You’re not really a writer’. This negative voice
directly opposes the sense of self-belief the speaker builds within the
narrative. He uses examples such as this to remind readers that the journey
to happiness is complex and that flaws or setbacks are natural. The negative
separation or fragmentation of the self is prevalent in the lines, ‘I do not
love the grumpy me, the sad me, the hostile me, the parts of me that act as
if I do not care’. The act of writing represents a unification of the self
and an attempt to reframe the speaker’s life into coherence. The frequent
use of direct address and rhetorical questions promotes an active reading
experience, in which the author opens up a dialogue with the reader. The
text includes prompts and activities for the reader to engage with and learn
from. Encouraging readers to take part in the text is emblematic of their
journey to self-fulfillment and love, in which they must take responsibility
for actively creating their own happiness.
The speaker depicts his process of enlightenment as a framework for others
to emulate, and the format of the text demonstrates the transfer of agency
to those who take part in the speaker’s challenges at the end of each
chapter. This work ultimately teaches us that ‘we are the cause of what is’
and thus sheds light on the crucial idea that every individual has the power
to create themselves and their world positively.
Real learning is not what we expect.
If we could expect it, it wouldn’t be learning.
I looked in the mirror today and saw more than who I thought I was; within the eyes was a million years of purpose. I saw the depth of the universe and felt its unfaltering love. It was as if I had seen the divine within myself, the truth of who we are. The us that never dies, the custodian of our purpose, the love of our life.
This wasn’t what I expected and was somewhat sobering. There was no blinding light, no sound of trumpets, and no big handshake with an almighty. But it was as profound as if there had been. For it seemed I was touching an eternal part of myself, an authority within that could create my heaven on earth, that was already in heaven on earth! It was a glimpse of something other than the me I thought I was. Its light questioned the lack of self-care and love I held for myself. And its presence would eventually crack and then dissolve my view of what I thought it meant to be human.
Doing a spiritual journey and tackling self-development issues can give many profound perceptions, and I have had my fair share of them. But this was different, this was personal. It was my eyes that were looking at me, something that I could not escape from. It could not be brushed off as a ‘perhaps’ or a nice perception that subsided over time. Its truth seemed to embed itself into my very soul.
About the Author
Toby Negus is an artist, both with paints and of the spirit. His work reflects a deep commitment to meeting life on its terms and an equally deep understanding of human nature. He is a published author of three books ‘The Sacred You – how to be your own saviour; and A Spiritual Journal – a collection of art and writings celebrating the human spirit. He is a collaborative author of Conscious Creators books and magazines that have become best sellers on Amazon. And he has published a children’s book on manifesting ‘The Boy Who Dreamed in Colour’Toby has always been fascinated with how and why we do what we do and became a student to himself and the world around me at an early age. At 21 he joined a modern day ‘mystery school’ and spent 20 years in the study of the esoteric world of energy, ancient cultures, self-development and the hermetic laws. Within this, he became a teacher to groups in the UK, Israel and Denmark. This journey caused the acquisition of an abundant treasure of principles that help free the mind and heal the heart in practical and sustainable ways.His art flourished in the creation of the book The Sacred You, where he illustrated the deep and sometimes elusive principles within self-development. His work as now grown to a substantial collection of art and words that heal the heart and free the mind
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