Using The Power of a Single Thought to Change the Way You Think

.....Unconscious thoughts will occur naturally, but it's up to you to monitor the quality of your thinking when you become aware of it.” This philosophy is just one of the many encouraging and uplifting philosophies found in the first book in The Transformational Book Circle series, The Power of a Single Thought . Adapted from James Allen's As a Man Thinketh and edited and revised by Gay Hendricks and Debbie DeVoe, The Power of a Single Thought provides you with easy guidelines to follow in order to achieve self-realization and change your life.
..... The book addresses everything from believing “how you think is really who you are”, to the effects thoughts actually have on your health and success. It allows the reader to approach life-changing goals easily. For instance, in order to accomplish a goal, you must define a clear purpose and make the goal a focal point of your thoughts; only then will your aim be reached. By making simple alterations like this to one aspect of your life, according to The Power of a Single Thought , inspiring changes will occur.
..... After helping you decide to change your life, the book further assists you with thinking activities to alter your thought process and trigger these life changes. The exercise I found most beneficial was Lifestream Breathing; this practice showed me how to change my breathing process, using moves much like those in yoga, in order to improve my energy levels and attitude during the day.
..... Lifestream Breathing is just one of the many exercises found in the book. Others include ways to produce successful positive thinking and a seven-minute calming and manifestation process, placing you on course to mind relaxation. Every practice includes extra steps to deepen your learning, allowing you to move ahead with your success when you're ready.
..... The final part of the book presents the original version of As a Man Thinketh for the curious reader to make comparisons. I discovered Allen's text to be just as valuable as The Power of a Single Thought . Addressing such ideas as serenity and visions/ideals, Allen provides a knowledgeable basis for the modernized version. Hendricks and DeVoe do an excellent job elaborating on Allen's writings, supplying even more motivating techniques.
..... If ways to greatly improve your life are what you're looking for, I highly recommend this book to help lead you in your search.

The Book of Life That Will Help You Redefine Your Life

....The Book of Life , the second installment from the Transformational Book Circle , addresses the key to discovering inner peace and harmony. It is adapted from the ideas of Epictetus, a stoic philosopher who experienced suffering in Ancient Rome because of his beliefs; Epictetus was banished from the Roman Empire to Greece , where he wrote his famous Handbook. The concepts in his book have served as teachings for nearly two millennia.
.....Presented in The Book of Life is this point: “You are able to control some
things in your life and unable to control some things in your life. In order to reach inner peace, you must focus your energy on the things you can control instead of wasting your energy on those that you cannot.” After helping you to realize this crucial step, this book provides more steps to reaching your inner harmony. For example, it advises you to approach everything you want wholeheartedly in order to achieve all of your goals. It also explains how the world truly is a stage and we are merely its players; however, we are responsible for playing out our roles to their entirety and giving everything in our power to our performances. These principles, among thirty-six others, are from the authentic text of Epictetus's Handbook and can be found in the first part of The Book of Life.
..... Gay Hendricks and Philip Johncock, who edited and interpreted the Handbook for this millennium, have successfully uncovered the lost fragments of the original manuscript, which were banned by unruly emperors. These passages, illustrated in the second part of the book, focus on ideas like obeying and serving the universe, loving everything around you, and understanding the powers of universal law. My favorite passage, Fragment 10, tells the tale of a reply the ancient philosopher Socrates sent Archelaus after the man promised the great thinker riches; Socrates refused the wealth, saying, “What I now possess is sufficient for me...imitate Odysseus, who wasn't any less distinguished in rags than he was in fine purple robes.” This smart response reminds me that it's not what we have but who we are and what we do that defines us.
..... The book also provides a “Master-Key Experiential Activity,” which involves writing down what you can and cannot change, combining the lists and resorting them, and extending the activity into your relationships. These exercises create a unique and inspiring guide to reaching your inner peace and harmony in all areas of your life.

Sarah Bluvas is a senior at Roswell High School and the Editor-in-Chief
of the yearbook staff. She enjoys reading and writing and aspires to become a magazine editor after she attends college at the University of Kansas . She is currently working as an intern here at Aquarius.