Weekly Reader: Energy of Love: A How-To Program To Self-Empowerment and Self-Love by Susan J. Witt; A Lovely Journey Towards Self-Love
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Sometimes when we are busy and stressed out, we don't take as much time as we should for ourselves. These days with the pandemic, an economic crisis, socio political unrest, family and professional demand, it's hard to do that. But it is needed more than ever. It is important to recognize self-love and to empower our own souls and spirits.
Susan J. Witt's book, Energy of Love: A How-To Program To Self-Empowerment and Self-Love is a lovely guide that helps the Reader take that much needed time to recognize and treat oneself.
The book operates on the theory of quantum mechanics that everything, even our own thoughts, run on energy frequency. The concepts that Witt introduces on Energy of Love help activate and improve your energy. Witt compares her book to a study, a study which shows that the heart, like the brain, can "think and be measured as 'wave frequency. Witt writes, "This study has changed the way that we think of our physical and eludes us to a great powerful force within its heart center. It is this profound truth that gives us the baseline and knowledge of how one's life."
Witt's book takes both a scientific and metaphysical approach to the concept of energy and Self-Love showing that in many cases, the terms are closer than believed.
In fact, two chapters discuss energy in scientific and spiritual terms. In one chapter Witt discusses how energy and matter make up the universe. "Energy can change matter," Witt writes. "The amount of energy expelled can cause things to happen or change…..(Energy) can never be created or destroyed. It can only be changed."
Witt uses Dr. Masaru Emoto's provocative and controversial studies of water crystals changing according to thoughts and words. Emoto's study itself has been under strict scrutiny (especially his claim about the power of positive thinking improving polluted water which Witt sidesteps in her summary.). Witt's book shows that the Universe is ever changing and what we believe about it and our bodies is a constantly evolving and learning experience. This experience can contribute to our awareness of ourselves,our bodies, and our emotions.
The spiritual chapter defines the body's energy particularly by the chakras, the seven energy vortices that lie within our body from the base of our spine to our head. Each of the chakras is associated with certain thought patterns or issues from basic material survival to knowledge and conscious thought. Sometimes a certain problem will affect the part of the body in question. For example if someone is going through a bad breakup, they may feel physical pain near the heart center. (There's a reason it's called heartache or heartbreak.) That may be the chakra out of alignment because of the issues affecting it.
Neither the scientific nor the spiritual chapters provide concrete answers, but most books of this type are not supposed to. Instead they use different interpretations to define energy. Neither are right or wrong, they are just different words.
The chapter called "Analyzing Your Thoughts: The Energy of Thoughts" discusses neuroplasticity, this process of changing our thought patterns. This identifies the changes in our brain physically and functionally based on our life habits."
Witt writes that neuroplasticity is responsible for how we change our thought patterns and why depressive thoughts continue to linger
long after something troubling happens. On the same token, they also allow more positive thoughts to reflect after something happens when we feel good about ourselves. The trick that Witt writes is that the stronger that a neuron connection lasts, the stronger that real connection lasts. Witt's book offers ways that we can express that love within ourselves, so we don't always have to depend on outside stimulus to keep happy. We can do daily things that help change our outlook and improve our neuroplasticity.
Many of the chapters offer different things that help contribute to changing one's thought process. Many of them like Affirmations and Mindfulness can be found in various books of this type so technically Witt isn't telling us anything new. However, they go along with the ideal of taking the time to do good things for yourself.
For example the chapter on affirmations reveals that these words reflect the willing power to change. When someone makes a mistake and thinks "I'm so stupid! I can't do anything right," the person could instead focus on the areas in their life that they can do or better yet ways to improve that specific event should it happen again.
The more that a person says their affirmations, then the more that they believe.
The book also allows the Readers to improve their relationships with others not just themselves. The chapter on forgiveness asks that the Reader think about someone who wronged them in the past and learn to release that anger, find forgiveness for that wrong, and move on. The fact that the forgiveness meditation takes more than one day within the text reveals that forgiveness is not a quick and easy fix. Forgiveness is something that can take awhile to feel but allows the person doing the forgiving and the one who needs it the chance to adapt and evolve.
There are plenty of activities within the book that allow the Reader to become an active participant not just a Reader. The chapter on meditation is a several day process. First the Reader is encouraged to pay attention to their breathing and allow their mind to wander,investigating where it wandered to, when, and what their thoughts were before and after the wandering. For example, if someone is breathing and their stomach growls, they may think of food rather than their breath.
Another step involves doing simple mundane activities like brushing one's teeth or reading a book and concentrating only on that activity. They can focus on the present and what they are doing and nothing else.
Once that process is mastered, the meditation then is increased to ten to twenty minutes focusing on their breath and bigger thoughts, perhaps creating a calming visualization to guide the meditator to a peaceful mental image. Of course the Reader is encouraged to write these things down to capture what they learned and observed from this experience. For example a person might visualize that they are in a peaceful field when a figure appears. They are then encouraged to write about the figure, how they made them feel, anything significant about them, or any message that they may have to give.
Energy of Love is a beautiful ongoing process that gives the Readers a few much needed moments a day in which they can learn about and love themselves. To quote a popular song "learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all."*
*Lyrics to "The Greatest Love of All," Songwriters: Linda Creed/Michael Masser. All Rights Reserved.
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