If you are facing your toughest battle yet in life, I sincerely hope that you find strength and inspiration within these pages.

Here, you will find meditations, motivational messages, affirmations and directions for exercises that can help you discover, understand and love the wonderful person that you are. Further, you will find passages that can inspire you to determine how best to care for your “self” and how to live happily with others in this world.

There are two ways you can approach this book that would be helpful. You may choose to read it objectively, that is, as a person observing and learning from someone else’s struggles. Psychology researchers say watching others and then adapting those observations to ourselves is the most effective way of learning behavior; it is, after all, how we acquired much of our personality traits as children. 

The second way you may approach this book is to read it subjectively. That is to say, where you find you relate deeply to the messages, adopt them, read them as affirmations and encouragement to yourself. Feel free to scratch out parts that don’t apply to you; in the margins and blank spaces, write thoughts and situations that reflect your life; underline, highlight and bookmark those parts that touch you most profoundly.

Whatever approach you take, I suggest you get a journal and write your own messages to yourself. You know your life story, your fears, your hurts, your dreams.  The messages you write, following the pattern of those in this book, will be deeply personal and will speak to your innermost being. A good time to do such writing is in the quiet of the early morning, before your mind and soul are troubled with the many battles that make up daily life.

I also suggest you take this book with you wherever you go. Whenever you feel you need it, whip it out to give yourself a boost. 

Reading this book once is not enough. Repetition is the key to learning, and so I suggest you re-read these messages several times.  I find strength and inspiration in these words even today. I have discovered that by the very act of reading inspirational thoughts and motivational messages such as these, we set the stage for serenity and joy to enter our lives.

I will warn you, though, if you are expecting this book to work for you, that is, if you expect this book of itself to bring bliss into your life, you will be disappointed. This book will not work for you. There is no book that has ever been written which will work for you. No retreat and no healing workshop will work for you. The only way you will make it out of dark days into happier times is if you work with this book or any other book or retreat or workshop. You are always the most crucial part of the equation.

Think of this book as a tool-kit. The material here can help you restore your life. Think of it in this way: let’s say you decide to renovate your kitchen and you purchase a tool-kit and bring it home. The tool-kit is worthless unless you use it. You can not look at the hammer and the drill and expect them to build cupboards for you. You have to pick them up and do the job. So, too, you can not read these words and expect the book to bring joy into your life. You have to take these words and use them, live by them.

It takes courage to make it through your darkest hour to a time of new joy. It takes you — your presence, your determination, your sincerity. By picking up this book, you have shown you want to be there. Just follow through by living by these messages and those you write to inspire yourself. When you do, believe me, the daybreak will shortly come. And trust me even more on this, it will be the most beautiful time of your life.

INTRODUCTION
Life presents a door to a better way
A personal passage
Self-love is the key
How to use this book
Create your circle of strength

Read the Preface