Notes to Self: Creating a Practice of Self-Care, Self-Compassion, and Self-Love
by Tanya Carroll Richardson
Each page in this book has a little lesson or affirmation to help you navigate the difficulties of life and find peace within yourself. At the top of the page is a main statement, and then a short paragraph or two explaining the concept and how you can apply is to your own self-care.
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The writing is beautifully encouraging and gentle. I love how the author softly draws us into a quiet place of reflection.
This book is divided into four chapters entitled “Find Inner Peace, Focus Your Mind, Overcome Obstacles, Foster Gratitude and Spread Joy.” Then each chapter is divided into sections for each meditation, journaling pages, and intention setting. There is plenty of room for journaling and writing in your thoughts. Continue reading
Each section begins with a description of the struggles of the scenario and the possible emotions that may arise. Then there is a stress-relieving exercise to try such as meditation, physical exercise, journaling, or reframing your thoughts in a more positive light.
I love that this book focuses on gratitude, resilience, and gentleness. The writing is very encouraging, and gives excellent advice for navigating the strong emotions that can come up during stressful times. Continue reading
Although the title is “Meditations on Christ”, every section is all about the fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians. Christ is certainly mentioned in each prayer and meditation, but the title is misleading, since the meditations do not focus primarily on the person of Christ. A better title would be “Meditations on the Fruits of the Spirit.”
This book does have a few weird ideas though, such as making an altar with some candles and “an image of Christ”. That sounds like idolatry.
There are many references to the “children of God” and how “we are all family in the Kingdom of God.” Except we aren’t.
Most of the meditation prompts and guidance in this book are innocent reminders to release stress, focus on what is important, believe in yourself, and allow yourself to relax. But sometimes there will be a weird one that made me wonder about the underlying philosophy that is being taught in this book. It is very focused on self, and talks about an “Eternal Consciousness”. There is an entire chapter about interpreting your dreams that sounded completely idiotic to me.
There is a lot of talk about “creating your own reality” and other strange ideas. (Reality is reality. You can change your perception of it or how you think about it, but what is real is real. You don’t create it. It just is.) While reading, I would just try to enjoy the normal meditations and mindfulness prompts, and skip over the weird ones.
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I’m not sure how I like this book. Some of the ideas are really good, about forgiving yourself, allowing yourself to be imperfect, letting go of bitterness or doubt, and embracing wonderful affirmations and positive thoughts.
But then some weird stuff about “mystical awareness” will creep in. The author seems to think that we will magically gain wisdom from within ourselves if we just listen to our subconscious mind and heart. It’s an odd philosophy, and doesn’t seem realistic. Continue reading
Each game has a cute illustration that demonstrates the imaginary things we are thinking of during the meditation. One meditation says to imagine that you are a mountain, standing tall as you raise your arms above your head, while you feel connected to the ground. And there is an illustration of children standing tall and strong like mountains. Continue reading
There are breathing exercises to try, with clear instructions and a list of benefits. There are exercises for an energizing breath, or for a calming breath. Some of my favorites are included like Alternate Nostril Breathing, Buzzing Bee Breath, and Ocean (Ujayi) Breath. There are breathing techniques for mental clarity, stress relief, and for better sleep through calming and cooling breathing. Continue reading
The first chapter is “Dance, Wiggle, and Move” activities to help a child pay attention to their body and be more mindful of their movements. The next chapter focuses on the five senses with activities for listening to sounds, watching clouds, smelling different scents, and eating mindfully.
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