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New Delhi, February 7 (IANS): Many a times, we find ourselves stuck with challenges which are detrimental to the peace of mind and harmony of our lives. On a daily basis we deal with many perceptional challenges like internal dialogues, misconceptions, limited or foveal vision, binary thinking, and classic dilemmas of "Should I do this or that? What is right or correct or true?"
"Graceful Living: 50 Reflections for a Harmonious Life" (SAGE India) aims to stimulate reflections and awakenings that, according to Socrates, may contribute towards a life well lived. It deals with situations that we all encounter in our everyday life, for example, relating to others, building up greater self-esteem and self-love all for the scope of fulfilling our goals and dreams.
Consequently, it reflects a sort of universal 'common sense' that can be applied anywhere. It draws upon the best wisdom traditions, both from the East and the West, that have been confirmed by the latest research in neuroscience and made accessible mainly through NLP (neuro-linguistic programming).
Extensively researched, it derives from successful practices all over the world, experienced by the author, Arthur A. Sackrule, an NLP expert, and includes snippets from the lives of personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi, Paul Watzlawick, Noam Chomsky, Maya Angelou, among others.
Easy to read and non-technical, this book is dedicated to readers who wish to further their knowledge and master some of the workings of the human mind. To this end, it conveys the best traditions of wisdom, corroborated by the latest research in neuroscience. It helps reject some rigid, preconceived notions and offers practical insights to deal better with internal conflicts, foveal vision, and binary thinking.
"I wanted to weave some common threads of the world's major wisdom traditions, and donate them to readers, regardless of their cultural extraction. These are themes that hopefully will allow us to participate more harmoniously in the ever-increasing complexity that is part of the drama and mystery of life," Sackrule says.
Commenting on the importance of self-care and introspection, especially under the current health crisis, he adds: "To live well, especially in today's chaotic times, we want to understand how to relate to the world. Which means understanding how the world we create, through our thoughts and actions, shapes our living conditions. As we look inwards, we get to discard what is not working, and to improve what needs improving."
On the urgent need to cultivate compassion, he remarks, "Compassion, that is, the capacity to be with the suffering of all sentient beings, and to stand by them while condemning their wrongs when necessary, will be a determining factor for our harmonious co-existence on this planet. This is an attitude we can develop, first of all, by accepting and loving ourselves unconditionally."
In her foreword to the book, Judith DeLozier, co-developer of neurolinguistic programming at UC-Santa Cruz, writes: "The field of neurolinguistics has expanded and enriched tremendously through the 40-plus years and (Arthur's) book feels much like a continuation of this process, which I feel will open the field even more. I believe it will open up the field even more to the areas of awareness and mindfulness."
"It makes us aware more fully of our amazing inner landscape and the beautiful relationship of the inner landscape with our human structure and the challenges that the structure by design and by learning inflict upon us," DeLozier adds.
Arthur A. Sackrule was born in Trinidad in 1948. He graduated in philosophy from the University of Cambridge, and subsequently from the NLP University in California as a certified trainer in Neuro Linguistic Programming. His background draws upon diverse educational approaches, as well as some of the great wisdom and mystic traditions of the world.
Sackrule has over 30 years of holistic experience as a trainer and coach in the educational, business and therapeutic fields, and supports organisations and individuals to interpret the future with confidence, harmony and grace.
