Posts In: spiritual health

by Olivia Cecchettini

“Be Love Now: The Path of the Heart”

by Ram Dass

Summary: Part memoir and part spiritual guide to simple living, Be Love Now offers a fascinating glimpse into Ram Dass’s path following his personal Guru, Marahaji-ji. Guru, in the West, is a word laden with many connotations. In the East, the word still carries an energy of devotion and service. Be Love Now is the third book in a three part series, beginning with Be Here Now (written 30 years before this book) and Still Here, written after Dass suffered a stroke.

Ram Dass’s message remains the same: just BE. Be without judgment, be without attachment, but most of all, just be.

Dass reflects on his journey through India and the deep, profound effects it had on his life. Dass describes the power that can be cultivated from surrendering the ego and following one’s heart. Be Love Now challenges the reader to dig through his or her layers of consciousness and find deeper truth, meaning, and purpose in their life.

Why I love It: I especially enjoyed reading about Ram Dass’s spiritual journey, his words felt more relatable and human than in his previous books. He writes in detail about a six month period when he lived in an ashram and learned to completely surrender to his Guru’s guidance. I found it easy to connect with his true humanness as he shared private opinions and stories about Marahaji-ji and their time together.

Marahaji-ji is a guru in the tradition of Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion and love. I attended the yoga festival Shaktifest in Joshua Tree, California, and though I’d been in years past, I noticed for the first time the images of Marahaji-ji everywhere as a way to stay connected to his energy and message. It was so powerful to make that connection through yoga lineages.

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Olivia Cecchettini

“The Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing”

by Carolyn Myss

Summary: Caroline Myss is an acclaimed medical intuitive and motivational speaker. In this book she presents her findings on fifteen years of research into energy medicine as a pathway to spontaneous physical, emotional and spiritual healing. In her discussion of the relation of spirituality to energy medicine, she states: “As spiritual adults we accept responsibility for co-creating our lives and our health.”

Anatomy of the Spirit offers a unique model in which she combines the ancient wisdom of three spiritual traditions – the Hindu Chakras, the Christian sacraments, and the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life, to demonstrate the seven stages of development towards higher consciousness and spiritual maturity. With this model, Dr. Myss shows how you can develop and deepen your intuition, as well as cultivate your own personal power and spiritual growth.

Why I Love It: I love this book because it taught me so much. I strongly believe in the mind, body, spirit connection. In my eyes, we are made up of energy and are all sensitive to it. Our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health is all inter-connected. To stay in harmony and balance we need to look at all four aspects of health equally. This means seeking connection through self-inquiry, which is the goal of Yoga – union, harmony, balance.

Keep an open mind and an open heart when reading this book. It’s filled with interesting facts and information that may be unfamiliar to you, see what you connect with the most and leave the rest behind. Personally, this book taught me how to slow down to connect to myself, others, and all the energy that is abundantly surrounding me all the time. Take your time reading and let it digest.

Recommended For:  I recommend this book for anyone wanting to discover or go deeper into learning about their own energy. Caroline states that everything pulsates with energy and this energy contains information. If you have been feeling more sensitive to energy lately or maybe just curious about energy work in general, this book may be just the thing. It will let you know you’re not alone, expand your knowledge and also give you tools to grow and protect yourself. I hope you enjoy it!

“This book is both an important revelation and a major call to awakening.” – Christiane Northrup

Lots of love this holiday season!
Ciao, Olivia

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia is a yoga teacher based out of San Diego. With a love for people, life, spirituality, reading, and, of course, yoga she spends her days connecting with students and nature. Getting outside whenever she can to enjoy all the beauty this life has to offer.