Recommended Reads

Systemic Coaching – by Alain Cardon MCC

While researching the Drama Triangle tool, I stumbled across a website that had and extremely comprehensive explanation of not just the Drama Triangle, but several of Eric Berne’s transactional analysis game theories. These are all egotistical games that people play. Mind games to get one up on each other.

The in-depth style of writing intrigued me and led me to review more of the site and to find out about its author.

Alain Cardon MCC is a Master Systemic Coach.

Systemic coaching is an approach that embraces the system as a whole and sees nothing as separate. This means that the coach, the client, work life and home life are all considered to be part of the coaching arena. Everything is considered.

You see, we are all coaches. We are both the coach and the client in our lives.

Learning about systemic coaching is a way to give yourself the skills to be able to coach yourself effectively in life. Hell, if you are good at it, you might even find a calling to start coaching other humans too.

Either way, systemic coaching has been a revelation for me. It has been amazing to read material from someone else that joins dots together which most people would not ever consider to connect.

The material is heavy going, so take your time to get use to the style of writing. I can tell you that it is worth persevering as when you grasp the key concepts of systematic coaching, you will never view life in the same way again.

Here are some links to investigate:

• The Drama triangle article that grabbed me
• Alain’s main site
• Masterful systemic coaching
• Quantum perspectives in systemic coaching

Freedom from the Known– by J. Krishnamurti

The teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti have influenced and inspired other great spiritual thinks such as Eckhart Tolle and Alan Watts.

Freedom from the known is a book unlike any other which I have read.

In this short but powerful volume, Krishnamurti calls for us to develop awareness of our preconceptions and beliefs about the way we view the world and our own lives.

It is a call for us to all embark on our own quest for the known. Not to go out in search for pre made and packaged answers from teachers, guide books and religions.

He warns us that the act of acceptance and the formation of beliefs based on second hand acquired experience rather than our own authentic experience, is what causes human life to stagnate and stop growing. Instead, always today to look at the world with fresh eyes, ready to embrace new information and experience, not being stuck in to the past by holding on to what is known because it creates a feeling of safety and security.

Dropping our comfort blanket is what makes us alive. When you read this book, you will come to learn that it is really, the only way we can live a life where we can fulfil our own potential.

Being free to think, challenge, and question the world and the meaning of life as our hearts desire.

Freedom will have a whole new meaning once you read this… but as Krishnamurti says, that is for you to decide, not to just accept because he says so.

Ready for change? Get a copy today.

Living on Purpose – by Dan Millman

After reading The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, I purchased pretty much all of his books and started to work my way through them.

He has written some really insightful material. Sharing insights which I have fully embraced and integrated in to my life. Dan is a wonderful teacher.

Living on purpose is a collection of 25 “House Rules” that Dan’s teacher Socrates shared with him.

The book is written in a question-and-answer style with questions being posed by real people that have reached out to Dan during his life.

The first time I read the book, I read it from start to finish over a few sittings. It is a very interesting read.

I have however, used the booked at a bit of a bed side fortune teller.

I would keep the book on my bedside table and whenever I was feeling the need to expand my perspective, just before bed I would simply flick through the pages at random and decide to read the rule that the booked opened on.

It has amazed me how many times I have done this and the rule I have landed on has added value based on my current life situation. I picked up the book looking for inspiration and I magically landed on the page which helped me find my way.

This book is a wonderful little life companion and I would recommend that you get a copy for yourself to peruse.

The Power of Now – by Eckhart Tolle

I mentioned that the book The Art of Happiness helps you zoom out and look at life thorough a wider lens, well, this book takes that to a whole new level.

Imagine spinning through a whole panoramic view of life, then bringing your conscious focus back to rest on the only bit that truly exists. Imagine arriving at that moment with conscious confidence.

That is the power within this book.

Mindfulness and consciousness are core themes within my blog. This book is the single biggest influence on that.

The fabric of life outlined in this book underlies all of the other books that I have shared. This knowledge is wisdom of a fundamental truth that once known, allows us to discover what life and living really is.

The book while not huge, is not a quick read. It is one to take your time with and absorb. One to read several times and contemplate.

Much like the four agreements, this content needs to be taught in schools.

For society to effectively evolve, every human needs this knowledge.

Give it a go. You will never think of life the same way again.

The Art of Happiness: A handbook for Living – by HH Dalai Lama

I read this book for the first time when I was around the age of 20. The insights within it showed me new perspectives on the challenges I was facing in life, and helped me positively shape my journey.

The book is written in an interview style with the primary author (Howard C. Cutler) interviewing HH Dalai Lama and pondering various different questions that life poses to all of us.

HH Dalai Lama shares his approach to living and muses on how theories and teaching from Buddhism can be applied meaningfully when one lives in a westernised society.

This book opened my eyes to ways of thinking and an approach to living that I had never even considered.

I have read this book several times and there are gems of knowledge that I still apply to my life every day.

This book will help you pull back and look at life through a wider lens. I recommend you give it a try.

Way of the Peaceful Warrior – by Dan Millman

This book is a semi fictional story about a young man named Dan who meets a teacher named Socrates.

Dan by all accounts, is winning at life. He is a champion gymnast, popular with the ladies and doing well at university. Dan does feel that something is missing from his life though. He feels hollow.

Dan embarks on a journey of learning and discovery guided by his teacher Socrates.

The story is full of insights and lessons that we can all take on board and apply to our own lives. I must admit that I have read this book about 10 times and I have lost count of the number of copies that I have purchased to share with loved ones.

Written in a light hearted and easy to access way, this book is a joy to read. Yes, it is a little cheesy at times, but if you can get past that, you can learn all that it has to offer.

I am proud to say that I am a peaceful warrior.

Have a read and unlock the warrior within you too.

The Four Agreements – by Don Miguel Ruiz

This book may be a short read but it certainly packs a punch! Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, it contains insights that are thousands of years old.

I discovered this book soon after I separated from my ex-wife. The knowledge and wisdom within it were an absolution revelation to me.

This book has helped me to discover who I am and live as a truly authentic version of myself.

I could not recommend this book any more highly – give it a go.

It should be taught in schools!

The Alchemist – by Paulo Coelho

Reading was something that I didn’t really enjoy as a kid. Like most kids though, I did like Roald Dahl books. Especially The Twits and the bit about the cheeky young boys, running away with their bums out after they got stuck in a tree and did not want to end up in a pie!

A friend lent me a copy of the Alchemist at the age of 18, and I am pleased to say that it is the first “grown up” book that I ever read.

The book tells the story of a young boy, a Sheppard called Santiago. The boy decides to follow his dreams and a magical story unfolds…

An alchemist is someone that is in pursuit of a universal elixir that can turn lead in to gold. Throughout his journey, the boy discovers the true meaning of alchemy and finds out what happens when you follow your dreams.

This book has been a companion of mine throughout my life. The messages in it have shaped who I am today.

It is a wonderful book and I recommend whole heartedly that you give it a go.

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”

Paulo Coelho