Self Help, Spiritual Inspiration
Date Published: 06-02-2021
This is a thought-provoking and enlightening exploration of spirituality
and perception. The text functions as a guide to self-improvement, with a
mixture of autobiographical elements and snippets of universal wisdom. The
speaker provides accessible solutions to life’s difficulties, and an outlook
of optimism applicable to any circumstance. The illustrations and graphics
are thoughtfully chosen, and the interactive textual elements give this work
an originality that sets it apart. The speaker’s own experiences and
conclusions are at the heart of this fiction, and the first-person narrative
voice creates a sense of proximity between author and reader. The text
describes itself as ‘a journey to the heart’, and this truthful discovery of
the self is reflected in the speaker’s revelation of his whole self through
the text. The narrative often presents a dichotomy between positive and
negative outlooks or voices.
For example, the speaker includes sections in which his self-doubt speaks,
‘you’ve got no proper education, you can’t spell properly, you’re dyslexic
and your grammar is crap. You’re not really a writer’. This negative voice
directly opposes the sense of self-belief the speaker builds within the
narrative. He uses examples such as this to remind readers that the journey
to happiness is complex and that flaws or setbacks are natural. The negative
separation or fragmentation of the self is prevalent in the lines, ‘I do not
love the grumpy me, the sad me, the hostile me, the parts of me that act as
if I do not care’. The act of writing represents a unification of the self
and an attempt to reframe the speaker’s life into coherence. The frequent
use of direct address and rhetorical questions promotes an active reading
experience, in which the author opens up a dialogue with the reader. The
text includes prompts and activities for the reader to engage with and learn
from. Encouraging readers to take part in the text is emblematic of their
journey to self-fulfillment and love, in which they must take responsibility
for actively creating their own happiness.
The speaker depicts his process of enlightenment as a framework for others
to emulate, and the format of the text demonstrates the transfer of agency
to those who take part in the speaker’s challenges at the end of each
chapter. This work ultimately teaches us that ‘we are the cause of what is’
and thus sheds light on the crucial idea that every individual has the power
to create themselves and their world positively.
About the Author
Toby Negus is an artist, both with paints and of the spirit. His work
reflects a deep commitment to meeting life on its terms and an equally deep
understanding of human nature.
Toby has studied and taught spiritual and personal development in the UK
and around the world for over two decades. He is qualified in advanced
counselling, as a life coach and as a Cognitive Behaviour therapist. He is
an Amazon best-selling author of a collaborative Conscious Creators book and
has illustrated and self published two books on the subject of
self-awareness and the spiritual journey. He has articles published in
national magazine and has given talks and run workshops in support of his
published work within the UK.
In the last few years, he has created many pieces of artwork that are a
reflection of his spiritual journey. These have appeared in magazines and
have been exhibited in the UK.
Contact Links
Purchase Links
My Beauty My Books 📚💄 