Book Previews
HAPPY - Now and Always
Living Your Wonderful Life
I knew I had struggled with life in the past, but now that had changed.
It was a sunny, crisp, spring morning, when I stepped out onto my back deck and breathed in the fresh, clean air, in what seemed like the first time in forever. There was not a single cloud to besmirch the brilliant blue sky; still, a handful of birds speckled my panoramic view as they flittered and wafted their way into and out of my sight. I was able to savor their being as they passed through the moment; and each bird seemed to seal my own sense of being with freedom; freedom from the Attachments, Desires and Judgements of my own conscious thoughts. I sensed a lifetime of feelings and emotions dissipate from my awareness like the birds in the sky as they passed out of my view and consequently out of the present moment. This was a new reality for me, an opportunity to marvel in the wonder of life and the existence of Being.
The lovingly revitalizing rays of the Sun enveloped me in the peace, joy and possibility of life. It had been a long, cold winter, and no one knew that more than me. I felt like a groundhog poking his head out of his winter home, curious if he could see his shadow; but shadow or not, I had no intention of going back inside.
Sometimes it takes a while, or even a lifetime to figure out life, but when you finally get it, there is no reason to go back!
I know it is difficult, when surrounded with loss, frustration, or sadness, to think that everything happens for a reason; and it seems disrespectful to suggest or even consider that things do not “go wrong” and nothing is “unacceptable”. Learning to trust the Universe, the Source, God, or whatever you want to call it, even when things do not go the way we think they should and life does not make sense to us, that is what faith is all about. When life seems unfair and I do not understand it at the time, I try to remember it simply means – I do not understand it at the time; maybe someday I will, but even if I don’t, I trust there is a reason for that too.
Welcome to our new world; a new reality teeming with peace, joy and possibility. Come on in, set down the weights of all your yesterdays; shed all your apprehensions for tomorrow; stay strong, enjoy life and keep moving forward. There is room for everyone to be: Happy – Now and Always!
Available in Paperback and eBook
The Suicide Notes
The Pathway Home from the Abyss
Peace and Awareness are often elusive for many people; we habitually live life from a frame of mind with which our Physical Reality (and the interpretations of our “Reality”, saddled upon us by our own conditioning and Ego) is the focal point of our existence. Even after overcoming this limitation and realizing Awareness, challenges are often presented to us which can pull us from our peaceful, enlightened state of mind.
I discovered, after writing my last book Finding Peace in Life and Death, that Awareness is not something which is “attained”, so then we can move on to the next goal; after realizing Awareness we subsequently must nourish and maintain our harmony with Awareness. After writing Finding Peace in Life and Death I found many challenges that seemed intent on pulling me from my peaceful sense of unanimity; some were quite successful. I once wrote “Life is supposed to be easy”, and while I still believe this to be true, I think I need to clarify what exactly that means. “Life is supposed to be easy”, it does not mean that life should be free of challenges; on the contrary, life ought to be full of challenges, it is the whole basis of evolution! We don’t grow and evolve by sitting on the couch, getting everything we think we want without any opposition. We become enlightened by embracing life’s challenges, but not becoming rapt in those challenges. “Life is supposed to be easy”, means even though challenges come, we do not get caught up in the Conceptual Reality that our Ego perpetuates as the center of our existence; instead we identify with our true Essence, the unity of Being; our connection to each other, along with our connection to the Universe – God – the Source – whatever name we put on the energy which exists in us, around us, and in all things, everywhere.
Only then can we see all these little challenges, and even the big ones, for what they truly are, opportunities for growth and evolution, rather than allowing our Ego to immerse us in the illusion of Conceptual Reality and lead us toward identifying with the challenges, thus falling away from Awareness. We need to detach ourselves from the stronghold with which Ego links us to Conceptual Reality – Ego’s version of Reality is not based on truth, it is based on perception – Egoic perceptions which reinforce the strength and sovereignty of Ego itself, along with Ego’s bond to Conceptual Reality, while diminishing our true Essence and our Oneness with the Peace and Awareness of Being.
Available in Paperback, eBook and Audiobook
Finding Peace in Life and Death
A Synopsis of Reality Versus the Human Mind
“We don’t just experience the world around us…
We create the world around us…
Then we experience life from the world we create!”
People often overlook that the best thing we can do to make the world a better place is to focus more attention on our own Happiness and Peace. We are each capable of having a profound impact on the lives of others, but we can’t hope to spread happiness to others from an unhappy or discontented state of mind.
Happiness is the result of a choice, not a situation; if we can’t be happy where we are in life, what makes us think we’ll be happy where we’re not? The illusion of reality is not a question of whether something “physically exists”, but rather a question of our perception. When our focus targets beauty and possibility, our lives follow that direction; but when we focus on the negativity around us, we train our minds to recognize the bad over the good, so our perception of “our reality” becomes one of negativity and our lives follow that direction.
Ego (and the Pride that accompanies Ego) is the greatest threat to our own happiness in life. Ego manipulates our perception; it tries to convince us that existence revolves around our life in physical reality. Then when events arise that upset this illusion of hierarchy, Ego tries to convince us that we are right and the situation is wrong, although that thinking can never change “what is” so we become isolated and unhappy. Challenges need to be accepted as opportunities for growth, rather than denied as unfair or unjust, otherwise we are doomed to repeat the same struggles and we find ourselves “back in the same hole”.
Compassion is our greatest ally in combating and neutralizing Ego. Inner peace and happiness is nurtured by having the self-discipline to avoid the gratification of our Ego; this translates into exercising Compassion and Forgiveness, and recognizing Forgiveness as a blessing to ourselves rather than a blessing to others.
Available in Paperback, Hardcover and eBook
Surfing Adversity
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Antaeus is a renowned author who has dedicated his life to guiding people through the challenges they face; so they can begin enjoying the good in life, and "Surfing the Adversity".
His writing portfolio includes a range of insightful works that aim to help individuals find peace, work through struggles, and ultimately, be happy. With his mentorship, many have found the path to living a wonderful life.
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