Add More ~Ing to Your Life – A Hip Guide to Happiness Book Giveaway

The publishers of ADD MORE ~ing TO YOUR LIFE: A Hip Guide to Happiness by Gabrielle Bernstein recently offered to send me a copy of this new book on self love and creating the life you want. I’m not normally one for self-help books, but I liked the idea of what this book was about, plus they’ve offered up a giveaway of an additional copy for one lucky reader! Not only will there be a giveaway of 1 copy of the book here on Miss Malaprop, but the author Gabrielle is also hosting her own separate contest right now, for a free trip to Costa Rica! More details on that at the end of this post…

Now, about the book. As I mentioned, a book like ADD MORE ~ing TO YOUR LIFE: A Hip Guide to Happiness isn’t my usual cup of tea, BUT I think it holds value for a lot of people. The book includes step by step action plans and meditation guides as well as stories of real women that Gabrielle has worked with to help them overcome personal struggles and painful experiences. Gabrielle also offers up additional content, including guided meditations, on her website, www.addmoreing.com, and iTunes podcast.

I personally found that the constant use of ~ing jargon and references to another book, A Course in Miracles, grated on my nerves at times (seriously, any word that included the letters “ing” was written like this: do~ing, feel~ing…), but overall I did find that I identified with a lot of what was said in the book. I started to realize that maybe why I found all of this spiritual mumbo-jumbo so annoying at times is because I felt like I was being told a lot of things I already knew in my heart. “Well, duh!” my subconscious brain went. Here’s the thing though, which I realized by the time I had made it to the end of the book: I have my mom to thank for that.

Me and my family at my sister's wedding. My mom is on the right.

My mom, as far as I can tell, has always tried at least to live by most of the principles in this book. I think her attitude is how I picked up my very positive, optimistic attitude. (This is not to say I don’t have my cynical, misanthropic moments, because believe me, I do.) I realized from a fairly young age how lucky I was not to be plagued with the same level of depression and self-doubt that hurts a lot of young people. I went through phases, sure, but I never got to the point where I needed to see a therapist or be on medication or had suicidal thoughts. My mom managed to stay in high spirits even through her bout with breast cancer, and I think that is part of why she made it through recovery so well. Not everyone is so blessed to have a mother like mine though, and I realize that Gabrielle Bernstien’s book could open a lot of eyes to a better way of approaching the world and living mindfully.

Something Bernstein talks about a lot in the book is forgiveness. Of yourself, of other people. And by the end I began to realize that maybe I need to cut other people some slack when they seem to still be stuck in negative thought patterns. Sometimes I get frustrated when the people around me freak out over insignificant things and waste time worrying when it doesn’t do them any good. (And again, I have these moments too… I’m not perfect.) I need to forgive myself when I have these freak-outs and I need to get better about consciously forgiving others for their own freak-outs.

I think that ADD MORE ~ing TO YOUR LIFE: A Hip Guide to Happiness has the potential to help a lot of people. I mean, the book currently has ALL 5 star reviews on Amazon.com and some pretty serious accolades. If you want to read it for yourself, as I mentioned above, the publishers have offered up one copy of this book to a lucky reader.

This particular giveaway is open to residents of U.S. & Canada only. (Sorry to everyone else… I’ll try to have a worldwide giveaway again soon!) To enter, all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post by midnight on Friday, February 26, 2010 (Central Standard Time – go here to figure out what time that is where you are). Please make sure to use a valid email address, as that’s how I’ll be contacting the winner to let you know you’ve won. Also, if you are chosen as the winner, you must respond to my email within 1 week from the date I send it to let me know your mailing address, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

If you want a little taste of Gabrielle Bernstein’s writing and what her book is all about, I’m including an article written by her on “MediDating”, just in time for Valentine’s Day!

MediDating

By Gabrielle Bernstein

It’s far too often that I hear New Yorkers complain about dating. Common complaints include: “All the great guys are gay,” “I can’t afford to date women in New York,” or “I don’t have time to waste on another mediocre date.” These types of mantras are what make dating tough.

It is my firm belief that there are three main blocks keeping New Yorkers from joyful dating. Read on and find out what may be in your way and how you can jump over that hurdle.

1. The first block is that many people carry their disastrous past dates into the present moment. Holding onto anger from your last date who never called you back inevitably transfers those negative vibes to the next date. This anger is not healthy for you or the dates which follow because it keeps you rooted in your history, not the now.
2. The second block is a lack of clarity. Unfocused desires bring unfocused results. Without clarifying what you want out of date then you will continue to attract random people who have nothing in common with you.
3. The final issue blocking New Yorkers from great dates is the achieve-achieve-achieve mentality. To explain, just because you can make things happen in the office doesn’t mean you can control your dating life too. Leave your go-out-and-grab-it mentality at your desk and relax into the dating process.

So how can you overcome these dating hurdles? The answer is MediDating! Through some mental reconditioning and a little MediDating you’ll be guided to simplify and enhance your dating experience. Here’s how.

Change your story. Stop replaying past negative dating experiences or projecting nasty self-talk. Start fresh. If you’re telling yourself things like, “There are no good guys in this city,” “I’m not thin enough,” or “Dating in New York is tough” then shift your mantra to, “This city is filled with great people to date,” “I’m a great catch,” or “This island is the best place to date because there are X amount of single options.”

Get clear about what you do want and you’ll stop attracting what you don’t want. However, getting clear doesn’t mean, “He lives downtown in a loft and wears designer suits.” Instead, the key to making clarity really work for you is to focus on how you want to feel. Consider these crystal clear feelings and see if they work for you: “I feel listened to, I feel relaxed, I feel like I can be myself.” Figure out what is right for you in terms of how you want to feel in a relationship and focus on that positive energy.

With your clean slate and clear desire you can now create a powerful vision of your ideal date. Be unapologetic about how you want to feel and write a dating desire statement. An example desire statement sounds like, “I’m dating a woman who shares my sense of humor. She makes me feel at ease and totally understood. I look forward to our next date and to getting to know her more.” Create a clean, concise desire statement and prepare to create it.

I suggest you practice these exercises for the next thirty days. Studies show that in thirty days you can reprogram your brain to new beliefs. By recreating your beliefs around dating you will create a whole new reality.

Now that you’ve identified the blocks, and we’ve reviewed ways to remove them, I want to help calm you down with recommendations for MediDation.

Evening MediDation: Begin with an evening MediDation. Sit in your bed for five minutes before you go to sleep. Envision your new story. See yourself on a date with this person you totally dig. Most importantly, let the vision guide you into a positive feeling. Sit in this MediDation for a minimum of five minutes.

Walking MediDation: Take your new story for a walk. As you walk to work, to the gym, or out at night hold the vision of your desired date. Let your mind bring you to the place where you feel the feeling of being with this awesome person and enjoy the sensation. Walk around the streets vibrating this powerful feeling, and you will surely begin attracting.

The Big Night MediDation: Once you attract a great date make sure you have fun with it. To get yourself into a full blown positive vibration for your date use The Big Night MediDation as your guide. Sit in stillness for a minimum of five minutes. Envision exactly how you want the night to go, from the cab to the good night kiss. Breathe in the mantra, “I am relaxed” and breathe out, “I receive.” Take this mantra with you on the date and recite all night long.

Now about that Costa Rica trip and contest I mentioned earlier…

A Vacation with Your ~inner guide

On April 14-18, 2010 get Your ~ing on with Gabrielle Bernstein, author of ADD MORE ~ing TO YOUR LIFE: A Hip Guide to Happiness. Escape to a luxury Costa Rican resort for 4 days of exploration and personal growth. Gabrielle will guide you on a journey inward to connect with your inner guide (aka ~ing), clear your negative thought patterns and celebrate yourself on an adventurous vacation.

Guests can expect:

•  Complete mind/body cleanse: Gabrielle will lead workshops and guided meditations

•  Additional guidance with yoga/integrative nutrition expert Latham Thomas

•  Daily activities include yoga, surfing, horseback riding, kayaking, mountain biking, zip-lining, hiking, swimming and more

•  Menu options include Latham’s culinary treats: marrying raw food to Costa Rican cuisine

•  Lodging, meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), airport transportation (only in Costa Rica)

Cost: $1750 for private room (not including airfare and tax) or the ~ing pair package – by bringing a friend and sharing a room/bed the companion rate is $1550 (not including airfare and tax)

For more information on the ~ing retreat in Recreo email kristin@herfuture.com. To sign up today call Christina at Recreo at 877-268-2911 or email info@recreocostarica.com.

Enter to win: After reading ADD MORE ~ing TO YOUR LIFE, submit two paragraphs about how the book has inspired you to change to freetrip@addmoreing.com. You must also subscribe to the addmoreing.com site at addmoreing.com/blogging. Gabrielle will choose one woman to join her at Recreo in April. Contest ends February 24 and the winner will be announced on March 1.

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