by Stephanie Brail

Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual teacher and author of the bestselling Power of Now. A New Earth is his second runaway bestseller, bolstered by Oprah's Book Club and Oprah's phenomenally successful online course about the book. A New Earth is the first book by Tolle I've read (though I've known of him for years) and has served as my introduction to Tolle.

A New Earth, according to Tolle, will shift your consciousness and "awaken" you, if you are ready. He claims this in chapter one - a bold statement, I felt, for a guy who claims to be anti-ego. But there's something exciting about feeling like you're one of the "chosen ones," those who are supposed to be awakened at this point in history as our earth is in crisis. (Just don't get too caught up in your ego about it.)

I recently had to say no to a project. It was something I enjoyed, but as I meditated on my energy levels and what I needed to accomplish in the next month, I realized I was just taking on too much. I knew that saying no would disappoint some people, but I needed to be firm.

I was reminded of Byron Katie, and how she always says no with a smile.

Sometimes it is hard to say no to people, especially when they are people you like and respect. If you sit back for a moment, you may realize that there are certain people in your life who just command involvement. This does not mean they are controlling or bad. It just means they are firm in their vision and what they are doing. They will ask you to participate with such charm and confidence that you may find yourself saying yes without thinking.

by Stephanie Brail

One of the best and most transformative tools for personal growth I have ever found is absolutely free, and you can do it anytime. It doesn't require any special tools or knowledge. You don't have to believe in any specific religion or even God to use it.

This fabulous tool is called "The Work of Byron Katie," or just "The Work" for short.

Byron Katie is a woman who used to live her life in a lot of anger, selfishness, and greed. One day she had a complete meltdown...and then she had a miraculous breakthrough. She completely transformed, and is now one of the leading spiritual teachers on the planet.

The Work is very simple. It's all about questioning the stories we create in our minds that cause pain to ourselves and those around us. It's also about accepting reality, without judgment.

The general gist of The Work is this:

Byron Katie is a beautiful gray-haired woman with a twinkle in her eye and a tremendous amount of love in her heart. If you ever get a chance to see her in person, you can feel the love radiating out from her as strongly as the bright light from the sun.

She delivers her message through a simple process called "The Work," which consists primarily of writing down your negative thoughts and questioning them. It's simple, elegant, and requires no particular spiritual belief or religious dogma.

The beauty of The Work is that when you do it consciously, you'll find that it sets you free. Free from expectation, worry, judgment, and desire.

The Work not a cult, or a hyped up self-help seminar that makes you feel really good while you're there but doesn't really deliver once the high has worn off.

Every story, every thing is God: reality. It apparently emerges from out of Itself and appears as a life. It lives forever within the story, until the story ends. From out of Itself I appeared as my story, until the questions brought me home.

Stress is an alarm clock that lets you know you've attached to something not true for you.