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Hamburg in Spring Time
Not quite like the Switzerland photos on the blog, but quite spectacular for the flat Northern Germany 10 days before the official start of Spring!
Taken a few days ago.
Review of Book: "Free Your True Self"
Free Your True Self was written by Annie Marquier, the Founder of the Institut du Developpement de la Personne (Institute for Personal Development), based in Quebec.
This book was recommended to me by a wonderful person who helped me understand a lot about myself in the past few months. Once I picked it up after completing YTTC, I could not put it down. Everything was so clear and well written.
As the Institute for Personal Development website summarises it:
"Free Your True Self is a remarkable synthesis of psychology and spirituality, presenting deep and practical knowledge about the fundamental mechanisms of human consciouness. It offers concrete tools allowing the reader to face the challenges of daily life with a deeper understanding, and thus greater mastery and strength."
I read it in French (it is called "La Liberte d'Etre" in its original form), but I was delighted to see that it has recently been published in English, for the non-French-speaking readers of this blog. The English version is in two parts, while the French version is in one volume.
Free Your True Self - Releasing Your Unconscious Defence Patterns (Part 1) presents the five major structures that people may use to function in life and shows how one can liberate oneself from these structures to truly be Oneself. The five structures basically present the five main dynamics of the ego, at the conscious and subconscious levels, which each individual is using at variable degrees, depending on one's history and degree of evolution.
I was amazed to read how true and accurate these descriptions were. The book really helped me to put into words how "stuck" I was in a couple of these structures and what I could do to get "unstuck". One important message is that these structures are present in ourselves, but we are not these structures. The book then goes on to give tips on how to help you transform yourself from these structures... I am already applying some of these tips and looking forward to continuing to do so in my daily life!
Free Your True Self - The Power of the Soul (Part 2) is excellent for those of you who may be trying to reconcile the spiritual (i.e. esoteric or philosophical) and psychological (i.e. rational or "western") aspects of the individual. Again, quoting the website: "Annie Marquier offers a unique integration of spiritual and psychological approaches which, on the one hand, allow us to ground the process of inner work in concrete terms, and on the other hand, make it possible to expand the psychological aspect so that it becomes a far more meaningful window on life".
I could very much relate the teachings of YTTC to this book, as it explains the process of involution and evolution, addresses the physical, astral and causal worlds and the way the mind works (dealing in layman's terms with the concepts of chitta, manas, buddhi, ahamkara, simplified in two broad categories).
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the history of mankind's consciousness... but I let you find out for yourself as I do not want to spoil the fun of discovery for you! The book then goes on to explain how one can develop a higher consciousness in one's life by getting in tune with the Self, giving some practical tips. There are also some lovely quotes along the way, gathered from a variety of sources and some practical examples.
The very last part of this volume is truly inspiring, showing how freeing your True Self can make life such a wonderful experience.
I highly recommend this book and would love to hear your views on it!
