Hello everyone! Today's post is something I've been wanting to discuss for a while now. It's something that is close to my heart. Today I am giving you my self-help book recommendations. Keep in mind that I didn't just randomly pick these books. I read, listened, and experienced them first hand. These are words I continue to carry with me. But before I give you these recommendations, I want to give you a little context into what led me to these books. 

This past summer I had something I didn't think would ever happen to me: an identity crisis. Every time I woke up, I didn't know who I was anymore. It scared me to know what the future held and how I was going to handle it. I was crossing the bridge from teenager to young adult. A prospect I wasn't too keen on happening. I would stay up at night trying to figure out what was going to happen after college. It was crazy. I was turning into a control freak on how I wanted my life to be. Basic questions surfaced like How are you going to make money?  Where are you living after college? Are you doing a summer internship?   This constant wondering led me to the brink of insanity. 

I literally didn't know how to answer these questions and thought to  myself: "I need to do something about this." I couldn't spend my life waiting for something to happen. And here I came to learning about the Law of Attraction and living in the present. 

So without further ado, here are my book recommendations. 

1. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom  by Don Miguel Ruiz
This book discusses pillars to living a peaceful and loving life. This book is literally the reason I am not so harsh on others anymore. I've learned to diminish the amount of judgement I have towards others. [Yes, it is difficult but it can be done.] I realized the importance of treating human beings and animals with respect. This book was a game changer in terms of personal relationships. I didn't realize how damaging I was being towards others with my actions. I realized that we are all at different stages in our lives. Therefore we must respect each other. 

I love the simplicity and clarity the author gives to  each pillar. That it's about not being hard on ourselves but instead focusing on the things that truly matter: love and respect. 

2. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
This books discusses being present. This is something pop culture and society in general ignores. We promote hacks, tips, and tricks but not lifestyle changes. It goes into various tactics and ways into living your fullest life. I believe many people spend their days mindless worrying. Don't get me wrong, I've caught myself doing this as well. It's ridiculous. I've had days where I worry way too much about an issue in my personal life or college work that I need to get done.

That is when I remind myself that right now is okay. There's nothing wrong in this moment, so why are we worrying so much. This book proved to me that there is power in the present because nothing will be as good as this moment. Even as I am writing this  I think to myself  "nothing will be as good as this moment." Why? Because we don't know what's going to happen.

3. The Power  by Rhonda Byrne
This one is sort of a hippie one but it's one that resonates with me deeply. As someone who spend years with limiting beliefs, this was the book that began a major transformation within myself. Rhonda Byrne's talks about something I've been interested for a while: the law of attraction. For those whom haven't heard of the law of attraction here's the main premise: if you ask and put in the work towards something, you will get it. This means visualizing and taking actions towards your goals. 

The biggest take away I got from this book was to write your goals down as if it were in the present. I did just as the book instructed and I began to see opportunities for myself. I wrote out my creative and personal dreams. And I didn't just write personal goals. No, I wrote out everything in painstaking detail.

It changed the way I said things. For example, instead of saying "if" it's "when";  "No" is "not yet."These word changes allowed me to view my life through a different lens. I realize that there's more possibility than failure. And those failures prepare us for something great.  

I still say these goals out loud to myself and visualize them everyday. The biggest mistake I notice with people who read this book is that they get tunnel vision. That is they get so focused on their goals that they forget about their current life or that visualization becomes a bottomless dream. Therefore my advice to you when reading this book is to check with yourself in a non-judgmental way. That is, don't sit and tell yourself how poorly your performed but ask yourself: Is this where I want to be? 
4. You Can Heal Your Life  by Louise Hay
This book is one that helped me in a major way. It talks about how to overcome our past mistakes and own ourselves now. I found the author's story inspiring. She goes into her troubled upbringing and how to overcame her struggles. She discusses how she became a therapist and what low self esteem means.

As someone who came from a disordered eating background, I needed this book. I needed to know that I was going to be okay. That I could get past my insecurities and come into my own again. I realized that I needed to learn how to forgive one person: myself. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in self-doubt, judgement, and shame. 

5. The Universe Has Your Back  by Gabrielle Bernstein
I literally finished this book a day ago and can't fathom how important this book is. As an avid mediator, this is a book that I highly recommend for those who want to learn about meditation and the power of love. It discusses the power we have when we realize the the universe really does have our back. That we must lean towards love, not hate. Furthermore, that we don't fall into judgement. This book also gives meditations for self-doubt and judgement.

I hope this helps list you all with your spiritual journeys towards and self-love and acceptance. It baffles me how much people don't know about these ideas and concepts. They are life changing and magical on many levels.  I hope ya'll have a great day. Love yourself and stay awesome. 

6.  Big Magic  by Elizabeth Gilbert
I had heard of Elizabeth Gilbert when I was in high school but didn't get into her work until college. And man is she inspiring. In fact, I believe this is a necessary book for life. Elizabeth Gilbert's discussion on creativity blew my mind. As a theatre major and all around creative person, this changed my perspective on creative living. 

In the book she talks about the pitfalls and creativity and how everyone is a creative. It doesn't matter if you make a living off it or not. We have a creator inside of us. 

In conclusion, these books are highly recommended for those wanting to live  in a better mindset. I am not a therapist by any means. I am just a human being wanting to spread the word on these life changing ideas. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

P.S. If you guys have any other book recommendations please list them in the comments below!

Manifestations are the most amazing things ever. I see people make them all the time and I am inspired by their actions. Whether they want to attain a healthier lifestyle or go vegan, I am all for people bettering themselves and the world. Furthermore, it comforts me to know that a person can change their life at any moment. That's the beauty of manifestations because it sets intention in a person's life.

​         And thinking about this made me want to share with ya'll what intentions I've set for 2018. Some of these are personal but important to me. My gut was telling me to share these goals with the universe because I want to inspire you all to live your goals as  well.

1. Go Backpacking/Travel
           This is something that I've thought and dreamed about for years. I follow many vegan YouTubers and digital nomads see the world. Their experiences inspire me to have my own experiences. Also I've to realize that life is about living and loving , not waiting for something to happen. More specifically, I want to backpack the PNT (Pacific Northwest Trail).

             There's something about the challenge that makes me want to go for it. Also my gut's been telling me to go outside more. To get in touch with a part of me that I haven't connected with in so long. There's a healing in being outside and meeting kind strangers that I love. That sounds lofty, but true. When I am in the wilderness, I am reminded that not all people are bad. I know it won't happen this year but I would like to start training for it. Other places that I am yearning to go to are Canada, the east coast, Thailand, and Europe. These are places that I've only seen in movies and T.V. shows.

2. Create More Than I Consume
            This is pretty obvious. I want to post more on this blog and create content and is beneficial to both you and me. These days people live passively and feel as though they aren't in control of their own lives. The truth is they are. They have their creativity and compassion for human beings. For one thing I want to document my journey on PNT here as well as share more vegan facts with ya'll. 

3. Plan My Tiny House
Yes ya'll heard me right. I want to build a tiny house. This is something that has always interested me and feels right. Plus there are so many benefits to having a tiny house. They are economically and environmentally sustainable. Furthermore I am finding more and more people opting for this alternative way of living instead of buying a regular house or apartment. In fact I see more people choosing van life! Then again maybe it's just me.

4. Continue Meditating
Meditation is a practice that I've been doing for 3 1/2 years now. It's brought me gratitude and love. I feel an inner peace within myself and more importantly mental clarity. It's gotten me through times of self-doubt and conflict. Without making this section too long: go meditate. It will change your life.

5. Spend Time With Myself
Okay this sounds weird but it's not. As an introvert this is imperative. Being alone is how I recharge myself and reflect on my day. But I feel like I haven't been spending time in the right way. I haven't been self-soothing the way a person should. That is, I haven't been saying positive affirmations and checking in with myself.  I've been mindless worrying about people in my life and my own problems. This is something I want to alleviate by building better habits. 

6. Get en-pointe
This is something that I've been trying to do for a year now. I started doing ballet because it's a dance style that scared me. I believe that a person needs to do the things that scare them because it' really not that bad. Or to put things nicely, ballet intimidated me. I came from a background of Hip-Hop, Theatre, and Modern. Thus I didn't know what to think of this.  I couldn't wrap my head around French words being thrown at me.

Now I am getting there. Like all things, it's a skill that improves over time. One doesn't become perfect, but finds room for improvement.

With all this being said, I hope ya'll have a wonderful day. I hope this inspires you to set your intentions for the year. I am sending much peace and love to ya'll.

P.S. Yes I did make a video on this. Yes it's kind of bad (and was posted over a week ago), but I felt like I needed too. I believe that you have to tell the universe what you want, not just write it out. Even if you are a tired college student.