Synopses & Reviews
Awe.
It is about wonder. About accessing the amazing to express reverence, admiration. Awe like this can show up in every aspect of our lives — even those we declare as not so great.
When we can look at all aspects of our lives with this kind wonder and admiration, awe changes us. We are broken open by it. It forces us to rethink things. To tweak our behaviors and choices. To move toward things that matter.
Psychologist Nicholas Humphrey says awe forces us to reconfigure our mental model so we can make sense of what we’ve seen and experienced. It broadens us, inspires us.
Awe then, has the ability to awaken us. It can show us the beauty that already exists and remind us who we are at our spiritual core. It brings us closer to our purpose and passion and helps us create meaning. It helps us to live with the mystery in life, to survive the uncertainty of it all. It allows us to sink into the experience of living. To engage in it. To be touched by it. To participate rather than needing to manipulate, contrive, or control every moment, each experience.
When you live in awe of your life you are open to diverse experiences. Some are easy peasy, comfortable and even joyous. Others totally suck. But you are okay because you know that within every experience the possibilities are limitless and experience is multi-dimensional. It is never just one thing. It is always more than bad or good.
Polly Campbell designed this book to help you engage with the awesome qualities of your life.
Do the exercises if you want — or not. Read this book chapter by chapter or go to the section that will help you most right now. Take what works, discard the rest. You will not be graded on how well you use this book. You won’t be judged.
Living an Awesome Life isn’t about following a strict set of rules. It’s about living from your essence and using all that to catapult you into your best life. What that life looks like is up to you. You are the creator of your moments. They are shaped by what you believe, what you notice, how you behave. You get to choose.
No matter who you are, what you’ve done, where you’ve been, what you’ve experienced and borne, the very next moment can be awesome.
Seriously. Sounds a little woo-woo, I know, but this is totally doable.
When you discover the awe in the now, it transforms the next moment and makes it more possible, a bit easier to bear. A bit more awesome.
When you string together a whole batch of little awesome moments, you can create a big, fat awesome life. Starting now. From right here.
Review
"The humorous and candid narrative in this book delivers lighthearted yet significant direction for integrating traditional spiritual techniques with the imperfections that characterize daily life. Campbell calls this 'choosing a path of imperfection, [which] connects you more deeply with yourself and fills those chaotic, confusing, and stressful moments with possibility and meaning.' Compelling anecdotes from ordinary spiritual seekers and informative research help to illuminate this path of imperfect spirituality, which begins when we stop trying to hide our flaws and instead 'pay attention to what’s going on: to what’s working and what’s not.' Practical tips for turning ordinary moments into opportunities for spiritual growth, many of which can be squeezed in while brushing your teeth or waiting for the bus, punctuate this clear and affable spiritual guide for the rest of us."
Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Polly Campbell is a writer and speaker specializing in personal development and spirituality topics. Her work appears regularly in national publications, she is a blogger with Psychology Today, and she is a teacher for Daily Om and Imperfect Spirituality. For more than two decades, Polly has studied and applied the techniques she writes and speaks about to her own life. Polly and her family live in Beaverton, OR.