The Power of Your Spirit: A Guide to Joyful Living [Hardcover]

Sonia Choquette is one of today's most profoundly inspiring spiritual teachers. Her bestselling book The Answer Is Simple... has helped so many remember that they are spiritual beings having a human experience. While that book gave solid examples as to how to allow your Spirit to live through you, it lacked dealing with some the emotional turbulence that comes with such a life transformation. The Power of Your Spirit is an inspiring follow-up that demonstrates exactly how to overcome the criticism of your ego-self, achieve your most passionate desires despite what others may want from you, and truly open your heart to Divine love while welcoming your Spirit.

The Power of Your Spirit is broken down into four main phases. First, as you awaken to your Spirit, you must connect with Spirit through a daily practice. This first phase involves acknowledging the Universe as the one source from hence we all came and seeing the Universe as our unending source of creative inspiration. Meditation and conscious attention to living an authentic life are critical, but most important is the practice of breathing. Breath is life, and deep controlled breathing relieves anxiety and fear and sets the appropriate environment within the body for Spirit to flow freely. During each phase of spiritual evolution, including the early stages, one can feel as if his or her life is falling apart, and Sonia provides sound strategies for dealing with these events. The stories presented make no effort to hide the fact that spiritual awakening can be turbulent but always leads to true happiness for yourself and others.

In the second stage of welcoming Spirit, discovering your Spirit, Sonia explains an exciting phase of gaining knowledge through reading, classes, workshops, and other spiritual experiences. She suggests expanding your thoughts beyond what feels comfortable and learning about the many aspects of the spiritual realm. While encouraging this discovery phase, she also warns against using books and workshops as an escape and clearly explains that one learns not through knowledge but through experience. Applying and practicing the techniques will be the key to true spiritual growth.

In the third stage, surrendering to your Spirit, Sonia suggests that you will slowly move beyond your ego and begin to trust in the mysterious Universe at large to provide. You will acknowledge that your ego cannot ever free you from fear or bring you peace, and you will expand your practice beyond what feels natural and explore new interests. During this phase, one stops living in the past and the future and focuses on the present moment, concerned not about what other people want but the truth of what the Spirit wants.

In the last phase, flowing with your Spirit, one has learned to trust fully in the Universe. In this phase, you will explain to the Universe exactly what you want and then accept the Divine inspiration to manifest those thoughts as your reality. During this phase, you will find yourself inspired to help others and will live a life of compassion and peace.

Throughout The Power of Your Spirit, Sonia exemplifies her concepts with stories from her own experiences and those of her family and many clients. Each section includes multiple opportunities to answer journal questions that will help you open to your Spirit and discover what it is you want to achieve in life. Also included are specific practice exercises in each phase of evolution that will bring you closer in touch with your Spirit. In a section all its own, Sonia also recommends creating a personal spiritual altar, a portal through which your Spirit can enter. Overall, Sonia brings metaphysical concepts (such as spirit guides and universal consciousness) into The Power of Your Spirit that were lacking in The Answer Is Simple...

The Power of Your Spirit and The Answer Is Simple... by Sonia Choquette together form an outstanding course in becoming aware of and attuned to your Spirit to live an authentic and rewarding life. Sonia's teachings are proven and when practiced can impact your life in the most positive ways.

"How is my Spirit today?" Is there a way to make the transition from ego to Spirit? Sonia Choquette's "The Power of Your Spirit, A Guide to Joyful Living," takes you through the transition from an ego driven life where we focus on getting more, striving after and living by limiting beliefs to a life filled with peace, joy and purpose in four clear steps. The first step is what Choquette calls, the "Awakening."" Like Humpty Dumpty, once you enter the awakening phase of your spiritual transformation, the world as you know it shatters - never to be reassembled again. And yet you discover that it was merely a shell that hid from you a much greater and more expansive reality that promises rewards, fulfillment, challenges, and peace like you've never known." This quote describes the first pivotal moments of "unaware awakening" in my life over 15 years ago when I desperately wanted a child and at the same time realized there had to be more to life than shopping for new outfits, binge drinking and making my life look perfect on the outside. I did not know that once I started looking within, my life would never be the same. But, rather than running from myself any longer, I was ready to change the channel and begin to unearth the spontaneous, authentic me who loves to teach and wants more than anything else to serve Life.

Choquette illustrates her work with stories from her own experiences, family and clients throughout her years of teaching and sharing. One of the tools she teaches is to check in with your most authentic self by asking the question, "How is my Spirit today?" It's in this reconnection every day that keeps us from spiraling endlessly backwards. She even recommends you give the Spirit part of you a special name, so you can identify and relate more easily. I call mine "Sparkles" and try to remember to ask each day, "What would Sparkles like to do today?" Once you ask the question, breathe and connect to the authentic part of you and answers come. For me it's letting go of the fear of travel so I can teach yoga across the continent, giving myself permission to go for it and add new venues so I can reach more people, yoga with my feet in the grass or pausing in the midst of chores so I can play in the mud with my son! It takes practice, but eventually we can all become more masterful at leading our lives connected to Spirit and even become the kind of person we want to be around!

As a yoga instructor I especially like the reminder she offers of "Keeping Your Fire Burning." "Tend to the fire of your spirit everyday. Every morning gently stretch, move, bend or walk for at least ten minutes shortly after awakening. Whether expressed in a few yoga postures, a trip to the gym, or a simple walk around the block, physical movement keeps your Spirit burning strong and channels its power toward your highest creative expression. Being stagnant or spending too much time in your head causes the fire to die out." Choquette's teachings have definitely impacted my life as I've learned to introduce Spirit into all of my life; not only when it's safe on the yoga mat. It's when we have the courage to put the rubber to the road in our daily lives, accessing the Spirit at the workplace, waiting in the airport or stuck in traffic that we can keep expanding into the joyful power of our Spirit! I am honored to review this free book from Hay House!

"The Power of Your Spirit" is an important book on making a connection with your higher self (spirit). As Sonia mentions, this connection helps and nourishes regardless of outside circumstances. "The Power of Your Spirit" is written with the essence of an abundance of love, and is an empowering guide that helps increase the ability to be graceful, creative, and inspired even when events turn out differently than expected. I also enjoyed reading this book because it serves as a gentle reminder on why it is essential and healing for the soul to make a connection with the higher self (spirit daily). I am glad to have a book like this to remind me of the importance of connecting with your own spirit. I have noticed in my own life that my own intuition and creativity have been increasing more and more each day as a result of my conscious intent to connect with my spirit (higher self, soul). The following is some of the helpful details that Sonia Choquette includes in "The Power of Your Spirit"

1) An innovative "Asking the Questions" journal idea that is on page 131.
2) There are tips for keeping your spirit burning strong (such as physical movement and meditation)(pg. 144)
3) There are certain questions to ask to assist in making the shift of increasing a personal connection with the spirit energy (higher self, soul) that is on page 89.

This book is a definite guide to add to a personal library for anyone who is aware and/or open to connecting their higher self (spirit, soul) and would like to have a guide to read and appy the ideas contained within for increasing a connection to the spirit (higher self, soul).