I’ve just completed reading Meena Puri’s latest book.  There is so much wisdom to absorb from the book; at the moment, I am letting it sink in slowly.  There is so much to grasp.   Meena’s truth has shaken up my energy and given me the push to continue and move forward on my journey of understanding my purpose in life.

I read on Kindle and I use their highlighting tool.  There is so much to read and re-read and I am highlighting so many passages.  I’ve included some of my favorite gems at the end of this review.  I could write stories and anecdotes about how each one has shown up in my life, but instead I’ve chosen just one in order to share a personal moment that I experienced with my mother.  Meena wrote:

“The inner work is about healing our past traumas and wounds, expanding the love, so we can radiate it ‘out there'”.

My mother and I always had a strained (but loving) relationship.  She was a Holocaust survivor with many hidden secrets. She tried to spare me the atrocities she had experienced but the secrets allowed a wall between us.  The wall both shielded me and caused me to feel resentful.  One thing my mother would do that irked me was that she used to say, “Am I right?” all the time and it infuriated me, because, of course, she was right most of the time,  which I mistakenly took to mean, that I was wrong.  And this reinforced the wall between us.

When I was older and a mother of 3, she came to visit me in Israel. I decided that this time I would not let her get under my skin.  I would revel in her being right.  I had realized that the role models she had had in her teens were Nazis who NEVER said anything positive to her.  And that was the reason she wanted/needed to be appreciated – needed to be right.  Therefore, I decided to take on the role of giving her positive reinforcement

 

I planned a wonderful day of touring in Israel.  I said, “Let’s go here.”  And she would counter, “Why not go there.”  And instead of bickering, I said, “What a fantastic idea!”  She was taken aback.  Immediately she said, “No, let’s go on your plan.”  I said, “Yours is better.”  and I said it without malice, without feeling like she was one-upping me.  I could see her hesitation and I watched her protective, phony-confidence deflate AND her  authentic confidence develop.  This went on all day long and after each stop, I commented on what a great idea she had had and what a wonderful day we all were having.  She was glowing by the end of the day.  “The inner work is about healing our past traumas and wounds, expanding the love, so we can radiate it ‘out there'”  These traumas remain until they are given the attention they need.  Thank you Meena for sharing your truth in your book.

 

As promised, here are some more of the wisdoms you will find in this important book:

“Healing doesn’t ask whether you have been in pain for 25 minutes or 25 years. It is always available in the NOW moment. Consider two rocks that have been submerged underwater in a stream bed; one has been submerged for 10,000 years and the other for ten days. If you place both rocks in the sun, they will take the same amount of time to dry off.

The truth is nothing outside of us needs to change for us to be who we are designed to be, to heal, to become whole, to follow our heart, and to fulfill our purpose.

In that bigger context, you will see that whatever is happening to you is happening for you.

It’s our ego that thinks I have to accomplish something massive in order to be noticed. At the heart level, we are not concerned with being noticed; rather, we notice and truly see others. At this level, kindness and love are not measured. No heart action is big or small; it carries the same high energy that our world needs.”