Book Review: Percolate by Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

I was first introduced to Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino through social media. She is intelligent and beautiful (inside & out) with business savvy and an endless supply of energy. She is also a mom to four sons, and her love for them and her husband is palpable. She is a go-getter as the CEO and Founder of The Best Ever You Network, The Best Ever You Show, Best Main Life, Best Ever You Books, Food Allergy Zone, and top it all off, she is a Hay House author! 

When I was writing my notes for this blog, one of the first descriptions of Elizabeth I jotted down was "perky." It is quite fitting that the name of her book is Percolate! She radiates joy, and after reading her book, and learning about her life, I have an even bigger admiration for her contagious enthusiasm. 

Percolate - Let Your Best Self Filter Through is a 9-step guide to making changes, empowering yourself and living your best life.The coffee theme is cleverly weaved throughout the book, accentuating each chapter. In order to effect positive change in our lives, Elizabeth thoughtfully guides us through self-evaluation of our beliefs, values, and desires. She provides questions to journal, along with positive steps for positive growth and change. Each chapter ends with a "Coffee Break" discussion with Elizabeth and Dr. Katie Eastman. Along with Elizabeth's delicious humor, tales of a hamster, an aardvark, and a platypus, I was completely hooked by the time I reached the section of her book entitled What Would Betty White Do? 

What stands out for me the most, is Elizabeth's authenticity. She walks the talk. This book dives deep into her life, and she truly lives through example. Not everything has been a cup of tea (er, coffee I mean) for her. She writes of several harrowing life-threatening experiences to herself and family that would have fractured most. Yet, no matter what has happened, she chooses to live her best life. And the most beautiful thing is, she wants to share what she learns with everyone. She wants us all to rise and be the best that we can be. 

I highly recommend this book. Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino doesn't just live her best life, she gives it too. This quote, generally attributed to Picasso, rings true for Elizabeth: "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." Thank you Elizabeth, for sharing your gift through Percolate and everything you do.

You can find Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino and her work at:
Book: Percolate
Website: http://www.elizabethguarino.com/
The Best Ever You: http://www.besteveryou.com/
Best Maine Life: https://www.bestmainelife.com/
Best Ever You Books: http://www.besteveryoubooks.com/
Food Allergy Zone: https://www.foodallergyzone.com/
The Best Ever You Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/besteveryou

In Gratitude & Love,

Kerri Mulhern
www.suitablegifts.com

Book Review: The Mastery Of Self by don Miguel Ruiz Jr.

"The human journey is a process of the Divine becoming aware of itself." 

- don Miguel Ruiz Jr.

This May I had the honor to attend an evening with don Miguel Ruiz and don Miguel Ruiz Jr.  It was a magical night as you can read about in my May 19th blog. That night I purchased don Miguel Ruiz Jr.'s latest book The Mastery of Self - A Toltec Guide To Personal Freedom. I was thrilled to have him sign the book that night. There is energy everwhere, and along with the energy of the book, there is energy in his signature. And from what I felt in the church that evening, his energy is pure love.

I was very excited to read this book. It looks like a small, quick read, but it is packed and overflowing with wisdom. I really took my time with this one because he provided exercises in each chapter, and I wanted to do everything. As you can probably tell by now, one of my passions is self-improvement and learning to be my best self. What I learned through don Miguel Ruiz Jr.'s book, is that my Authentic Self is already perfect. I just need to let go of the masks and unconditional love for myself and others (and a few other very important things, but you'll read about it in the book yourself!).

"As a Master of Self, the way out is to remind yourself that you are perfect in this moment and you don't need to do or achieve anything in order to be complete."

- don Miguel Ruiz Jr.

The biggest challenge in my life has been forgiveness. It is the biggest obstacle I have been avoiding. However, I knew that I would have to face it eventually if I wanted to live my best life possible. It's amazing how life works when you tune in and see how everything is really guiding you home to your true nature. I recently had a really heartfelt conversation with my bestie. I was telling her about a pivotal, heartbreaking moment in my life. She said she felt like this was the final piece, the one thing I needed to let go of to be free and to essentially live the life I was intended here for. Our conversation was just after I read Chapter 4: Unconditional Love For Others. The exercises in this chapter put me on the path to freedom in this area. I don't want to give the book away, but I will say the first part involved writing a letter (something I've talked about doing for awhile) to the person that caused that "thing", that "moment" that feels like changed everything, and not for the better. I had been avoiding the letter. But I did it this time, I saw it through. For the first time I got it all out, I told my story from the perspective of the young girl I was. It wasn't as difficult or frightening as I thought it would be. The next two parts of the exercise are what set me free. Thank you don Miguel!

The other huge thing that this book helped me with is weight loss. This is yet another struggle that I just wrote about in my last blog. Again, I was just thinking about my struggle with losing weight, and there comes Chapter 8: Goal Setting. This chapter taught me that I am perfect already and I need to love myself as I am whether I achieve my goals or not. This chapter provided a beautiful approach to setting goals in a positive and healthy way. It's been of immeasurable use. Thank you again don Miguel!

As I've mentioned, there is so much packed into this book. I wanted to give a couple of examples of how it helped me, but there is so much more. There are grounding exercises, mantras, reflections on our attachments, the roles we play, the projections we put onto others and more. 

I know for everyone reading The Mastery of Self, it will hit at the core of something in your life that really needs to be brought to the surface and released. It will give you an awareness into something profound in your life, and will give you a new perspective. It will reveal the truth and give concrete steps to awareness and freedom. And above all, this is all done with love. Obviously I highly recommend this book! I also highly recommend checking out don Miguel Ruiz Jr.'s book signing schedule and events. 

You can click on the links in the blog or click here for more information:
To order The Master of Self: click here
For don Miguel Ruiz Jr.'s Book Signings & Events: click here

In Gratitude & Love,

Kerri Mulhern
www.suitablegifts.com