My first novel is out now!!!!!

I've turned to fiction and I love it! My first book is called 'Your Perfect Life Will Commence Shortly'. The novel is about everything in life happening for a reason, embracing who you are and where you have come from. Because I love self development, my books are all going to have self development woven into them. I'm merging my love of that with fiction and writing.

My author website is www.allison-oneill.com and you can buy copies here http://allison-oneill.com/Buy%20the%20novel.htm (It is not currently available in any stores). It costs $23 including postage within New Zealand and $30 International. There is a book preview (first 2 chapters) available on the site too.

Its official blurb is:

Lucille Ryan's childhood was not your typical one. She never got to run around, play and laugh with other kids. Her mum; Paula, wanted her to have the best start in life which she believed came from education. Forced to spend her every waking moment doing extra work her mum set for her, Lucille is very lonely. She is considered weird by her peers and is lacking in self esteem. Desperate for a different life, Lucille transforms herself from a timid wee thing with various social problems into a teenager that rebels and soon wins her freedom. Even though her new life gives her the freedom she so desperately wanted, she still finds herself lacking peace and seeking her mother's love. Her curious journey into womanhood unexpectedly peaks in Paris. She brings home answers in her heart that creates an amazing new beginning. Lucille learns that everything in life really does happen for a reason. The pains of her past end up being the building blocks of a life she loves.

Tell EVERYONE you know (and those you don't ;) ) put it on facebook, stop people in the streets or yell it out your windows. Any promotion for a Christchurch wannabe author very welcome. In light of this, I have very humbly announced myself on LinkedIn as "the new JK Rowling". Very fitting I'm sure.

Love and kisses

Allison xxx

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

I’ve just read The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. I think it’s classed as half novel, half true. It is also (like my other recent read Synchro Destiny by Deepak Chopra ) another tool in the toolbox of the law of attraction. I really enjoyed this book. It delves deeply into the conscious level of our world. It talks about the world’s energy vibration in the past, present and where it could go in the future. It draws on ancient wisdom to give guidance on things like the struggle for power in relationships/interactions with people, our energy levels and clearing our past. I highly recommend this book if you are into the law of attraction – it grew my knowledge and awareness of it hugely. It’s written in novel ‘style’ and very action packed - I couldn’t put it down!

What are your dreams trying to tell you?

I’ve never taken too much notice of my dreams, sometimes if something really obvious sings out to me I question its meaning and message – but that doesn’t happen very often. After reading Deepak Chopra’s book Synchro Destiny I realised I should take more notice of my dreams. They are a view into your subconscious, and often bring things to your attention that you need to learn from or ponder. So I’ve made a list of some dreams that I want to take some time to ponder. After doing that I realised how silly I am to have not done this before – as I have a recurring dream (for years and years) that obviously has some kind of message for me. I’ll set aside some time to try and figure out what that is. Once you get really good at ‘listening’ to your dreams, you can ask your subconscious mind questions – during meditation or just before sleep and your dreams will often bring you an answer or a different perspective. I can’t believe I haven’t ‘utilised’ my dreams – the view into my subconscious mind before!! Maybe you should start this too.

Who are you forgetting to pray for?

I had a bit of a wakeup call recently. I heard an 'update' on a person who I haven’t had anything to do with for years. As I pondered their struggles I wondered how the heck I managed to make it all these years without remembering to pray for this person everyday! They have many challenges and issues in their life and will probably have for years to come. I don’t have anything to do with them, but I do care about them. They aren’t living their best life, they have low self esteem and don’t seem to have access to tools to help them live the amazing life they deserve. This breaks my heart! I started wondering who else I had somehow managed to not ever pray for but should be, and came up with a sizeable list. We sometimes get so set in our ways (yes even with prayer) and so busy praying for people that are close to us that we forget those who need our prayers most.

Synchro Destiny by Deepak Chopra

I’ve just read Synchro Destiny by Deepak Chopra and loved it. It is another tool in the toolbox of the law of attraction. It is about the power of coincidences.Part of the book that I found really powerful to remember is this:
Imagine that your intention can....
Heal those who are not well
Bring joy and laughter to those who are in sorrow
Bring success to those who are failing
Bring strength to those who feel weak and fearful
Bring hope to the helpless

...because it can. Your every thought, word and deed can bring some benefit to the world.

This kind of mindset builds on my post about radiating kindness.

The secret to a happy life

Read this amazing article about happiness (read it twice and slowly!). It is full of insight including:
*Removing a person’s problems WILL NOT make them happy
*You shouldn't first focus on tackling your problems and THEN shift the emphasis to look for happiness - otherwise you may run out of time and NEVER seek happiness. Seek happiness now, despite problems.

I love this part: “If you are faced with two doors, and one has a sign saying ‘self-improvement’ and the other has a sign saying ‘self-acceptance,’ I would encourage you to walk through the self-acceptance door every single time. If you do that you’ll come to know the truth about yourself. You won’t get in your own way anymore and everything else will improve.”

Read it in full here:
http://www.thealimagazine.com/secret-happy-life-you

A lesson in ENJOYING moments you can't change

Mindfulness is so important. It is about enjoying every single moment of your life instead of thinking “I’ll be happy when” – always looking to the future as a time when you’ll enjoy yourself. I can be a bit of a stress head over small things at times (yes I now notice when I’m being like this so it’s changing!). Hubby and I were late to an engagement because his boss had called him asking him to do an emergency job. We stopped on the way so he could do it. I was sitting in his work van tapping my fingers, noticing every second that went by as we got later and later. I noticed I was doing this (after a while) and told myself to chill out – that the world WOULD ABSOULTELY NOT END if we were a bit late. I then noticed how nice the rain sounded gently coming down and also an awesome song came on the radio so I started belting out some off-notes (FYI the song was “rock me gently rock me slowly take it easy don’t you know? That I have never been loved like this before...BABY BABY.....” good ol’ time tune!). I realised how silly it is to not accept moments as they are and just go with them. I realised it takes effort to take your mind off ‘auto drive’ and that there is more than one way to react to a situation. Life “is what it is” so why do we let our minds choose to be stressed and tap our fingers instead of just living, embracing the moment and belting out a fab tune? If you can’t change a situation, why not just enjoy it? I remember opening the fridge one day and the one litre of yogurt managed to fall out and splat on the ground abundantly coating the whole kitchen. Hubby was nearby and we just froze in silence – looked at the ground, looked at each other, looked at the ground, looked at each other..... it was one of those messes you wonder “how the hell am I gonna clean that up?!” eventually we both burst out laughing and came up with a haphazard strategy that eventually got it tidied up! I'm pleased I chose a great response in that situation instead of letting out an almighty sigh and **enter expletive here**.
I’m trying to keep my mind out for more situations like the work call out one – so I can see how often I choose the wrong focus, hopefully over time I can override my brains ‘hard drive’ to enjoy moments I can’t change instead of tapping my fingers.

Anyone got any similar experiences to share?