Vital Energy: The 7 Keys to Invigorate Body, Mind, and Soul
261
Vital Energy: The 7 Keys to Invigorate Body, Mind, and Soul
261eBook
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Overview
"A well-written biography."--New York Times
"A well-executed glimpse of one of the giants of the automobile industry."--Publishers Weekly
Long before Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, and Bill Gates, there was William C. Durant (1861-1947), the flamboyant businessman who made deals at warp speed to build General Motors and the automotive industry. Now in paperback, The Deal Maker brings Durant, a self-starter obsessed with making it and being seen as making it, to thrilling life. Thriving on the art of the deal, Durant was buying companies at the rate of one every thirty days at the height of his career. By 1910, he had brought together twenty-five automobile firms into what would become the General Motors empire. Then, gambling on a run on GM stock, Durant was forced into a buyout, which unseated him from GM, leaving him without the financial wherewithal to ever succeed again. Featuring some of the most important figures in the history of the automotive industry and American business, including Henry Ford, David Buick, Albert Champion, Louis Chevrolet, Alfred P. Sloan, and Pierre Du Pont, The Deal Maker is a fast-paced, rousing tale of Durant's dizzying success and abject failure.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780470352632 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Trade Paper Press |
| Publication date: | 05/02/2008 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 261 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Introduction
The Quest for Vitality
Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now-- always.
--Albert Schweitzer
Quantum physicists and the perennial wisdom sages alike inform us that we are, in essence, beings of energy in a vast universe of energy. And yet if we and the entire universe are made of energy, why are so many of us tired all the time? I hear variations on the theme of this question from my patients on a daily basis. When the life force is not freely circulating, fatigue, chronic pain, weak digestion, depression, and susceptibility to infections are common. Ask your family and friends-- ask yourself-- do you have enough energy? Many, if not most, of the people in your life will tell you that they feel tired a lot of the time.
In a recent American study, 60 percent of people interviewed complained of fatigue in their lives. A British survey reported that one in five adults said that he or she felt tired all the time. In my daily medical practice, almost every person I see is lacking the vitality they remember or believe their life should have.
A middle-aged woman I saw in consultation recently exemplifies this concern. From all external appearances Mrs.. Mason is immensely successful. She runs a flourishing marketing business, is active on several community boards, and has been married for ten years to a celebrated local attorney. She lives in a large home, drives a luxury car, and takes exotic trips at least twice a year. But despite all the accoutrements of success, Mrs.. Mason is desperately unhappy and exhausted. She has been through psychological counseling and has tried several different antidepressants but continues to feel overwhelmingly tired and depleted. At work, she puts up a good front but frequently finds her thoughts drifting to recurring questions in her mind: Why is she doing what she is doing? How much longer can she continue to go through the motions? What is the meaning of her life?
Although a psychiatrist might suggest that this woman's brain is deficient in serotonin, I believe that what is truly lacking is a connection with her own being. She has lost access to her vitality, her inner treasury of energy and creativity. Like so many of us, she has sought contentment in positions and possessions, but true fulfillment is impossible without clear access to vitality. Fortunately, vital energy is the core of our being, and we need only to dislodge the obstacles that are blocking its flow.
We are collectively here to remember ourselves as spiritual beings, empowered to learn, serve, and celebrate. As members of a community of souls, we have a responsibility to remind each other that our essential nature is not as flesh and blood machines but as embodied spirits, temporarily condensed as individuals. As carefree, innocent children, we experience the earth as a playground, designed for the expansion of love and happiness. Watch any child playing, regardless of culture or social status, and you will witness the life force rejoicing in its own existence. The exuberance of being alive is the reward of a deep connection to the inner well-spring of vitality. Many people have forgotten their essential nature as beings of energy, but life is a process of forgetting and remembering. As we assume the mantle of responsible adults, we envelop our spirit in layers of seriousness and sobriety. For a time, we become focused on meeting our basic needs-- raising a family, reaching financial goals-- surviving. But life naturally progresses through cycles, and in the suitable season, the seeds of inspiration deep within our souls inevitably begin to sprout, calling for attention and nourishment.
As I make presentations on healing and transformation around the country, I find that more and more people are resonating with the message that the essential heart of our individuality is spirit. We know it's there because many of us have had glimpses of it throughout our lives. Spirit reveals itself in many ways-- as periods of a deep connectedness to a force that transcends individuality, feelings of safety while facing serious threat, a sense of hope despite genuine loss, a knowing of inner power in the midst of overwhelming challenge. The essential question we are all facing is how to access this inner state of power on a consistent basis. Among my fellow aging baby boomers, the search for spirit and meaning is taking on a new urgency as we move through midlife and wonder how many more years remain for us to experience our full potential.
Table of Contents
Vital Energy Key #1: Seek Your Self.Vital Energy Key #2: Clear Your Toxins, Digest Your Past.
Vital Energy Key #3: Feed Your Body, Nourish Your Soul.
Vital Energy Key #4: Release Depleting Emotions, Cultivate Love.
Vital Energy Key #5: Move to Nature's Beat.
Vital Energy Key #6: Work with Meaning, Play with Passion.
Vital Energy Key #7: Celebrate the Magic of Being.
Postscript: Embracing Vital Energy.
Sources.
Vital Energy Enhancing Suggestions.
Recommended Audiotapes.
Index.