Author: Maureen Delaney, Ph.D

Publisher: Booklocker

ISBN: 978-1-60910-222-7

Click Here To Purchase AS IF

Maureen Delaney's As If: An 8-week Adventure to discovering You! is a nifty little book that makes full use of the process of visualization to attain peace within yourself, your family, your job and your environment. Delaney, as with all proponents of visualization, advocate creating a detailed picture as if we have attained our goals. This is based on the widely held belief that our brain believes that it is possible to attain our goals, once we have perceived that we achieved it. And no doubt is the underlying principle of the power of positive thinking.

Using the analogy of a movie star giving the performance of a lifetime, Delaney has designed an eight week course where she asks her readers to present to the world a full length block-buster performance. The readers are the main actors, as well as the producers and directors. Moreover, they view their performances from the first person and act as if they have already achieved the character traits of the behavior they wish to emulate. They perceive themselves through their own eyes rather than from the outside.

Each chapter of the book represents a week in the program and is devoted to a particular scene in the movie. These scenes focus on a different aspect of persona such as the attainment of peace, patience, loving, trust/knowing, acceptance, joy, expectation, and removing the sludge and residue. As Delaney states: “act the part, be the part, and let the part become you.”

Consistently focusing on one particular goal enables us to realize it far sooner that if we did not focus on it, and it will bring the goal closer to us. For example, if you look to scene six, Delaney deals with the persona of Joy, which she describes as “such a fun person persona; joyful, exuberant, loving, peaceful, patient, trusting.” As you notice, and as Delaney mentions, you bring along with you into each new week the persona of the previous week(s). We are informed that to reap maximum results, we should allow the joy to escape and spread around us. Think of ways to bring joy to others and make a list of the possibilities.

This chapter, as well as the others, also includes meditations filled with sage advice, which Delaney asserts that ìf they do not speak to you, use your own. Some of the wonderful sayings are a sheer delight to read as: Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey's quote: ”May your walls know the joy; may every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibility” Another is from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not paid around us.” Many of these simple messages can certainly wring a great deal of stress out of our lives.

It is wise to keep a record of your progress, consequently, Delaney has provided her readers at the end of every chapter with a blank journal page to jot down thoughts and ideas. It is here where readers want to include a description of their feelings as: does sharing joy make you feel happy, excited, and thrilled?

As If is a pragmatic application to assist you in unearthing in yourself a better person. However, with most self-help books, you can only derive maximum gains if you are determined to focus and apply all of the techniques advocated. Delaney's informal tone goes a long way in simplifying the process and at the same time making the journey fun. The book also beckons us to look through a different lens-one that will lead to a more satisfying life.