Diet For Divine Connection: Beyond Junk Foods and Junk Thoughts to At-Will Spiritual Connection Paperback – March 1, 2018

Having read all the books (several times each!) that Margaret Paul has written, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Inner Bonding. But her most recent book, DIET FOR DIVINE CONNECTION, brought me both new insights and reminders of the “best-of-the-best” principles and ideas of this revolutionary approach to taking personal responsibility for your life.There are many great reminders in the book: the difference between guilt and shame, the illusion of control that drives us, the false belief that someone else is abandoning us, the understanding that feelings of anxiety are our teachers, the ability to recognize that our resistance to being controlled leads to our being controlled by our resistance, learning that every addiction has its roots in the intent to control pain, and most of the problems people suffer from stem from how they handle the life events rather than the events themselves.I was amazed by the research and documentation that the author provided, especially about the healthy gut. We are discovering every day new information about the role a healthy gut plays in our total body fitness. What is unusual about this book is that it clearly, with much research, backs up its premise that healthy eating has both short-term and long-range effects on not only our body, but our psychological state, our mental health, and our spirituality.I was particularly taken by the number of interesting and relatable metaphors in the book: low energy is like having no electricity at night or trying to see through a dirty, fogged-up window; attempting to run our lives by the wounded self is like trying to run on batteries. My favorite metaphor compared eating at McDonald’s to putting a bell jar over your body; this creates low vibrancy due to stuffing oneself with junk food and indulging in junk thoughts. (I immediately thought of Trump and his extreme lack of spirituality, no matter his protestations of being a Christian.)What is particularly useful in this book is the emphasis on understanding the six areas of responsibility (physical, emotional, relational, organizational, financial, and spiritual) and how the failure to develop a loving inner adult in any of them is a form of self-abandonment. And we are reminded that we always have a choice - to be in the wounded self or to operate from the loving adult. Each time we choose the loving adult, we create new neural pathways in the brain. We complete the cycle: healthy eating, healthy gut, healthy body, healthy thoughts, and healthy love.

My only regret is that I spent a few days humming and hawing about whether or not I should buy myself this book! To be honest, I was concerned that it could be too esoteric for the practical part of me: I like to notice results (an improved mood, a better understanding of myself, clearer intentions for moving forward) after reading books of this nature. What could an expert tell me that I don't already know and/or feel guilty about when it comes to diet and exercise? That my sugar addiction isn't serving me well? That I should exercise more than I do? Thankfully, my longing for a deeper connection to the Divine (and subsequently my longing to feel happier, more at peace, more fulfilled, more myself) ran deeper than my hesitation, so I ordered it.And thank God I did, because this book has been an answer to my prayers! Truly, my healing began the moment I opened to Dr. Paul's first paragraph, and her work continues to impact me deeply. This book is a practical and totally accessible guidebook on how to bring high-frequency consciousness to the feeding of our bodies, to the feeding of our minds, to the overall caring of our physical, emotional, and spiritual selves. One of the most power revelations I had reading this book was around WHY I need to "use" food in the first place- because when I abandon myself, I experience a void where my true self is meant to be flourishing. Without a loving connection to my true self and the Divine, I have never quite felt complete. Like me, so many of us turn to things outside ourselves to fill this void, an effort which has only proved futile. Dr. Paul, however, gives us a road map to increase our Divine connection, and therefore leads us closer to our true home: happiness, security, fulfillment, and peace. LOVE!

As always, Dr. Paul hits the proverbial nail on the head. At least for me, this is a timely and incredibly insightful look into how we can both improve our physical health and vitality -- assisting our bodies to become the divine instruments they were designed to be -- while upping our spiritual game by increasing our vibration to solidify the link between the physical reality of our being and the spiritual essence that animates it. In her down-to-earth and humble way, Dr. Paul brilliantly illustrates how we can mindfully use the fuel we choose to feed our bodies to create a strong, consistent channel of access to the Heavenly Realms for Divine Guidance and the Angelic connections that feed our souls and bring clarity to our lives. The suggestions are simply to understand and implement and do not involve radical lifestyle changes, special equipment, or financial investment ... instead, it's about shifting our perspective regarding the part we play in the body-spirit equation, and expanding our understanding of how diet can support and intensify our ability to connect with spirit, revealing a different vision of what it looks like to truly love and honor our "self" and care for the vehicle that carries us through this life.