“Reading…Where you can be Anything you Dream!” (Reach Out and Read® National Center)
Soul work reading is different than reading a novel…usually. There ARE exceptions, as I’ll share later. Soul work reading is a little at a time, maybe a few minutes each morning or evening, or on a lunch break. It’s not about how fast one completes or gets through the book. It’s about interjecting spirit-nourishing thoughts into our day. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Like vitamins, a little goes a long way.
Occasionally soul work reading IS found in novels. A friend coined the term, Intention Fiction™ to describe the stories she’s been given to write. For her, they come in dreams and messages, and she is compelled to write them … and watch them unfold. What comes out is an engaging story–and deep wisdom.
Stories have long been used to teach and entertain. As my author friend notes, stories are easier to slip by the guards of our over-protective ego, and reach and engage a part of our selves, our soul, we are often unconscious of or have forgotten. Stories take us into our dreams and imagination, and more. She tells it so beautifully.
Feeding-the-soul reading is books and articles you are drawn to pick up. Not sure why. You only know that it beckons. You buy it, and it may sit on the shelf for years untouched… And then one day, it will draw your attention again…and be EXACTLY what you need…at that moment, that time in your life.
If one expands the concept of soul work to include life, love, and self-understanding, and living authentically and joyfully, then even some “fluff” novels and summer beach reads are food for the soul and spirit. Fifty Shades of Gray? I have another friend reading it now, and she’s liking it. She’s drawn to the relationships and the parallels she’s seen in people she knows. It is feeding her spirit in a way it needs to be fed now.
Go with what you are drawn to. Follow the muse, your inner instincts. It may surprise you, that it will be perfect in ways you never imagined.
And one more thing: Nobody said you had to limit yourself to one book. Different times of the day, for example, different types of books might beckon. You’re allowed more than one.
Feed your soul and spirit. Read this summer! Relax into it, and enjoy. – Anne
