She has given up the keys to her car and now uses a walker to get around—but at 102-years old, Gladys McGarey, MD, is still sharp as a whip. And the pioneering homeopathic doctor has just released a book titled The Well-Lived Life: A 102-year-od Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age. In it, she shares her hard-earned wisdom, and regardless of your age, there’s a lesson or two in it for you. While I won’t go... Read more
The title above is borrowed from a book by the same name, The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz. Though it sold three million copies, you’ve probably never heard of it and for good reason. It was published way back in 1959. The Magic of Thinking Big was part of a wave of self-help books that came out in the middle of the twentieth century with a similar message. Like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and... Read more
“Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” ~Luke 11:1-4 The request above came from one of the disciples of Jesus. They knew that John the Baptist had taught his followers how to pray and felt left out. They wanted some direction from their leader. Jesus responded by reciting the “Lord’s Prayer”: “Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give... Read more
Do you consider yourself “spiritual, but not religious? (Aka SBNR.) If you’re like the majority of Wake Up Call readers, you just answered yes. And if that’s the case, you may have a problem, the same one I encounter from time-to-time. Those of us who have left the world of organized religion, or were never a part of it in the first place, can often have a deep-seeded yearning to connect with something greater than ourselves. You might call it a spiritual itch.... Read more
You might know Ken Jennings as the host of the popular game show Jeopardy and a former long-running champion on the show. But he’s also an author who has published several books. His latest release caught my eye as soon as I saw the title: 100 Places to See After You Die. Jennings explores the different visions of heaven and hell found in mythology, books, movies and television. But what I think Wake Up Call readers might find most interesting... Read more
What if the secret to connecting with God was hiding in plain sight? What if it was so beautiful in its simplicity, that when we grasped it, we realized it could have never been any other way? And what if this secret was discovered not in our time, but by a Christian mystic living over 600 years ago? The mystic’s name is Julian of Norwich and last year Julian of Norwich: The Showings was reissued with a new translation from... Read more
When was the last time you did a little self-examination—taken a time-out from life to sit back and evaluate where you are, what you’re currently doing, and where you’re headed? Is your life on the course you envisioned? Or did you at some point take a turn you didn’t plan on? Is the path you’re now on true to who you are or are you headed in the wrong direction? A few nights ago, I woke up at 3am... Read more
He is the wisest who seeks God. He is the most successful who has found God. ~Yogananda On the Tim Ferriss podcast, the host often asks his guests which book they have “gifted” more than any other. For me, the answer is easy. It’s Paramahansa Yogananda’s The Law of Success: Using the Power of Spirit to Create Health, Prosperity and Happiness. I’ve given the book to many people, including a down on her luck cabby in Los Angeles and most recently my... Read more
How many more years will you be alive? And what will you do with them? A US government life expectancy calculator gives me a little more than 20 years on this earth; another calculator allots me a more generous 75% chance to live 25.4 additional years. Yet we never really know how much time we have left. I have written about the business executive who at the age of fifty-three discovered he had terminal cancer and three months to live... Read more
In Richard Rohr’s The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, the Franciscan friar has an ambitious goal. He wants us to see like a Christian mystic. That’s a little daunting, because mystics see the world a little differently than you or me, or for that matter many who call themselves religious. The mystics are all about the direct, inner experience of God. Religion often points to God, keeping a polite distance. But the mystics, like Julian of... Read more
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