Gawain - Reflections in the light : daily thoughts and affirmations

Nataraj Publishing
a division of

New World Library
14 Pamaron Way
Novato, California 94949

Copyright 1988,2003 Shakti Gawain

Based in part on: Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain, 1978,1995 Shakti Gawain, and Living in the Light by Shakti Gawain with Laurel King 1986,1998 Shakti Gawain and Laurel King

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Cover design: Alexandra Graham
Text design and typography: Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gawain, Shakti
Reflections in the light : daily thoughts and affirmations/Shakti Gawain ;
compiled by Denise Grimshaw. Rev. ed.
p. cm.
Based in part on Creative visualization ...and Living in the light T.p. verso.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-57731-410-7
1. Self-actualization (Psychology) 2. Conduct of life. 3. Affirmations.
I. Grimshaw, Denise. II. Title.
BF637.S4G393 2003
158.1'28dc21

2003043007

First printing, May 2003
ISBN 1-57731-410-7
Printed in Canada on acid-free, partially recycled paper
Distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

T he purpose of this book is to give readers an inspirational message, a useful tool, or just some interesting food for thought each day. We hope it will serve to trigger your own thoughts, reactions, and creative ideas.

Most of the material in Reflections in the Light has been excerpted from my books Creative Visualization and Living in the Light. In many cases the quotes are verbatim from those books; in most cases they have been edited or revised slightly to stand on their own as daily entries; a few are newly written for this book.

Those of you who have already read my previous books will find this book a handy way to review and remind yourself of familiar concepts and techniques. For those readers who have not read the other books, we have attempted to make each days entry clear and self-explanatory, but if you have any difficulty understanding the terminology or concepts you may wish to refer to the glossary, or to read the original books in order to gain more clarity.

Each daily entry has a heading, a short message or meditation, and an affirmation. The easiest way to use this book is simply to pick it up and read it at some point each day, and perhaps say the affirmation to your self a few times throughout the day.

For those who wish to spend a little more time and use this book as a tool for daily study, here is a suggested way to do so. Read the message each morning, think about it (or do the exercise if one is given) and write any responses, feelings, or thoughts that it triggers for you, how it applies to your life, and so on. If you like the affirmation that is given, write it a few times and think of it throughout the day. If you dont care for the affirmation given, write one of your own and use it the same way. In the evening, read it once again and write any further thoughts or experiences you have had in relation to this topic.

There are certain recurring themes throughout the book. In some cases a particular topic may be continued for several days or even a whole month (for example, the month of March is devoted to creative visualization). In other cases, a topic may be introduced for only a day or two and then reappear frequently in later months. In this way, we hope to provide both continuity and variety over the course of a year, no matter what date you begin using the book.

All of us who have worked on this book extend our loving thoughts to you and hope that you find it a useful companion on your journey of self-development.

I would like to thank Denise Grimshaw for her insight and creativity and for the many hours of research it took to collect all the diverse quotes and compile them into a form that works as a daily meditation over the course of a year.

Special thanks as well to Kathleen Holland for her many helpful suggestions, creative contributions, and hard work editing and organizing the manuscript.

Thanks, too, to Kathryn Altman for coordinating the project, to Marc Allen for his support and encouragement, to Carol LaRusso and Katherine Dieter for their editing and overall help, and to Elizabeth Preim for her assistance in organizing the original manuscript.

For the second edition Id like to thank Georgia Hughes, Tona Pearce Myers, and the rest of the team at New World Library.

W e are living in a very exciting and powerful time. On the deepest level of consciousness, a radical spiritual transformation is taking place. On a worldwide level, we are being challenged to let go of our present way of life and create an entirely new one. We are, in fact, in the process of releasing our old world and building a new world in its place.

The change begins with each individual, but as more and more individuals are being transformed, the mass consciousness is increasingly affected, and the results will be manifested in the world around us.

F or many people, this time may be distressing because the world situation and/or our personal lives may seem to be going from bad to worse. Its as if many things that used to work are not working anymore.

Painful though it may be at times, these changes are part of a healing crisis taking place in our world. The simple truth is that the old way of life never brought us the deep fulfillment, satisfaction, and joy that we have always sought. We must let go of the old forms which limit us or dont fit anymore in order to make way for the new.