Nina Skarpsno Heide - The Guide to a Life Worth Living

Copyright

Copyright 2022 by Nina Skarpsno Heide

All rights to The Guide to A Life Worth Living belong to Nina Skarpsno Heide. None of the content can be copied, sold or in any other way be used without the agreement of Nina Heide.

change@a-life-worth-living.org

Cover design: Laura Duffy

Interior design: KUHN Design Group

Book cover photo by Simon Dannhauer.

Serengetti National Park, Tanzania, Africa

Find the book on:

www.a-life-worth-living.org

Dedication

To my two beautiful sons and my loving husband.

Contents

Introduction

W e live in a time where many feel paralysed by unrest and crises, both internal and external. You may be in a difficult situation yourself, and perhaps you doubt whether you can fulfil your dreams. The good news is, if you really want to reach for your goals and change your life for the better, you just need to be willing to clean up your thought patterns and choose to think more consciously.

A new focus and more conscious thoughts will enable you to create a life that feels exciting, good and meaningful. Before you spend time on this book, ask yourself if you are interested in devoting twenty minutes of each day to learning to focus your mind.

You might think, Sure, everybody would sacrifice a few minutes a day to create a life that feels good and is really worth living. The truth is that very few people are willing to do this, not even if their lives feel like a slow death. Its so easy to find all kinds of excuses.

The main reason for unconscious living, though, is that we dont really believe in our own inner power. We might not know where to go with our lives, or at least not how to get there, and we are often too scared or indifferent to find out. A few people, however, have a strong longing to create their dreams. Are you one of them?

If you have the courage to change, lets start our journey towards conscious living together.

Before we begin our journey, I want to make you aware of the website and the forum that complement this guide. On the forum, you can communicate with like-minded people. You can also join contests to find solutions on global issues. The website has a Feel Good page where you can listen to the people I refer to in this book. In addition, the website includes my blog, great music, meditations, inspirational videos, fun stuff and much more. Enjoy! www.a-life-worth-living.org

Background Story

My name is Nina Skarpsno Heide. Im from Stavanger, Norway; however, Ive lived more than twenty years of my life in Africa, first working for the UN and later working for NGOs with the mission of helping street children towards dignity.

I will begin this guide by telling you why I personally decided to go on a journey towards conscious living and, as a result, ended up writing this book.

In January 2004, my children and I moved back from Kampala to Stavanger. This was eight months before my husbands contract was finished in Foreign Affairs. Our house needed renovating, and I knew it could take time to get a job and settle in. Moving back to Norway without my husband ended up being much, much harder than I believed was possible, and, as a result, I got sick. Soon after, I was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 (LADA).

At first, the disease was very difficult to manage. I was taking insulin injections, but my body was still producing some insulin. The result was severe blood sugar fluctuations that eventually led to fatigue, anxiety and depression. While my previous life was exciting, now my life felt like a nightmare.

When I became ill, I had no idea how to use my own thoughts and feelings to return to the life I wanted to live. Instead, I used my diabetes, anxiety, and exhaustion as excuses to stay depressed in bed.

What kept me in bed with depression was the thought of never again being able to do a job I was proud of. Ever since I was very young, I have wanted to make a difference in this world. But how was it possible to make a difference when I got exhausted just from taking a shower and then needed to go back to bed?

During the following years, I went through different doctors and therapists. Some good came out of it. However, it was only after I started listening to Esther and Abraham Hicks (my spiritual guides) that I really began to understand that I create my world through the way I choose to think.

I dont remember exactly how and when I started to listen to Esther and Abraham Hicks, but I do remember it was from that point that I began taking responsibility for my life. I realised that I was the only one who could make myself healthy, and I could only do so through changing my own thoughts and feelings.

Today I see that Esther and Abrahams teaching was right for me. I have now regained the spark of life and energy. I live the life I want to live, and I am able to work with the things that inspire me.

Slowly but surely, with my new toolbox, I have moved my life in the direction that gives me a sense of meaning. A meaningful life and feeling joy were two of the things I had on my wish list for the future.

I also gained relief from another problem. For a long time, even before I became ill, I felt claustrophobic when in dark places such as tunnels and caves. I felt anxious and often struggled to breathe. After working with my own thoughts and feelings, I realised that this was no longer the case. I can now even crawl quite a distance with my back scraping the roof of a pitch-black cave without a problem. That discovery proved to me that I had returned to a normal life in fact, a life even better than normal.

Today, Im extremely grateful for this challenging experience, as it forced me to make some important choices. Now life feels really good, and I believe I have the tools to handle whatever comes my way.

I hope my story might help others who are struggling, as I was, to find their way out of the dark. The idea of helping them face their challenges is another thought that brings me happiness.

My wish is to share some of the tools I picked up on my way so you can take a shortcut on your journey from fear to love, from sickness to health, from boredom to excitement, or whatever your starting and ending points might be. These tools are multipurpose; they make you confident and grateful, and take you wherever you want to go

Ready?

What to Expect

Ill help you discover your dream life and make you conscious of what beliefs and values are preventing you from living that dream. Youll soon find out that the difficulties in reaching your dream are hidden within your thoughts and influenced by how you choose to think about yourself and the world around you.

You might not always agree with the way I have interpreted my life. However, the purpose of this journey is for you to find your own answers to the big questions in your life and use your conscious beliefs to move yourself forward.

I have chosen a spiritual angle for this guide. I did this because I quickly discovered that I could not get anywhere until I was willing to look closely at all the thoughts I have about myself and my life, including the spiritual ones.

By being willing to examine my existential beliefs, I discovered a great deal of fear, guilt and shame hidden in the depths of my emotions. Before I began my journey of consciousness, I had no idea how harmful these thoughts were to both my body and my mind. Only when I consciously chose to opt out of thoughts that undermined my ability to relax and feel good was I able to regain my energy and zest for life.