Laurie Warren - Wild World, Joyful Heart: Unlock Your Power to Create Health and Joy

Wild World, Joyful Heart is an important bookand a timely companionwhen so many are suffering and wondering how to bring more health and joy into their lives. Laurie Warren delivers both intriguing philosophy and tactical steps in this enjoyable and easy read. She writes in a way that will draw you in and leave you with unshakeable confidence on how to feel better in your everyday life.

Emma Seppl, PhD, Stanford and Yale professor and author of The Happiness Track

The essence of Wild World, Joyful Heart is empowerment. Laurie Warren masterfully explores the science and philosophy behind why we stay stuck in our unhealthy and unhappy existenceand provides the keys to turn that paradigm around. Her compassion, humor, and actionable steps will have you dancing to a whole new beat of health and joy.

Mark C. Perna, author of the award-winning bestseller, Answering Why; keynote speaker; and CEO

Laurie Warrens debut wellness book, Wild World, Joyful Heart, is a tour de force. With passion and compassion, the author explores our relationship with mind, body, and spirit, both individually and collectively. She offers hard-won wisdom drawn from her own life experiences to guide readers toward greater self-knowledge and self-care and, ultimately, toward embracing personal and societal responsibility. We live in challenging times. Laurie contributes not just new insights, seamlessly woven together, but practical guidance for thriving amidst the chaos.

Deborah Sosin, LICSW, author of Charlotte and the Quiet Place and Breaking Free of Addiction

Laurie Warren leads us on a journey toward wholeness by helping us realize our own untapped potential and reminding us of the important connection between joy and hardship.

Lindsay Tucker, Yoga Journal

Laurie Warrens Wild World, Joyful Heart fills me with a redefined sense of commitment. As the founder of Beyond Mom, a community committed to greater fulfillment for women and mothers, I recognize were living in a complicated time in history: Theres greater stress caused by world affairs, technology domination, fast-paced schedules, and a culture that tells us we should be perfect; our health and well-being are suffering. Lauries book reminds me that there is a trail being blazed by light workers who have the tools to decrease stress, increase self-care and self-awareness, and achieve perspective in a world that too often overwhelms us. All parts of ourselves: body, mind, and energy must be nurtured and upheld to their optimum potential. Laurie, thank you for writing this book and providing a compass for so many.

Randi Zinn, author of Going Beyond Mom: How to Activate Your Mind, Body, & Business after Baby

LAURIE WARREN

This book is intended as a reference volume only. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering any professional services. The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions. If you suspect that you have a problem that might require professional treatment or advice, you should seek competent help.

Published by River Grove Books
Austin, TX
www.rivergrovebooks.com

Copyright 2019 Laurie Warren

All rights reserved.

Thank you for purchasing an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright law. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.

Quote from Ramana Maharshi is from Abide As the Self: The Essential Teachings of Ramana Maharshi. Copyright 2002 by Inner Directions Foundation.

Distributed by River Grove Books

Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group and Brian Phillips
Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group and Brian Phillips

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.

Print ISBN: 978-1-63299-247-5

eBook ISBN: 978-1-63299-248-2

First Edition

For Nunu.
And, for my four loves: Alex, Carolyn, Connor, and Jen.

Sitting in my home in British Columbia looking out over the Pacific Ocean sharing a coffee with a dear friend, I was deep in angst over a personal issue. I was stuck in my experience of emotional pain. My friend reminded me to shift my eyes 2 inches to the left and connect to what I see. It is stunningly beautiful, I said. He reminded me that our feelings are often a product of where we put our eyes; beauty and pain often exist at the same time.

Wild World, Joyful Heart brings to light this understanding of the dichotomous journey of the human condition, simultaneously connecting us to joy and challenge. This deceptively breezy title tackles deep and philosophical ideas offering wisdom, experience, and knowledge from a wealth of differing sources. Who are we? How can we embody our best selves? What is our relationship to one another and to the universe in which we inhabit? Journeying through these pages, guidance is offered supporting the evolution of self as a component of healing our torn planet, stitching up our wounded world. Beginning with theory and moving into practical applications, Wild World, Joyful Heart emphasizes the development of a healthier body, mind, and connection to spirit.

I have known Laurie Warren for over a decade. She is a change agenta brave, brilliant, and insightful paradigm pioneer. As a mental health occupational therapist, I have referred clients to Laurie primarily for her expertise as a holistic nutritionist, but also knowing that she blends knowledge from a multitude of disciplines with compassion and with care. Laurie is very curious, a spiritual wayfarer, and passionate about helping people to be their best selves. Her book represents all of these qualities, and her quirky and unique communication style makes the concepts understandable and relatable. Her descriptions of how emotions, stress, and trauma interact support the reader in beginning to appreciate that our potential to transform is truly within our capacity. As anyone with curiosity knows, life is full of wonder. Wild World, Joyful Heart is an insightful exploration of all these ups and downsa celebration of what can be.

Co-author of Conversations with a Rattlesnake

I wish I felt better. More happy and healthy.

The majority of our population has this thought daily. We struggle with physical challenges like our weight, disease and illness, and lack of energy. We struggle with mental challenges like stress, addiction, emotional drama, a poor self-image, and loneliness. We wonder: Whats wrong with me? or What does this all mean, anyway?

Ive been thinking about helping people unlock their potential for health and joy for a long time. From a young age, Ive had a love affair with the living world and everything in it, most especially people. This love affair unfolded gradually, fueled at first by curiosity, then increasingly passion. It led me, eventually, to work that guides people toward more health and joytoward becoming the most vibrant version of themselves that theyre ready to embody. Whats also apparent, from my work and from living at this moment, is that modern humanity stands at a critical tipping point between peril and promise.