Inner Coach Outer Power
Keith Varnum (Guest Reviewer - Jeanmarie Morelli)
2002 New Dimensions Publishing
ISBN: 0972269908 Amazon's price is: $16.95
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Outer Power. Helping people grow, heal, play & embrace life.
From the roots of indigenous cultures & ancient spiritual traditions, Keith Varnum shares the underlying principles of all healing, transformation & success. After curing himself of blindness, Keith Varnum has tested these practical secrets in his 30 year career as a therapist, filmmaker, author, acupuncturist, radio host, gourmet chef, restaurateur, VP of a multi-million dollar company & international seminar leader with his Dream Workshops.
Guest Reviewer Jeanmarie Morelli writes:
Inner Coach: Outer Power records a series of extraordinary events in one man's life. Keith Varnum believes that if we let our intuition & God, or our inner coach, guide us, our outer reality will be shaped by the lessons we need to learn. Keith Varnum doesn't shrink from the extraordinary. Instead he surmounts his fears & doubts, again & again, to experience miracles.
In the preface he poses a provocative question. First he describes being a journalist who has witnessed ordinary people performing extraordinary feats in moments of crisis or emergency “...Women lift two-ton trucks and hold them aloft until their child is freed from beneath the vehicle...young boys perform successful medical procedures as if they were trained professionals...given a death sentence by doctors, people heal themselves spontaneously.” (Preface Page 1) These are stories we have all heard & marvel at. We shake our heads, logically not understanding but nevertheless acknowledging the eyewitness accounts.
Keith Varnum goes a step farther. He asks himself, “If we can break out of our belief box when life has us up against the wall, why can't we release our limiting beliefs at will when we are not in crisis?” (ibid)
The author's whole life seems to be filled with these experiences. Through the 48 essays of Inner Coach, we get glimpses of a gifted man, highly complex & often in conflict. The fast-paced thrilling adventures--from cliff hangers to the edge of Mt. Arenal, an active volcano--portray a sexy, dare-devil personality. In contrast, we also see a gifted healer capable of spontaneous healing.
In each vignette he is transformed by a miraculous event. Again and again he learns to trust his inner coach, God & his intuition.
The author candidly remarks that he wants us, the readers, to see ourselves in him; to recall our own stories from forgotten events so we might learn the hidden lessons. In doing so we will recognize & trust our own inner coaches.
While my preference is for a more subtle, understated journey, I struggled to suspend judgment as I read one fantastic story after another. Underlying each is a sense of urgency & sincerity.
What also comes through is a vibrant being who enthusiastically shares his gifts with others.
The first time I read this book I didn't like it. It was just too fantastical for me. One or two of these unbelievable miracles & the accompanying words of wisdom was enough. An entire book was just too much.
I've had my share of mystical experiences that do not translate into logical explanations. For the reader comfortable with New Age topics such as reliving other lifetimes & communicating with nonphysical beings, this book offers inspiration. For others who live entirely in the world through their senses, perhaps the chapter on near death experience may be a window to another reality.
Keith Varnum's website www.thedream.com describes his book as 48 true tales to trigger the memories of your own paranormal adventures. Many of the stories are fast-paced death-defying adventures, others involve communicating with spirits of departed ones; Ascendant Masters; angels & other non-physical beings. There are interesting sections on Michio Kushi, (The Macrobiotic Way) his mentor, & when Keith Varunum worked at the TV studio of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. You can also find the dates & locations of his upcoming seminars & workshops.
Although I was put off at times by the author's seeming need to prove himself, that could be the limitation of my perception. Inner Coach Outer Power refers repeatedly to the outer personality or ego as the being in all its colorful distinction & individuality, but underlying that is the real self or inner self or soul that is the same in all of us.
The book cover misled me with the following: “The Meaning of Life--it's not what you think! Become The Extraordinary Human You Really Are! and Remember how to travel out of body etc. Uncover the truth about parallel realities, etc.” I had expected some guided meditations or exercises, my fault.
Inner Coach: Outer Power, would be a good source of inspiration if tasted a chapter at a time, to let each miracle soak in & remind us of our potential.
(05/04/03)
RebeccasiReads.com
