Speaker 1: Hey there, Welcome to Healthy Ish, your daily podcast from
Speaker 1: Body and Soul. Of course, I am the host of
Speaker 1: Felicity Harley. Now it'd be different for us today, but
Speaker 1: I thought it was well a great chat to inspire
Speaker 1: better health and well being. And don't worry, we're not
Speaker 1: turning into a book club. Author and founder of the
Speaker 1: Spiritual book Club just into Tyne and joins us in
Speaker 1: the studio to share a few books that has inspired her,
Speaker 1: that have changed her life for the better, and she
Speaker 1: thought you might like them too. Now we do keep
Speaker 1: our Healthy sh episodes quite short, so if you want
Speaker 1: to hear today's full interview where we go into the
Speaker 1: importance of well thinking and can it really change your life,
Speaker 1: you can grab that wherever you get podcasts.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Healthy Shots like a second home. Great
Speaker 2: to feel you this might be your third time on.
Speaker 3: I think it is not counting though, it's as a
Speaker 3: joy Felicity.
Speaker 1: Oh likewise, and I'm actually excited to talk about this
Speaker 1: because you know you and I have both authors.
Speaker 2: I just thought i'd dropped that in.
Speaker 1: So we know the power of books.
Speaker 2: The power of words, absolutely.
Speaker 1: But talk to us about how they can be so
Speaker 1: impactful and helpful and powerful for our mental health and
Speaker 1: well being.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you wouldn't necessarily think so. You don't think of
Speaker 3: books like that, do you. But I think we've all
Speaker 3: had that experience where you can pick up a book
Speaker 3: randomly off a shelf and open to a page at
Speaker 3: exactly the moment that you needed to see those words
Speaker 3: and they can cut right through. And I've certainly had
Speaker 3: that happen to me. That the right book at the
Speaker 3: right time can literally transform your life. And I love
Speaker 3: spiritual slash inspirational books. I love those kind of books
Speaker 3: self help books they're also called, which is why I
Speaker 3: started a book club specifically for those kinds of books,
Speaker 3: the Spiritual Book Club, So I know that those kinds
Speaker 3: of books they can offer comfort and inspiration and shift
Speaker 3: your perspective and give you connection both to yourself, to
Speaker 3: your higher self and to others and really cut through
Speaker 3: and change your life.
Speaker 2: Books are so powerful, Like they are so powerful.
Speaker 1: I often when I read a good book, I find
Speaker 1: myself telling so many people about it, and then I
Speaker 1: think to myself, Oh, we need to shut up about
Speaker 1: that book.
Speaker 2: You may as well be the pr for that book.
Speaker 1: But it's amazing how particular ones can sink in at
Speaker 1: a particular time that you need.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a saying.
Speaker 3: I don't know who to attribute it to, but they say,
Speaker 3: when the teacher is ready, when the student is ready,
Speaker 3: the teacher appears. And I always think that teacher might
Speaker 3: be a book because someone will mention it just when
Speaker 3: you need to hear it, or you'll spot it on
Speaker 3: a bookshelf. And that's happened to me. And I've got
Speaker 3: a teasing pile by my bed. I'm sure many people do.
Speaker 3: And also my kindle is packed with these books and
Speaker 3: you just pick it up, open at any page, particularly
Speaker 3: with a spiritual book, and just read a few words
Speaker 3: and it can completely transform.
Speaker 2: The way you go about your day. What about book
Speaker 2: talk to BookTalk?
Speaker 1: I don't use tiktop march, I have to say, but
Speaker 1: sometimes I go on and put actually key book top
Speaker 1: because I'm interested to see what people are recommending.
Speaker 2: And there are pros and cons of this. You into this, No,
Speaker 2: I'm not. I probably should be right. I'm a bit behind.
Speaker 3: I'm always a late adopted, but I do know what
Speaker 3: it is, of course, and I've seen a few clips.
Speaker 2: I think it's a great thing.
Speaker 3: Anything that encourages reading, and it's great for publishing as
Speaker 3: well to have this resurgence of books.
Speaker 2: But I also think it's a big it's.
Speaker 3: Noisy out there, and so if books are your thing,
Speaker 3: and if you're seeking niche, a particular niche of books,
Speaker 3: then of course I'm going to say this, but I
Speaker 3: think book clubs at the go, because you know, there
Speaker 3: are book clubs that are more specific for your kinds
Speaker 3: of books, which is why I started.
Speaker 1: We'll talk us through some books that have changed your life,
Speaker 1: give us some inspiration of things that perhaps our listeners
Speaker 1: can well read and be inspired and potentially change their lives.
Speaker 3: It's so hard to narrow it down, but I'm going
Speaker 3: to do it. I'm going to do the work for
Speaker 3: you all to just give you a few that change
Speaker 3: my life, and I pretty much guarante they will do
Speaker 3: the same for you because they have for millions of others.
Speaker 2: I think number one and a lot.
Speaker 3: Of people will hear this and go ah, yes, of course.
Speaker 3: The Alchemist by Paula Coelo, and this is iconic.
Speaker 2: This book.
Speaker 3: It's actually a fable, so it's fiction, and it's about
Speaker 3: following your dreams and finding your destiny and There's a
Speaker 3: whole lot of profound teachings in there, but the one
Speaker 3: that stands out that resonates with millions of people over
Speaker 3: the years is that we all have a destiny, and
Speaker 3: in the book it's called your personal legend, and the
Speaker 3: idea is that if we go through life knowing that
Speaker 3: and trying to realign with that destiny, then we're going
Speaker 3: to be fulfilled in the end. There might be details
Speaker 3: along the way, as there are for the Shepherd Boy
Speaker 3: in this story, but we get there in the end.
Speaker 2: What's your destiny?
Speaker 3: Oh gosh, you are throwing that at me, do you know?
Speaker 3: Actually one of them creating the Spiritual Book Club is
Speaker 3: I feel very aligned with that at the moment. I
Speaker 3: think my destiny is probably, like you, to be a storyteller,
Speaker 3: and that's in many different ways to each people through words,
Speaker 3: and that's why I became a journalist and an author.
Speaker 3: But I actually have another one that I haven't yet fulfilled,
Speaker 3: if I ever will, which is the same idea of storytelling.
Speaker 3: But I always wanted to be an actor, and yes,
Speaker 3: and whenever I read a book like The Alchemist and
Speaker 3: some of the others, I'm going to tell you about
Speaker 3: that stirs in me. And it's that when they say,
Speaker 3: what's that voice of your soul? What is it calling
Speaker 3: you to do? I had go shushush no. I don't
Speaker 3: have time for that. So I can't hear that one.
Speaker 3: So maybe one day.
Speaker 2: Interesting watch this space.
Speaker 1: I feel like The Alchemist is a book that you
Speaker 1: can revisit time, and I think I've actually read it
Speaker 1: twice in my life, and only twice inspired me to
Speaker 1: pick it up for a third time. What's another book
Speaker 1: that's impacted you? One that I've read recently. It's The
Speaker 1: Untethered Soul by Michael Singers. It is more it's newer
Speaker 1: than The Alchemist. But I think a lot of people
Speaker 1: are catching on to this. It's such an extraordinary book.
Speaker 3: It's one of those books again that will absolutely change
Speaker 3: the way you view yourself and the world we're in.
Speaker 3: It's the idea that we have to become aware of
Speaker 3: the constant inner dialogue in our minds, and then by
Speaker 3: observing our thoughts, we can distance ourselves from them and
Speaker 3: then realize that they actually are true and they don't
Speaker 3: define us. And so it's also about surrender that I
Speaker 3: found that really powerful, that idea Michael singer wrote another
Speaker 3: book called The Surrender Experiment, and it's the idea of
Speaker 3: just instead of trying to force everything, just get in
Speaker 3: flow with the universe and just trust the universe and
Speaker 3: hand it over when.
Speaker 2: It all gets too hard.
Speaker 3: Give us another one, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.
Speaker 2: Do you know that one? No, So that's another one
Speaker 2: that I've.
Speaker 3: Revisited many times over the years. It's like a guide,
Speaker 3: so it's kind of like a work book. But don't
Speaker 3: let that turn you off, because there's a lot you
Speaker 3: can just read it as well. But it's about rediscovering
Speaker 3: your creative self and your passions. And we're all creative.
Speaker 3: Many people hear that and they think, oh, I'm not
Speaker 3: a painter. Creativity is everything. It's motherhood, it's cooking, it's food,
Speaker 3: it's writing, it's painting, it's what. There's so many expressions
Speaker 3: of creativity, and many of us lose sight of that
Speaker 3: as we get older and we separate ourselves from our
Speaker 3: true essence. So the Artist's Way is so powerful with
Speaker 3: these incredible exercises to help us get back in touch
Speaker 3: with that essence. Say just saying for a friend, you know,
Speaker 3: if you're acting, was your passion and you'd hidden it,
Speaker 3: it would It helps get you back into alignment, and
Speaker 3: you do these things called the morning pages, So every
Speaker 3: morning you write stream of consciousness for three pages without
Speaker 3: lifting your pen and just let your inner voice come through.
Speaker 2: That's from the Artist's.
Speaker 3: Way, and many many creative, really successful creatives will say
Speaker 3: that they got their start from working with the Artist's Way,
Speaker 3: and it led me to write my first book to.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there we go, give us a final book.
Speaker 2: Gosh, where do I which one?
Speaker 3: While I pick, well, I think I'll mention The Universe
Speaker 3: Has your Back by Gabby Earnstein, because that's really it's
Speaker 3: a simple introduction to the idea of manifestation. If that's
Speaker 3: to you and the universe. People hear us talk about
Speaker 3: the universe, what is that? Well, she describes it in
Speaker 3: a really spiritual concept, in a really relatable and reach
Speaker 3: reachable format. That's what Gabie Bernstein's famous for. So it's
Speaker 3: the idea that we can manifest the life we desire
Speaker 3: through aligning our beliefs and thoughts and actions. And she
Speaker 3: just makes it all seem very accessible.
Speaker 1: That is the word, isn't it accessible? Actually we had
Speaker 1: her on talking about that exact thing. So yeah, she's good.
Speaker 2: Just int town.
Speaker 1: Lovely having you back.
Speaker 2: Thanks, great to be here. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Do you have a favorite book, a book that's changed
Speaker 1: your life? I have one. It is called The Good Life,
Speaker 1: and I highly recommend it. It was written by the Harvard
Speaker 1: psychologists who are currently working on the longest study into
Speaker 1: human health and happiness. Now I've talked about this many
Speaker 1: times on the podcast, just sums it all up and
Speaker 1: basically dishes up all their findings. It is wonderful. If
Speaker 1: you do, you can tell us, join us on social media,
Speaker 1: join the conversation. If you did enjoy this chat, jump
Speaker 1: on rate and review it. Or of course you can
Speaker 1: subscribe to this podcast, share it with a friend, anything else,
Speaker 1: head to body andsoul dot com dot you follow us
Speaker 1: on socials of course, tell us about your book or
Speaker 1: grab our print edition which is out in your local
Speaker 1: Sunday paper. And until tomorrow, stay healthy.