May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness by Gabrielle Bernstein

May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness Reviews

• 
  Andrea

  I got a review copy and promised to review it on my blog by Jan 1, so I read a 40 day (actually 42) program in 6. I couldn't put it down. I wanted to do all the meditations, affirmations and exercises NOW. Well, maybe not all. Not every one seemed to apply to me, but as I do the program "for real" with the hardcover version that I've ordered, I just might do even the ones that don't seem relevant to me. Something could come up.
  
  Here’s how the book/program works:
  Each day starts with a meditation + 1 minute of quiet reflection (1 minute is doable for those of us who find sitting still a challenge). Each day has affirmations. There’s a 5-6 minute evening meditation. Many days include a writing exercise. Each chapter begins with an anecdote and overview of the week.
  
  Even if you don't think that "self help" or "meditation" are for you, check it out. If you don't think that it's your thing, get yourself a copy from the library if you want, so that you're not making the financial commitment. Then just read the introduction. That's it. Then, maybe an affirmation, maybe two. Dip your toe in and, like swimming pool steps, go in order, because the Guidebook is meant to be read that way. You can always walk back up. Acknowledge that those that resist the most sometimes need it most because the resistance is our protection mechanism, trying to keep us in the dark so that stuff doesn't come up. May Cause Miracles doesn't open anything abruptly, though. It's more of a gradual building.
  
  Just read it.
  
  Pre-order it
  here.
  
  Edited to add:
  MCM is a toolbox. If not everything applies to you, and that's ok. Take what you need, and at least read the rest. Some thing might apply in different weeks too, in a different order.
• 
  Ebony

  I feel like I should have just read A Course in Miracles. She seems to just be restating it’s principles in her words. I feel no desire to read any of her other books. There are about two sections that I’ll seriously interrogate and walk through one step at a time. But it feels really disingenuous to me to tell someone experiencing the worst pain they’ve ever felt to just embrace love instead. That’s probably why I don’t read self-help. I’m just the wrong audience. Although after reading I am a bit more conscious of the false messages sent by my ego. Recognition is an important first step along any journey.
• 
  Jilly

  This is a great book and I really enjoyed it! Its really a spiritual primer and would be an EXCELLENT workbook for someone who is just starting on the path; or perhaps those who have been on the path but need to get their groove back on.
  
  For those who have been attending Gabrielle's group coachings and lectures for awhile (or following any other spiritual path for some length of time), this information fits in really well and will help you to stay grounded in your practice. However, if you have never heard of Gabby or maybe are brand new to spirituality, this book will be excellent for you as well!
  
  What I liked most about this book is that the approach is gentle and subtle, so anyone (regardless of religion or circumstance) can fit it into their schedules and reap the benefits. This book helped me to RELAX and open up to the miracles and grace that exist in our daily lives. They are there, ready for us to access them, if we just open up and invite them in!
• 
  Mallory Mikan

  I think its a great alternative to the very religiously worded A Course in Miracles.
• 
  Riki

  I've read Gabrielle Bernstein's two other spiritual guidebooks and have found her to be inspirational. Unfortunately this book does not live up to the expectations I have for her work. I found the book to be repetitive and preachy. The daily meditations are monotonous. I felt the overall message is important, but it could have been boiled down to a shorter book with a general guide for meditation at the end. I also found the section on tithing with the gentle hint that the author accepts tithes to her website extremely off-putting. Within the nonsense there were some wonderful lessons. I'll share four of my favorites here:
  
  1. It's easy to be grateful for the good things in life, but being grateful for the bad things can open our hearts to love.
  2. Forgiveness is important, not just forgiving others, but ourselves.
  3. When we attack ourselves, we attack the world. When we love ourselves, we love the world.
  4. When you change your mind about your body, your body changes.
  
  When all is said and done I wouldn't recommend this book. It is too long and fails to deliver the same level of spiritual guidance that the author set forth in her previous books.
• 
  Stephanie Kelley

  This is the book that will greatly change your life!!! I feel so grateful that I stumbled upon Gabby and her work. She is fantastic!
  
  Gabby takes you on a 6 week journey to a new happier you based on a new perspective on life. Each day you have a morning reflection and an affirmation that takes you through the day. In the evening you have an evening reflection/exercise. I have been telling all my friends about this book and many people say they won't have the time... not an excuse! It takes at most 5 minutes a day. Everyone has 5 minutes!
  
  I found myself repeating weeks and days that were really hitting home to me. There are affirmations and quotes posted up all throughout my house.
  
  No matter what you are going through in life, happy or sad, this book will take you through it. Enjoy!!!
• 
  Heather Fineisen

  There is some good information in Bernstein' s latest. And some great tools for practicing meditation and affirmations. Her language is definitely geared to a younger audience, with phrases like rockin' the f word (forgiveness), but her message is ageless and her enthusiasm often contagious.
  
  Received from Net Galley for review.
• 
  Lindsay

  I saw the author a few weeks ago on Anderson Cooper and thought "that's what I need". It's a 42 day exercise but since I got it from the library and was only able to have it checked out for 2 weeks I couldn't follow them as designed.
  I'm sure it's a great book that has helped lots of people, it just wasn't for me. At least not right now. Meditation and prayer isn't something I do. I might come back to later on down the road when I have more time to devote to it.
  I did make notes of helpful things I found throughout the book.
• 
  Sondra

  This is my favorite of Bernstein's books. It gives simple, everyday structure and affirmations for forty days, for cultivating awareness as to how our own mental state impacts our daily lives. The book consists of 42 actual days of morning and evening meditations/exercises, along with written meditations. I also downloaded the CD that corresponds with the book, as I like her voice and the guided meditations vs. doing them on my own. Bernstein does a great job of bringing mediation and the ideas behind Marianne Williamson's "A Course in Miracles" to a whole new reader, in a modern engaged way. I also like the idea that meditation can be done anywhere by any person, as I'm not one to visit an Ashram in order to seek peace and enlightenment :-).
• 
  Anangsha Alammyan

  This book made me think A LOT about life. I'll write a full review soon.
• 
  Dasha

  When I first learned about this book, it was described as being “the roadmap out of that first level of hell”. At the time, that was just spot on, so I’ve started reading it right away, even despite my initial scepticism evoked by the cover with all its RADICAL CHANGE and UNLIMITED HAPPINESS sounding promises.
  Well, I’ve never read anything like this before. May Cause Miracles is a spiritual guidebook, based on another spiritual guidebook,
  A Course in Miracles, written back in the 70’s by Helen Schucman, who, in turn, believed that the “inner dictation” came from Jesus. No shit. Truly postmodern work.
  The central idea of May Cause Miracles is a dichotomy of fear and love. From its perspective, every decision that we make throughout our lives can be seen either as a choice for fear or a choice for love. Your ego is the one that evokes fear, while your inner guide is responsible for love. So the task is to detect “the fearful projections” of your ego and replace them with more “loving perceptions” through gratitude and forgiveness. Because only when we make choice for love, we can create miracles. No rocket science whatsoever.
  And yet, simplistic as it is, the book did really help me. Primarily, it made me much more aware of my fears and, in general, pushed me to revise my whole belief system. However, I had one big problem with May Cause Miracles, namely its approach to fear. It implies that fear is something wrong, negative and unnatural, something that must be fixed and replaced by love. Quoting Russ Harris, the author of
  The Happiness Trap, such approach contradicts what evolutionary biology tells us and just sets us up for a needless struggle with our own human nature.
  Thus, to get the maximum out of May Cause Miracles I had to fiddle with it a little: I did all the self-examination parts as they were, while interpreting everything else with the help of two research-based books:
  Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff and aforementioned
  The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. The work was hard, but I’m quite happy with results — I'm not in hell any longer.
• 
  Sasha Wirth

  I worked with Gabby on a Tom's of Maine Wicked! Fresh live chat event a few years ago and she continues to inspire me. I loved her previous book "Spirit Junkie," which chronicles her path to finding her spirituality, and believe this how-to guide is a perfect follow up. I started her 40- day program in January as a resolution and have brought meditation and a renewed sense of spirituality and gratitude back into my life. Truly life changing if you take the daily exercises and affirmations seriously!
• 
  Jessica

  I definitely had subtle shifts on this 40 day journey. My mind became more clear on certain situations in my life. It's nice to know there is another way to see things instead of going straight to a negative state, which we all do. Plenty of affirmations in the book that I use daily to remind me to be miracle-minded. It's quite lovely and l love the radical changes in my life.
• 
  Jessica Osborn

  After I started practicing Yoga a few years ago, I became interested in meditation and the search for inner peace. This book is the perfect beginners guide to start that journey. I practiced the 42 days, waited a week and have started again. I highly recommend to anyone wanting to start a spiritual journey but not sure where to begin.
• 
  ALittleBrittofFun

  Finally finished this 6 week process and I LOVED IT!!! I cannot tell you enough wonderful things about this book but I'll simply say, there isn't one person who I think wouldn't benefit from reading this book. I think even the author would probably go back and revisit the principles of the book because it's that good.
  
  I was definitely a skeptic and wasn't thrilled at the idea of doing a 42 day journey (mine was around 45, I missed a few days) but when I really started evaluating myself and opening up to the process, I loved it. The thing is, this book will change your life. I realize how corny and cheesy that sounds but the minute I started really analyzing and checking my ego and negativity, I started seeing and experiencing miracles. My attitude changed and my life changed. I focused on changing myself because that's really the only thing I can control.
  
  The book is broken down into different sections so you can build on things you learned and practiced each week. This will be a lifelong journey and I'm excited to read her other book Spirit Junkie and to look into A Course In Miracles so I can further my journey. This is one of those books that completely changes you when you read it and I'm forever grateful that I saw a friend of mine (on here) reading it and I gave it a try. I hope that my reading it can inspire others to begin a journey to see miracles.
  
  "No course whose purpose is to teach you to remember what you really are could fail to emphasize that there can never be a difference in what you really are and what love is."- A Course In Miracles
  This is the final quote of the book and so fitting.
  
  Go read this book NOW!
  
  
• 
  Sam

  The start of this held so much promise! I think I had much higher expectations. I am sure this has helped many people but after about 1/2way through I just had to lay this one down. I will try another one by her sometime soon.
• 
  Amanda

  I had high hopes for this one but somehow I could not get through this book and gave up. Not for me.
• 
  Penny Van der lith

  Not the worst book I've ever read, but doesn't have much depth to it. If this is your first foray into this genre, you might learn something new. I didn't.
• 
  Rae

  I really enjoyed this book. It was the first of its kind I had really explored. Beginning it after the New Year was a nice way to start off 2015. I didn't do some of the exercises toward the end but I still read each morning and evening and found it to be helpful throughout my waking hours in directing my thoughts back to love and noticing the times I chose otherwise. I plan on reading her other books down the road.
• 
  Melanie Cutler

  This book and author are amazing. I am just finishing up my 42 days of this book and I have to say that this book has taught me to get in touch with myself, meditate for peace and tranquility, and to look at life through a different lens. I highly recommend this book and all of Gabrielle Bernstein's books. She is such a relatable person and her story is truly inspiring.
• 
  D

  I didn't get to finish this, as it was due back at the library. But I'd like to find a second hand copy somewhere and go through the whole book. I'm always open to new ways to improve my attitude and my general outlook on life. This reads like a workbook, with daily exercises. What I've read so far, I though quite useful.
• 
  Amy

  May Cause Miracles was an experience. This book had you look at your fears. A daily affirmation with a journal writing or meditation took each lesson a little deeper. Overall a good book.
• 
  Carol

  Love the possibilities
  
• 
  Yvonne Anderson

  This book was actually pretty cool. A Course in Miracles is a hard going book and Gabby makes it a bit easier to utilise.
• 
  Summer Sanders

  LOVED this book and the 40 day plan. I absolutely had shift in my life for the positive.