Many thanks to guest reviewer Heather Corbet, who is a spiritual mentor, medium and Reiki Master.
As a mental health provider, Stephanie Clark knows the human experience all too well. After years of working with patients who were grappling for understanding of their place in this world, Stephanie began seeing similarities, a common thread of limiting and false perceptions, which were holding her patients back. To further assist and understand this process, Stephanie began furthering her own spiritual journey in order to seek answers.
During meditation and journaling sessions, images and ideas started to flow that allowed Stephanie to see her own limiting beliefs and perceptions in a new light. Then like an artist to canvas, Stephanie took the images received and narrated them into stories of hope and love. As she was witnessing a transformation in her own life, Stephanie felt inspired to share these uplifting messages with others.
As you explore the exercises and reflections in Inspirations, there is opportunity to witness your own transformation, as you are invited to take the most meaningful journey, which is the empowering journey within.
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR STEPHANIE CLARK:
1. How did the idea for Inspirations start?
The initial seed for this book started a year ago, when I began to work with a spiritual mentor. Prior to that, I had been feeling an urge to look further within myself, but wasn’t sure how exactly to do it. By working with a mentor, I was able to open up a part of myself that I did not even know existed! I started to write stories from images that I would receive in meditation practice. I could see these rich visual images in my mind and then was able to translate them into short stories. I had the idea to make the stories into a workbook format in February of this year and the rest of the pieces all seemed to fall together within a few months.
2. What themes are present in your book?
The themes of Inspirations speak to the issues of worthiness, overcoming doubt, releasing limiting beliefs and beginning to live from a place of authenticity. Each story revolves around self-love. I feel most of the struggles that we face as humans can be traced back to the root feeling of being unlovable in some way. Every person can relate to not feeling good enough, which is why I feel this work speaks to people no matter what their spiritual background is. This is also why I wanted the book to focus primarily on self-acceptance, as once you truly believe that you deserve an abundant existence, then you will start to see miracles manifest in your everyday life.
3. Can you explain the workbook format further?
Inspirations contains 21 brief daily stories which are 2-3 pages in length. Each story is designed to ignite a spark for further self-reflection. I envisioned this book to be a devotional of sorts, for the reader to review the daily reflections, ponder the messages, and then do the exercises throughout the day. The exercises themselves are mindfulness practices, meditations and visualizations.
4. What would you most want readers to take away from reading your work?
The main message that I want to share is one of hope. I feel that we are all worthy of having an enriching life, full of love. My intentions for writing this book were for the reader to feel empowered, needed, and wanted in this life.
5. What advice do you have for other first-time authors who feel they have inspiration to share?
My advice would be to develop a daily spiritual practice that resonates with you. This could be anything from meditation, to mindfulness practices or prayer. I believe that developing a sacred place between you and Spirit allows for your authentic messages to flow, which then ultimately will speak to the heart of your readers. Simply put pen to paper, suspend your self-judgments and let your inner spirit share your gifts with the world.
Inspirations is available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and paperback editions.
Namaste!
Becca Chopra, author of The Chakra Diaries, Chakra Secrets, Balance Your Chakras-Balance Your Life, and The Chakra Energy Diet
www.theChakras.org
