Let Go and Live in the Now: Awaken the Peace, Power, and Happiness in Your Heart

Fans of Guy Finley know he's a repository of "great wisdom" from philosophers, poets, and religious figures from throughout history. He thinks thinkers as diverse as Rumi, Emerson, Thoreau, Saint Augustine, and Krishnamurti all have ideas worth considering as one meanders along the path to happiness. Finley says that contentment comes when one learns how to "bridge the distance between who we are at present and what we may become." While this is certainly material he's covered in his many other titles, here he focuses on the importance of living in "the Now" (which he deems worthy of constant capitalization).

Finley's concept of the "Now" seems to borrow more than a bit from Buddhism's idea of mindfulness, as well as cognitive therapy. He claims those seeking to find internal peace must "[dare] to leave who we have been behind," consciously forgetting about unpleasant events and emotions in the past, lest they influence one's feelings--and undermine one's self-confidence and potential for happiness--in the present moment.

Finley's writing is rather rambling at times, and he relies heavily on italicizing to express his points as he covers topics ranging from heartbreak, the "False Self," self-fulfillment, and "the Light of the world." Each chapter includes an "Ask the Masters" section of hypothetical spiritual questions (example: "Why do we have so little true understanding of ourselves?"), which he answers with quotes from the likes of Plutarch and Thomas Carlyle. He also adds a "Key Lessons" summary at the end of each chapter, offering a Cliffs Notes-style translation of his often lengthy arguments. For all his lack of clarity, Finley does do a capable job of expressing one timeless truth, as he calls it: that one's inner nature determines one's experience of the outside world."--Erica Jorgensen