Summary: tap into your deeper intelligence to access your natural wisdom. Easy to read, hard to master advice that could be life changing 9/10.
At 120 pages with writing that is simple, clear and repetitive, this is not a demanding read. In fact, the fundamental idea is also very simple and easy to grasp. The challenge of this book is that the core concept is so simple, and so self evident, that it’s hard to believe. And on top of that, if you want to benefit from inside out thinking you will need to deconstruct almost everything about the way you have been thinking for the whole of your life. Easy to understand, so so hard to master.
The idea is summed up well in the chapter called The Paradox of Results:
“when we take the pressure off ourselves to produce results at any cost, and instead rest in our innate well-being, enjoying our life, following our wisdom … things often seem to unfold more beautifully than we ever could have imagined. We start to notice all sorts of synchronicities and serendipities, and outcomes that may have eluded us for years begin to happen seemingly ‘all by themselves’”
The book explores the three principles (mind, thought and consciousness) where it claims our feelings come from. Since our feelings dictate how we experience the world, understanding what creates our feelings will mean that you can change the way you experience the world. This is a massive idea — and Neill explains it carefully and clearly. The book leans heavily on (and credits) the work of Syd Banks.
I am lucky enough to have been guided by Martin Palethorpe and Rena Loizou, the Quality of Mind coaches, so for me, this book was a refresher. But I still had to go back and re-read. This is a book I won’t be lending out.
Highlights: I scribble in business books. Here are the quotes I underlined:
“Mind is the intelligence of all things; Consciousness makes you aware; and Thought is like the rudder of a ship”
“We’re only ever one new thought away from a completely different experience of being alive”
“Frustration isn’t feedback about quality of life, it’s feedback about the quality of our thinking”
“We don’t create abundance. Abundance is always present. We create limitations” (a quote from Arnold Patent from his book Money)
“The problem with advice is that until we regain our bearings, we can’t use it; once we regain our bearings, we don’t need it”