Free and Laughing – the message

Vote for Marguerite now as the Next Top Spiritual Author!

As we move into the last few days of Round 2 of the Next Top Spiritual Author Competition I thought I would share my thoughts about my message with you with excerpts of my Book Proposal.

This is the message that I am committed to sharing with the world:

“In a series of vignettes Marguerite Orane relates everyday experiences and the deeper meaning she gets from them.  Being present to the moments of joy in the perfect mango, observing the bough of a blossoming tree, releasing attachment to space at a jazz festival, accepting blackened toenails after completing a marathon, trusting the universe to take her children safely to another country or learning lessons of mother-love from a dance – Marguerite suggests a different way of looking at these and other seemingly ordinary life experiences, one that is detached, yet accepting, and rooted in trust and love.

The deeper meaning is that when you live life this way, you are free to laugh, trust and love.  Life becomes a big playground, full of fun, joy and learning.  Yes, you fall, there are scrapes, cuts and bruises, but when you are “free and laughing”, you pick yourself up and play again”

“Free and Laughing: Spiritual Insights in Everyday Moments” is organized in seven parts:

1. Be present – when we are present, we are able to consciously determine what our situation is, to decide if it is what we want and therefore have the power to change it as we desire.  The vignettes in this section relate experiences of Marguerite’s mother being free and laughing, Marguerite facilitating a workshop, eating a mango, resting as part of her marathon program, attending a literary festival and her young daughter’s mispronunciation of “meditation”.
2. Observe – being able to observe ourselves opens the door to our understanding of who we are.  It allows us to detach from our ego, our baggage and all that keeps us where we are.  It allows us to laugh at and with ourselves.  Nature in the form of Marguerite’s garden, a beautiful tree and a hurricane inspire this chapter.
3. Release – once we observe ourselves, then we can choose to release our attachments to whatever we do not want to have in our lives.  Encounters with a “not so nice” friend, a happily married couple, a possessive woman spur Marguerite to look at the deeper meaning of release.
4. Accept – there are two aspects of acceptance – accepting whatever is present in our lives, and opening to accept the good that we desire.  Through the death of a dearly beloved dog, the loss of three toenails, relationships with business school friends, a co-worker and three amazing older women Marguerite demonstrates the value of accepting what is.
5. Trust –Watching the plane take her children to another country, a lonely run and a seemingly threatening cyclist, lost keys and trying to outrun a hurricane – these are experiences that demonstrate to the reader that trusting in the infinite goodness of the universe brings the assurance that life is indeed meant to be a joy.
6. Love – love is the only power.  The love vignettes feature Marguerite’s dogs, a “chance” meeting with Dadi Janki (leader of the Brahma Kumaris), a moving dance performance, a dearly beloved friend and a visit to a relative’s grave demonstrating that we can find love is in everything, in every situation and in every person.
7. Practice – Marguerite reflects on the importance of practice through her stories about a lazy morning in Miami, plies in a ballet class, running out of gas and then she shares practical techniques for being “Free and Laughing”.

The book is the first of a “Free and Laughing” series.  Tomorrow I will share with you the exciting plans I have for more “Free and Laughing” books!

Now, to help make this dream a reality, please do two things:

1. Vote for me as the Next Top Spiritual Author – http://www.nexttopauthor.com/profile.cfm?aid=943
2. Forward this blog to ALL your friends and family via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and other social media, and ask them to vote by June 28!