Favourite book of 2022

The latest weekly prompt for the " Blogchatter Blog Hop" series was to write on the "favourite book of 2022". I felt it appropriate to use this opportunity to discuss my favourite book of all time and NewYork Times best seller  "Dying to be Me" written by Anita Moorjani which is slated to be relaunched and released in 2022 with minor updates. In the book the author writes about her battle with cancer leading to her "Near death experience" (NDE). During the NDE, she left her body, went to the other world met her deceased father and best friend who had also succumbed to cancer. She subsequently returned to her body after being told that she still had a lot of things to do on earth and being assured that she would quickly recover if she chose to return to the life on earth. 

The most valuable  benefit of reading the book is that Anita has shared the wisdom, post her NDE experience as to how we could all live more fruitful and satisfying lives. We operate from a place of fear in respect of most of our decisions in life. As for example while choosing a job, we take up  something  not because we love that work but because we fear that we may remain unemployed. Similarly a life partner is chosen compromising on love and compatibilty  as you grow older for fear of remaining unmarried for life. The important teaching is to embrace 'love' as the trigger for all one's actions instead of 'fear'.  After her NDE, Anita Moorjani has been sharing her learning from the other side through her books and videos.

Another key teaching that the author picked up from the NDE was to love "one self"  or in other words practice "Self love". Anita says she was a "people pleaser" all her life, always putting the interests of others before her own. This was one of the reasons she had to get cancer. She had to 'die' to realize  the importance of  loving and being 'herself'.  As for instance, when she came to know that her best friend had cancer, she visited her at the hospital  everyday and took upon herself the responsibility to take care of her. So much so , she did not find time to take care of her own needs. As and when she had to miss visiting hospital on a day or two, she felt guilty about it. Contrast this to the advice given to passengers during  air travel that in an emergency to first take care of self  by  putting on the oxygen mask before  assisting  a child/ copassenger. 

Anita Moorjani says all the feelings of separation in terms of rich-poor, beautiful-ugly, high - low , right-wrong  are all associated  with life here on earth. In the other world, being freed from time and space you have compassion for everyone. She relates her experience of having a strained relationship  with her father when he was alive as she backed out of an arranged marriage he had fixed. However, when she met her father on the other side he was all loving and all the trivial misunderstandings during the life on earth did not matter to him. 

To me, that was the most imporatant revealation in the book. We waste a lifetime having petty differences and hating others, Yet, it is 'love' that is the driving force of life. It has to start with 'self love' and flow to others. The book traces in detail the life and times of the author Anita Moorjani prior to her NDE and how operating from a place of fear (she feared getting cancer after her friend was diagnosed with cancer and was experimenting with all kinds of diet and life styles to avoid getting it) actually caused her to die. Today, her message is to love yourself first, to be able to love others. 

It is recommended that readers check out the insightful book "Dying to be me" for a detailed account by the author for leading a happy, positive and fulfilling life. 

• NB: This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop www.theblogchatter.com