I loved "For the Love of God" and, as the title claims, it is a "handbook for the Spirit". The essays range from Mother Teresa to the Dalai Lama, so as credentials go, it doesn't get better. This book works on the level of poetry - food for the soul. The only comparable book I can think of that achieves this same level of impact, is the divine and truly inspired "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton. The accumulated wisdom that is in "For the Love of God" becomes manifest in the profoundly moving "The Autobiography.." and for the first time I can believe Jesus as being a REAL human being. Either I am getting older or the authors of today are getting better at portaying our aspirations towards God. - I hope it's just them getting better. This is an excellent book, go for it!

I bought this book for two reasons: first, I was going through a phase where I was feeling somewhat lost spiritually and was looking for a little guidance, and second, because the list of contributors spanned the spectrum of religious thought, and I wondered if they would have anything common to say.

It turned out to be a great buy. The thinkers - ranging from the Dalai Lama to Mother Teresa to Rabbi Harold Kushner - write about their personal spirituality, not only about what is important to them, but also how they cultivate spirituality in everyday life. And if you look carefully, there is a surprisingly strong common thread running through these essays.

This book has been on my bedside table. I come back to it at times when I feel I need some inspiration and guidance, and pick a piece to read - any one. Each time I have done this, I have felt more connected to the Divine and to the world around me.

This book was the key I had been looking for in reaching a mid-40's spiritual plateau. It is a book of answers and methods. From things as simple as focussing on the thoughts "In" and "Out" while breathing during meditation to the conflict between egoism and spiritualism. It is the kind of book one will keep on hand in times of crises to read over again. The format of brief 4-5 page essays is perfect for those with short attention spans.

I must admit I'm somewhat biased against "big" self-help authors. However, Richard Carlson knows his (pardon the expression) stuff.
His recommendations, couched in the language of self-help, derive from solid psychological research.

Small stuff is defined as whatever won't be important in six months or a year. However, to his credit, and unlike many cheery self-help authors and coaches, Carlson admits that sometimes you can't go home again.

Some of the chapters offer straightforward, not especially original self-help, but the book is worth the read. The most helpful chapters focus on the need to "beware" a "busy mind." Solutions come from staying calm.

I concur! Often I find myself telling clients, "Take a break from thinking about this decision," and now I can refer them to Carlson's Big Stuff book.

You won't find "be happy" platitudes here, and that's a plus.
Carlson writes well and he's convincing. Even if you've seen some of this before ("shift perspective" "take time to heal"), Carlson gathers these ideas together in a new way. I would recommend this book to anyone who's going through some "big stuff."

Richard Carlson, Ph.D., lecturer and best selling author of the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" series shares in his latest book "What about the Big Stuff?" a range of big stuff scenarios followed up by a bunch of simple solutions. From emotional, financial, relationship and family struggles, he weaves a web of possible support from the relationships we have built with family, friends and faith in a higher power.
His findings are great reminders that can never be outworn.
Help yourself and your family by reading it today.

If Richard Carlson writes something, I'm going to make it a
point to read it . . . I loved DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
and his many books that followed (DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL
STUFF AT WORK, DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF FOR
MEN, etc.) . . . his words are simple, yet they make sense . . . and they seem to be written directly to you, as if he were speaking to you on a one-on-one basis.

His latest, WHAT ABOUT THE BIG STUFF? does just what it promises in the subtitle; i.e., helps you find strength and move forward when the stakes are high . . . the book tackles a range of difficult issues--from illness, death, injury, and
aging to alcoholism, divorce and financial pressures--but
does so in a manner that is not preachy . . . I actually felt
better after reading Carlson's suggestions on handling
these various situations in a proactive fashion.

In addition, I liked he got me thinking about how I
would handle things that might come my way . . . or
that might be encountered by friends and/or relatives . . . while he doesn't propose glib comebacks, he does give you
many useful ideas as to responses that might lend comfort
to those in need of it.

In reviewing my notes, I'm finding it difficult to choose
just a few parts to share, which is always a good
sign . . . but here goes anyway:

I was sitting with a friend at lunch about ten days after the
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. With
tears in her eyes, she said, "Did you notice that not a single person on any of the hijacked planes who had the opportunity to make a phone call called their stockbroker?" Far from being facetious, she was making an obvious but very important point. When the stakes are high, only one thing matters: love. No one is concerned about their weight or the way they look. They aren't upset that life isn't perfect. they aren't fretting about high taxes, the liberals or conservatives, previous conflicts, disputes with neighbors, or a lack of parking. They don't care about the rates of return on their investment portfolio. They aren't focused on any of their grievances.
Indeed, the only thing that matters, when it really matters, is love. The question is, "Why do we treat life as if it doesn't really matter right now?"

On the flip side, we're more careful to evaluate each situation before saying yes. When asked if you can do something, you should ask yourself two questions. First, "Is this something I have to do?" And second, "Is this something I want to do?" I you don't answer yes to at least one of these questions, you'll probably learn to say no more often. In the process, you'll begin to create more time for those things that really matter. After all, what's "bigger" than time itself?

One of my favorite descriptions of life is that it's just "one mistake after another with a little time in between." Despite its humor, this is a pretty accurate way of seeing things. If you think about it, its true. We make mistakes, we (hopefully) learn from them; we make adjustments and move on. At some point, there will be another mistake, and so forth. In the meantime, everyone else is going through the same process. Your parents are making mistakes, as are your friends, neighbors, children, coworkers, and everyone else.

This book is quite short and can be read in about an hour.

Frankly, I was expecting more. It's really like a long brochure or outline rather than a book. While it did offer a few helpful points, it did not go enough in depth in expanding upon them. After reading this book, I felt like I had read an outline or a proposal to a book rather than an actual book. Thus, I regret my purchase of this book.

Contained in this little book (page 13) is a Note From The Author that states "For best results, I suggest that you read the entire book once and subsequently read five pages on a daily basis." Well, he sure knows what he's talking about. If you are open-minded or ready for change, this just may be the book you need. Get it from the library first, (as I did) and I bet you'll wind up buying it, (as I did). The wonder of this book is that the pages (don't panic, they are short, to-the-point pages) are such easy, common sense reading, that you almost (ALMOST) feel silly having someone remind you of the obvious. What's that saying, "You will never see the big picture until you remove yourself from it." Well, step aside, get out of your own way and let the universe perform its wonders on you. You will not be disappointed. May you have health, wealth, and effortless abundance!

I got a hold of this book quite by accident, when I was browsing through the investment section in the library. I was kind of fascinated by the book as I had heard people discuss Deepak Chopra and his works at my work and at social events (and not even once without a snicker from someone). I decided to give it a shot, muttering to myself that the author better prove himself to me to hold my interest.

I did not know I was in for a treat. This book is full of clear cut, purified, distilled version of something which everyone needs to know. The contents of the book are nothing but reality and the writing basically reinforces it, without being too intrusive/condescending about it, if you know what I mean.

The author recommends that you read the book again and again/ by reading a few pages at a time. He also recommends that you read the book in one sitting for the first time. I agree with this, because, the book is like an instruction, and the author demands some attention, which I felt he rightly deserves. This is not one of the tomes you normally come across which preaches and rambles at the same time. This one teaches and imparts clear and concise information. Whether you agree with it or not is totally your own prerogative. Give it a read. You will not be disappointed. I promise.

Richard Carlson does it again! This is another book that puts perspective on life. So often we treat the people we love the most the worst. Carlson makes concrete suggestions to reverse this.

Great book that is ! I read it whenever I found the time and with its small chapters full of great insights it puts all of your life in perspective again. From living in the present to reevaluating your goals in life this little wonderful book is full of beautiful, simple true insights in what is really important in life. I have it besides my bed and read at least one chapter every evening. And I will for sure start at the beginning again once I have finished it (for the second time)

I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels that todays society and its values are somewhat out of proportions. You willl realize that it all is just you...

I was so inspired and encouraged in this book. It was life changing for me. Although I'm gradually putting into practice its concepts and suggestions, it help lift my spirits on so many occasions. It let me know that others go through like experiences as myself. I highly recommend this book to any working parent. Our kids are our most prized commodity, so we should do all we can to make life at home secure, happy and peaceful for them.

Well-meaning, I suppose, but very lightweight advice. Take a hot bath. Breathe deeply. Drink decaffinated tea. Please. Nothing new here. A nice little book for someone who's pretty oblivious to the world around them. Sorry to be jaded; but nothing here that would seriously stop the sweating! Maybe it would stop mild perspiration, but not real sweat!

This cheerful book aims to make us stop and smell--if not roses--whatever is sitting in front of our noses. It is just like the other series of "Don't Sweat" books but with a women-minded twist. It offers meditations designed to make us appreciate our lives, keep our emotions in perspective, and cherish other people. I also highly recommend "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Eastern Wisdom" by Taro Gold. If we all followed the guidance in these books, we would be happier, more harmonious women.

How do women become so wise and resilient? And why do we sweat the small stuff so much? Is there some balance, some moment when you realize that most of it is all small stuff?

Kristine Carlson is married to Richard Carlson and together they show great insight into the everyday life. Their books can seriously start to change your life if you use the principles they present in these easy-to-read compact books. I especially like their "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff in Love" book and I think it helped me improve my own relationship considerably by making me realize that one of the most important needs humans have is to be listened to. I had never really thought about what the other person needed in conversation, always so busy jabbering on. Wow, that was quite a revelation to me and it changed my entire view of conversation.

Expect real revelations from these books. They are more than enlightening. Sometimes a simple awareness of an issue can trigger an entire thinking pattern that will help you make changes. When reading this book a highlighter is essential!

Kristine discusses why you should set aside time every morning to reflect. See, that is a good excuse to spend a little time in the morning chatting online? Right? Ok, well I think that she actually meant spending time alone thinking about your day.

As you move into your day, you try to get organized and at times the entire day feels like it is falling apart. Have you noticed that if you pick up the house in the morning, the entire day is more enjoyable? Kristine gives herself an hour each morning to clear the path of her day. She spends time each morning organizing her life. I loved her thought about laundry. A gentleman she met makes folding clothes a Zen meditation. Ok, so I am not burning candles while I fold towels, but I try not to be as stressed about it all.

Some of her ideas include:

Make Peace with The Mundane - Sometimes life just IS.
Ground Your Energy in Nature - Take a walk in the evening.
Protect Your Inner Flame - Nurture yourself.

Plan an Inspiration Flow Day - Just go with the flow...oh, what fun this type of day is. It is very freeing and you do just what occurs to you. I write the most reviews on these types of days. They might include reading a great book, watching a movie, sitting outside with the cats, making dinner, writing in a journal, exercising. On other days, you might feel like just leaving the house for most of the day and forgetting about that load of laundry, those dishes, etc. Just escaping can be most freeing.

Walk Through Open Doors - A positive attitude shows you more open doors.

Let Go of "Perfect" Plans - have a sense of humor when things don't work instead of crying your eyes out. Dissapointment is so hard to take when you have very high expectations.

Climb Your Mountain One Step at a Time - set goals, but take it one step at a time.

Save Pot Stirring for Cooking Dinner (I really liked that one!)
Gather and Let Go
Define Your Small Stuff

This is a collection of essays that will inspire you and you will learn to appreciate people in your life, swallow your anger, take time for yourself and nurture your friendships.

Use this as a way to make your own list of things you want to change in your life.

Then:

Go run in a rain puddle
Light Candles while you watch a movie
Think about Beautiful Moments
Start a Journal
Say something inspirational to a friend
Tell someone in your life you love them
Let some things go, don't obsess so much (ok, but it is hard to do!)

Define what is not really important then imagine it drifting away on a small boat, down the river in front of you. After all, who has time for all that baggage.

Read this book to help you see the really important things in life.

Great Insight! You might even want to buy a few copies for
all your friends. That reminds me to add a few to my
wish list!

Those seeking sophisticated verse will want to look elsewhere, but those who love simple rhyme and genuine feelings will delight in LOVE POEMS: FEELINGS AND FANTASIES. Richard W. Carlson Jr's exploration of love from youth to maturity will bring smiles to those who have also traveled the challenging and tumultuous path to love. With younger brother Kevin Carlson's charming illustrations, LOVE POEMS provides pleasing distraction in a world that seems to all to easily forget the enjoyment of young love. Recommended.

With spring in the air, love is sure to blossom. In Love Poems: Feelings and Fantasies, Richard W. Carlson, Jr. has captured the true essence of what it takes to fall in love. His remarkable approach along with beautiful illustrated graphics allowed me to actually "see" the different feelings that are shared whenever two people open up their hearts and allow love to enter.

What I found so unique about his poetry was his ability to allow me to learn how a child, teenager, and adult all go about different ways to find love. Love is a necessity in everyone's life. Without it, a person's life is never complete. From experience I can tell you finding true and lasting love is not easy. A person will find they will have to kiss many frogs in order to find that one true prince. Reading this book fully convinced me that finding true and lasting love is indeed a reality.

Illustrated with line sketches by Kevin Carlson, Love Poems: Feelings And Fantasies is a very special and recommended collection of Richard Carlson's poetry that would be distinctively appropriate reading for anyone of any age who has ever been in love -- or would like to be! Am I In Love?: Julie is a girl in the sixth grade I've known since I was five./When I think about her I can't help feeling great and alive!/I'm in love with her! It's true!/When she smiles at me I know she likes me too!/With her now I really wish I were!/It's fun to be in love and smile at her.

I gave up reading Richard Carlson's "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff About Money" (formerly titled "Don't Worry, Make Money"), but only because I have other books that I'd rather be reading right now. Carlson's book consists of 100 short sermons about getting along in life, and it's all good stuff. Most of the lessons are obvious from their titles: Express Your Gratitude Toward Others; Think BIG!; Ask for What You Want; Charge What You Are Worth; Think About Purple Snowflakes; etc. Each is backed up with an anecdote and a bit of explanation. (OK, "Purple Snowflakes" is about being different when you need to get someone's attention -- such as taping your message to a football and mailing that, to make sure your letter will be noticed and opened.) I particularly liked Lesson 15, "Remind Yourself that Your Life Begins Now," in which Carlson points out that a ship's wake does not power or steer the vessel. We have momentum, of course -- and other constraints -- but it's up to us to decide each day in which direction to steer. If this sort of thing inspires you, Carlson's bibliography of 29 similar positive-thinking book may be of use. Or look for his other six Don't Sweat the Small Stuff titles. Good advice, all of it. The more seriously you take it, the more it will benefit you.

This book has been incredibly useful. I now recommend it to everyone for personal and business uses. The insight it provides is unmistakebly worth every penny and the gas to go and get it!

As a counsellor, I have heard couples express time and time again, "there just isn't enough time." We all have twenty-four hours in a day; how we choose to spend those hours is our choice. In today's hectic, fast-paced world, we have a lot on our plate. Careers, children, parents, friends, chores, community activities, the list of priorities seems endless. So often we make the mistake of allowing life to control us, rather than taking control over our life and often the people who fall last on the list of priorities are your partner and yourself. Through all our daily turmoil, it is important to remember that happy, fufilling relationships do not just happen, they need to be nourished and tended with loving care so they will continue to flourish and grow.

As a rule I am not a huge fan of Richard Carlson, simply because his writing style is generally too elementary for my personal taste. That is not to say there is anything materially wrong with his work, no, not by any means, but my personal perference is for material that is more in-depth (perhaps that is the psychologist's nature coming out in me.) This book is common sense, too, but it does offer some very basic ways for couples to improve their relationships and emphasises the importance of spending quality time together as a couple.

In addition, partners can worry, fume and fret over very inconsequential matters. Harsh words are spoken, tempers flair and before you know it, the trivial matter becomes a full-blown agruement. As Carlson might say, "Don't sweat the small stuff!" Love has a way of bringing out the best and the worst in us. Readers who want to improve their relationships but do not want to get bogged down in a lengthy, mind-absorbing self-help book, will find this book simple, straight forward and easy to read.

Richard has packed in 136 refresh tips.... Hang on a minute - the back cover says 136 but inside there are only 100 .... What's going on here I start to wonder. Ah I've got it, this must be deliberate, does it really matter? Perhaps I sweat too much of the small stuff - lesson one complete and that only involved reading the back cover and the contents page!

You don't need 136, nor 100 of these compelling cases to make a dramatic shift in your outlook. At first sight some of the tips look obviously wrong, such as "Lower your tolerance to stress" or "Allow yourself to be bored". When you read them you'll understand that there is a lot of truth in what Richard has to say

Many are obvious, but how come we don't perform on these as well as we know we should? For instance "Let Others Have the Glory" or "Become a Better Listener". Good reminders and a spur to action? And you've got to have a look at "Just for Fun", "Agree with Criticism Directed Toward You". Overall these tips provide a great menu for improving your life both at home and at work

This book is so useful I've recommended it as book of the month to my site's membership - buy it now!

Carlson is a cognitive psychologist that seems just woke up one day, and said "hey, why not wtite a book on consicousness?". The thing is he did a very good job. His cognitive theory of consicousness, conscious cognition, is quite ambitious. It uses the ecological approach to cognitive science by Gibson, the philosophy of intentioality, and the information processing approach to generate a theory, and then it applies it to many classical cognitvive domains, like working memory, perception, emotion, although it concentrates on goals and skills.

The book is technical at times, and seemed hard to read, although this is probably due to the fact that I know next to nothing of the cognitive psychology oof goal and skill aquisition, the issue carlson concentrates on. On the start, Carlson warns us he will not go into the congitive neuroscience of his model, and this is disapointing and unfortunate, as we will see. The philosophy in the book is also a little weak. The analisis on intentional structures, representations, and contents, all essential for Carlsons model, are modeled mostly after Searle's work. But Searle is by no means the only philosopher of intentionality or representationalism, and his work is neither fashionable nor undisputedly accepted as definitive. Carlosn therefore cannot and does not adress deep philosophical problems or possible objections to his analisis. Gibsons ecological theory, in contrast, has been gaining more and more support over the years, and along with embodied cognition, is quite fashionable among cognitive scientists nowdays. There's also Carlsons questionable theorethical commitments, like his seeming denial of the classicaly conceived congitive unconscious, his denial of consicousness as providing global access, his ambiguous position on the symbol-processing-sufficient-for consciousness debate, etc..

But even considering these comments, Carlsons cornerstone for his theory of consciousness, the cospecification hypothesis, has in my view much potential for advancing the cognitive understanding of consicousness. Consciousness in this hypothesis is roughly :an informational array that cospecifies the self and the object, that is being constantly resampled and explored, so as to distinguish the object and self-specific information, where this last process of egolocation serves to guide cognitive activity. This seems quite abstract, but in the book quite well explained by Carlson. With this hypothesis in place, Carlson sets out to show how consicousness might fit into cognitive theory. And he succeds, as long as one considers his theory as only coherent. Wether one agrees with the hypothesis, and with his intentionality analisis, is another thing. That is, why would cospecifiyng the slef and the object in an informational array make a system conscious? One can easily envision a computer that has a monitoring system and a sensor, a place where that information is put together and then a second order monitor that resamples that information to guide response, without it ever being consicous of anything (yes this is an old philosophical trick in consicousnesss studies). But when one has to thought experiment like this, one knows it is a desperate objection. Thus, Carlsons theory is very interestingly plausible.

As an interesting observation, if only Carlson would have speculated on the neurobiological interpretation of his cospecification hypothesis, he might have anticipated completely Antonio Damasios theory of consciousness. In Damasios theory consicousness is considered as the interplay between the organism (self), the object and their relationship. Consicousness is knowledge that the organism is involved in relating to an object (exploration, resampling), and that the object is causing change in the organism (egolocation) . So the brain maps the organism (self-information) the object (object-information) and their relationship, then forms meomories of obejts and finally holds active simultaniously all this information (cospecification in an informational array). In the chapter on emotion, Carlson quote Damasio a lot, and proposes that homeostatic and proprioceptive information might serve as the self-part information in egolocative processing, a very similar claim to Damasions creation of the proto-self and its role in consicousness. Damasio, on his book on consicousness, does not quote or cite as reference Carlsons work.

This book is innovative because while AI researchers, Physicists, philosophers and neuroscientists probe consciousness in popular books, cognitive psychologists stay in the laboratory and their journals. This is a very interesting and ambitious approach, but it is the kind needed to make genuine advances in the field. No one will agree on everything written here, but no one should doubt its important contribution either.