The mind has a phenomenal ability to create and the heart has an endless will to share the love we feel about life.
Welcome to the one of the April 19th stops on the blog tour for The Heart Knows What the Mind Cannot See by Toby Negus with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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Author Guest Post
Advice to my younger self
A story – There was once a tired and hungry man who had been looking for days to find somewhere to rest and eat. In the distance he saw a farm house and made his way there. He knocked on the from door and in hope of food and a place to rest.
The farmer opened the door and asked the traveller his intention. I need a place to sleep and some food please, the traveller responded. Can you pay for it? the farmer asked. No, I have no money, the traveller replied. Well, said the farmer. You can earn some money by collecting coloured balls that are hidden in the forest, then I will give you a bed and some food. For each a green, yellow, blue, red or white one that you find, I will give you 10p. And if you happen to find a silver or gold one, I will give you £10 for either of them.
So, the man set off into the woods in search of the coloured balls. Right, he thought, I will concentrate on the silver and gold balls, that will give me enough money for food and a bed. So, he searched all day for the silver and gold balls, he saw a few yellow ones, some green and a couple of red ones, but he passed them by in his search for the silver and gold. At the end of the day, he went back to the farmhouse empty handed. He was really hungry now and begged the farmer for some food. No, he said, only if you earn it. You may sleep in the barn and try again tomorrow. The next day the traveller set off into the forest again to search for the balls, but again he found no silver or gold. So, he slept in the barn again, hungry. The next day he started again, but he was desperate now, so he stopped looking for the silver and gold and just picked up any balls that he could find. By midday he had quite a collection of coloured balls. As he continued his search, he noticed a bright light within the woods, it was a silver ball! He smiled and picked it up. But he did not stop his search for the other coloured balls.
About the Book
The Heart Knows What the Mind Cannot See
by Toby Negus
Published 24 November 2014
Original ARt & Words
Genre: Self-help
Page Count: 252
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
This is a thought-provoking and enlightening exploration of spirituality and perception. The text functions as a guide to self-improvement, with a mixture of autobiographical elements and snippets of universal wisdom. The speaker provides accessible solutions to life’s difficulties, and an outlook of optimism applicable to any circumstance. The illustrations and graphics are thoughtfully chosen, and the interactive textual elements give this work an originality that sets it apart. The speaker’s own experiences and conclusions are at the heart of this fiction, and the first person narrative voice creates a sense of proximity between author and reader. The text describes itself as ‘a journey to the heart’, and this truthful discovery of the self is reflected in the speaker’s revelation of his whole self through the text.
Frequent use of direct address and rhetorical questions promotes an active reading experience, in which the author opens up a dialogue with the reader. The text includes prompts and activities for the reader to engage with and learn from. Encouraging readers to take part in the text is emblematic of their journey to self-fulfillment and love, in which they must take responsibility for actively creating their own happiness.
The speaker depicts his process of enlightenment as a framework for others to emulate, and the format of the text demonstrates the transfer of agency to those who take part in the speaker’s challenges. This work ultimately teaches us that ‘we are the cause of what is’ and thus sheds light on the crucial idea that every individual has the power to create themselves and their world positively.
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Excerpt
The workings of the mind have been mused upon throughout the centuries, and thousands of beautiful writings have been created about it. But for most of us it can still remain a distant friend and, at times, an unruly partner. Yet the attitudes that it carries effect deeply what does and does not happen in our life. It is the creator of our thoughts and the gatekeeper to the world. It can make a rainy day happy and a sunny day sad. This section on the mind is in five parts.
The relationship between thinking and emotions. Feelings are the power that flows along the circuitry of associations I have about what I think goes with what.
Memories: How the mind uses memories to give life its narrative. My memories are powerful and will bend the truth of what I see into shapes that fit the comfort of my assumptions.
How the beliefs that we carry constitute our Law of Attraction. What I think because of what I see depends on the beliefs that are in residence at the time.
The reason why: The why-we-do-what-we-do is the power behind the act. They are the meaning in a look, the authority behind the words. The why we do what we do may not always have words but, it will always have a feeling of a meaning.
Will: How the mind uses willpower to enact the beliefs we carry. Will is the part of the mind that chooses who I will be from the meaning I have about what I see and think.
About the Author
Toby Negus has studied and taught spiritual and personal development in the UK and around the world for over two decades. He is qualified in advanced counselling, as a life coach and as a Cognitive Behaviour therapist. He is an Amazon best-selling author of a collaborative Conscious Creators book and has illustrated and self published two books on the subject of self-awareness and the spiritual journey. He is also a published author of a children’s book The Boy Who Dreamed in Colour. He has given talks and run workshops in support of his published work within the UK.
In the last few years, he has created many pieces of artwork that are a reflection of his spiritual journey. These have appeared in magazines and have been exhibited in the UK.
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Giveaway Alert!
Toby Negus will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway| Mar 29 | Christine Young | Mar 29 | Long and Short Reviews |
| Apr 5 | Fabulous and Brunette | Apr 12 | Uplifting Reads |
| Apr 19 | The Avid Reader | Apr 19 | Westveil Publishing |
| Apr 26 | Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books! | May 3 | Novels Alive |
| May 10 | All the Ups and Downs | May 17 | fundinmental |
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Thanks for hosting!
I like the cover, synopsis and excerpt, this sounds like an excellent read. Thank you for sharing your guest post, bio and book details and for offering a giveaway, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and am looking forward to reading your book
I liked the excerpt.
Sounds like a great self-help book. I like the cover.
Thanks for the great excerpt and author intereview. The book sounds very informative and inspirational. Nice cover!