2 out of 4 stars
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Serene Wellness by Healer Naseem Mariam is a guide to help everyday people like you and me achieve symphony and balance in their lives. It doesn't matter who you are, or how confused and unbalanced your life is because this book promises to teach you how to improve it so you can be the person you always hoped you'd be.
The book starts with a quiz to help you realize how "good" or "bad" you are handling the seven most important areas in your life: 1. "Physical Vitality", 2. "Emotional-Mental Well-being" 3. "Spiritual Connectivity" 4. "Time Richness" 5. "Financial Abundance", 6. "Relationship Prosperity" and 7. "Community Service". All these seven areas are very important to be balanced in order to achieve "Serene Wellness". If we lack in just one of them it might lead us to sadness, depression or losing the balance of the other six areas.
The quiz is followed by several chapters that describe these areas, why we need them in our life, why we lack in many of those, and what we should do to improve ourselves. I believe the titles are self-explanatory for each area, thus I won't analyze them further.
Every chapter includes multiple quotes related to every area to motivate the reader, and it gives tips and suggestions to organize your life around those areas. Through the last chapters we even read the obstacles we will meet in our way but I don't want to give you more details so you can read it yourself.
Overall, the book is easy to read, and it's written in a way many people could benefit from it. Personally, I knew most of the advice and tips so unfortunately, it wasn't much of a help to me. Mariam tries to broach certain subjects which afflict today's society, especially in India, but in her struggle to make this world a better place she often represents a utopian life and unrealistic behaviors. I don't want to differ with the author, it's true that if we follow her suggestions to the letter our lives would improve tremendously. What I think she doesn't take into consideration are the different circumstances, values, and facts a person might have. For example, an atheist doesn't need the "Spiritual Connectivity" to be happy. I know many people who might get offended with the "need" to believe in something superior to themselves. I'm not against it myself, I just point out that the alchemy of "Serene Wellness" is not as perfect as it seems.
Through the book, we often read the schedule of a person leading the life of "Seren Wellness". It was then that I realized how unrealistic this life is for most of the people. Balancing those seven areas seems exhausting and very pretentious. You can't just say: "from 18:00 to 18:15 I will pray, and then from 18:16 to 19:00 I will spend time with my children but when the clock tics 20:01 I have to go and do charity, or yoga, or something else". Yes, organizing your life is important, yes, you must have a certain program if you don't want to end up all over the place but the plan Mariam suggest is impossible for most people. Maybe someone could achieve it for a day or two but afterward, he/she would collapse.
Another minus of this book is that it lacks on tips to improve your finances. The author is very generic on this subject, and she only gives tips on how to manage your earning, should you have them. But how do I get to the point where Ι'm actually able to have the financial abundance to support my family and give to charity, is something that is left unexplainable.
Also at some point in this book, the writer express the need for a mentor in our lives. A person close to us who is successful in most of the areas we want to succeed. Someone who is already where we want to be. He or she should be close to us, advise us, punish us, and guide us so we will achieve "Serene Wellness" as they did. Well, personally, I don't have a person like that in my surroundings, and I doubt I will find one willing to teach me and guide me. This idea, in my opinion, is another unrealistic expectation of the author.
To sum up, I wish I could give this book three stars but unfortunately, I can't. I didn't learn something I didn't know. I knew that if I was healthy, rich, loved and compassionate, having time for myself and for the people I love, and have a close connection with God, I would be the happiest person on earth. But there are certain reasons why people, usually, can't achieve such happiness, and it's not just the obstacles mentioned in the book. I feel this book promises an unrealistic life, at least from my point of view. I'm sure that it will help many people improve their lives and inspire them. I don't want to belittle the book, not for a moment. I appreciate the effort the author gives to help her readers be happier. Some people might even find this book life-changing but for me, that wasn't the case. I could give it more stars if there were more genuine pieces of advice and fewer quotes from other writers. Unfortunately, I have to give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I am not suggesting you shouldn't read it though. The book is well edited and includes facts and some good tips. However, for all the reasons I listed above, I couldn't vote otherwise.
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Serene Wellness
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when I get a little money I buy books; and if I have any left l buy food and clothes
