The First Rule of Ten by Gay Hendricks

From Hay House: "Don't ignore intuitive tickles lest they reappear as sledgehammers." That's the first rule of Ten. 

Tenzing Norbu ("Ten" for short)—ex-monk and soon-to-be ex-cop—is a protagonist unique to our times. In The First Rule of Ten, the first installment in a three-book detective series, we meet this spiritual warrior who is singularly equipped, if not occasionally ill-equipped, as he takes on his first case as a private investigator in Los Angeles.

Growing up in a Tibetan Monastery, Ten dreamed of becoming a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. So when he was sent to Los Angeles to teach meditation, he joined the LAPD instead. But as the Buddha says, change is inevitable; and ten years later, everything is about to change—big-time—for Ten. One resignation from the police force, two bullet-wounds, three suspicious deaths, and a beautiful woman later, he quickly learns that whenever he breaks his first rule, mayhem follows.

Set in the modern-day streets and canyons of Los Angeles, The First Rule of Tenis at turns humorous, insightful, and riveting—a gripping mystery as well as a reflective, character-driven story with intriguing life-lessons for us all.

My Review: Buddhist Monk turned Homicide Detective turned Private Investigator. Here begins our relationship with Tenzing, a man who gets shot, quits his job and starts an investigation that takes us on an incredible journey. Throughout the novel we see how he came to live at the monastery, his tepid relationship with his father, why he left the Monk lifestyle to join the force, and how he continues to incorporate his Buddhist teachings into his new life. 

In the beginning, a woman comes to Ten's house, looking for the previous owner. They were lovers, until she left him and joined a spiritual cult. Ten has just left his job the previous day, has no income and is a little disjointed, so he inaccurately reads the situation and turns her away without any information. The next day cops come to his house, and let him know her body was found in the park, strangled to death. Feeling guilty for not helping her out, Ten decides to take on the case himself and give her Spirit peace. He connects with the previous owner to tell him the news and find out more about this woman. In the process, he discovers this case may run much deeper than he originally realized. Mafia connections, insurance fraud, murder and that's just the beginning. 

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is that although it is a "serious" crime novel, the Buddhist teachings spread throughout ensure that it is never dark, never hopeless, never makes you queasy. When Ten quits his job, his partner on the force, Bill, is concerned that he won't be able to survive without money. Ten assures him that the Universe always provides, and you see him go through his own private ceremony, communing with the Buddha, meditation, etc. to bring abundance into his life. Shortly thereafter, a freebie case turns into over $15,000, with three clients paying to essentially solve what becomes one case. It's enough to get him officially set up in his practice and be comfortable for awhile. 

The mystery kept you on your toes; we met a great cast of characters including John D, an elderly man living on a defunct almond farm who "adopts" Ten as his son. Together they do a lot of the investigating and grow extremely close in the process. 

I highly recommend this novel. If you are interested in a great mystery, powerful characters, a bit of Spirituality, and just a tiny speckle of romance, this book is for you. 

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

The Storm Before the Calm: Book 1 in the Conversations with Humanity Series: A Review

Press Release Description:

Something happened in early 2011 that hasn’t happened in decades, perhaps centuries—and we didn’t even notice it. That is, we didn’t see it for what it was.

Massive unrest from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya rocked the Arab world and threw the globe into political crisis. Within days, an earthquake-tsunami-nuclear calamity of terrifying proportions shocked Japan and sent the world reeling once again, even as the globe’s financial markets shuddered to sustain themselves while states and nations tottered on the brink of bankruptcy—where many still linger.

All of this, of course, we did notice. What we may have missed was that ancient predictions for this period of time called for exactly this: simultaneous environmental, political, and financial disasters. Were we seeing the beginning of “the end of history”—and not picking up the signal?

In his prescient new book The Storm Before The Calm, seven-time New York Times best-selling author Neale Donald Walsch offers a startling answer: yes. But Walsch also says there is nothing to fear, advancing an extraordinary explanation for what is happening even now all over the planet.

Then—and more important—he provides a stunning prescription for healing our lives and our world through the answering of seven simple questions, inviting people everywhere to join in an earth-saving exchange at TheGlobalConversation.com.

Compelling and perfectly timed, The Storm Before The Calm answers every question that is worth asking about December, 2012 and beyond.

In this book Neale takes us through 28 "Conversations" that he encourages us to carryout with the rest of humanity. Through the website The Global Conversation, he encourages us to create a dialogue. Essentially, the world is evolving and we need to be a part of our own evolution. He brings up 7 Essential Questions that mankind must ask, there is no right or wrong answer, but these questions, according to Neale, will ease our evolution as a part of humanity. 

1. How is it possible that 6.9 billion people can all claim to want the same thing (peace, security, opportunity, prosperity, happiness and love) and be singularly unable to get it?
2. Is it possible that there is something we do not fully understand about life, the understanding of which would change everything?
3. Is it posslble that there is something we do not fully understand about ourselves, about our own life and it's purpose, the understanding of which would shift our reality and alter our experience for the better, forever?
4. Who am I?
5. Where am I?
6. Why am I where I am?
7. What do I intend to do about that?

These are pretty deep questions, and one's that most people shy away from. Neale takes time to provide his answer to each question, and encourages us to take time and come up with our own answers. 

He also provides action steps to take to bring us closer to revolution and evolution. A few of these are: 

• Ask yourself the seven simple questions repeatedly
• Participate in the world discussion at the Global Conversation website
• Use social media to spread the word
• Change starts with you
• Make an actual list of "Things I Know About God" and "Things I Know about Life." See how this lines up with what you were taught as a child or came to understand through the common culture. 
• Spend 20 minutes a day with your soul
• Create a Seven Questions Discussion Group

There are several more, but this is a start. I feel that this book is important, however, I found some of it to be repetitive and a little dull. I think it's something you would want to read over time, maybe read a few conversations, get involved online, and over time make your way through. Otherwise, it's a little overwhelming, and when things get overwhelming, they also get boring, and then reading them is pointless. 

31 Things: Read Six Novels Inspired by Jane Austen

Originally my goal was to read all the novels of Jane Austen. I had already read Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. I did read Northanger Abbey, but I found Mansfield Park couldn't hold my interest. I do still wish to read Persuasion at some point, however, not at this time. Therefore I modified my goal a bit. There is a slew of Jane Austen inspired novels. Some take Pride and Prejudice, and change a scenario so it doesn't always work out the same way. Some are continuation stories, modern day adaptations and if you can believe it, supernatural stories as well. These are the six that I read for this challenge.

I read a Jane Austen blog called Austenesquie, which reviews all the Austen inspired novels, does author interviews and occasionally holds contests. I entered one of the drawings and won this book! So exciting. This is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It starts out with Darcy taking a voyage across the sea to America to pick up his sister Georgiana who has been staying there. The boat he's on is one he owns, so he has some pretty sweet accommodations. Elizabeth Bennett is also on the boat, but in steerage. Over the course of the voyage, Darcy and Elizabeth get to know each other, realize they met briefly in a carriage a few years before and fall in love. They secretly marry and this is where things get interesting. We have a few scenes from America and the story breezes through the return boat trip. Then it starts back at some familiar scenes and I won't tell you the rest, but I did thoroughly enjoy this story.




Murder? Intrigue? I absolutely loved this story. There aren't as many adaptations of Mansfield Park, and this is a unique one. It takes place in the same time period/setting etc., however, the author completely changes the personality of some of the characters. In this tale, Fanny Price is the snobby gal, which is pretty much why she ends up murdered. It's a great mystery with well drawn out characters and just a really fun read.



I really didn't know what to think when I picked this one up, but it had received good reviews and sounded extremely unique. Author Jack Caldwell takes the story of Pride and Prejudice, and moves it to just after the Civil War has ended. Elizabeth Bennett and her family are Northerners that decide to move South. Darcy is a prideful rancher still recovering from the war. Even with the different setting, familiar scenes can be discerned. What can I say, this was a fun book to read. Yehaw!!



 This is the sixth book in this mystery series, a series that has quickly become a favorite for me. This series takes place right after the Darcy's get married. The first book deals with characters from Pride and Prejudice, the second mixes in characters from Sense and Sensibility, and 3-5 cover Emma, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey. This book the Darcy's have the pleasure of interacting with Captain Wentworth and his new wife Anne from Persuasion. Essentially the Darcy's, along with Georgiana, take a vacation in Bath. They come across a dying woman on the beach one day, who is about to have a baby. They get her to a nearby sailors house, where she delivers and promptly dies. This is mystery one. There is also a mystery surrounding Darcy's cousin's naval chest, and the naval officer who returned it to them upon his death. As the story progresses, we start to realize these mysteries may connect. Will the Darcy's figure it out before someone else gets hurt? Highly recommended!



I thought this an appropriate book for the holidays. A delightful read with three short stories featuring the Darcy's Christmas'. Highly recommend.

I loved this book: you can find my full review on Goodreads

I am motivated to read more Jane Austen, and have the bug. I even created a reading challenge that you can check out here: Explore the Many Genres of Jane Austen Spinoffs 2012 Reading Challenge.

Three months to go on my 31 Things List!

The Cancer Journey: A Review

The Cancer Journey is a guidebook written by Polly Noble; a 30 year old who has been through the cancer process twice. The first time she followed the conventional methods, but this time she decided to heal herself. She's been featured in several prominent magazines, radio programs, teaches classes, etc. Recently, she published her first print book, available on her website which you can reach here.


The book is broken into 12 Chapters, covering anything from dealing with doctors, taking care of your emotional needs, meditation techniques, Reiki, creative outlets, detailed info on cancer itself, information on juicing and the raw food diet, and tips on replacing your household items with toxic free items. She also has information for supporters of cancer patients.

I found this book to be very informative for someone just learning about holistic cancer health. Most of the information provided I personally knew, but I did pick up some tidbits. It's written very simplistically; I highly recommend this for the newly diagnosed. It will walk you through all the steps to healing yourself and understand your cancer. Overall, buy this book. Part of the proceeds go to charity, which is always nice.

Have you Read Polly's book?

The Art of Extreme Self Care

Cheryl Richardson has written a fantastic, easy read, entitled "The Art of Extreme Self Care."  Many people in our society are stressed, overworked, feel under appreciated and resentful.  Are you a "yes" man/woman?  Is "no" a four letter word in your world?  Does giving make you feel like a good person, yet resentful when you don't feel properly acknowledged for all you do?  We all have experienced this phenomenon on one form or another.  Part of living a healthy, happy, balanced life is learning to put yourself first. Cheryl's book provides invaluable tools, teaching you over a twelve month period how to transform your life and practice the art of extreme self care. 

In the first chapter she discusses deprivation.  Readers are encouraged to really look inside themselves and ask "Where do I feel deprived?" "What do I need more of right now? Less of?" "What am I starving for?" and several other questions that encourages the reader to examine what is needed to start practicing self care.  Chapter two discusses the concept of Mirror Work, and encourages readers to say "I Love You" to themselves each time they pass a mirror.  I touched on this subject in my June 21 blog entry: http://existingstricky.blogspot.com/2010/06/power-of-affirmations.html

The next few chapters teach readers how to say "no" with grace, creating balance, making a "no" list of things you absolutely will not do anymore, creating a "soul-loving" space, protecting your sensitivity, caring for your body, reawakening your hidden passions, and standing up for yourself.

Chapter Five definitely hit home with me and will appeal to fellow control freaks.  Have you ever watched someone help you out by performing a task, and had to hold back that "backseat driver" monster trying to claw its way out?  Then, after the person leaves, "fix" what they just did? Cheryl puts it this way, "Hi, I'm General Manager of the Universe, and you need to do this my way and in my time to keep me happy." When I first started working for my Dad, I was THE office person. As things got busier, more help was needed. It took me years, and several assistants, to finally learn to let go and let people do things in their own way and in their own time. As long as it gets done, does it really matter how? This was a really difficult lesson for me, but because I learned to let go, I started working 40 hours, rather than 60 per week, I held onto help for much longer and the work environment became more fun, and shockingly, more productive. Last fall I hired a wonderful woman to take over my position in the office, so I could focus on healing and writing. She's done a fantastic job, however, she has created many new systems and in some cases has a completely different approach to getting things done.  And you know what?  Things are running smoother than ever and I get to spend my days writing, talking to my tumors, waking Triton, making delicious vegan meals, and practicing my knitting.  I wouldn't be able to do all this if I hadn't learned to let go a bit.

The final chapter encourages readers to create an Extreme Self Care kit, essentially a toolbox that can be pulled out in moments of crisis.  All in all, this is a wonderful book, filled with great tips and inspiration.  I highly recommend it.