Today we welcome author Toby Negus to Uplifting Reads. He shares with us an excerpt from The Heart Knows What the Mind Cannot See as well as advice he would give his younger writing self. Be sure to follow the tour after you download your own copy. Best of luck in the giveaway!
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. The narrative often presents a dichotomy between positive and negative outlooks or voices.
For example, the speaker includes sections in which his self-doubt speaks, ‘you’ve got no proper education, you can’t spell properly, you’re dyslexic and your grammar is crap. You’re not really a writer’. This negative voice directly opposes the sense of self-belief the speaker builds within the narrative. He uses examples such as this to remind readers that the journey to happiness is complex and that flaws or setbacks are natural. The negative separation or fragmentation of the self is prevalent in the lines, ‘I do not love the grumpy me, the sad me, the hostile me, the parts of me that act as if I do not care’. The act of writing represents a unification of the self and an attempt to reframe the speaker’s life into coherence. The 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 at the end of each chapter. 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.
Read an excerpt:
A song without heart carries no life.
It is from the heart that comes so many defining qualities of love and the human adventure of life. It is the source of our abiding happiness, because the wish of the heart is for our happiness. It knows what is best for us because it knows us intimately. Within its chamber lives our loves, hopes, and our dreams.
The heart is the source of all the world’s greatness. It can pull star dreams to earth, for the heart has created all the wonders of the world, all the gifts of humanity and all the songs of love. It is the home of an innocence, a wise innocence that dispels the cynicism I hold in myself and of myself.
It is the place of our truth, not the truth of yesterday or tomorrow that my mind struggles to know, but the truth of the moment, the living truth. And when I allow it, it is a cathedral of light, a library of illumined text that describes the union of my heaven and earth. Its call has the power to move mountains or create the gentlest touch of love. It is the artist within, the writer of meanings, and the manifestor of dreams.
Although we live in a world of this-and-that, there is within the heart the dreams of forever and memories of the infinite.
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If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
You are going on a journey to heal the heart and free the mind. It is a journey of remembering the truth of who you already are.
Q: What should I pack for the journey?
The heart, openness and passion. Openness because the journey cannot be what you expect. The heart because it holds the purpose and the light. Passion because it opens the gates of your mind.
Q: Who will I meet on the way?
You will only meet one person, but they will have a thousand faces. Be kind to them all for they are you.
Q: What the weather will be like on the journey?
There will be sunny days that will warm the soul and days that you may never have wished for. But after they have passed, they will be thanked for the light that they gave.
Q: What will I be doing on the journey?
You will craft beautiful gems from your passion of life. Some will be crafted in the dark, others in the light, all will shine, all will bring light to the world.
Q: What will I get from the journey?
You will remember more of who you really are. And as this sense grows so will the compassion that you feel for yourself. This compassion will, in time, be given to all that you see.
Q: What are the pitfalls that I may encounter?
The only pitfall is love’s opposite, fear. It will have many guises but they will all have the same purpose, to close the heart.
Q: What is a good reminder for the journey?
Remember that you are not a human learning to be spiritual but a spirit learning to be human. There is a difference: one embraces humanity, the other does not.
Advice about the Heart
Be not timid with your love for no great life ever happened without it.
The heart is the source of all heroic deeds and all the lights of the world, for all great achievements are born from an idea of love. Without love, hope has no home, courage no direction, and fortitude no purpose.
It is why we dance and why we give. It brings meaning to life for without love there is no colour, no passion, and no joy. Its presence can sustain us through the darkest hours, the wildest storms and can give comfort in the loneliest of times. It calms the troubled mind, mends the broken heart, and brings home the wandering soul. It is a bond that can bring a nation together, a family together and its presence holds our self together. It gives strength for a leap of faith, a trust in life, a wish for tomorrow and a living of the day.
Love is why we live.
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.
Website: www.tobynegus.com
Amazon Author: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Toby-Negus/e/B00PS7U9VK
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/boathouse01
Toby Negus will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover and think the book sounds good.
ReplyDelete