Love for No Reason - 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditional Love

by Marci Shimoff

Narrated by Eliza Foss from Recorded Books

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Love, Spirituality, Psychology, Inspirational

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Zarathustra Goertzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love for No Reason is a really enjoyable, uplifting read full of cute, inspiring stories 🥰.

A lot of the advice is simple and down-to-earth; some of it likely has a positive impact on my character development :- ).

Some quotes I took note of while reading the book:

"If you're single and looking for a partner, living in Unconditional Love is the absolutely best strategy."

"There's something special about you. What is it?" -- as a question of the variety I enjoy asking to get to know people better ;- ).

"I don't need a man to feel love. Life is my lover." :- D

"CHILL: Communicate Heart Informed Love Later."

"SMILE: Start My Internal Love Engine"

-- -- --

And, whew, this man is pretty cutely inspiring: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnn...

[Roni Blanche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love. I'm not very good at it, never have been, even after having two husbands, several boyfriends, and now the best life buddy ever in DMan. Love is mushy, and I hate mushy stuff. I've never gotten the hang of balancing the give and take in relationships, plus I'm prone to sinking into the black funks of depression. When I'm there, I shut everyone out, including sweet DMan, and what love I can usually muster dries up like a popcorn fart. So when I saw "Love for No Reason" by Marci Shimoff on the shelf, I figured I needed to study it and maybe I could learn to be better at love, for DMan's sake if nothing else.
Boy, was I wrong. The book isn't a guide for how to love better in relationships at all; it's so much more. "Love for No Reason" is about infusing your entire life with love, an "inner state of love" that doesn't rely on anything outside yourself to make it happen. To get there, Ms. Shimoff and co-author Carol Kline take you through seven steps, which align with the seven chakras (or energy centers) of the body, that allow you to blast through any love barriers you have and pump up the volume of your unconditional love.
If it sounds a little hippy dippy (as my brainiac buddy Sheldon Cooper from "Big Bang Theory" would say), it is. Now I totally believe in chakras, but reading the "Love for No Reason" themes nearly made me close the book for good as a bunch of hokum: #1 Love Is Who We Are; #2 The Purpose of Life Is to Expand in Love; and #3 The Heart Is the Portal to Love. Even after finishing the book, I'm still not sure I buy into themes 1 and 2. And theme #3? Every love song ever written says love comes from the heart, so why does that have to be a theme? Then the people interviewed for the book are called "Love Luminaries" -- gag me with an over-the-top spoon. But I read on through the hippy dippy and gag reflexes and I'm glad I did. There is beaucoup good information throughout the book, based on scientific research too, about how bringing more unconditional love into your life can help you live healthier and longer, enjoy life more, be more fun to be around, and even make the world a better place. And the action steps to get there aren't complicated or costly. The authors lay out simple changes anyone can make to boost their love for no reason.
I want to share three things (and there are many more I could share) that made an impact on me. I pray every day, and thanks to my mama who is a prayer warrior extraordinaire, I have a big list of folks with serious health problems to pray for. While I'm happy to be able to do something for these folks by praying, I often wind up feeling anxious and depressed by putting myself in their place and trying to anticipate their needs. Not any more. Now when I pray I just send out love to them, I smile while I'm doing it and even put my hands over my heart to connect with the energy flowing out, and I feel that I'm doing us both some good. The heart chakra step about "living with an open heart" reminded me to be compassionate and giving but also to give what I have and not more, that I've got to take care of myself and keep my "love tank" filled up in order to give and love unconditionally. I'm bad about giving too much and then getting grouchy about it, so I needed some reminding. Finally, the chapter on communication (throat chakra) hit home about my subconscious mind believing every word I say after the statement "I am." I know this one sounds real hippy dippy, but it's true. So now when I look in the mirror I say "I am fabulous" instead of "I am old (or wrinkled or fat or saggy)," and when I screw up at work I say "I am doing my best" instead of "I am stupid (or ignorant or such a wasteoid)." At least I'm trying to say the loving things more than I say the others.
If you've read any of my other reviews, you know I'm a sucker for quotes. There are TONS of great quotes in this book, including one I'll share at the end. And the personal stories of the interviewees are wonderful! Two of my faves are from Melissa Etheridge, about how cancer taught her to choose love over fear, and from Johnny Barnes, who says, "The way I see it, this world was made for love. When the good Lord wakes me up mornings, puts a song in my heart, joy in my soul, and a smile on my face, I just have to give it away."
Even if you skip over the exercises (some of which are very good) and just read the chapter summaries and stories, give it a go and I bet you'll love "Love for No Reason."

"There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer . . .
No door that enough love will not open
No gulf that enough love will not bridge,
No wall that enough love will not throw down . . .
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble,
how great the mistake,
sufficient realization of love will resolve it all.
If only you could love enough,
you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the universe."
-- Emmet Fox, twentieth-century author and teacher

[Pranada Comtois · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a person who practices "living spirituality," or "living theology," I'm always on the search for modern day mystics who can enter deeply into a heart-based life and describe their discoveries. I study for personal gems to apply in my own life and inform my research. As a spiritual activist and writer, Unconditional Love, or intentional Love, is my specific area of study.

There are some pieces of wisdom here, hidden here and there every few pages. And even critically important issues are opened for discussion. But largely this is a publication for the masses and the exploration of the topic was dealt with superficially. I found it overly formulaic, even trite. Did Ms. Shimoff write this from her heart or did she pay someone to write or co-author a book for her, since her name will automatically generate a book contract?

The world needs deep substance on this topic. At least Mr. Shimoff took up a noble topic. But I wish she would have handled it with more penetrating insight.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, the book gets three stars for having a great idea-- how to feel and approach life from a position of love. She explains the basic idea in one page. The rest is filler. She spends a lot of time talking about why this is a good thing (duh!) and a lot of time offering stories about people who do this already (they're more loving and enlightened than the rest of us). It's a worthy goal. I would have prefered a much shorter book expounding on the how, not the why.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I thought there were a few good tidbits in this book, I also felt this is a huge subject to tackle with "action points." Living from a place of love is hard for anyone to do and has been the subject of much study over the ages. Sages and saints have given us advice on how we can accomplish this and how to go about it. If we all still struggle with it, a few "to do" items aren't going to change the world. However, if you're new to this idea then the book will probably get you started on the right path. And if you've been exploring this subject for awhile, the stories included in the book are often inspirational so you may find some help there. Either way, I have found Shimoff's book "Happy For No Reason" much more useful since it deals with ways to change your dysfunctional thinking. If you're looking for some ideas that are useful and easy to incorporate into your daily life, you might want to read that book instead.

[Rubina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on the title of this book, i was somewhat sceptical about reading it. "Love for No Reason" seemed like a airy-fairy concept. However, i've actually found the book to be inspiring with a practical guide on how we can achieve lasting joy and fulfilment in life. "Love for No Reason" is about Higher Love, an inner state of pure love that doesn't depend on people, external conditions or circumstances. It's a love we experience from inside out. Shimoff provides guidance on how we can develop our love-body by strengthening our seven main energy centers or chakras. Great read!

[Abeer Alamri · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب لطيف، يتكلم عن كيف احب نفسي وكيف اعيش سعيده كمان يتكلم عن الشاكرات وكيف انمي كل شاكره بالجسم، حبيت فيه ذكره لقصص الناس الملهمين خصوصا قصة المرأه اللي راحت دوله فقيره وكانت تساعد الاطفال وكيف شافت اثر هذا العطاء بعد سنوات كثيره ، يعيبه ترجمته الركيكه وهذا اللي خلاني اقيمه ب ٣ نجمات

[Cara]

This book seems kind of cheesarific, but I want to learn to love myself no matter what I do or don't do. I hope this book will help. I adored her other book, Happy for No Reason, but my first impression of this one is surprisingly bad. I expect it will get better, though. The obligatory "benefits of being happier" or "benefits of love" section at the beginning of this type of book always seems so stupid to me. Like, duh, I want to be happier because then I'd be happier. Get on with it.


...

I still think I probably need to read this book, but the number one way I feel toward it is tired. Maybe it will be a better fit some time in the future and I'll come back to it.

left off p. 224

…


Tried again November 2014. Still really can't get into this book. Left off p. 266. But one thing I found really useful was the exercise on dissolving limiting beliefs on p. 237 (see notes). This exercise helped me realize that my depression was sticking around to protect me from my slave-driver boss (me), which was the key to getting past it.


Notes:

Go back and do exercises in the free workbook (LFNRWorkbookAll.pdf):
- The Realization Practice: Embodiment
- The CORE (Center of Remaining Energy) Technique <-- used this one in the woods, worked great
- An EFT Tapping exercise for Loving the Unlovable in Yourself
- Nonviolent Communication: Speaking
- Inner Chamber--the Heart of Intuition

p. 41 "Life is my lover!"

p. 110 "There are many ways to deprive yourself: You can deprive yourself of cookies or you can deprive yourself of feeling well after you eat them."

p. 125 Give your inner critic a name to distance yourself from her. Look for the underlying good she's trying to give you.

p. 135 "The most direct way that you can love the unlovable in yourself is to bring the vibration of love to whatever it is you're feeling or experiencing--even if what you're experiencing is challenging or unpleasant. If you're one of those people who has a hard time loving yourself, you can begin by simply loving the fact that you are unable to love yourself.
"Try it: think of something that you really don't like about yourself--you're too fat or too thin, or you can't balance your checkbook, for example--and instead of trying to love your excess flab or your boniness or your lameness in the bean-counting department, just love that you don't like that quality about yourself and are struggling with it."

p. 175 "Healthy giving makes you feel good. Unhealthy giving, when you're giving too much to others, will push you out of heart rhythm coherence and, over time, will take you from overcare to no care. The symptoms of no care, according to the Institute of HeartMath, are burnout, depression, resignation, or cynicism."

Ugh, these are all too familiar!

p. 177 A Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness: Ho'oponopono. Sit quietly and mentally repeat "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you." over and over until your energy shifts.

p. 181 Elisabeth was mad at God (or whatever) because her mother, who helped everyone else all her life, was incapacitated by a massive stroke and spent the last four years of her life as a vegetable. She asked her daughter to euthanize her if something like that ever happened, but she wouldn't. When confronted, the divine voice explained, "Those four years were a gift to your mother--a gift of grace--because love must be balanced. Elisabeth, if nobody were to receive love, who could give it?"

I don't know if I agree with this, but it's an interesting idea. I hope her mother experienced the people taking care of her all that time as love, not suffering.

p. 237
Dissolving Limiting Beliefs with the Option Method
1. What's one thought or belief that's keeping you stuck or unhappy?
2. Ask yourself the following questions about that belief or judgment:
"- Do you believe that?
-Why do you believe that?
- Do you know if it's true?
- What might concern you if that belief were gone? … In other words, What might happen that you wouldn't like if that belief were gone?"
3. If you uncovered another limiting belief, start the process again with step 1 for that belief.

This is very similar to some other things I've encountered before, but it seemed to be just the form I needed this time.

p. 242
how to distinguish the voice of inner wisdom from fear/emotions?
"You can tell when you're in touch with your inner knowing because it's always accompanied by peace, a sense of lightness, and a calm certainty. You just know. There's no emotion or drama involved.
"When you're guided by your emotions, you 'do what you feel like doing.' You may feel like doing something out ouf fear, anger, sadness, or pain, but those impulses aren't coming from intuition. They're reactions, based on old patterns of thinking and feeling. When you act on an emotion, it may or may not be good for you in the long run. (Most likely, it won't be.) And it's certainly not a reliable path to Higher Love." (empthasis the author's)

p. 248 Inner chamber--the heart of intuition exercise

p. 266 Disidentification Exercise
--helps you stop identifying with what you do and your external stuff, and instead "recognize that who you truly are is a pure center of awareness and choice."
"To do the Disidentification Exercise, simply repeat the following statements slowly and thoughtfully (silently or out loud): 'I have a body, and I am not my body. I have emotions, and I am not my emotions. I have a mind, and I am not my mind. I have many roles that I play, and I am not my roles. I am a center of pure self-consciousness and will."

I like this idea, right up until the self-consciousness part. Apparently that means something different to them than it does to me!

[Zara Dureno · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m enjoying the book but part way through there is a graphic description of rape. It really doesn’t feel trauma informed, there is no trigger warning or option to skip it if you know that’s a sensitive subject for you. I have been having flashbacks all week because of this. It just seemed very insensitive. There is also a lot of mention throughout the book of scientific studies or resources which are not substantiated or seem to be a misrepresentation of the literature. Citations would be appreciated to back up the claims.

[Jason Wicky Ong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book the teaches us to embrace love as a way of life.

The formulas used in the book are largely similar to her other book - open your heart, open your mind, surrender, open your vision, feel, listen, close your eyes and imagine, meditate etc.

However, there are still important nuggets of wisdom here and there and Marci has also done a great job compiling all the stories and formulas nicely.

#200 self improvement book.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book to read. It goes over a lot of procedures, and steps and activities to make you feel better about who you are and your interactions with other people. It is not earthshattering information but if you have been in a funk or tend to be bitter or angry a lot, this may be a good book for you. If you are already a happy and good nature person, then you can read with agreement and review of your life.

[Book Grocer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchase Love for No Reason here for just $10!

Enjoyable to read. Contains so many inspiring and uplifting stories on how to be happy for no reason. To get in tune with life, this is the book for you. Well-written, engaging, and a great concept.

Alicia - The Book Grocer

[Faten · Rating 5 out of 5]

من الفصل الاول لهذا الكتاب وفعلاً شعرت بالحب من قلبي وشعرت أنني أنا الحب , الكتاب تم سرده بطريقة تُثير اهتمام القارئ ولكن الكاتبة دائماً ماتجد من قصص الاشخاص عن طريق حصولهم على الحب هي بفتره قصيرة تحصل لها
هل الغرض تسويق او حصل لها تأثير البلاسيبو أفكت ؟
لم يعجبني التمارين لزيادة الحب اجد ان فيها الكثير من الخرافه!

[Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked her previous book that I read, but this was sadly disappointing. It seemed like a hodgepodge cut and paste of a bunch of (old) new age theories.

[Peter Harrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK book...had a couple of new takeaways but for the most part nothing new or special.

[Dalila Volpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente!!! Aclaración: no es un libro es una forma de vida.

[Liz Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

One I return to every year or two

[Heather Rhines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent book, bargain buy $1.00 at the Dollar Store, where nothing is a dollar anymore ! SMH.

[Maddelline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing read about how love can change how we live.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't normally read "self help" sorts of stuff, but I'm reading because 7 years ago my friend Xaka recommended it and I'm finally getting to it. And I love and trust Xaka.

Review after reading it:
I didn’t know going into this book that it’s by the person who did the Chicken Soup Books.

It has the general advice of being grounded, breathing, look for beauty, etc. and it’s always good to get reminders of those. There’s a bit of “The Secret” kind of stuff in it.

By the end I found myself reading mostly the stories and less of the chatter.

[Iona Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an inspired and inspiring book, an essential book.

In these times of impending ascension, it is imperative that we all open our hearts. This book is a key factor for us to achieve this goal.

In part II The Love for No Reason Programme Marci presents various doorways, one for each chapter, each doorway representing one of the seven chakras. She provides two love keys for each doorway together with useful exercises. She also includes many personal stories, told in the first person, to illustrate her theme. (I really enjoyed these stories, all of them.)

Throughout the book she cites innumerable “Love Luminaries”, renowned, extremely loving persons, who have succeeded in opening their hearts. Some of these are well-known, others less so.

Marci presents innumerable valuable techniques by which we can open our hearts. She includes scientific evidence to back up her statements. Obviously, learning to love oneself is essential, and there is a complete chapter devoted to this.

One of the techniques I most enjoy is that of “beaming” love to people. I have previously just sent love mentally, but now I’ve learnt to beam love from heart to heart. I’ve been in ecstasy all day from doing this – it really opens the heart and makes it ache in a wonderful way. It is a delightful technique.

I’ve personally discovered that one can beam to large groups of people at once for an even stronger effect (on oneself). Marci states that if you beam love to dogs they notice (people generally don’t) and look at you interestedly. I tried out the technique on a dog walking with its master in a park. The two were at least 100 metres away, perhaps more, on another path than myself, but the dog immediately turned its head and looked at me intently, as I continued beaming to it, until we’d moved away from each other. Even the dog’s owner noticed that it was unusually interested in me, for apparently no reason.

This book is an absolute delight, the most enjoyable book I’ve read, perhaps ever, and also one of the most important. It is one I shall have to purchase. It’s also a wonderful idea for a gift.

[Sweetmongoose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a chock full of resources, meditations, interviews, inspirational quotations, and spiritual techniques. I was not thrilled with the writing style initially because I don't like hype (ex. the last chapter's title is "Supersize your Heart"), but I stuck with it and got used to it. The authors are genuine, the information is useful, and a lot of the exercises/insights struck a chord with me. The program is organized around the chakra system. This is a book that I will refer to again and again: the format has tables and summaries of "action steps" and there are many techniques that I want to refer to again and try. By reading the book (which changed my perceptions) and incorporating just 2 (so far) of the techniques into my daily life, I have noticed significant shifts in my inner world. I appreciate the book's inclusive approach. I also enjoyed the 1st person narratives included in each chapter by one of the "love luminaries" interviewed by Shimoff and Kline. This is very practical guidebook on how to learn to love unconditionally more of the time.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Marci Shimoff's book Happy for No Reason, so I wondered if this book could be as powerfully written. This book exceeded my expections. It is brilliantly written and contains many thoughts, stories, and exercises that will transform the reader's life. The quotes are exceptional, the accounts are deeply moving, and Marci's research is cutting-edge and profound.

Although I checked out the book at the library, I plan to buy a copy and reread it often. It will transform all relationships and increase your ability to love yourself and others so that each moment of your life is centered on love. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be happier and life with greater peace and joy.

[Kelly Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a foreign idea for a lot of people to accept... Loving for no reason. When I mention this idea, the reaction is usually, "what does that mean!?" We all look for conditions and reasons to love something or someone. What if you loved someone just because you do? What if your love for that person wasn't based on anything that they did or said? Some people think it's foolish. But like it says in the book.... If your love for someone is conditional, then what happens when they stop doing or behaving in a certain way? You stop loving them? I would love to incorporate more of this idea I to my everyday life.

[J.S. Mist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love for No Reason, is an amazing read as with each word you can hear the author's voice speaking drecitly to you. It's rich with information from page to page and really easy to understand. During the second section of the book, the exercises are simply but are not to be overlooked as they are very powerful techiques with practice they became invaluable tools. All in all, its a wonderful addition to anyone self help section in their home library.

[Betsy Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on my Kindle and found myself wanting to go back to refer to different topics- cumbersome on a Kindle. This book is an instructional manual to learn how to love yourself unconditionally and how it can transform your life, both in personal relationships and on work relationships. There are different exercises to do and different Love Luminaries give their personal accounts. An interesting read.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't exactly what I was looking for.... It seemed a bit like it was created to sell books instead of by someone really good at loving.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice stories, but I find it a little odd that the author divorced her spouse between writing Happy For No Reason and this.

[Xaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend owning this book. It is a wonderful resource.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many authors talk about unconditional love. Shimoff gives us a practical guide well worth reading.