Life Can Be a Miracle in Q&A and psychology advice with Ivinela and Alexey from Life Can Be a Miracle

Oct 21, 2013 Leila Summers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

This book will appeal mostly to people who enjoy reading self-help, psychology, metaphysical and spiritual books or inspirational novels with a message. It does not necessarily read as a typical novel, though there is an enjoyable storyline that surrounds the insightful information. The book was translated into English from Bulgarian and the translation and the writing are excellent.

The story revolves around Adie, a woman who is searching for her purpose and Alexey, an unusual psychologist who r This book will appeal mostly to people who enjoy reading self-help, psychology, metaphysical and spiritual books or inspirational novels with a message. It does not necessarily read as a typical novel, though there is an enjoyable storyline that surrounds the insightful information. The book was translated into English from Bulgarian and the translation and the writing are excellent.

The story revolves around Adie, a woman who is searching for her purpose and Alexey, an unusual psychologist who runs seminars that Adie attends. I was most interested to discover that Alexey is a real person whom the author received permission from to use his real name and share his distinctive methods. This made the book all the more interesting for me because the information is authentic, and after trying out some of the techniques myself, I found that they actually work!

Alexey’s seminars are sometimes described in detail which I found fascinating. It was almost as though I was attending the seminar myself, which would be impossible under any other circumstance, because Alexey Bachev lives in Bulgaria and speaks Bulgarian. I read many non-fiction books, articles and listen to various speakers on these topics, so for me this was a unique experience.

Here is an edited section from one of Alexey’s seminars - We all hold a mental map in our heads about what life is, how to live, who we are, what is possible, what is not possible and so on. This mental map determines our perception of the world, but what it shows us in not the world…It is like when you pour liquid into a container: the liquid takes the form of the container. In the same way, reality flows into our (mental) maps, and thus our maps shape our reality. When we fill our mind with something, like a problem for example, then our mental map will take the shape of the problem… In other words, the mental map that we hold shapes our reality that we experience… (But) we can go beyond the limits of the reality that we have shaped.

There are so many interesting insights that the book took me longer than usual to read, as I stopped to take notes and digest them. I do hope that the author considers translating her other novels in English so that I can read them too.

I think that this book will appeal to anyone who has an open mind, a sense of adventure and humor, an interest in psychology, believes that we can shape our reality, and would like to learn some different and fun ways on how to handle a problem.
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Jan 18, 2014 Greg Doyle rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed this book. And I don't just mean the reading of it. The writer shares a lightness of thought and phrase that is both intimate and honest. As a writer myself, books dealing with “discovering one's personal calling” often have a habit of treading a simplistic path that is simply too well trodden. Not this book! The techniques she describes in her journey are fresh, ingenious and infinitely usable, not to mention fun! Overall, an uplifting read. ...more

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Jan 27, 2014 Debbie Lamperd rated it really liked it

Is it possible to write a story with no plot, no conflict, no love scene, no chase, no protagonist, no hero and yet keep the reader indulged ? Well Ms Samuilova seems to have done exactly that and pulled it off beautifully. This book has been translated from the original 2009 Bulgarian edition and I thank her for taking the effort to do so. I have now been allowed access to her unique writing, that she has shared with the English speaking curiosities of this planet, such as myself I thoroughly e ...more

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Jan 21, 2014 Jim Murdoch rated it it was amazing

A self-help book in a novel. What a wonderfully refreshing way to present old truths. Ivinela has presented new techniques to reach personal goals be they social, financial or health or business or whatever. The techniques revealed in a playful way through the story of Adie are so unusual the reader may assume this is pure fantasy and that this is simply an entertaining story. Well it is that, but the readers are challenged to test these techniques for themselves. What have a stuffed doll to do ...more

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