NBTM Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: The Heart Knows What the Mind Cannot See by Toby Negus

Welcome to my stop on the NBTM virtual book tour for The Heart Knows What the Mind Cannot See by Toby Negus. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as great guest post from the author about his writing process. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: The Heart Knows What the Mind Cannot See

Author: Toby Negus

Publisher: Original Art & Words

Publication Date: June 27th 2021

Print Length: 252 pages

Genre: Self-Help

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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-fulfilment 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.

Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble *

Book Depository * Books-A-Million *

Bookshop * IndieBound * Kobo

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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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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Toby Negus has studied and taught spiritual and personal development in the UK and around the world for over two decades. He is qualified in advanced counselling, as a life coach and as a Cognitive Behaviour therapist. He is an Amazon best-selling author of a collaborative Conscious Creators book and has illustrated and self published two books on the subject of self-awareness and the spiritual journey. He is also a published author of a children’s book The Boy Who Dreamed in Colour. He has given talks and run workshops in support of his published work within the UK.

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 * Amazon * Facebook * YouTube

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GUEST POST:

- What was your writing process for writing this book?

The first part of my writing process was, and at times still is, to be patient with myself.

Who do you think you are to write about these things? You have got to be kidding! No one wants to read your stuff, it’s just dribble. And anyway, you’ve got no proper education, you can’t spell, you’re dyslexic and your grammar is crap. You’re not really a writer. It’s a fantasy. Every time you try to do it you know it feels impossible. You’re just not strong enough, and wise enough, ha! What’s the point anyway, you’ve never succeeded at anything really, it’s just another waste of time. (The Heart Knows extract)

And sometimes I need to let go of who I think I am.

With the brave of me shall I build a fire

and I shall give to the pyre all the memories of who I was; all that I have been and all the stories of what was and what was not.

I shall grieve no tears to dampen the fire,

but stoke it more with all that I am

and all that I think I shall be.

So, I may go home again and breathe

the impossible once more.

(The Heart Knows extract)

But mostly I am trying to get to a place in myself where..

But now and again, through chance, trial or error, I rediscover the hearts power, and grace. I can find myself within a moment of time, free of the persuasion of what should or should not be. My expectations become dissolved in the flow of life and I allow what is, to be simply what is. In this aura of self-trust, the ghosts loosen their hold on my mind. I slip into the realms of my heart, where I become again lucid in my beloved song.

(The Heart Knows extract)

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GIVEAWAY:

Toby Negus will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility with this giveaway.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway