Wholeness Healing Center

You Have Chosen To Remember: A Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy

A Book Review

A client recently recommended the book You Have Chosen to Remember, by James Blachard Cisneros, after she had lost a family member, finding the book helpful in guiding her through her grief.  As I read the book, I found it very enjoyable, with many lessons! It became a guide towards a greater consciousness, letting go of the ego-self and allowing forgiveness, love, unity, and peace flow through us.

The book has 12 chapters, with an “Invitation” in each one, which usually involves and assignment and a short meditation. From “The Dream” through “The Ego-Self” to “A Fulfilling Life” and “Freedom Through Forgiveness, to “Choosing One’s Attitude” and “Taking Responsibility for our Destiny” to being “At Peace with the Afterlife”, the book is filled with others’ quotes, dreams, experiences, and the invitatations in each chapter, which really help the reader to be able to “own” the gifts of that chapter.

The “gifts” that are in the book are numerous. From “. . . there is not one moment in your life, not one thought in your mind, and not one action in your day that is valueless, insignificant, or pointless” (Cisneros, p. 54) to the suggestion to . . . “try shifting your perception from a thought system based on lack and scarcity to a thought system based on kindness, abundance, and gratitude” (p. 124), the book is a multitude of awareness opportunities, presented in such a humble manner.

I was especially drawn to Chapter Seven, Freedom Through Forgiveness, and the section on anger. “When we speak with anger, we are not really concerned with how those listening to us will feel. All we really care about is that our point of view is heard” (p. 163). Cisneros wrote that those who are angry really aren’t giving it away, but are caught up in some pain, usually through some self-judgment, and they are trying to project it somewhere else, and it is really the ego-self. Reacting to those words of anger is the other person’s ego-self. He has some simple suggestions for how we can react (or better yet respond) to the anger, still loving those who are attacking us, and setting an example of love and forgiveness. Reacting through anger only activates our ego-self, which then prolongs the awareness and consciousness of accepting the love within.  “There will come a day when, instead of reacing with anger, we will react with understanding. And there will come a day where, instead of seeing an error, we will see and meet the opportunity.” (p. 200) As we shift away from the anger, we find peace. In finding peace, we also set an example for those who are still angry.

From the chapter on “A Fullfilling Life”, Cisneros writes, “The more we focus on what we want, the easier it will be for us to recognize the gifts when they are being offered. The more we recognize the gifts that are being offered to us every day, the more thankful we become.” (p. 80) As we become more thankful, we really can accept that everything does happen for a reason, and in time, we can see that even the “bad” things in our lives are for our “own growth and good” (p. 87).

The good part about it all? It is inside of us! “If you will, open your mind and entertain the possibility that it is your mind and not the outside world that needs changing” and that “some day you will realize that there is nothing easier than being who you truly are”. (P. 229)

I have to be honest, in that I probably did more highlighting and tagging in this book than I have in any other for several years, as there are so many things that spoke to me, so many things I wish to return to, and so many lessons and gifts I want to cherish. It is not a “fast read” by any means, but, oh, so worth it!

Works Cited

Cisneros, James Blanchard. (2004, 2009). You have chosen to remember. Cisneros Capital Group, Miami, FL.