More from and about
Sarah Ban Breathnach
(biographical info at bottom of page)

  

Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the
inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but
only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.

   

Become aware that you already possess all the inner wisdom, strength, and creativity needed to make your dreams come true. This is hard for most of us to realize because the source of this unlimited personal power is buried so deeply beneath the bills, the car pool, the deadlines, the business trip, and the dirty laundry that we have difficulty accessing it in our daily lives. When we can't access our inner resources, we come to the flawed conclusion that happiness and fulfillment come only from external events. That's because external events usually bring with them some sort of change. . . .We can learn to be the catalysts for our own change. . . .you already possess all you need to be genuinely happy.

      
When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present--love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure--the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.
  
Today I want you to become aware that you already possess all the inner wisdom, strength, and creativity needed to make your dreams come true. This is hard for most of us to realize because the source of this unlimited personal power is buried so deeply beneath the bills, the car pool, the deadlines, the business trip, and the dirty laundry that we have difficulty accessing it in our daily lives. When we can't access our inner resources, we come to the flawed conclusion that happiness and fulfillment come only from external events. That's because external events usually bring with them some sort of change. And so, we've learned to rely on circumstance outside ourselves for forward or backward momentum as we hurtle through. But we don't have to do that any longer. We can learn to be the catalysts for our own change.
   

You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law:  the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.

     

Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves.
We must learn to respect them.
We must learn to listen.

   

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Learning to live in the present moment is part of the path of joy.

   

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers.
But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.

   

Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be
answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life
do not last. The spring rains will come again.

   

    
Sarah Ban Breathnach's (pronounced "Bon Brannock") work celebrates quiet joys, simple pleasures and everyday epiphanies.  The wisdom, warmth, compassion and disarming candor of her No. 1 New York Times bestsellers, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy and Something More (both published by Warner Books) have made her a trusted voice to millions of women

First published in November 1995 with little fanfare, Simple Abundance - a daily inspirational guide written for people who wish to live by their own lights - soon found its audience through word-of-mouth raves including Oprah Winfrey's, who named it "her favorite book" of 1996 and called it "life-changing."

Simple Abundance has been back to press 56 times and has sold over 7 million copies in the United States alone.  It was on the New York Times bestseller list for over two consecutive years, topping the list
at No. 1 for a year.  USA Today declared it to be one of the top ten best-selling books in the United States during the nineties.

Simple Abundance has been highly praised from different corners of American culture.  Thomas Moore, the best selling author of Care of the Soul, called it "a book of real wisdom. . . a satisfying blend of the sassy and the profound."

According to Deepak Chopra, writing in the September 1998 issue of George magazine, which named Sarah Ban Breathnach as one of America's twenty most fascinating women of power and influence, "She's a one-woman women's movement. . . just the subversively cosmic voice society needs" to help the country "re-evaluate our values."  Because its editors felt that Sarah had her finger on the pulse of the American people, in September 1997 she was commissioned by People Magazine to cover the funeral of Princess Diana. As a contributing editor of Good Housekeeping, she also wrote a regular column on "everyday spirituality," the first such feature in a mainstream American woman's publication.

Sarah Ban Breathnach is also the President and CEO of Simple Abundance, Inc., a consultancy firm specializing in publishing and multimedia projects that give creative expression to the timeless Simple Abundance principles and the concept of personal authenticity.  The company recently entered into a groundbreaking joint venture with Scribner to create The Simple Abundance Press, a new publishing imprint with the mission of helping readers to explore innovative and inspirational ways of enriching their lives.

Sarah is the founder of the Simple Abundance Charitable Fund, a non-profit bridge group between charitable causes and the public dedicated to increasing awareness that "doing good" and "living the good life" are soul mates.  In acknowledging Sarah's contributions to rethinking the role of philanthropy, The American Benefactor noted that while "it's not necessary to reconcile your public persona with your personal life these days, it's refreshing when someone does, like Sarah Ban Breathnach."  Since 1995, the SACF has supported the vision of over 100 non-profit organizations by awarding over $1 million in financial support.  The Simple Abundance Charitable Fund is underwritten with proceeds from Sarah's speaking engagements, royalties and product sales.
  

    

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you.  Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader).  All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another.  Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!

  

Other people:  Alan Watts - Albert Einstein - Albert Schweitzer - Andy Rooney - Anne Frank - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Anne Wilson Schaef
- Annie Dillard - Anthony Robbins - Ari Kiev - Artur Rubenstein - Barbara Johnson - Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Franklin
- Benjamin Hoff - Bernie Siegel - Bertrand Russell - Betty Eadie - Booker T. Washington
Charlotte Davis Kasl
- Cheryl Richardson - Cristina Feldman - C.S. Lewis - the Dalai Lama - Dale Carnegie - Deepak Chopra
Don Miguel Ruiz
- Earl Nightingale - Elaine St. James - Eleanor Roosevelt - Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emmet Fox
- Frederick Buechner - George Bernard Shaw - George Santayana - George Washington Carver - Gerald Jampolsky
Harold Kushner
- Harry Emerson Fosdick - Helen Keller - Henry David Thoreau - Henry James - Henry Van Dyke
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Henry Ward Beecher - Hugh Prather - Immanuel Kant - Iyanla Vanzant - Jack Canfield
James Allen
- Jennifer James - Jim Rohn - Joan Borysenko - Joan Chittister - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - John Izzo
John Ruskin
- Joni Eareckson Tada - Joseph M. Marshall III - Julia Cameron - Kent Nerburn - Khalil Gibran
Leo Buscaglia
- Leonard Jacobson - Leslie Levine - Lucinda Bassett - Lydia Maria Child - Lynn Grabhorn - Marcus Aurelius
Marianne Williamson
- Martin Luther King, Jr. - Maya Angelou - Melody Beattie - Michael Goddart - Mitch Albom
Mohandas Gandhi
- Morrie Schwartz - Mother Teresa - M. Scott Peck - Nathaniel Branden - Nikos Kazantzakis - Norman Cousins
Norman Vincent Peale
- Og Mandino - Oprah Winfrey - Oriah - Orison Swett Marden - Pau Casals - Peace Pilgrim - Phillips Brooks
Rabindranath Tagore
- Rachel Carson - Rachel Naomi Remen - Rainer Maria Rilke - Ralph Waldo Trine - Richard Bach
Richard Carlson
- Robert Frost - Robert Fulghum - Robert Louis Stevenson - Russell Baker - Sarah Ban Breathnach
Shakti Gawain
- Soren Kierkegaard - Stephen Covey - Stephen C. Paul - Sue Patton Thoele - Susan L. Taylor
Sylvia Boorstein
- Thich Nhat Hanh - Thomas Carlyle - Thomas Kinkade - Thomas Merton - Tom Walsh - Victor Cherbuliez
Wayne Dyer
- Wilferd A. Peterson - Willa Cather - William James - William Wordsworth - Zig Ziglar

   

       
    

Yes, life can be mysterious and confusing--but there's much of life that's actually rather dependable and reliable.  Some principles apply to life in so many different contexts that they can truly be called universal--and learning what they are and how to approach them and use them can teach us some of the most important lessons that we've ever learned.
My doctorate is in Teaching and Learning.  I use it a lot when I teach at school, but I also do my best to apply what I've learned to the life I'm living, and to observe how others live their lives.  What makes them happy or unhappy, stressed or peaceful, selfish or generous, compassionate or arrogant?  In this book, I've done my best to pass on to you what I've learned from people in my life, writers whose works I've read, and stories that I've heard.  Perhaps these principles can be a positive part of your life, too!
Universal Principles of Living Life Fully.  Awareness of these principles can explain a lot and take much of the frustration out of the lives we lead.