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Published by Findhorn Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
Called “the language of enlightenment,” Sanskrit is truly unique among all the languages of the world. This ancient language, upon which so many of our English words are based, gives us an entire system to show what to do in order to experience the full meaning of a word. In this profound way, Sanskrit offers a touchstone of timeless wisdom that each of us can access to transform our lives and build confidence, certainty, clarity, and success.
In Conscious Confidence, Sanskrit scholar Sarah Mane offers a practical confidence-boosting program, derived from the deepest meanings of Sanskrit concepts, to help you establish a safe and secure reference point from which to see the world and make clear decisions on how to act, what to say, and how to feel. She explores the Sanskrit roots of English words related to confidence and success, unlocking rich, three-dimensional understandings of each word as well as guidance on how to obtain confidence and find your path in life. For example, the word attitude, based on its Sanskrit roots, means “our point of view, our intent, and our conduct.” A positive attitude means we have a self-aware point of view, have an intent for the good, and conduct ourselves in ways that reflect both. This true attitudegives us a positive and powerful place from which to view the world. The author also incorporates traditional stories from East and West, such as the Mahabharata and the works of Plato, scholarly references, and accounts of people discovering hidden depths in their own lives through the ancient truth of Sanskrit.
Drawing upon the deeper meanings behind several Sanskrit words for confidence, Mane outlines principles for harnessing the fourfold energies of Conscious Confidence and offers practical exercises for discovering our inner certainty. She explains how the Conscious Confidence method allows us to tackle the growing anxiety and fear that hang like a shadow over many of us and look to the unchanging core of selfhood for certainty, rather than ever-changing externals.
With the Conscious Confidence program and the wisdom of Sanskrit, you can discover a strong and steady inner source of compassion, self-direction, self-empowerment, and the life force of self-confidence.
In Conscious Confidence, Sanskrit scholar Sarah Mane offers a practical confidence-boosting program, derived from the deepest meanings of Sanskrit concepts, to help you establish a safe and secure reference point from which to see the world and make clear decisions on how to act, what to say, and how to feel. She explores the Sanskrit roots of English words related to confidence and success, unlocking rich, three-dimensional understandings of each word as well as guidance on how to obtain confidence and find your path in life. For example, the word attitude, based on its Sanskrit roots, means “our point of view, our intent, and our conduct.” A positive attitude means we have a self-aware point of view, have an intent for the good, and conduct ourselves in ways that reflect both. This true attitudegives us a positive and powerful place from which to view the world. The author also incorporates traditional stories from East and West, such as the Mahabharata and the works of Plato, scholarly references, and accounts of people discovering hidden depths in their own lives through the ancient truth of Sanskrit.
Drawing upon the deeper meanings behind several Sanskrit words for confidence, Mane outlines principles for harnessing the fourfold energies of Conscious Confidence and offers practical exercises for discovering our inner certainty. She explains how the Conscious Confidence method allows us to tackle the growing anxiety and fear that hang like a shadow over many of us and look to the unchanging core of selfhood for certainty, rather than ever-changing externals.
With the Conscious Confidence program and the wisdom of Sanskrit, you can discover a strong and steady inner source of compassion, self-direction, self-empowerment, and the life force of self-confidence.
Excerpt
From the Introduction
The ancient language of Sanskrit, used by the sages of India to write their poetry, epics, and works of profound wisdom, is an incomparable tool for delving into the truest knowledge. Sanskrit is not just a language to be written and spoken but is also a doorway to gaining understanding of our experience of life and truth.
The aim of this book is to welcome you to the world of Conscious Confidence, a practical way to use the wisdom of Sanskrit to find clarity and success. By reading this book, you are connecting to a thread of timeless wisdom that has guided humanity throughout the millennia. Opinions, viewpoints, and attitudes come and go, but this golden cord of conscious wisdom is ever-fresh, relevant and powerful. It is wisdom upon which we can utterly depend.
Conscious Confidence is like a great tree with deep strong roots, able to withstand storms and tempests and also provide shelter, stability and nourishment. It is grounded yet continually growing, expanding, and evolving. Sanskrit and timeless wisdom help us to plant that tree and deepen those roots. Conscious Confidence is the confidence you have when you live boldly and courageously from a commitment to giving the best of your own unique self-expression. It is the confidence you experience when you are awake and aware of your own potential and strength.
Our life is an expression of what we hold in our heart--of our understanding of things and their meaning. This book is designed for you to consciously redefine those meanings and discover new dimensions of understanding and awareness from the depths of Sanskrit wisdom. This will awaken you to your potential, your core values, and what’s really important in life. With the ancient wisdom of Sanskrit, you can learn how to transform pain and suffering to joy, freedom, and fulfilment.
From Chapter Two: Balancing the Body, Mind, and Heart
What does Sanskrit teach us about balance?
The Sanskrit word for balance is santulana, meaning to weigh one thing against another or to balance together.
The root for this Sanskrit word meaning “balance” is tul. This root means “weighing and determining the weight of something by lifting it up.”
Pāṇini’s statement for this root tul is: “That measuring is to be found in the act of measuring.”
This seems rather circular and obvious, so how does this help our understanding?
The key point of this word “balance” is measuring. Measuring means knowing when to stop one activity before embarking on the next.
An analogy may help, so imagine a set of scales.
If we intend to measure out a quantity of sand, and we want to keep the scales balanced, then we need to measure out the same quantity on each side. First, we pour an amount of sand into one side.
The scales will be unbalanced at this point because there’s nothing on the other side to counter-balance yet.
Then we start carefully pouring sand into the other side. Slowly both sides of the scales move closer to being level and balanced.
Now we reach the crucial moment, where we determine that both sides of the scales are balanced, and we stop pouring. If we continue to pour more sand, we will create another imbalance on the other side.
Achieving balance hinges on stopping at the right moment.
Thus, the essence of balance and measure is knowing when to stop. This can be obvious such as when we work too long and too hard and it is time to go home. On another level, it can be time to stop thinking and to take action, or it can be time to get our feelings under control and begin to reflect on the lesson we can learn from a challenging experience. Too much thought and not enough emotion causes an imbalance and we can be cold and disconnected. If we are overly emotional, we can be irrational and unsteady. When we are not aligned, our actions and choices do not balance our head and our heart, and the body usually bears the brunt through stress, tension, and a lack of wellbeing.
Sample Exercise
Practices for Core Values
Starter Practice: Exploring Values
In this starter practice, we’re going to use a volunteer organization to trigger our self-reflection on our own Core Values.
Think of one volunteer organization that you’ve heard about and appeals to you. Consider the values of that organization. Orange Sky for example is based on respect and dignity. Other organizations may value service, care, or compassion. If the organization that you select doesn’t have any stated values, then reflect on what you feel to be the values that underpin their mission, and what they do.
Write down three to five values of this organization. For example, in the case of Orange Sky the list might expand to include: respect, dignity, compassion, care, and service.
Research the meanings of each of the listed values of your selected organization, so you broaden and deepen your understanding of those values. There is always more to learn. This exercise helps us to transcend any assumptions. You might look up each word on quotation websites to find out how, for example, Shakespeare, Oprah Winfrey, or Martin Luther King used the word. Make some notes in your journal of your research.
Now take some time to consider your notes and think about these values. Ask yourself the following questions:
What is it about these values that draws me to them? What is about these values that makes them significant to me?
What other examples can I recall of these values in action? You might remember something you did, or some action of a family member, co-worker, neighbor or someone in your community.
The most important part of this exercise is to expand your understanding. This is achieved by delving deeper into the meaning of the values and asking questions. Answers may or may not come. The questions are what count.
The ancient language of Sanskrit, used by the sages of India to write their poetry, epics, and works of profound wisdom, is an incomparable tool for delving into the truest knowledge. Sanskrit is not just a language to be written and spoken but is also a doorway to gaining understanding of our experience of life and truth.
The aim of this book is to welcome you to the world of Conscious Confidence, a practical way to use the wisdom of Sanskrit to find clarity and success. By reading this book, you are connecting to a thread of timeless wisdom that has guided humanity throughout the millennia. Opinions, viewpoints, and attitudes come and go, but this golden cord of conscious wisdom is ever-fresh, relevant and powerful. It is wisdom upon which we can utterly depend.
Conscious Confidence is like a great tree with deep strong roots, able to withstand storms and tempests and also provide shelter, stability and nourishment. It is grounded yet continually growing, expanding, and evolving. Sanskrit and timeless wisdom help us to plant that tree and deepen those roots. Conscious Confidence is the confidence you have when you live boldly and courageously from a commitment to giving the best of your own unique self-expression. It is the confidence you experience when you are awake and aware of your own potential and strength.
Our life is an expression of what we hold in our heart--of our understanding of things and their meaning. This book is designed for you to consciously redefine those meanings and discover new dimensions of understanding and awareness from the depths of Sanskrit wisdom. This will awaken you to your potential, your core values, and what’s really important in life. With the ancient wisdom of Sanskrit, you can learn how to transform pain and suffering to joy, freedom, and fulfilment.
From Chapter Two: Balancing the Body, Mind, and Heart
What does Sanskrit teach us about balance?
The Sanskrit word for balance is santulana, meaning to weigh one thing against another or to balance together.
The root for this Sanskrit word meaning “balance” is tul. This root means “weighing and determining the weight of something by lifting it up.”
Pāṇini’s statement for this root tul is: “That measuring is to be found in the act of measuring.”
This seems rather circular and obvious, so how does this help our understanding?
The key point of this word “balance” is measuring. Measuring means knowing when to stop one activity before embarking on the next.
An analogy may help, so imagine a set of scales.
If we intend to measure out a quantity of sand, and we want to keep the scales balanced, then we need to measure out the same quantity on each side. First, we pour an amount of sand into one side.
The scales will be unbalanced at this point because there’s nothing on the other side to counter-balance yet.
Then we start carefully pouring sand into the other side. Slowly both sides of the scales move closer to being level and balanced.
Now we reach the crucial moment, where we determine that both sides of the scales are balanced, and we stop pouring. If we continue to pour more sand, we will create another imbalance on the other side.
Achieving balance hinges on stopping at the right moment.
Thus, the essence of balance and measure is knowing when to stop. This can be obvious such as when we work too long and too hard and it is time to go home. On another level, it can be time to stop thinking and to take action, or it can be time to get our feelings under control and begin to reflect on the lesson we can learn from a challenging experience. Too much thought and not enough emotion causes an imbalance and we can be cold and disconnected. If we are overly emotional, we can be irrational and unsteady. When we are not aligned, our actions and choices do not balance our head and our heart, and the body usually bears the brunt through stress, tension, and a lack of wellbeing.
Sample Exercise
Practices for Core Values
Starter Practice: Exploring Values
In this starter practice, we’re going to use a volunteer organization to trigger our self-reflection on our own Core Values.
Think of one volunteer organization that you’ve heard about and appeals to you. Consider the values of that organization. Orange Sky for example is based on respect and dignity. Other organizations may value service, care, or compassion. If the organization that you select doesn’t have any stated values, then reflect on what you feel to be the values that underpin their mission, and what they do.
Write down three to five values of this organization. For example, in the case of Orange Sky the list might expand to include: respect, dignity, compassion, care, and service.
Research the meanings of each of the listed values of your selected organization, so you broaden and deepen your understanding of those values. There is always more to learn. This exercise helps us to transcend any assumptions. You might look up each word on quotation websites to find out how, for example, Shakespeare, Oprah Winfrey, or Martin Luther King used the word. Make some notes in your journal of your research.
Now take some time to consider your notes and think about these values. Ask yourself the following questions:
What is it about these values that draws me to them? What is about these values that makes them significant to me?
What other examples can I recall of these values in action? You might remember something you did, or some action of a family member, co-worker, neighbor or someone in your community.
The most important part of this exercise is to expand your understanding. This is achieved by delving deeper into the meaning of the values and asking questions. Answers may or may not come. The questions are what count.
Product Details
- Publisher: Findhorn Press (February 1, 2020)
- Length: 192 pages
- ISBN13: 9781620559550
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Raves and Reviews
“Sometimes it takes a mountain-moving event to acknowledge that someone has a unique ability and timeless wisdom to spark an inner fire and energize us to remember the core genius truth of who we are. That someone is Sarah Mane. Sarah provides a proposition for us to move beyond the limitations of past conditioning and outdated beliefs and realize the truth that we are magnificent universal beings. This is the timeless wisdom of Sanskrit in its very fluency and perfection in the very essence of igniting genius possibilities. Conscious Confidence is a manifest for success in times of chaos and a knowing that--energized as universal transformation and belief awakening--rises up to remind us that it is our birthright to achieve our highest ideals and to imagine we can do extraordinary things because we are extraordinary.”
– DR. PAT BACCILI, Ph.D., speaker, author, host of The Dr. Pat Show, and founder of the Transformation
“There are a lot of self-development books in the marketplace these days, and there are a lot of authors writing them, but rarely do you find an author with Sarah Mane’s depth of understanding. It can only come from a lifetime of unwavering commitment to living a life based on the deep insights embodied in the world’s great wisdom traditions. Conscious Confidence is not only a book to acquaint the reader with these philosophical insights but is, more importantly, full of practical ways to reap the benefits that can only come with applying them. Like a thirsty person lost in the desert of worldly existence, drink deeply of the wisdom contained in this book.”
– DR. CRAIG HAASED, MD, OAM, author of The Freedom Trap and New Frontiers in Medicine
“Sanskrit is regarded as a sacred language, said to be the language used by the soul. But it is much more than that. Sanskrit has the power to open the many chambers of our heart and connect us with the inner sacred dimensions of our being. The complex structure and grammar of Sanskrit can refine the mind and bring clarity of thought and a deeper understanding of the flow of consciousness, the universe at large, and the reality of individual lives on this planet. In Conscious Confidence Sarah Mane offers a spiritual and conscious framework for achieving balance in your life and shows you how to weave colorful new threads into your destiny.”
– LIANE BUCK, editor of Om Times
“Conscious Confidence is more than a review of Sanskrit practices. Mane takes these lessons and weaves them into larger life goals and a confidence-boosting program designed to apply to all walks of people in different stages of their spiritual or life journeys. This creates an environment of positive thinking and reflection that forms the foundation of a treatise that is flexible enough to be applied to many situations on many different levels. Because life delivers many blows and challenges to such positive thinking, Conscious Confidence delivers an especially powerful message that encourages readers to constantly examine their perceptions and impulses to adopt a calmer countenance and make choices based not on reaction but on maintaining better balance.”
– DIANE DONOVAN, California Bookwatch
“This book is no quick snack. It's an epic feast for a hungry soul who wants access to some of the deepest wisdom that has come to us over thousands of years. Sarah Mane has been immersed in a journey of discovery through philosophy and the study of Sanskrit since she was just a pup. In what could be a formidable, dry, boring meal straight out of academia, she serves instead a rich, nourishing spread of knowledge and insights that satiates and satisfy mind, body and soul. I thoroughly admire her tremendous skills of communication, curiosity, and her deep comprehension of her materials. As a book designer, I quite literally read hundreds of books, so I am really pleased to celebrate one of the few books that has hooked my avid attention. I plan to have her book by my side forever, so I can linger with, dip into and savor each rich, surprising, succulent chapter.”
– Angela Treat Lyon, Author Coach, Book Designer - EFTBooks.com, WritePublishNow.com
“This is a fascinating self-help book which counterintuitively uses the power of the Sanskrit language as a tool for self-development and confidence boosting.”
– Cygnus Review
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