“It Is Already There, Awaiting You”: A Review of Connect to the Light, by Receive Joy

 (Naples, FL: Receive Joy Publishing, 2019), ISBN: 978-0-9988484-1-9

A number of years ago, when I was living on the beautiful Crystal Coast in the southern Outer Banks of North Carolina, an author client referred me to the writing team of Carisa Jones and Sylvia Lehmann, collectively known as Receive Joy.

During a long lunch on the waterfront of my beloved Beaufort, we talked at length about their exciting work in positive thought and manifestation. By the end of the conversation, I had agreed to be the editor for their first book, Ask and You Shall Receive.

A truly dynamic duo, I was most impressed with their energy, enthusiasm, deep belief in God and His Gifts, and their commitment to write the book using only positive words.

During the course of my work with them, I attended several of their Miracle Group meetings and have since worked with them in other capacities.

Between Ask and You Shall Receive and the current book, they have stayed active in their mission to teach and mentor others in manifesting and positive living. They have also published several CDs, their Daily Asking Journal, and the Inspiration and Focus Wheel workbooks.

In addition, they co-created the Million True Millionaires, a Family of Wealth. For $225 a year, you can benefit from this business networking and support organization, which carries the same positive energies as Receive Joy’s other projects (www.milliontruemillionaires.com).

Connect to the Light shares much in common with like attraction practices such as The Secret, with a core emphasis on God and the Bible and a strong energy that derives from the deep belief and commitment to their work by Receive Joy. The book is rich in applicable Bible verses from a variety of editions, offers abundant worksheets and guided practices, and, like its predecessor, is chock full of anecdotes by the authors and others detailing how staying Connected to the Light and practicing the tenets in this book and the larger program work to bring joy, love, abundance (material and otherwise) into your life.

Prepare to be amazed and inspired by some of the stories. They are no less than miraculous.

Presented in two parts—Connect! and Stay Connected!—the book is written with high energy and plenty of encouragement.

As should any practical handbook for better living, Connect to the Light gives you ample opportunity to answers the questions you should be asking yourself every day. For this purpose, Receive Joy has designed specific worksheets and workbooks, and they also recommend keeping notebooks and daily journaling. When you ask yourself these questions about your personal relationships, career, overall fulfillment, hopes and dreams, emotions, and connection to God, you will quickly see a path to a more fulfilling, healthy, and wealthy life illuminate before you.

The exercises and practices in this book will ensure it stays lit up.

One of my favorite features of the Receive Joy method is the premium they put on Imagination. This goes well beyond like attraction programs like The Secret. By keeping connected with the Source—God—our Imagination is powered by no less than the abundant energy of the Universe. Manifestation is as easy as the discipline of daily connection, specific asking, and belief that our prayers and askings will be answered; as a matter of fact, all we want already is there, awaiting us.

Another aspect of this work that I find invaluable is that, in order to consider and answer the questions put forth, in order to do daily journaling and engage our Imagination, we have to take time for ourselves. In this rush-around world, that simple practice is often neglected, and it has proven to be crucial for a sound and healthy life.

More important, when you read the dozens of personal stories contained in this book, you will see that Receive Joy practice what they preach and reap the rewards from an abundant and giving God and Universe. From manifesting the money to help a friend in need, to finding screening for their home after a hurricane when none was  available for anyone else, the anecdotes clearly show how energy flows to those who remain in connection.

Part Two is devoted to this practice of staying connected. There are chapters on prayer/talking to God, contemplative meditation/listening to God, reading the bible, community, nature, receiving joy, contribution, and journaling. These chapters are followed by a comprehensive overview featuring half a dozen additional practices, complete with exercises, that you can use to make and keep your connection with God.

There is also a list of 284 “beautiful positive words” that you can use in your daily affirmations and when communicating both professionally and personally. There is also an invitation to add to the list via email.

Connect to the Light ends with a special section, named as the book itself, which offers a “Happy New Day Prayer to Connect First” and two helpful lists: “Ways to Connect and Stay Connected” and “Nine Steps to Conscious Creation.”

With all that we are experiencing in 2020, it is at times hard to find and stay in the light. But in times of hardship and crisis, such connection is what we need the most. The daily practices in Connect to the Light and the complete Receive Joy series of books, workbooks, and CDs—as well as their authors—are here, awaiting you, ready to help.