Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Listen to Your Heart: Using Mindfulness to Make Choices That Are Right for You is a non-fiction self-help book written by Philippe Isler. The author is a licensed counseling psychologist with an established private practice. He opens his book with a thought-provoking discussion on decisions and the decision-making process. Many of us have problems making decisions, some more than others, and there are probably some pretty good reasons why decisions, both large and small day-to-day choices, can be so hard to make. Isler's approach shows how one can learn to make decisions free of the conditioning factors of the past; decisions that feel right for the decision-maker, rather than decisions made impulsively or out of obligation to please or defer to someone else. He offers a five-step process that aids in making decisions and includes a number of exercises that can help the reader understand how factors from their past affect their ability and/or comfort with choosing, and how to implement his approach to decision-making.

Philippe Isler's non-fiction self-help book, Listen to Your Heart: Using Mindfulness to Make Choices That Are Right for You, offers the willing reader a fascinating look into their thought processes and shows how integrating body and mind can lead him/her to the ability to make good choices. I was immediately impressed with the questions he raises in Chapter 1 and the assignments he sets for the reader at its end. While seeming relatively simple, they were not particularly easy to answer honestly and required some delving into past issues and situations that would ordinarily be left buried. But, as I delved, I began to have a much better understanding of my own problems with decision-making and how their genesis has affected my life choices. Armed with that information, I was prepared to learn about Isler's five steps and was quite impressed with what I read in this book. Aside from those initial somewhat uncomfortable questions, Isler's exercises are marvelous! They immediately felt good as I learned how to relax, quiet my mind, and begin the process of establishing a connection with my body. I'm very pleased to have found Listen to Your Heart and plan on putting what I've learned into practice on a daily basis. Listen to Your Heart: Using Mindfulness to Make Choices That Are Right for You is most highly recommended.