An unlikely guru

How a Neurotic Jewish Real Estate Developer from New Jersey Found Enlightenment (And How You Can, Too)

• How can I stop worrying so much?
• How do I learn to look for approval in myself rather than others?
• How do I slow the pace of life?
• How can I learn to accept death?
• How can I find happiness?

The answers to these questions and more can be found in this enlightening book. Its author, however, is the antithesis of the traditional spiritual guru. He dresses in business clothes rather than a robe and sandals. He has never lived in a small stone hut in the Himalayas, nor does he collect crystals or read auras. All his insights have required eyeglasses.

Married for 40 years with three kids, Charles "Chick" Atkins has experienced all the joys and sorrows that life normally bestows. He is human – just another guy behind the wheel in traffic. Non-descript.

But Chick is different in one significant way. Chick is "awake."

In the nine chapters of this book, he identifies nine moments of enlightenment in his life. Each provided a new level of comprehension and understanding that led to greater peace and happiness. Each provided answers to life's big questions.

This book is for everyone who feels disconnected or overwhelmed and who is yearning to be happy and whole, but who can't leave their 9-to-5 job or spend a week meditating in the Berkshires. Unlike most books of this type, this is not about using spirituality to escape ordinary life and live with your head in the clouds. Rather, it's about using spirituality to embrace ordinary life and realize how extraordinary it actually is. It's a philosophy grounded in today's reality.

Enlightenment, as you'll learn, is simply living moment to moment, amid all the usual nonsense, with awareness and appreciation unblemished by the past. You are capable of that. After all, even once you get all your wishes, there will always be the dishes.

Chick writes with humor, humility and, most important, practicality. His path can be your path, too. In the life story of an unlikely guru, you just might find insight into your own.