Daily Love – Growing into Grace by Mastin Kipp
Published by Hay House
RRP £10.99
What It’s About:
Turn trauma into power.
To be human is to be in crisis. From our first breath, we trade the warm, loving embrace of the womb for the harsh realities of a situation we can’t possibly control. We seek solace from our suffering and look for wisdom outside the confines of dogma, but soon we’re drowning in vague spiritual lingo—intention, higher self, attraction, vibration—that’s poetry at best and manipulation at worst. We become so stuffed up with ideas of what is spiritual—doing vinyasas, attending seminars, being vegan—that we leave no room for Grace, that uncontrollable, benevolent power that wants to enter the world through and as you.
For Grace to unfurl in your life, you need to shake your foundations so the soil loosens, allowing devastating catastrophes to become wondrous opportunities. Spirituality isn’t about averting crises; it’s about making the cycle from crisis to Grace a little less bumpy. By identifying the patterns in your life, you’ll be able to figure out how to relax, find your power, learn from your difficulties, and allow Grace to enter.
Mastin Kipp knows a thing or two about the crisis-to-Grace cycle. In a matter of weeks, he went from being a hard-partying, 21-year-old vice president at a Hollywood record company to an unemployed, drug-addicted college dropout living in the tiny pool house of his ex-girlfriend’s parents. From rock bottom, he began his spiritual journey, learning from teachers like Tony Robbins, Joseph Campbell, and Caroline Myss, and his message of self-acceptance and service grew into his popular website, TheDailyLove.com. He offers no fancy degrees, just his life and his scars, which form a roadmap to help guide you through the uncertainty that lies ahead, marking where the cliffs are slippery, where the sun burns hot—and where Grace blossoms.
My Opinion:
I honestly am not sure where to begin this review. The book details in depth Mastin Kipp’s journey from rock bottom to where he is today. I honestly cannot fault his honesty, but I do have to wonder why so many self help ‘guru’s happen to be recovered drug addicts and then follow up with a book contract?
The book starts with Mastin talking about how he got started in the world of work – more specifically, how he was caught up in the glamorisation of the music industry. The more involved he became, the more hours he worked, and the more hours he worked, the more he became reliant on drugs to ‘get him through the day’. Now I have to say that I have very little sympathy for anyone who uses drugs and blames it on the fact of ‘needing something to get them through the day’. It really doesn’t wash with me. You know it’s wrong, so you shouldn’t don’t do it. Full stop. There is no room for manoeuvre for me. If that really pisses you off, then that’s your choice… I’m not going to apologise.
Anyway, Mastin talks us through his scepticism to new age funky dory stuff which I found certain aspects really resounded to me. Particularly when he said that sitting around with your guru on a meditation cushion doesn’t make you spiritual – and that he’d rather sit with someone who ate meat and drank coffee any day. HALLELUJIA someone who speaks sense! I have to say that’s what really stood out to me, I love how down to earth and straight up Mastin is throughout the book. I felt that I could sit down and have a conversation with him and although opinions would sometimes divide, neither would be entirely judgmental.
I got a little “lost” as I read about the Kundalini Yoga (isn’t all Hay House authors jumping on that train?!) and the running down of personal development (which by the way – I agreed with Mastin’s points on why the self help world can be very salesy!), but got utterly pissed off when he then back-tracked and decided that he was going to go down the route of doing what Tony Robbins does – the personal development- I had to wonder, what was it that REALLY called to him? I love Tony BTW – my Mum got me into his work years ago and I am a different person because of it, and I grow each time I re-visit and do UPW work.
My favourite part of the book was the last chapter where I truly heard the REAL Mastin Kipp, the one that really should do a follow up book that majors on this topic – because I for one can resonate with the Spiritual Entertainment business… It needs to stop. Mastin talks about how fear is not something to avoid but rather embrace because without fear we cannot change, we cannot grow, and I have to say “Thank You” to Mastin for putting into a book, what I’ve been saying for a while now – screw the bull sh*t of fear is the absence of love… and you must remove fear from your life. Fear is a basic human DNA imprint in us if you like, we need fear to survive. Fear is what gets things done, fear makes you feel alive, fear should be our best friend! So next time you read “Eradicate fear” – say “Bull sh*t!” and then do what Mastin says; Choose whether or not you want to stay in your comfort zone or not – comfort zone = eradicate fear, expansion and growth = embracing fear, and feeling fear.
For a first read, it wasn’t an utter failure… but I’m less than convinced… Maybe a second read-through with time and commitment I’ll grow into the book….and the book with grow with me.
Mastin is definitely one to watch, and as long as he stays true to himself and gives the two finger salute to following the coaching crowd and jumping on the “lets all promote each other” bus, I think Mastin is a positive force this world better be ready for.
Spiritual Life Designs 
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