Today I am delighted to take part in the blog tour for Enlightened As Hell: How To Be Spiritual & Not Be A D*ck by Dr. Tony Ortega.
Synopsis
Geared towards people who want to be enlightened (or simply live a better life) yet feel they can’t do so because of the past and/or current state of the spiritual world, Enlightened as Hell: How to Be Spiritual and Not Be a Dick is the third book by clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Ortega.
Dr. Ortega brings three decades of experience as an actual mental health professional and consumer of an array of spiritual studies, as well as his sassy humour, to distill mental health and spiritual philosophies down to a street level. This is a book for millennials as much as it is for people 40+. Most likely to appeal more to women than men due to the nature of self-help readerships, Dr. Ortega is also a champion of LGBTQIA+ rights, so this is an inclusive, accessible book for anyone open to learning more about spirituality and potential answers to the question, “Is this it?”
“In Enlightened As Hell you get ALL the building blocks to lead an enlightened life without spending any more money!”
My thoughts
I was a little sceptical about this book only because of the title. It’s incredibly long and the need for a * always makes me doubt the quality of the writing BUT I was wrong to be hesitant as it it an incredibly refreshing, frank and uplifting book.
This book is very much written in the author’s voice, so much so that I immediately felt their warmth, compassion AND of course the years of experience, both personal and academic, gained. It isn’t preachy but it DOES preach the need to make our peace with ourselves, to love ourselves and to REALISE that we are not broken and DO NOT NEED to be FIXED. I know, that’s a lot of capital letters but this is kind of how this book made me feel. It made me want to shout HELL YEAH!
Our essential self is not broken. No one can touch that except ourselves. Our thoughts and behaviours are the things we need to work on.
Enlightened As Hell by Dr. Tony Ortega
It is incredibly easy to read and Dr Ortega does have a skill in making this accessible to all. I think it is because it is addressing the fact that underneath the many labels that we now encounter we are all human beings and we all feel pain and suffering – we ALL have our own challenges. Ultimately this is a book about showing kindness, to ourselves and others – no matter who they are. It also guides us with the tools that are all within our grasp to help us along the way.
If I had to chose one chapter that ‘spoke’ to me, it would be Chapter Three: Fear: False Evidence… F*ck That, It Feels Real. Subjective Fear is something that I have carried with me for a long time (and probably always will) but Dr Ortega simplified it for me and I now know how important those self-care techniques are at keeping it under control. It is all about choice and I choose to NOT let it stop me living a full life.
Enlightened As Hell is a relatively short book but it is interesting and uplifting – it is that BFF that will be there to dip in to when you need a reminder of just how fabulous you are – if only you’d allow yourself to be. The key of course is just to be you and to show kindness to yourself as well as the world around you. There is something in this book for everyone – it is beautifully diverse and all are welcome. It has helped me understand that I am more the person I want to be than I thought. That is indeed a good place to be.
If you focus more on who you need to be and less on what you need to do, you will have much greater chances of manifesting what you want for your life.
Enlightened As Hell by Dr. Tony Ortega
You can purchase a kindle version of Enlightened As Hell from Amazon HERE
About the author
Dr. Tony Ortega’s passion for helping others began at a very early age. He always knew that no matter what he did, he wanted to be of service to others. Once he knew that such a profession existed, he had a goal for his life path.
In August 1992, Dr. Ortega began his first job as a mental health professional in a residential women’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. Since then, he has worked for inpatient, outpatient, residential, managed care, and private practices, which included working with patients with substance abuse issues, mood disorders, severe and persistent mental illnesses, traumas, and LGBTQI+ issues. He currently serves the LGBTQI+ community from his private practice in Brooklyn, New York, combining cognitive behavioural techniques with active coaching and metaphysical principles in his work with clients.
Dr. Ortega’s basic premise with clients is that his patients are not sick, nor do they need “fixing.” He also doesn’t work with diagnoses, per se. His job is to help people remove the obstacles preventing them from accessing their power, which is their inherent birth right. Processing of past issues is certainly part of the work, but not the only part. Knowing the “why” behind issues, while valuable, isn’t enough to create change. He focuses on the “why” AND the “what now” (i.e., choices we can make for ourselves today). The only thing we ever have 100% control over are the choices we make.
The foundation of Dr. Ortega’s work is: Rewrite your story, find your voice, and live authentically.
He is the author of #IsHeHereYet: Being the Person You Want to Be With – an extremely raw (and funny) look at the perceived epidemic of being single in our quest for love.
His second book, #AreYouHereYet: How to STFU and Show Up For Yourself (Free Association Books) is a call for readers to wake up and stop being so addicted to the current personal development trends.
He is also the creator of the Be The One Movement: Inspiring People to Show Up, Take Charge, Live Free, and Be the One (www.betheonelife.com). Most recently, Dr. Ortega achieved his lifelong dream of creating his own comic book series, The Accords (www.theaccordscomicbook.com). The Accords features a team of seven heroes who are in and allies of the LGBTQI+ population, making it a truly inclusive comic book. It is based in modern-day America and incorporates spiritual themes into the super-heroics.
Tales Before Bedtime 