I have to find a good place to start with how I concluded my experience and understanding of How to Rule the World from Your Couch by Laura Day.  Without rambling, of course.

I picked Couch up from my public library’s self-help section. Now did the “self-help” in self-help apply once I finished reading it? I’m… honestly… not sure.  I’m leaning toward accepting it has, considering I read the book cover to back without skipping any pages. So I was dedicated and invested, though not totally convinced of Day's self-help methodologies. Conversely, in a subliminal pull, I kept reading because the cover seemed so comfortable and promising in itself.  Don't you agree?

Nonetheless, let me run down Day’s unique (though not nearly so) approach to self-help.  She insists on the highly necessary use of our natural intuition to supply the assistance we need to produce positive changes in our lives. According to her, we could use our intuition to manifest (though she may not use that word) financial, relationship, and business changes. Furthermore, her definition of intuition comes sub-categorized and packaged into applications of mediumship, telepathy, body heat telepathy, remote viewing, precognition, and healing. I know, right. Sounds a little too supernatural and occultist. Personally, these subjects aren’t new to me.  I spent my teens researching all things related, and my 20s consuming books written by famed psychic, Sylvia Browne (God rest her soul). Nevertheless, it appears Day takes the psychic/supernatural element out of these subjects and rearranges them with a less than esoteric definition.

Meat 'n' Bones

So the mediumship that we’re mostly familiar with (as it concerns talking to the dead) is more like picking a person, object, or circumstance to merge and channel into for knowledge and understanding. You want to know what your spouse is thinking? Try mediumship to channel your way into his shoes and get a clear picture into his point of view. The same can be said about Day’s approach to telepathy, where it’s less about reading minds and more about imposing your thoughts on the behaviors of others. Want to attract someone special into your life? Try body heat telepathy to send out your signals from afar.  (Not quite sure if this is the alternative for aura reading.) Can’t go to a business meeting? Remote view it!  Which, I should say, sounds self-explanatory and probably very much similar to the psychic definition of the term. And of course precognition is for seeing the future, and healing is for healing (varied).

This is what Day gives readers of Couch to work with. These are her tools.  Her approach.  Her methods.  Her 'ology. She provides plenty of exercises, examples, stories, and information (though some of it seemed redundant) to relay her ideas. The problem for me was that I didn’t seem moved to participate with or internalize her material for my own personal use. And I think there were several factors why–which I'll sort of warn you of right now.

Did I Miss a Class?

Let's be clear.  Day is highly successful.  Her clientele expands to celebrities and business executives; professionals and soccer moms.  She's been in her business for countless years.  And she's, essentially, established in the self-help arena.  Couch is not Day’s first book, but it was my introduction to her. So in stating that, I felt like the student who got left behind a couple of grades as I read through it.

If you’re not familiar with Day's books or her career, I do suggest you not pick this book up first.  (Practical Intuition is her debut.) Although she explains how Couch is designed for any and everyone, she also claims it’s sort of a textbook for her students and followers. And needless to say, it felt that way for me. As someone who wasn't familiar with her, I wasn’t warmed into her approach and ideas easily. Now I didn’t disagree or disregard them. I just wasn’t wholly receptive to the suggestion that I could use her methods to create change in my life. They almost didn't seem accessible to the wandering reader, but not totally unattainable with work and substantive results. Still, the only way I felt I could use the tools is if I’d been familiar with her methods to begin with.  So I spent some time inside the book wishing I could attend one of Day's seminars instead.  So for those not familiar with Day, be prepared for the possibility of having to coach yourself.

Or Take My Suggestion

I wish I had the audiobook as my companion.  I feel as if an audio version would’ve worked best, because I could follow Day via her (possible) teaching voice.  Tagging that along probably would've made it easier to process her information/ideas, on top of making sure I’m applying her exercises properly.  I say this especially when I felt many of her exercises didn't seem worth the effort. Sitting around trying to envision myself in someone else’s body just didn’t seem… well… as functional as I’d hoped regarding change in my life. Not that I didn’t attempt.  There were a few chapters/exercises where I felt like I would catch something by applying one of her exercises, but I mostly found myself drifting off in my attempts.  Or choosing to keep reading onward without pause.  Having an audio would've guided me through the experience much better.

Okay, I'm Done

So I've rambled enough.  I believe How to Rule the World From Your Couch is an awesome self-help book for the right person during the right time of his or her life. It’s certainly not for everyone, but you really have to get into and stick to Day’s methods if you really want to find something out of this book. Me? I’d rather get off the couch and go do something a little more active, even though I do believe in the power of intuition and how our subconscious guides our decisions.  But sessions of imagining myself slipping into bodies and remote viewing meetings seem better explored with psychics, at least until I can get Day's basis on mastering your intuition down.  Which reverts back to my ultimate point in this post: START WITH HER FIRST BOOK OR GET THE AUDIO VERSION OF COUCH!
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