Eckhart Aurelius Hughes AMA (Ask Me Anything)

[NanciWrites]

I am inspired by you and your team! Collaboration in any form and contribution makes more - more joy, more fun, and more blessings.
What a great team to have!

[NanciWrites]

Thank you for the opportunity to revise my review of In It Together. I appreciate the feedback and support as I learn to navigate these ropes.

I REALLY enjoyed the book! I hope you make an audio version soon!

[bestfriendswithbooks]

Hi Scott,

So happy to be a part of this group! When it comes to philosophy and spiritual books, I take a really lonng time to read it from cover to cover. Possibly because I actually like to understand and really go to the rot of the meaning in the book. If I cannot, well, I pick it up another day.

In It Together feels like a beautiful monologue and there were many times when I felt- "Oh my god, this echoes my thoughts and sentiments so perfectly!"

My questions for you-
1. How many spiritual books have you read till date?
2. Which author is your favorite in: Non-Fiction(Philiosphy and Spirituality)
3. What brought you to the topic of Inner Peace?

Excited to finish reading the book(im 70% done) and send my review( though I feel I am not the right person to review it, I also feel grateful for the chance to even read the book!)

[emilee003]

This is actually the first philosophy book that I’ve read that I can remember and I’ll be honest, there were some words I did not know. There were some moments that I really had to think about what was being said as well. At times I felt I might need to go back and re-read the book. Is this a pretty natural experience in reading philosophical books?

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

In It Together feels like a beautiful monologue and there were many times when I felt- "Oh my god, this echoes my thoughts and sentiments so perfectly!"

My questions for you-
1. How many spiritual books have you read till date?
2. Which author is your favorite in: Non-Fiction(Philiosphy and Spirituality)
3. What brought you to the topic of Inner Peace?

Thank you for your questions!


1. I don't remember how many books I've read in total or that I would specifically categorize as spiritual. The latter is complicated by the fact that whether or not a book is categorically spiritual is both subjective and not a black-and-white matter.

2. My favorite non-fiction book is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. However, some of my other top ten include the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, the Dhammapada by Buddha. As far as modern living scientists go, I also love Dan Ariely, Sam Harris, and David Eagleman. I am also heavily inspired by Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, and Alan Watts, who all wrote books but I much prefer listing to them speak, by watching or listening to their lectures or Q&A sessions. With the three of them, I find listening to them reveals something beyond words and in addition to the words that cannot be expressed with just the words.

3. I think I started by seeking happiness, then seeking so-called "true happiness" (i.e. a true unwavering stoic contentment that is enjoyed day-in day-out through both fleeting ups and downs of life), and finally I found "inner peace" to be a clearer more accurate term for so-called "true happiness". Others might call it nirvana, enlightenment, or spiritual awakening. A neuroscientist might indirectly describe aspects of it by talking about the science of the incredible exceptional measurable gamma waves in the brains of high level meditators.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

This is actually the first philosophy book that I’ve read that I can remember and I’ll be honest, there were some words I did not know. There were some moments that I really had to think about what was being said as well. At times I felt I might need to go back and re-read the book. Is this a pretty natural experience in reading philosophical books?

I believe so.

Did you read it in print or the ebook via an ereader such as Kindle or Nook?

I prefer ebooks because you can then easily click any word in the book at anytime to instantly pull up its definition.

I find myself using that feature frequently even when reading light fiction. Many authors prefer to be precise, such as carefully and thoughtfully choosing between describing a character as "yelling" vs "screaming", so even when we think we understand the general idea of a word, it can be helpful to be able to pull up a dictionary definition instantly mid-sentence while reading, even when reading light fiction let alone philosophy or science books.

[Joannasbookshelf]

What was the most challenging part of writing this book? How long did it take you?

[Alex Reeves]

I must say that your last statement In It together, "I love you", solidified all your ideas and preaching about inner peace. If one is peaceful within himself, he'll be able to appreciate the life around him, to appreciate people who heed to his voice. You messages really touched me, and since you got motivation from Burn Zones, I'll try to read that book too. Good day.

[Ursula Graetz]

Hi, EA Hughes (With a name like that you are destined for greatness )

I will not delve into the lengthy review I gave you, suffice to say, it was not long after my review that I was inspired to do that which I advised you to do, i.e. to help with the necessary change by moving from self-empowerment to empowering our children. So I started writing a series for children called (Empowering Our Children series). So thank you for that. I have read many motivational books, but this is the first time I have been inspired to inspire children.

Don't stop with your memorable and inspirational thought-provoking philosophies. Philosophy is not just food for the soul, which I use as a mechanism to internally view myself and regularly challenge myself (and oft have the heated internal debate with myself ), it's also my fuel to keep me moving forward in my own struggles and to help assist others as well. So well done, and keep writing! (PS, don't take 5 years to write your next book)

Love,

Ursula Graetz

[Davey Chijindu]

Thank you, Sir, for the chance. I value the work you put into this website for book reviews. You did a fantastic job, and I'm proud of you. This query follows the OBC website rather than the book. I'm a level 6 reviewer, and I'd like to know what it takes to be an administrator or moderator on OBC. To be chosen as an administrator or moderator, what qualifications must I meet?

The second question concerns the new payment method. I read on Facebook that you were trying to provide a new payment option early this year because not all African nations accept PayPal. Is the plan still being considered, Sir? Your reply, Sir, would make me very delighted. Thank you

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

What was the most challenging part of writing this book? How long did it take you?

Thank you for the question!

It took me about 5 years to write the book.

I wrote it about halfway several times, and then scrapped it and re-started. I had a vision from beginning, so I could tell when it was not coming out how I wanted.

The most challenging part might have been not saying too much, to avoid losing readers along the way. That is not easy, and some would claim I have failed, and they definitely wouldn't be completely wrong. One reader complained that I was wrong to say the book would be agreeable for readers of all religions because I assume evolution is true in the book.

There is places in the book when I where I wrote things like, this book isn't meant to contain all the answers or truths, just some of them. I think I wrote that just as much as reminder for me and for my sake than for reader.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

I must say that your last statement In It together, "I love you", solidified all your ideas and preaching about inner peace. If one is peaceful within himself, he'll be able to appreciate the life around him, to appreciate people who heed to his voice. You messages really touched me, and since you got motivation from Burn Zones, I'll try to read that book too. Good day.

I am so glad it resonated with you. Thank you for kind words!

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Thank you, Sir, for the chance. I value the work you put into this website for book reviews. You did a fantastic job, and I'm proud of you. This query follows the OBC website rather than the book. I'm a level 6 reviewer, and I'd like to know what it takes to be an administrator or moderator on OBC. To be chosen as an administrator or moderator, what qualifications must I meet?

There's different types of moderators, and most are volunteers. For example, there's moderators on Bookshelves, who can correct the spelling book titles and such. There's forum moderators that approve/disapprove posts in the moderation queue. Usually, if there is a need for more moderators, a post will be made in the forums asking for volunteers. Generally, different teams have different team leaders, and the leader of each team would make those decisions.

The second question concerns the new payment method. I read on Facebook that you were trying to provide a new payment option early this year because not all African nations accept PayPal. Is the plan still being considered, Sir? Your reply, Sir, would make me very delighted. Thank you

Yes, we are working on that, and I hope to add a secondary payment method soon.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Hi, EA Hughes (With a name like that you are destined for greatness )

I will not delve into the lengthy review I gave you, suffice to say, it was not long after my review that I was inspired to do that which I advised you to do, i.e. to help with the necessary change by moving from self-empowerment to empowering our children. So I started writing a series for children called (Empowering Our Children series). So thank you for that. I have read many motivational books, but this is the first time I have been inspired to inspire children.

Don't stop with your memorable and inspirational thought-provoking philosophies. Philosophy is not just food for the soul, which I use as a mechanism to internally view myself and regularly challenge myself (and oft have the heated internal debate with myself ), it's also my fuel to keep me moving forward in my own struggles and to help assist others as well. So well done, and keep writing! (PS, don't take 5 years to write your next book)

Love,

Ursula Graetz

I am so glad the book inspired you in that way. Keep up the great work!

[Tori_J]

Your book is so profound. It just contains one profound paragraph after another. And I can just imagine the mental fatigue that you would go through writing those. So, how do you do it? How do you avoid getting mental fatigue?