How to Be Loving: As Your Heart Is Breaking Open and Our World Is Waking Up

by Danielle LaPorte

This is a counterculture call to gentleness, from a contemporary and accessible sage.

What happens when you begin to identify as Love––as the Soul beyond your personality constructs?

What changes when you see yourself––and others, through a Loving gaze? Everything.

Love is universal, but how we learn about it and express it is incredibly personal. Being Loving doesn’t necessarily mean feeling more. It means feeling everything with more Love. It’s the ultimate inclusiveness. Because in the heart, it’s ALL IN―your light and your shadows―and everyone else’s.

We do not need to focus on “fixing” ourselves. As we focus on living from our heart center―from Love―anything that’s not in alignment with that Light falls away. This message is so liberating. And practical.

You’ll learn that progress is more about letting go than learning new tricks. And…

• You can choose higher quality thoughts more consistently (without spiritual bypassing) and interrupt lifelong patterns of rejecting our shadow side. We can unlearn the dogma that perpetuates perfectionism.

• Your ego, which is just an exaggerated sense of a separate self, will begin to calm down. You can’t life hack your way through fear―that only creates more fear. Instead, you can invite every part of yourself into the heart to rest in Love.

• You’ll stop talking yourself out of your natural inclination to Forgive. The heart is for… giving. It’s such sweet relief to opt for the power of Love and move on.

• You repeatedly choose higher-quality thoughts. Our thinking is magnetic. We can use the intelligence of Love to calm our nervous systems and experience real peace.

• You will create conditions for healing in your life. Accepting yourself and situations as is will free up so much of your life force―energy you can use to grow in new directions.

Here it is. Heart centered, soul powered, and divinely timed. A place for nuance and Compassion, where profound acceptance has room to grow.

This is How to Be Loving.

Genres: Self Help, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Psychology, Health, Relationships, Audiobook

312 pages, Hardcover

Published October 11, 2022

About the author

Danielle LaPorte is a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 a group who, in Oprah Winfrey’s words, “is uniquely connecting the world together with a spiritual energy that matters.”

The former director of a future studies think tank in Washington, DC, where she managed a team creating global scenarios. She now speaks about the intelligence of the heart.

Her most recent book, "How To Be Loving…when your heart is breaking open and the world is waking up" is also an Audiobook + ebook, with a companion deck and journal. Danielle is also the author of The Fire Starter Sessions, The Desire Map, White Hot Truth, and producer of dozens of online programs for spiritual support.

Danielle is the creator of the Heart Centered Membership and the Heart Centered Leaders Program with 400+ leaders in 30 countries hosting conversation circles, retreats, and workshops in all kinds of communities and businesses.

Her podcast, WITH LOVE, DANIELLE, often ranks in iTunes’ top 10 for wellness. Most of her offerings—from the Heart Centered Membership to her online classes—are on a pay what you choose basis. Named one of the Top 100 Websites for Women by Forbes, millions of people a month visit DanielleLaPorte.com.

Marianne Williamson refers to Danielle “as a bright light.” V (formerly known as Eve Ensler) calls her “a force field of energy, wonder, humour, and love.”

Her charities of choice are Ally Global Foundation, helping survivors of human trafficking to rebuild their lives (@allyglobal), Trees Sisters’ reforestation projects (@treesisters_official), and VDay, a movement to end violence against women and girls (vdayorg).

She lives in Vancouver, BC. You can find her on most places on social media @daniellelaporte.

#daniellelaporte #howtobeloving #heartcentered

Reviews

[Christina Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book for 2022.
We are living in complicated times and we're fed up of describing these times as complicated. We need a road map back to heart centre. A guide to being love in a time of fear.
Danielle Laporte has created the book needed.
Being Love isn't something that you feel or something you desire, rather, as she says, it's something you embody and as that we need to dive deep into our hearts. We need to be honest and compassionate and vulnerable in order to be strong.
We need to be strong in the world of today, but with a strength we are only learning about. The strength of love.
This book provides you with practical solutions on how to be compassionate with yourself so you can be present in love. Danielle weaves light heartedness with serious practice and references to teachers new and old. It's a seamless symphony of alignment, poetry, mindset and soul. It's a blessing and a true offering of... well.... Love.

If you are feeling called to dive deeper into your heart, if you are looking for practical steps you can take to be true to yourself, if you crave a sense of belonging and a feeling of empowerment, then this is the book you need. I can't recommend it enough.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rated Danielle's previous work 5 stars every time but this book... is something else.

First of all I always admired writers who wrote because it was their calling, because they truly want to change the world. But as soon they use a book as a marketing tool for memberships and merch, I can't help but wonder how pure the intentions really are. I was surprised Danielle too finally gave in to the subliminal advertising (mentioning the membership in almost every chapter). But I try not to judge because of her previous books and life changing wisdom.

But somehow the book was very slow moving for me. Maybe it's because the practice is not new to me. I know how to practice meditation, breathwork or use the right questions to look at people differently at times I'm being challenged. So many chapters felt so similar I didn't take notes because the bullet points would repeat themselves. I always appreciated the personal stories she shared but in this book they kinda stayed on the surface.

This book is niche specific. It will probably resonate with privileged people who suffer on a different level compared to those who come from a difficult background (poverty, illness, different race, country, religion, abuse etc)... I had some big question marks on the story she told about that one time she was mentally attacked (abused) by someone and she simply let it go in peace. In my head this translates like "Don't sweat the small stuff", but it could also be dangerously translated in allowing abuse to continue because the victim read in a book she should be compassionate and forgive. Jikkes.

I really like Danielle, her personality and the content she used to create. But this book and all the merch really feels like she jumped on the "Love and Light business" wagon, like so many big names did before her, capitalising on fluffy spiritual terms and motivating people to be more.... egocentric but with love. It's a trend to suffer from our seats while the world burns, but it doesn't make it better if we sprinkle that seat with love. Maybe this is the activist in me speaking but to me it simply feels like giving ourselves permission to stay in that seat and sign up to yet another membership at home to accept the world is burning, instead of getting outdoors to help where we can.

When the world needs help, we need people who are awake and leave their homes. We need more lawyers of the world, activists, volunteers. People who DO instead of accept. People who speak instead of forgive and subscribe to more courses.

This book will probably resonate with people who have been way too hard for themselves, or to loved ones at times it was unfair. It will resonate with people who suffer burn-out and need approval to rest. It will resonate to those who need healing and sleep. But to people with a hard challenging past and are ready to change, this book will be awkward or even offensive at times.

Danielle was my favorite writer on self development and it kinda makes me sad this book didn't have the same effect like her previous books. The business is not what it used to be. Her customer service is not what it used to be (I once wrote a love letter to her and customer service never gave it to her), to me it feels like the book was written during her (and the business') dark night of the soul and she's still climbing out of it. It's almost as if I could feel her raw emotions between the lines.

I will keep reading her previous books (because they are that good) but I hope she keeps writing. Her poetic words are desperately needed in this world... this book wasn't it, so I hope she gives it another try with the next book.

[Amira Sookram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful sermon.

[Karol Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Life changing book that I'd recommend to anyone, I really loved it!
It's definitely one you can read again and again

[Avory Faucette · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to Be Loving is a series of offerings by Danielle LaPorte that includes a book, companion journal, and card deck. I chose to review the book and journal, and I have to be honest—it was a bit of a slog. However, I do think LaPorte’s work will speak to a particular audience, and perhaps even be profoundly healing for the right person. I wouldn’t describe the book as the best out there on compassion and love in a spiritual sense, but it may bring some of these ideas to an audience who needs to hear them. In that sense, it’s a decent introduction.

I first encountered LaPorte through her earlier book, the Desire Map, which introduces the concept of “core desired feelings” as an alternative to goals. I still use this tool today, so I was intrigued by the positioning of this book as a next step or an even more evolved perspective. LaPorte describes coming to the theme of love through a shift from “what do I want to feel?” to “what do I want to embody?” As emotions are rather ephemeral and difficult to control, she transitioned into a focus on embodying love, which she places at the center of spirituality—a view I very much share.

However, there’s also a certain vagueness in her approach to spirituality. I was unsettled by the use of New Age tropes (e.g. capitalizing random words like Love or Divine) and by how she presents things as simple metaphysical fact that are in fact culturally relative, from her understanding of how the divine is structured to a misstatement that “most energy practices” use the chakra system (while bodily energy centers are a common understanding, chakras in particular come from various Hindu lineages, and she describes a version of those systems popularized in the US).

LaPorte’s language can be a bit Instagrammy, and though she gives nods to anti-capitalism and feminism, she’s also carefully apolitical. She talks an awful lot about Love and Light, and the fact that she has to explain several times that she doesn’t intend to advocate spiritual bypassing makes me wonder why she didn’t simply shift some of the language. While her teachings themselves aren’t generally harmful, it’s important to acknowledge that similar ideas are used in harmful ways, and the beginning reader could use a little more guidance.

Her insights are most relevant to an individual healing context, blending philosophizing on what it means to be loving with suggested practices to cultivate a more loving life. A lot of the content focuses on letting hurts go, cultivating compassion, and connecting with divine in a blend of psychological technique, generalized application of wisdom traditions, and a sprinkling of New Age language. Interpersonal relationships and collective action are mentioned offhand, but aren’t really the focus.

Given the book’s relatively short length and the casual language, I was surprised by how slow-going it was for me! While some sentences struck me as worth a pull quote, at times it was a little like reading a bunch of catchy phrases all smushed together. It was certainly not the worst case of this I’ve seen in a spiritual book, and at times it does feel like a profound point is building, but there’s not really time taken to persuade a reader or fully lay out the nuances of a theme. I found myself frequently thinking “oh yeah, that’s a really important insight… I’m glad I have direct experience or study outside this book so that I really understand it!” A lot of chapters are packed in and yet despite this broad coverage, the language sometimes feels repetitive.

LaPorte’s style is direct and conversational, addressing the reader with advice for what to do and what not to do. She includes some little examples from her life, but not a lot of in-depth storytelling. I think this may have been part of my struggle, as an associative thinker—I was missing the emotional resonance I get from a good story, and could’ve used more metaphors to ground the ideas. LaPorte relies instead on hypothetical examples that assume the reader’s context, and these will apply best to 20-something women who are at least to some extent active participants in mainstream culture and perhaps have a history with more toxic forms of spirituality.

While real world systemic issues are mentioned several times, I would’ve like to have seen more substantive inclusion of these challenges in the context of recommended practices. LaPorte frequently states the heart is naturally inclusive and that the goal is truly universal love, but by focusing purely on individual practices we miss out on how to apply such an approach when resources are scarce and members of a community are experiencing systemic oppression.

Don’t get me wrong—I do think a lot of the insights in this book are important for a specific audience! The content itself also has a broader appeal, but the presentation of it may be tough to get past. I think if I had read this book any earlier, I would’ve dropped pretty quickly into judgment of LaPorte’s lifestyle and privilege. Folks who’ve experienced major marginalization may find parts offensive or just irrelevant.

LaPorte’s take on spirituality is heavy on personal responsibility in a way that won’t make as much sense for those whose cultures and lives are more communal, and some of her guidance just wouldn’t resonate outside of her own cultural context. For example an admonition to avoid re-hashing our old stories makes a lot of sense in a psychological context, but in cultures that prioritize talking story as a mode of relationship, a different approach might be warranted.

I’ll assume best intentions here, but nonetheless there are some yellow flags, particularly in how LaPorte suggests accepting abusive behavior in our lives and focusing on unconditional love, without a strong suggestion to also set boundaries and create space. LaPorte describes boundaries as a developmental stage on the path to acceptance, which could be quite alarming in some contexts. The reader may be able to discern proper application, but I still get nervous when I read about, for example, a societal responsibility to become “un-triggerable.” Certainly releasing attachment can be healthy, but what of collective responsibility to stop perpetrating harm?

I also wish there had been a little more introduction to LaPorte’s own spiritual context, or perhaps some in-depth interviews with spiritual advisors. While LaPorte’s advice comes across as a peer who’s recently realized “oh! This is the thing!” and I didn’t find that style to work well without strongly compelling stories to ground the information and build trust. She presents a structure for the nature of divinity that not all readers will want to take on faith, without much contextualization of how she sees things.

LaPorte does blend in a ton of quotes from spiritual teachers and explains concepts from different traditions, but you’ll need to have your own familiarity of the context of these traditions (and do your own follow-up research, of course, since LaPorte herself is explaining and simplifying them from an outside lens). It’s worth noting some of the folks she does quote are popular guru-type teachers who may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and the specificity of religious teachings is absent from her quick summaries.

All of this said, most of the core concepts, if I take the most generous interpretation, are solid pieces of guidance. LaPorte blends a lot of important bits of wisdom around working with the ego and the heart, releasing attachment to the stories around our pain, and reclaiming personal power. She speaks directly to the way personal development, healing journeys, and a social justice focus can turn into their own forms of self-harm in a way that I found somewhat relatable despite our very different approaches to spirituality.

I worry that some of what she says could easily be co-opted into spiritual bypassing, but the writing itself speaks to the very real need for a more loving approach to justice. I disagree that struggle itself is a problem, and would argue that a loving struggle is absolutely possible, but if you read this book next to authors like Resmaa Menakem and adrienne maree brown, you’ll see some resonance between her approach and their treatments of “dirty pain” and cancel culture, respectively. LaPorte’s take could be especially useful for those struggling with a lot of fear, self-judgment, and anger.

I find especially useful the deceptively simple concept of identifying and working with an “antidote” to whatever brings you pain and struggle as a practice in counterbalancing (for example, rest if you’re feeling overworked). I also appreciated the chapter on “Tools for Heart Centering” and how it presents quite a few different practices such as prayer, contemplation, mindfulness, and stillness that you can weave together in simple, accessible ways.

[ARC provided through NetGalley]

[Jasmine St. John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have rated this book higher but I'm not the target audience. I love Laporte's writing and ideas. She encompasses the full "woo" spectrum and hence I can't fully relate. However the parts that I can are wonderful and impactful. I enjoyed the book but liked her other one better. This is good overall and great in some very specific areas.
-------------------------------------------
Counterbalancing is what we’re all being called to master. For our own healing. And to turn the global tides. Be the calm in the eye of the storm. Be the wisdom that stands outside the hysterics, waiting patiently. Extend the apology. When there’s hatred in the dialogue, maybe you can prove the benefits of kindness and respect. When everyone is hurling insults, find the one reason to be compassionate for everyone involved.

[Linda Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book, or better yet listen to LaPort narrate it perfectly for you!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been following Danielle's work since 2011 when I was living in Vancouver. I was in my early 20's and in grad school at the time. Danielle has a way of speaking and writing that makes you feel instantly connected to yourself and others. Her work has helped me connect back to myself time and time again. This new book is no exception! When I started to read the first few pages, I could feel my body soften and my breath slow. Reading How to Be Loving is a spiritual experience in and of itself and one that I look forward to each time that I open the book. Because this book focuses on divine love, it does not create separation among people depending on privilege, status, or wealth. These concepts are accessible to all just as love is within each of us. I read another review speaking to how this book does not acknowledge how so many people are in a state of survival and do not have the privilege to focus on spirituality and love. I would like to offer that this book is especially for those in a state of survival as it is speaking to the heaviness that the last couple of years have brought for so many of us and the collective suffering that has resulted. This book offers a gentle invitation to shift our perspectives even though many of our circumstances may not significantly change. These shifts in thinking and feeling can be significant and have a lasting impact on our overall wellbeing.

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love all things Danielle LaPorte, and this book is no exception. “Spirituality is the practice of thinking with love.” This book is what the world needs right now —all about moving from an emotion driven life to a heart centered life. Danielle has a gift of explaining all of our struggles in a way that is so relatable and understandable. She riffs on how to be more open, reflective, and loving… things we all need to be in this lifetime. Accepting Yourself, For Giving, Radiance… all balm for your soul. I loved this book, and I know it is one I will continue to come back to again and again. The hardcover edition is beautiful, the Kindle edition is fantastic, and she is wonderful to listen to on Audible (yes, I have each version). I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

[Dianne Murray]

I have been waiting on this book, or at least another book from La Porte for some time. She has changed a little over the years, normal to evolve. So, I was interested to see what she was going to put out into the world.

I really liked this book, it seems like perfect timing for me, perhaps with everything that's going on in the world right now it could not be timed better. I don't think it's for everyone, but anyone who is interested in self development/thought work etc. will enjoy this. There are some great nuggets. I listened to the audiobook read by La Porte, who is a great orator of course and I am looking forward to the paperback version.

[Michelle Millson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of Danielle Laporte so of course I was super excited for this book.
I loved this book. I feel that over the last few years, we have had to “live in our heads”. There is so much that we have had to think about and we may sometimes lose our way from how our hearts feel and following the guidance of the heart. This book calls you back to get in touch with yourself at the heart level and connect again to live. Sure to some it may seem “airy-fairy” or “ too simplistic” but more people getting in touch with their emotions and leading their lives from their heart is what we so desperately need right now,
Highly recommend reading this book.

[Jen Sasman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Medicine for your heart. Being a human these last few years have pushed and challenged all of us in ways we never could have imagined. So many of us were pushed so far from our center and this book is the compass to help guide us back home. Danielle’s writing reads like a letter from a dear friend. She speaks to your humanness and your divine nature with such poetry that I found myself feeling like this book was written just for me. Heart center if, heart melting, heart remembering. This book is our way back into our hearts and a way to reach back into the world around us with so much more love.

[Aysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s my bible. It’s one of the only titles I actually prefer on audiobook as Danielle recorded it herself, and honestly, hearing her speak love into the room is medicine.

I come back to her teachings often. Every time I unravel into a new understanding of the text, deeper meaning, more curious questioning.

[Alanna-Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Disappointing.

I think that Danielle Laporte has put some great things out into the world. The Desire Map continues to be an incredible tool (whether one asks how they want to feel or what they want to embody - you don’t need a guru or coach: switch up the questions you ask yourself).

This book is an unnecessary addition to our current world.

Sure, there are a few great points made. But there really isn’t anything new. It’s just another *Love + Light* essay with a small side of emotional awareness, completely inaccessible to the millions in absolute survival mode, written by one of the most privileged people alive (white, cishet, female, Canadian living in Vancouver, access to both free/public “sick care” and expensive preventive health care, access to therapy, access to her own home and incredible organic food, raised in Christianity, access to yoga and retreats and workshops, and all the fancy clothing and fad jewellery to wear there, loads of wealthy friends in the “wellness” industry, ability to travel, etc).

Given the current state of the world (climate change, war, poverty, the marginalization of and violence against so, so many, political divisiveness and ineffectiveness, and exponential increasing amounts of folks simply unable to meet their survival needs, etc) the author notes that she put this book out into the world because it was essential. I absolutely disagree! We need to stop perpetuating our current culture and start taking actions that will welcome EVERYONE into solutions and true wellness. This book does not lift others up unless they can pay to get there themselves, and don’t have any accessibility issues.

Absolutely, do your own spiritual and psychological work. Becoming aware enough to pause before we *react*, and create a constructive *response*, is essential to co-creating a better world. But that better world is one in which we actually hear from EVERYONE and construct solutions together that benefit us all.

So many authors in the business of selling *Love and Light* define specific words according to their own perspectives, and then tell us to believe the same (example from this book: “cutting cords” vs “letting go”). If we were all a little more curious and kind, as opposed to dogmatic and obsessed with our own definitions, then we could solve a lot of problems. Plus, the perception of *Harmlessness* from the viewpoint of someone with incredible privilege, can actually cause someone else deep harm regardless of intent (like continuing to use terms like *Medicine Woman* when so many Indigenous people have asked white people to stop doing so).

We may “be a solar system”, but we are also 3D human beings, living in our bodies and living within a complex ecosystem. Disassociating from the latter doesn’t change resultant effects. It is absolutely possible to embrace the Divine, live with an open-heart, a daily practice and “Radiant Happiness”, AND work to build a bigger table that brings everyone in. Being open to deeply listening to lived experience, but continuing to filter it through the lens of extreme privilege, is not helpful in the least. So many folks are lacking basic human needs and accessibility on a daily basis and/or are targeted each and every time they leave their own homes. These daily re-traumatizations and marginalizations don't require self-acceptance - the require an entire new set of systems that promotes vast unlearning, relearning, reconciliation, equalization and fundamental rights/safety/needs being continually met. Talking about "How to Be Loving" to more privileged folks doesn't help set that in motion. In fact, it ignores these necessities completely.

I am certain that thousands will disagree with me, especially as so many love to idolize celebrities and hang on their every word. However, this could have been a social media post, and it certainly lacks privilege and cultural awareness.

[Joseph Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book seems aimed towards people pleasers. It suffer some as an audio book, initially feeling a little unstructured. (I did not know the author previously, or her style of work.) As the book is largely narrated in first person, I felt myself disassociating when I didn't relate to what was being said. A particularly galling point of the book talked about when her partner was needlessly criticizing her, and she said something akin to "Ok. I have the space to take their shit today."

However, as I continued to listen, the book started to resonate with me, and I kind of understood the Buddhist like philosophy behind her teachings. There is a lot of teaching of acceptance of things, and focusing on the actions and thoughts which lead to more loving results, as opposed to spiraling into negativity. There is an interesting discussion on resolving pain and the traps we fall into. There is avoidance, which leaves the pain unresolved, and liable to creep up at the worst times when you're already mentally weak or suffering. There is over-focus on the suffering, leading to unnecessary multiplication of it. Even trying to understand can cause pain, when it not necessarily need to be fully understood to move beyond.

One of my major continuing grievances is taking unnecessary hurt from people who justify inflicting pain due to having a bad day. This book does not claim to solve this issue, but does show that the way to solve it is through loving, not through a cycle of retaliation. Where my default reaction is to robot-up and feel hurt later, this does remind me to try add more compassion to the analytics when trying to figure out why the other person is hurt. My other significant disagreement was around getting uninvolved in politics, when I think getting involved in community and politics is a significant way of loving your world, even when it can seem ungrateful or hostile for your efforts.

Overall, this is a needed positive book, applicable in a world that sometimes seems to thrive on outrage and anger. I liked this book much more than I expected to. Will definitely look at the author's other work.

[Rebecca Murauskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danielle is a sage, a beam of light, here to lovingly guide us back to ourselves. Her words magically transport me into a world without stress or strife—into a mindset of calm, hopeful ease.

The book reminded me that I could listen more. Be more present. Reflect. Receive. I loved the nudges toward more gentle, higher-quality thoughts. I can choose love, choose healing, choose forgiveness. They are always present and always available.

This book is the antidote to a lot of suffering and dis-ease. The most powerful chapter for me is Chapter 9 on Light & Shadow. Whoa! I'll re-read that annually as a reminder of how to interact with and really listen to my inner child.

However, I think this is my favorite passage:

"When we live more reflectively, we operate less reactively. The thing is, many of us aren't raised to live very reflective lives. And our productivity-obsessed culture won't have any of it. So instead of reflection, receptivity, and responsiveness, we tie ourselves to a looping track of reactiveness, and then we mostly sleepwalk through the days. We think we're really smart with our strategies and status of self-preservation, but running from love while looking out for #1 is a high form of foolishness. Because unconditional love is what we want the most. Regardless of our status or how many degrees, followers, or pretty things we own. No matter how much we have accomplished or overcome in the material world, what we yearn for is to rest and love."

The book will make great holiday gifts for my best girlfriends.

[Becky Heart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there another message more profound or needed in the world today? How do we Love? The words in this book call each of us to do better and be better, for ourselves and for other. All in the name of Love.

How do we Love parts of ourselves that we feel shame around? How can we possibly Love those who have done harm to us or others? How do we speak, act, and move through the world from a place of being Loving?

Danielle offers practices, asks questions, and shares practical applications for the teachings here. There is a theme of compassion (for self and other) throughout the book. Whew.

There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this book. I've written down numerous lines for quoting and for reading and studying myself. Here's one: "The day of the guru is over. No one outside of you has power over you. No one. Ever." Here's another: "Nothing leaves us until we fully Love it. We can't curse it to release it. We can't attack it to release it."

I could go on and on. In place of that, just read the book and tell me what you glean from it. ❤️

[Shelby Spear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Medicine for the collective soul! This book is 🔥... a portal to collective healing, change, and transformation. Love is THE only answer to all our needs, and Danielle sets a beautiful table and invites us to gather around as she explains WHY. Then she demonstrates HOW with exquisite spiritual practices, many I have been doing myself for years, and KNOW the incredible value they bring.

#howtobeloving is medicine for ALL. Every human will benefit from the countless blessings in this book. The ripple effect of cumulative positive change for humanity is infinite. All it takes is #heartcentered living where we allow the LOVE we are made of to flow unhindered.

Every page is full of tenderness, vulnerability, and plenty of capital T Truth. It is honest, real, and buzzing with the frequency of Divine Love. Read it as a gift to you, your family, children, community, friends, humanity, and Mother Earth. This, my friends, is a gift that will keep on giving for generations.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to be Loving feels like coming home.
It’s the warm embrace you’ve been waiting for …and yet didn’t even realize you were looking for. It gives you a permission slip to land inside yourself and trust that you already have all the answers within you. The constant seeking and striving for answers outside yourself stops. You are guided to just LOVE IT ALL - using feelings you already experience. No more fighting them. Just loving them. Inviting all feelings to take a seat at the table while LOVE walks around dishing out pieces of itself to calm their starving emotional needs. Love then takes a seat at the head of the table and asks, “Anyone want seconds?”. Imagine feeling THAT vast and giving. Never depleted. That’s what this book allows you to tap into within yourself. Thank you Danielle!

[Sandi Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danielle’s writing style is poetry meets mysticism and it’s delicious!
Thankfully she reads the audiobook herself. So, by adding her buttery, soothing voice to the already potent ideas, it just settles a little deeper into my soul.

How To Be Loving is a graceful blend of teaching a refreshing perspective with tools for implementation. It’s inspiration and support for getting (and staying) out of survival mode.

It’s a reference manual for a joyful and fulfilled life. And, totally accessible for anyone at any stage in their healing journey.

I’m constantly stopping and contemplating quotes that ring with resonance, feeling into them.

I plan on reading a chapter each morning before getting out of bed to set the tone for my day, like a sweet meditation.

Love heals. Like nothing else.
It’s a salve for our own hearts, and then we can spread that healing out into the world.

[Megan Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Danielle Laporte is able to write a book that speaks directly to our souls. She continues to be ahead of our evolution and puts into writing the wisdom that our hearts and minds are craving to hear.

This book offered me a pathway and guidance on how to listen to my own heart intelligence, who knew my own heart had so much to say. While I have spent a lot of $ and time seeking people and books to "fix me" I found this book to be an invitation to embrace my own softness and move through the world open. The virtues that Danielle offers are game changers, while I used to think my power came from boundaries and critiques, I now see that the true bravery of living in kindness and acceptance is the path for me.

This book speaks to the future of healing, the future of the collective shift we are moving through, and is a MUST READ as we all navigate the present times.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

My deepest gratitude goes to Danielle LaPorte -- for continuing to show up in a chaotic world to give humans gentle reminders and literal love notes. This book is filled with hope and love, and it is laced with grace and understanding. The words on these pages provided intention and reflection in ways I needed at this very moment. Life is hard... and sometimes you just need a little reminder: "Sometimes the dying formations within us will require a lot of attention. And we'll have to press pause on being a super conscious member of society, so we can fall apart over the weekend of feel our fears in the company of people who Love us high and Low us low." Be gentle. Be hopeful. Be love.

[Ruby Head · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a breath of fresh air... so full of insight, ah-ha moments and sheer beauty. It will challenge your beliefs, reorient stagnant thinking and call your bluff... Danielle LaPorte dives into edgy topics most people won't even tip toe around like cancel culture. She writes a warm unapologetic, humble, curious and wise exploration of how to be loving. This is poetic soul nectar and real tools. This is the manual for how to be a human, now. Side note: Get the hard copy bc of all the tools and its so beautiful, but also get the audio version bc its soooo fabulous to have her narrate.

[Sam Messersmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danielle LaPorte is a hug in written form, as well as audio. I love her soft voice which speaks to my soul. The ebook speaks to my soul as well. I thoroughly enjoyed her previous book The Desire Map, and still recommend that too. The Desire Map asked what do I want to feel, and How To Be Loving asks what do I want to embody. Just by possessing and ingesting this information already feels like I'm more of a loving person. She feels like such a high vibe spiritual person, but when you read between the lines and see her on Instagram you see that she's a real human too. She helps me to realize that it's okay to be unapologetically me. Highly recommend this book as part of your healing journey.

[Enya · Rating 5 out of 5]

'How to Be Loving' is more than words on a page! It's both a language of the soul and a language for the soul. This book gives permission for us to Be Loving in all our interactions and for sure this is deeply needed within our world just now. I am deeply grateful to Danielle La Porte for bringing this book to nourish us at a time when we crave that experience and there is a hunger for the language of love. Love being the balm for all the ails in our world. It unites and connects the whole human family. I highly recommend 'How to be Loving' as it offers an opportunity for compassion and love to take their rightful place in all communication.💖

[DebMarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not A One & Done

In my humble opinion this book is to be skimmed, highlighted, contemplated, read, absorbed, re-read, thought about some more; rinse and repeat, and again!
Life is a Work In Progress and this book is an excellent guide in what to do next to built yourself excellent self-care so as to be able to care for others. I plan to add the accompanying audiobook, journal, and deck to my personal library as well; further expanding my exploration into healing myself and my Inner Child who needs as much love and support as I can create to build a better future every day. <3

[Brooke Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book for the time we are entering, absolutely an essential that will be a guide and companion to anyone with a heart! Danielle weaves medicine through her words from her life and straight onto your heart and soul. You will have the science to understand further, the practices to experience and take with you, and the words and wisdom that will absolutely light you up from the inside out and expand you in ways you might have never dreamed. As an open hearted human who can feel alone living that way sometimes, this was a balm and lit more fire in me to keep walking my path.

[Jenn Toro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danielle LaPorte is curating a body of life's work that makes anyone's soul tingle, even if they're not the "spiritual type." When I saw that she was releasing a new book after five years, I knew I had to get my arms, er, heart around it. Her words are like salve for a broken world, her energy a gift for me and you. I've been digging into this work and imagine I will be digging in continuously to this wisdom. How to Be Loving is a force to be reckoned with and you can't afford NOT to dig in, too. Your soul will thank you!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's overall message is important in today's divisive culture. Unfortunately, her execution is muddled It's her usual mix of self disclosure, Woo-Woo concepts (energy healing, vibrations), and secular Buddhism and Christianity. It comes from a privileged and untrained White Lady advantage point, and would likely be the most palatable to others in the same demographic. Good starting point for the uninitiated, but if you want a more involved, intellectual and moving approach to this concept (especially from a social justice POV) read SEE NO STRANGER by Valarie Kaur.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were many words on the pages but it wasn’t cohesive, logical, or structured. I couldn’t follow any of it.....and I like the author’s previous work.

I see consistencies in books written during the pandemic - authors were at home and felt the need to write. And like the rest of us, they were wading through the unknown and fear of the time, and it definitely shows in the books that are now published.

Plus, the use of multiple fonts and styles served no purpose, other than distraction.

Why or how did this get published?