Inspirations From the Universe by Nick Olsen is a collection of short poems intended to “promote personal growth while elevating spiritual growth” according to the author. His ultimate goal is to help in creating a “global community of Spirit.” He explains that these writings were channeled from the universe’s realities through him and were delivered onto the page in their purest form. On his acknowledgment page, he thanks the Creator of the Universe, and in his preface, he quotes Proverbs 22:11. Nand Harjani, the creator of Creative Live Sciences, writes the foreword, indicating that Mr. Olsen’s writings are representative of his program, which seems to be a spiritual movement incorporating universal principles of most religions. Words and phrases like “aura,” “nirvana,” “soul mandate,” “angels,” and “soul evolution” pop up as descriptors of this spiritual movement. Mr. Olsen says that these poems came to him inspirationally, and he simply recorded them.

These poems inspired me as they will any person who is seeking or already involved in holistic spiritual ideas. They speak of compassion, love, forgiveness, clarity of mind, determination, hope, wisdom, and peace, to list a few. They also mention the enemies of human development such as personal ego, selfishness, doubt, guilt, and shame. Mr. Harjani points out the poem “What If,” and my favorite is “So Simple Then,” which centers around the concrete childhood image of a sliding board. Most of the metaphors are more abstract, but they all point us toward perfecting the integration of “mind, body, and soul.” These poems will make you think, each one moving you to a more complete view of the universe and mankind’s role in it. I know I will be coming back to Inspirations From the Universe by Nick Olsen again and again.