You can readily find ‘s list (on her website) of the subtitle of her new book, Undimmed.
The eight awarenesses Maks has devised are her version of something akin to “the 12 Steps” of addiction recovery:
- Clarity. My life is better clear.
- Choice. I choose what I consume.
- Intuition. My intuition defines my priorities and I pursue a life that reflects them.
- Healing. I seek to understand my trauma, but do not make it my identity.
- Freedom. Forgiveness and letting go are on the path to liberation.
- Respect. I don’t judge or impose my limitations on others.
- Time. Time is our most precious currency.
- Service. I seek ways to support others, especially in times of abundance.
How and why did Mak come up with these? She’d quit drinking, a decision unrelated to addiction or the desire to make a long-term sobriety commitment. “She had simply realized that alcohol helped her avoid difficult feelings―but that it dimmed the good parts of her life along with the bad. She wanted to live her life with clarity, not avoid it,” states the publisher.
Among the author’s main points in Undimmed is that you don’t have to wait to hit bottom in order to make big life changes. Furthermore, “What you use to dim your life may not be a substance―it might even be something healthy, like exercise, food, or work. And every dimmer exists on a spectrum from use, to heavy use, to potential abuse or worse. It’s not about what you do, but how and why you do it.”
Publishers Weekly: “Mak explains how readers can break free from their own ‘dimming habits,’ like binge-eating or overworking, which minimize difficult feelings but make it harder to live intentionally and to fully connect with others. Readers can do so by recognizing and acting on eight core truths, among them the notions that life is better ‘clear’ and that one’s trauma isn’t their identity. (Overidentifying with the pain and fear that drives one’s coping mechanisms can perpetuate self-defeating narratives, according to Mak.) Readers will appreciate Mak’s refreshingly candid exploration of her attempts to live more authentically, and her flexible, middle-of-the-road approach wisely leaves room for cutting back on or reframing harmful habits rather than abstaining from them entirely.”
As Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, the founder of the therapeutic model Internal Family Systems says in his review, “In Undimmed, Cecily Mak offers a profoundly compassionate invitation: Can we meet even our most entrenched habits with curiosity and care, rather than judgment? She reminds us that freedom doesn’t come from battling against the parts of ourselves that compel us to dim our light, but from learning to listen to them as guides toward wholeness.”
