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Shopaholic to the Stars (Shopaholic #7) Page 39
Author: Sophie Kinsella

I’m momentarily silenced. She’s right. They are a bit weird. Alicia’s totally weird. But, then, if I don’t go to Golden Peace, how will I get to have coffee with Sage?

“I’ll be fine. I’ll only listen with one ear.”

“Well … all right.” Suze sighs. “But don’t get sucked in. Please.”

“I promise.” I cross my fingers.

I’m not going to admit the truth: I quite want to get sucked in. Because it’s occurred to me that if Sage goes to Golden Peace, who else might go? What career opportunities might there be? What if I meet some famous director and we get talking about the costumes for his next film over herbal tea, or whatever they drink. (Probably coconut water or yam water. Or banana water. Something gross like that.)

“Bex?”

“Oh.” I come to. “Sorry, Suze.”

“So, come on,” she demands. “What was Sage wearing? And don’t leave anything out.”

“Well …” I sit back happily, settling in for a proper long chat. L.A. is fab and exciting and everything—but I do miss my best friend.

From: Kovitz, Danny

To: Kovitz, Danny

Subject: I’m alive!!!!!!

dearest friends

i write this from training camp on the island of kulusuk. i have been here one day and already i know this will be a transformating experience for me. i’ve never felt so alive. i have taken shots of the snow ice and the cute inuit people with their darling clothes. i am ready for the challenge. i am ready to push myself. i am ready to be at one with the soaring powerful nature that is around me. it is a mystical experience. i feel proud and humbled and enlivened and excited. i will see landscapes few people have ever seen. i will push myself to the brink. my new collection will be based on the experience.

all my love and wish me luck. i will email again from the next camp.

danny xxxxx

All I can say is … wow. I mean, namaste. Or maybe satnam? (I’ve been learning lots of spiritual, yoga-ish words and trying to use them in conversation. Except that “satnam” always makes me think of “satnav.”)

Why have I never got into mind-body-spirit before? Why did I never do well-being classes in England? Or Navigate Your Inner Terrain? Or Sound Healing for Childhood Damage? I’ve been attending Golden Peace for two weeks now, and it’s transformed my life. It’s just amazing!

For a start, the place is fantastic. It’s a huge site on the coast, just south of L.A. It used to be a golf club, but now it’s all low sandy-colored buildings and koi lakes and a running track, which I’m totally intending to use sometime. Plus they sell fresh juices, and healthy meals, and there’s free yoga at lunchtime on the beach, and in the evenings they show inspirational movies outside while everyone lolls on beanbags. Basically, you don’t ever want to leave.

I’m sitting in a room with a dark-wood floor and billowing white curtains at the windows and softly fragranced air. All the rooms at Golden Peace smell the same—it’s their signature scent of ylang-ylang and cedar and … some other healthy thing. You can buy the scented candles at the gift shop. I’ve already bought eight, because they’ll make perfect Christmas presents.

All the spending-addiction programs were full when I phoned up, but that doesn’t matter, because this really nice girl, Izola, recommended a whole program of general well-being classes for me. The point is, everyone can work on their soul and inner being, because the spiritual muscle needs exercise like any other. (I read that in the brochure.)

I do self-esteem group on Mondays, Compassionate Communication on Tuesdays, The Transitive Self on Wednesdays, and this brilliant class called Tapping for Well-Being on Fridays. Right now it’s a Thursday morning, and I’m in Mindfulness for a Positive Life. At the start of the class, the teacher always says how hard mindfulness is and how it will take time to let go of the outside world, and we mustn’t be impatient with ourselves. But, actually, I find it easy. I think I must be a natural.

The group is quiet, and we’re all meditating on something in the room, which is what we do every week. Luckily, the people at Golden Peace are all really stylish, so there’s always something interesting to meditate on. Today I’m focusing on a gorgeous leather backpack in teal, which the dark-haired girl opposite me has slung below her chair. I want to ask her if they come in slate gray, but perhaps I’ll do that after the class.

“Brian,” says our teacher, Mona, in a soft voice. “Could you please vocalize for us your mindfulness journey today? What are you meditating on?”

I’ve seen Brian before. He’s tall and buff with quite a prominent nose, which is unusual in L.A., and he brings in a Starbucks, although I’m sure that’s not allowed.

“I’m focusing on the grain in the wooden floor,” says Brian, in a stilted voice. “I’m looking at the way the wood swirls around and ebbs and flows. I want to think about my ex-wife, but I’m going to push those thoughts away.” He sounds suddenly fierce. “I’m not going to think about her or her lawyer—”

“Brian, don’t judge yourself,” says Mona gently. “Simply allow your thoughts to return to the floor. Absorb every detail. Every line, every speck, every curve. Be in the moment. Try to reach a heightened sense of awareness.”

Brian exhales. “I’m in the moment,” he says shakily, his eyes riveted on the floor.

“Good!” Mona smiles. “Now, Rebecca?” She turns to me. “We haven’t heard much from you. How is your meditation going today?”

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Sophie Kinsella's Novels
» My Not So Perfect Life
» Twenties Girl
» I've Got Your Number
» Can You Keep a Secret?
» Shopaholic and Sister (Shopaholic #4)
» Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (Shopaholic #2)
» Remember Me?
» The Undomestic Goddess
» Shopaholic Ties the Knot (Shopaholic #3)
» Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic #1)
» Shopaholic to the Stars (Shopaholic #7)
» Mini Shopaholic (Shopaholic #6)
» Shopaholic & Baby (Shopaholic #5)
» Finding Audrey