Mystical Mentor: Breaking Through Barriers Finding Peace of Mind

Dick Warn
Trafford Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9781425161651
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (6/08)


A chance encounter at an international Toastmaster meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, introduced Dick Warn to a mystical mentor who changed his life.  His mentor, Russell Swank, was a self-made millionaire.  He did not acquire his wealth easily.  He had some hard lessons to learn on his path.  Turning negative events into lessons provided him with some tremendous learning experiences.  He took the author Dick Warn under his wing to provide him with some guidance to get him started on his journey of breaking through barriers to find peace of mind. 

Mr. Warn learned we are here to learn from our experiences.  We choose what kind of life we want to experience.  Heaven and Hell are states of mind which we are experiencing right now.  It is up to us to decide which one we want to experience.  Each day is a new day that offers us a fresh start and a chance to be the person that we want to be.  Russell provided him with exercises to help him discover what his three top goals for living were.  He also had him identify barriers that were holding him back.  I wrote these exercises down in my journal.  It was fascinating for me to realize that one of my barriers holding me back is that I buy things that I don’t need to try to fill a void that cannot be filled by things that I don’t need.  How simple and basic this is, yet I had never put it into words prior to this exercise.   Quoting Russell Swank, he states, “The battles that need to be won are within.”

There is also a very powerful exercise that involves creating a forgiveness deck of cards. On these cards you write the name of a person that has hurt you and a prayer forgiving them and releasing them.  In a few short minutes of creating these cards, I found myself forgiving and releasing people.  There were a few that I was totally able to release in that moment.  There are still a few that I will need some time to work on.  What is interesting is that the day before reading “Mystical Mentor,” an ex-boyfriend offered an apology for his atrocious behavior during our relationship.  What a gift I received in that phone call.  I feel that I will be able to forgive and release him much easier now. 

In addition to reading about Mr. Warn’s powerful experiences with Russell Swank, the book also offers a large selection of quotes taken from various powerful mentors who have gone before us.  I really enjoyed taking the time to read and contemplate what was being said.  I also found a list of books that he suggests reading.  I already have about a quarter of these books in my book room. Unfortunately, I had only read one of them. 

I found “Mystical Mentor” to be an incredibly insightful and inspiring book.  I appreciated Mr. Warn’s willingness to tell his story and to do it so openly.  Once he started his journey, he still encountered some rough spots that became tremendous learning experiences.  By being so candid and honest, readers will appreciate his book so much more.  I am truly grateful for having the opportunity to read “Mystical Mentor.”  It came along at the perfect time.  Now that I am done with it, I have a reading list to get to work on.  I look forward to rereading it after I have read the books on the list.  Enjoy your journey.