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Reviewsby Michou Landon, unless otherwise notedReview PolicyMt. Shasta Magazine does not do reviews in-house. If you have a book, CD, DVD or product you would like us to review, you should send two copies. The first is to our editor, who has final approval on all reviews, at Mt Shasta Magazine, POB 1289, Mt. Shasta, CA 96067. The second goes to our reviewer, Michou Landon, PO Box 20391, Boulder, CO 80308-3391. With reviews only, preference is given to advertisers. Those wanting to reprint a review in another publication should contact our editor for approval. There is a small fee involved.
BooksTitle: Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy Common wisdom recognizes that depression is at some level suppressed or inverted anger. Eric Wilson does little to disguise his. To a degree not sanctioned by conventional society, this is probably healthy. That is his point. However, Against Happiness's praise of the melancholy leans immoderately into the indulgent at times. In that way, it is good therapy, for author and reader alike. Breathing through the bumps as Wilson's analyses turn to tirade is good exercise in meeting any of life's gales of insult with courage and compassion. Moreover, it's hardly news that when we suppress natural emotion — even for minutes, hours or years, not to mention generations — the intensity when it is, at last, met and expressed, does tend to the dramatic. Afterward though, life and vision are cleansed and revitalized. And we move on, feeling more restful and whole. Melancholia is in us all personally and instinctively. Whether conscious or unconscious, it's a prime motivator. Wilson's poetically athletic swim into the depths dolor and despond is an enjoinder for us to wake up, own up, and get honest. Again and again, he returns to the conclusion facing and embracing fear of death and anger at life's uncertainty is what yields the most pure and genuine courage, life, love and ease. It's simple but it ain't easy. It's painful and beautiful — kinda like life. The book takes rather derisive aim at the dominant proponents of false contentment and complacent narcotizing of natural, vital undulations in mood. He considers this living death. And it seems to mortify him more than the ache and lashes of a life authentically experienced. In many people it is this very indignance, about the original fall from innocence and then the desperate denial of it, that engenders the rampant and underground rage-induced moribundity quietly suffered by so many people. That his accusing tone toward those he calls "happy types," can be so off-putting actually illuminates how entrenched we all are in the conditioning to censor or sublimate our true feelings. When someone else does, less than politely, we cringe, as if we fear being too close to one about to be struck by the lightning of God's wrath! Strong ferment though Wilson's little book can be, it is a valuable read, offering a balancing catharsis to all of us. (It's an especially rude jolt to the new age trance!) Whether we are guiltily or unabashedly melancholics (part time, full time, conscious or closeted) or whether we are more happy types (of the conventional or new age variety), it's important to remember how to wallow, which is the only way to genuinely experience the grounded, genuine elevation that is its complement. The key is, then, to move on. Wilson simply admonishes us not to do so prematurely. Wilson's philosophy seems anchored in an inevitably human, body-identified perspective. This is not a problem; it's where most human's live. In his examination of many important visionaries in our history propelled by melancholia, he observes their uneasy reconciliation with death as part of life and as fuel for creation. He doesn't however attempt to proffer equal attention to the immortal nothingness in the everything-and-nothingness of it all. Many others have done that magnificently before and since. What Wilson offers here is an invitation on a wordy walk through the valley of the shadow of death... to catharsis and deeper integrity. Title: Alchemy of the Heart: Transforming Turmoil into Peace through Emotional Integration Since publication of The Presence Process, Michael Brown has inevitable continued to refine and deepen his understanding and presentation, as evinced in his subsequent CD program A Walk Through the Presence Process and the periodic essays posted to his email subscribers and on his website, thepresenceportal.com. Alchemy of the Heart consolidates these refinements and embellishments in book form, reorganizing the arc and emphasis of his insights somewhat, and presenting it in an incrementally digestible format. It sounds neither complimentary nor accurate enough to say it is "Michael Brown in sound-bites." However, something of its structure definitely harkens to the daily meditation books that have proliferated in recent years, and perhaps more favorably, to the ACIM (A Course in Miracles) Workbook. Each essay picks up and advances the trail of the last. This encourages readers to pause and digest. It also cultivates a tendency for repetition, for better or worse. Even while his argument asserts the necessity for experiential exploration and application to finding one's way out of the dead-end of cogitative paths to "enlightenment," Alchemy of the Heart emphasizes Being over Doing. (It actually prescribes "Non-doing," which is, admittedly, a paradoxical concept to serve to a mind, which is by nature oriented to doing!) Thus it de-emphasizes the centerpiece 10-week "process" and practices for which his first book was named. That said, The Presence Process itself, is likely a very valuable step for many. Without it, the evolutionary support offered in both books can risk becoming just another mental exercise. I believe that Brown himself has said that folks will find this work when they are ready to undertake it. Hopefully, the capacity of awareness and will required to adequately appreciate and apply Brown's insights and devices would be accompanied in the reader by the inclination and integrity to do so — responsibly, honestly and compassionately. Certainly, as one advances, processes and practices can swiftly become crutches, distractions and hindrances. Moreover, be assured that the key principles have not been abandoned. We are concisely reacquainted with the Seven Year Cycle, the Pathway to Awareness so eloquently introduced in The Presence Process, as well as with Consciously Connected Breathing. In addition, the author increases his use of his device for unlocking hidden meanings by dissecting key familiar phrases and words phonetically. This will appeal to some more than others, but it is a helpful, sometimes uncanny, tool for alchemizing the patina on our "trance-fixed" perceptions. Having read and valued both books, The Presence Process impressed me as a more graceful read. However, there is plenty to be appreciated in Alchemy of the Heart, both in its differences and its reprises from its antecedent. We have all evolved since the first book. Reading the second provides worthy testament to that, as well as to an elasticity it shares with the first; that is, the promise that the insights it reveals will deepen as we do, with each read. In this respect, its incremental format of shorter, distinct chapters may make Alchemy of the Heart a more accessible candidate for re-visitation. Title: The Alchemical Woman: A Handbook for Everyday Soul Work The Alchemical Woman: A Handbook for Everyday Soul Work is just that, a handbook almost a work book, for harvesting the gifts of the perpetual process underway, that, when we tune into it, reveals every day to be hardly "every-day." It isn't meant to be a comprehensive exposition on the tools and topics of Alchemy or Jungian Therapy. It's more of a lab manual for self-directed students! That said, it's effective and informative and manages much richness in its brevity. The slim paperback serves as an impressionistic slideshow of each of six stages of Alchemy (Nigredo, Lapiz, Albedo, Citrinitas, Rubedo, Cuniuncto), which invite each reader to bring her personal chemistry into relationship with the images, in order to draw out the truth and story essential to her. Key impressions and archetypes are invoked through a rhythmic combination of poetry, anecdotal sketches and dream-like visions, and a little background on Alchemy and Jung's application of it to the human psyche; and they evoke and support a process unique to each reader. Alchemical Woman... carries the raw power of the mystical and subconscious realms not ordered by, or accessible to, the intellect. It takes strands from that mysterious thicket and weaves them into a conceptual and thematic flow, and from these fashions tools for translating wild and murky intelligence into human illumination, self-awareness and evolution. Especially at first read, some of the ideas expressed do not always feel fully clear or complete. In a way, that is a suitable reflection of the life and processes it purports to facilitate. This lures the reader into a deeper participation and intuition. Anyone (male or female) identified with the path of evolution or professions related to healing or psyche will likely value this little book, revisit it, and share it with others. Title: Alphatudes: The Alphabet of
Gratitude English is filled with words combining roots, suffixes and prefixes and sometimes clever conjoining of root fragments to name a newly introduced or recognized concept or contraption. The successful ones ring true, anchored in an adherence to the established rules of the game. A concoction like alphatude, although its meaning is recognizable instantly, is the sort of false construction that makes a linguist wince. Still, life and language somehow survive the careening glances of imprecision and are perpetually sculpted by it. This is a cause for Gratitude; and nourishing, liberating Gratitude is the cause of this book, as well as the companion journal and cards that should also available when the book is released in September (2009). The Love and Wisdom conveyed in the book is grounded and genuine. What's more, the combination of the rich and delectably transporting illustrations by Michael Albee with the affirmation and the prayer that accompany each of the twenty six entries, support the book's luminous bouquet. If you haven't guessed, author Michele Wahlder is presenting a simple tool in which a powerful meditation on Gratitude can be structured using the abc's. The reader is invited to create their own alphatude meditations organically in any moment, using the words that come up then. What she presents here is sort of a master list, offering terms that describe or invoke universal, spiritual aspects of the human condition: from Acceptance, Beauty, Choice, through Hope, Laughter, Serendipity, Work, and even Zzz (sleep!) In a given moment, however, when a person's state might not connect to the loftiest states, simply coming to presence with what is, and using this game to anchor one's attention, promotes a return to gratitude and beatitude. One might simply scan the inner and outer landscape for some thing starting with A, then B, then C, choosing to connect to each appreciatively in turn. It's good therapy. When one has the book handy, simply opening to the beauty and knowing innocence of the illustrations, or connecting to the well-worded prayers and affirmations could also be greatly supportive. Michel Wahlder isn't offering anything startlingly new here, but the simple tool she presents is disarmingly effective: refreshing and comforting. It would make a cherished gift to all but the most curmudgeonly intellectual. It is a book recommended without reservations; the title, alas, only begrudgingly! Title: A New Earth: Awakening to your Life's Purpose And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. A New Earth is Eckhardt Tolle's first full-length book since 1999's landmark, The Power of Now. That isnât surprising since The Power of Now pretty much said it all; and it has continued to reach and sustain people through repeated readings and through follow-up releases that refine and embellish its themes (e.g. Even the Sun Must Die, Practicing the Power of Now, and Stillness Speaks). In truth, the same themes are again examined in A New Earth, the first two thirds of which serve as a cumulative compendium of the wisdom Tolle has so eloquently offered to date. These lay the foundation for the final third of the book, which deepens the discussion into practical and cosmological relevance for these quickening times and the evolutionary shifts he affirms are inevitably underway. "You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are," states Tolle in The Power of Now. The focus of A New Earth is to clarify that purpose and how it plays out in the universal as well as individual realms — all inextricably intertwined. "Your life has an inner purpose and an outer purpose. Inner purpose concerns Being and is primary. Outer purpose concerns doing and is secondary," Tolle states in one of the final chapters. "Your inner purpose is to awaken. You share that with every other person on the planet. Your outer purpose can change over time [and] varies greatly from person to person. Finding and living in alignment with the inner purpose is the foundation for fulfilling your outer purpose." The purpose of A New Earth is to support the universal purpose by supporting each individual in realizing his purpose (which thus supports every other individual in his own realization). It is about aligning consciously with the common interest of all. There are numerous beautiful, eloquent passages and metaphors in the unfolding of A New Earth. The expanded discussion of the gifts, traps and manifestations of the Pain Body is particularly astute. Along the way, Tolle reminds us how just recognizing who we are not is key to realizing who we are. He illustrates how even tangible, solid things are perceived through thought filters, so that everything is actually thought and how thought itself is of world of form. He explains how who we are arises from, and is, the "nothingness" around this and including it. He infuses familiar contemplative tools with grounding insight for instance, "This too shall pass" must be applied not only to negative experience but equally to all that can be perceived. Although much may be a review for some readers, and even though the mind may throw up "I know's" and push to skip ahead. Drink deep. The sections within the chapters are relatively brief, deliberately designed for digestive pauses in between. This itself demonstrates keen understanding of the human mind and how to compassionately employ it to best advantage in the game of Awakening in which it plays double agent. Every paragraph holds great gifts and prepares us for the final chapters in which this readers found the greatest rewards. The familiarity (for some readers) of the book's themes and assertions makes it no less valuable. The clarity, assurance, precision and sagacity with which Tolle communicates awakens the same spacious lucidity and knowing within the reader. Listening to this illumined voice, we recognize the flame of this Truth dancing in every cell and space of our being. As we read, these flames merge and feed each other. It's rather like the inspiring and replenishing effect of passing an evening by the fire in the quiet, safe company of a wise friend. Such is the steady companionship of the true Self. Title: A Particle of God Failure is as imaginary as fame. Teddy Bart is a veteran Radio and TV talk show host from Nashville. He grounds the wisdom he wishes to convey in his novel, A Particle of God, in the world he knows. It is this fondness and admiration for, as well as his intimacy with, the world and the luminaries of broadcasting, combined with the importance of his message, that keeps us engaged. Well, that and the poignant and credible portrait he paints of his main character, radio personality Joey Robin, even when the character's experiences land him soundly in realms most would deem incredible. As times change and ratings slide, Joey Robin loses his position as a Memphis broadcasting fixture when he won't agree to the now-common slide of standards demanded to spike controversy and ratings. Without a professional outlet for his passion, long simmering insecurities about career, his purpose, his worth, understandably boil up and threaten to drown him in self-pity. Then the fun begins; and while he isn't as intransigent as some protagonists, it takes him a while to enjoy it! The novel, a sweet and fast read, is flawed in many ways, but demonstrates an unseasoned (I assume) writer's talent for observing and conveying human nature insightfully, and his potential, with experience, to craft a narrative with richer, more efficient prose, to match and demonstrate his depth of understanding for the subject matter. Mr. Bart has managed to make us care about a character quite morose when we meet him, partly because Robin's predicament is one with which all too many of us is familiar. To elaborate too much would deflate the value of reading the book. In brief, Bart's quick, contemporary narrative conjures up a parable which examines potent cultural and existential themes: fulfilling one's life purpose, what defines true success, and the distinction between true fulfillment and external recognition. These are crucial matters to make peace with amid the sometimes-crushing demands of our You are what you do (and how you appear) culture; and matters so many of us struggle with, even when we may “know” better! I dare say these themes are therapeutically exercised in the reader as s/he follows Joey Robin through his paces. Moreover, the light-hearted and high-powered help he gets will either may simultaneously spark in the reader envy and renewed faith. So, even in spite of some patches of somewhat hackneyed prose, mixed metaphors, grammatical glitches, and some unclear plot passages — especially during the last few muddled pages — the spirit and wisdom of this little novel speak well for it, and speak well enough to the reader to sneak up and serve them a dose of valuable remembrance! Each of us is an essential Particle of God, but not every particle can or need be seen and recognized by every other particle. Enjoy the view from where you are…and wave (as I hear particles do). Title: The Autism Prophecies Author of Autism and the God Connection and The Soul of Autism, Bill Stillman is an inspired advocate for all those on the autism spectrum, and, in fact, counts himself among them, as one with Asperger's Syndrome. The Autism Prophecies is a continuation of the message of his previous books, filling out a trilogy in which each volume explores related themes with a different emphasis. As I said in my review of the first book, what is important about these books extends beyond matters of autism. There are profound messages for reframing our assumptions and behaviors around diversity, personal responsibility and trust in that which is bigger than all of us. Anyone born sensitive, whether saddled with official diagnosis or conspicuous "disability" or not, can relate to and find validation — even fellowship — in these books. Earnestness, heart and experience are what carry these books. Stillman's writing style can be an awkward combination of formal syntax and vexing imprecision in his use of language and vocabulary. This, in fact, engenders a gracious case of form illustrating content! For, just because something or someone doesn't communicate according to convention does not make it less viable and valuable. These divergences from the norm can actually profoundly expand our capacities beyond the constraints of the standard. Where would we be without the eccentric geniuses of history? It is argued more and more that genius and autism are not so distant cousins. In The Autism Prophecies, Stillman explores the psychic acuities and susceptibilities characteristic of those with autism, those internal conditions that make them so often gifted seers, healers and savants. He also relates a lot of evidence of their particular vulnerability to less-than-benevolent forces (malevolent entities, if you will), and suggests that some behaviors associated with autism can be reflections of that struggle, and can be effectively addressed as such. In a lovely, cogent passage on remedies for "ill-intended" presences — like exorcisms and blessings — he even boldly asserts, "The blessing is not the antidote — the antidote is love within a family united." After gently leading the reader through accounts of what for some may seem increasingly far-out events, he ends the book with the themes that give us its title, demonstrating the potential, in the rarified psyches of this uniquely sensitive population, for prophetic gifts and clarity. There was much that was compelling in the section; but something in the presentation of evidence here felt less clear, coherent and strong in support of his thesis than in other areas. In The Autism Prophecies, Stillman claims no absolutes. He is simply advancing an imperative to presume intellect and to respect different ways of being and cognizing as equally valid, valuable, and ultimately complementary. Beyond that he is professing his own personal experience and interpretations and those of others he counsels and supports (autistics, family, support workers, etc.). The heart and wisdom of the message is relatively little impaired by the vagaries and idiosyncrasies of his language. So, just adjust your sets, ladies and gentlemen, and be inspired by the message and some very poignant (even disarming) reports from the frontier. Title: Being In Balance While the author doesn't appear to say anything in this release that hasn't been said elsewhere, New York Times best-selling author Wayne Dyer has the potential to reach a lot of people with this little book of priceless wisdom. His established reputation is just one selling point among many; these include the book's light, non-denominational presentation, its portable size, feel, appearance and readability. This exposition of "Nine Principles for Creating Habits to Match your Desires" is basically variations on a theme: The Law of Attraction, which is also spotlighted in the splashy DVD The Secret currently making the rounds of self-help and new age circles. Dyer's presentation differs enough that the two offerings complement one another. Morever, human beings struggling to transcend and transmute the pervasive and ubiquitous conditioning to the contrary can benefit from as much reinforcement as possible here. The Law of Attraction states that energy follows attention; you get what you think about, positive or negative, like it or not. That puts the responsibility for manifesting what aligns with our truest aspirations and nature squarely in our individual laps. Once understood and employed consciously, the law of attraction offers new choices and liberation from the bondage of habitual patterns of self-sabotage, thus empowering us to be what we wish to see in the world. Dyer reaches out to the average American (and most Westerners), using familiar examples to illuminate the key obstacles or choice points where our challenges, wounds and cultural conditioning most often lead us out of balance, out of alignment with our dream. While offering much valuable insight here, this book bogs down in the paradox to which most oracles of this wisdom are susceptible. If the assertion is that we attract what we think about, whether in positive or negative terms, then resisting or focusing on what we don't want (in order to avoid it) strengthens or proliferates it in our lives. Therefore, any thought or declaration referring to what we don't want would seem counter productive. Yet a number of his suggested affirmations still include terms of negation or aversion. The energy of opposition is there. The paradox is that the purity of the message feels somehow sullied to the degree it has to describe negative example in contrast to positive. Still, don't kill the messenger. Recognition of elements incongruent with Love, Peace, Truth, Abundance, etc., is an important step. As soon as possible, however, we must drop from mental into energetic; we must move beyond "just say No" to living in Yes. Title: Buddhism Day by Day: Wisdom for Modern Life There seems a fashion resurging in spiritual publishing right now: the daily contemplation book. Many appeared in time for the holiday season. Although it is set up to start on (any) January 1, Buddhism Day by Day is due out in February 2007. As with most of offerings of this genre, however, the wisdom and value offered are hardly touched by time. This collection is compiled by Daisaku Ikeda, the president of Soka Gakkai Int'l, which "promotes world peace and individual happiness based on the teachings of the Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism" (according to its website, www.sgi.org). Nichiren is probably best known for its central mantra "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo," which is a Japanese translation of the title of the Lotus Sutra. In addition to quoting from the Lotus Sutra, Dr. Ikeda draws passages from many other sources, including his own wisdom. The book, a satisfying size and weight and five-inch square shape, is as simple, elegant, and solid as the wisdom it contains; the daily passages rarely exceed two to three quietly eloquent sentences. The effect is sane and grounding, promising one who undertakes a rhythmic practice of sitting with each day's remembrance a rejuvenating, encouraging oasis. One need not be Buddhist to benefit. One need only be human. Title: Choosing to Be: Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen Master "I have lived with several Zen Masters — all of them cats." Eckhardt Tolle's oft-quoted statement encapsulates such an essential recognition held about cats that it hovers above the title — on the cover of my advanced reading copy, at least — of Kat Tansey's book Choosing to Be. By now there must be more than one term for the genre of "hybrid" narratives that fictionalize non-fiction to focus the truth. A cascade of recent new-age novels uses the skeletal structures of romance, memoir, or adventure thriller through which to weave metaphysical truths, teaching stories or cosmologies. Kat Tansey's book reads pretty straightforwardly (and sympathetically) as autobiographical, save for the ongoing two-way conversations she has with her cat, the venerable Poohbear Degoonacoon, whose name rivals that of many a Tibetan master! Just call him Poohbear (recalling another character borrowed for a modern book of Taoist teaching.) I confess it is these two-way exchanges that, while essential to the book, I found most challenging. As I implied at the outset, it is not the capacity of a cat to impart Zen wisdom that I question. It is that, in the tradition of Zen, cats customarily have done so quite effectively by example. I confess that in the book, the conversations seemed (to me) below the cat. Therefore, an objecting reader is asked to swallow her resistance and admire the compassion this creature demonstrates in what, now and then, strikes as implausibly frivolous repartee. That said, this should not discourage any cat snobs from enjoying the book's valuable wisdom! (Rest assured that these exchanges never sink anywhere near the sort of banter one wades through in books like Gary Renard's Disappearance of the Universe.) Tansey's narrative is one of poignancy and simplicity, recounting not only her discoveries and deepening in meditation and self-inquiry, but the challenges that accompany ill-health and other of life's apparent insults. Anyone who has given themselves to a committed meditation practice, anyone who has suffered the hard-won lessons of chronic affliction, in short, anyone who has even somewhat wakefully met the humbling demands of dismantling conditioned illusions or illness, will appreciate this book. No matter where you are on that journey, this book offers encouragement, validation and support. A wealth of understanding and compassion awaits in the words—and between the lines—of this slim and simple book, which manages to describe humanness without succumbing much to sentimentality. The insights are simple, yes — blessedly — but not overly simplistic. The author spends half the book demonstrating and mastering the "Hindrances," as they are called in Buddhism, that subvert our easy progress. These are what test our resolve and cultivate personal responsibility — two pillars of an enduring practice and its application in Life.A teaching story about a journey of healing through a stabilizing practice, the book cannot help but also be a commentary about what in our society discourages health and personal responsibility. As is exemplified in the story, our work is to significant degree individual, but, ultimately it both requires and benefits community (Sangha in Buddhism.) May this book find its Sangha. Title: Decoding The Lost Symbol Dan Brown's blockbuster page-turner The Lost Symbol is a good, intense and potentially inspiring thriller for psyche and Spirit. It follows the reasonably compelling and lucrative formula of its predecessors (Angels and Demons, Da Vinci Code), and it packs a lot of history and homily into its pages. Nonetheless, as many of the pivots and clues in the book reference factual people, places and things, there is a lot more to be known about them, and sometimes clarification due, as Brown employs them selectively for narrative convenience or efficiency. So, following close on the heels of each of his books is an expository volume by researcher Simon Cox. Decoding the Lost Symbol really offers far less literal "decoding" than the novel itself. However, the elucidations and annotations he offers here do contain supplemental background information and clarifications that help the reader grasp just how much of what is claimed (often exclaimed) in the book is relatively objective fact. It further offers alternate theories on a matter, event or personage where there have been others not mentioned by in Brown's breakneck narrative. I confess that not all the entries really held more information than I hadn't already gleaned. However, that will vary with each reader. It's a handy book to have, especially if one was impressed enough with these dense novels to pore over them repeatedly. Another significant effect Cox's companion volume had for me was to focus my admiration for how skillfully Brown himself manages to deliver all the expository information that he does in those novels. Sometimes it is cumbersome and contrived, but, once one acclimates to the style, he really succeeds quite impressively in imparting and selling an astonishing volume of information and argument. It really is compelling. Title: The Doubting Snake In the "tradition" quickened by the Celestine Prophecy, Bob Klein offers us The Doubting Snake, a teaching fable in adventure format, which takes us to places at once far away, intimate, strange and familiar. He does so in a read so speedy that a reader could almost too easily consume it without digesting it adequately. One would hope, though, as with the snake who swallows his prey whole, the content will find its way to the inner spaces that most need its nourishment. This is not a work crafted of intricate, poetic language; instead, a simple, expedient vernacular invokes poetic realities. The beauty is less in the style and more in lush regions, cultures and cosmologies it describes, and in the invisible realms it remarkably and simply illuminates. Hearing their nameless names intoned in this casual prose invites these realms to awaken where they are buried in the reader, under the concrete and ring tones of our dehydrated, superficial, inhumanly-paced modern existence. The uncomplicated plot, engaging but not superlatively riveting, concerns a zoologist who stumbles into intrigue that finds him suddenly transplanted to the Panamanian jungle, caught between opposing realities and forces that purport to influence the very immediate fate of our technological civilization. Although the hero can seem a bit of a dolt sometimes, all perspectives are given insightful voice in the course of the book; and more appreciably, they leave room for the reader's own convictions to coalesce or evolve. The teachings are what make it worth reading; for those whose lives already run deep shamanic currents, it is good company. Accompanying the "hero," as he learns to tune in to his own truths and tap the deep current connecting all phenomena, allows us to tune in as well. So, we're in good company as we hear our own voice rise in the chorus. The ending, while it struck me as anticlimactic, leaves the reader hanging — and wide open for a sequel; this seems to parallel the impatience many experience in this time that feels like the imminent culmination of human life as we know it. The warrior within each of us is invited to: Wake up; deeply see and listen; remember what reality is really made of; and honor, cultivate and harness our connectedness, consciousness, power, and history in order to reinvent our culture in a Golden Age. Not bad for a galloping little novel! Title: Entangled Minds Maintaining an open mind is essential when exploring the unknown, but allowing one's brains to fall out in the process is inadvisable. Author of Conscious Universe, scientific scholar and researcher Dean Radin's name will be familiar to followers of What the Bleep and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. In his latest book he methodically presents the body of research on PSI and an argument for the quantum ramifications thereof on more macro matters: human and universal realms. It makes the popular and uproariously successful What the Bleep look like Donald in Mathmagicland. I mean that with the richest respect for all three works. Radin has tackled a boggling subject, and the thesis has broad and profound implications. As a scientist he takes great pains to lay a foundation of scientific credibility for the recognition of PSI phenomena and his extrapolations from our growing understanding and the persistent mysteries. The term PSI was coined in 1942 (from the Greek letter and the word psyche, meaning soul or mind) to refer to all psychic phenomena, including telekinesis, psychokinesis, precognition, telepathy, clairvoyance, intentional and distant healing, intuition, etc. His use of clear, colloquial and often humorous language and illustration makes it about accessible as it might be, as is demonstrated in the opening quote of this review. At times, alas, the wade through his review of the research can get tedious. These first 200 pages are not without reward, however. Along the way we are offered a very lucid, concise and handy synopsis of the recorded history of PSI phenomena and shift from Newtonian/Cartesian to Quantum world views. This dense summary does seem necessary to ground the final, juicier third of the book which ventures out of the laboratory and quantum theoretical realms into the world of human function and beyond. Other people have made the leap less deliberately and left many more skeptics behind. Title: Free to Love, Free to Heal David Simon, M.D., may be the less internationally visible cofounder of the Chopra Center, but that is not for less merit. He is an accomplished and insightful practitioner, who draws from the latest fields of medicine and psychology, as well as the inexhaustible wisdom of the ancients and the indispensable resources of observation and clinical experience. His book reflects this. The clearly defined stages in the process of healing that he sets forth, along with the anecdotal illustrations, and the accessible theoretical foundation he provides, seem to have ripened and clarified themselves with time and testing. There are more books on the market than any one of us can digest which offer to help readers to wrestle free of their emotional bondage. Ultimately, any of them worth their salt will offer insights, inspiration, and new leverage with which to approach our tyrannical shadows; more rare and essential is the alchemical factor required to galvanize the heart and will of the reader to do the necessary work themselves. This is where most folks flag, either out of fear or forgetfulness in their full lives. Here, there must be a ripeness in the reader, as well, to navigate the inertia (baggage). David Simon recognizes this; he begins addressing it in his first paragraphs, asserting the unique worth and intrinsic joy of every human being. Work to reinstate the subverted sense self-worth and self-love continues throughout the book. And, most importantly, he states time and again that it isn't enough to just read the book. One must immerse with full attention and authenticity, compassion and courage, in the exercises he sets forth in deepening stages. This, combined with the lucidity and viability of the concepts, processes and support he provides, could be what distinguishes his book from the tonnage of books pouring out of the mill! Dr. Simon elucidates how we develop the complexes we do, which demonstrates that we all have them, in unique combination and degree (just like our gifts). After he leads us through processes of discovery, acceptance, reframing, forgiveness, and more, we arrive ultimately where we began, at the self-forgiveness and self-love that foster the will, gratitude, peace and personal responsibility that deepen and perpetuate themselves and the capacity to meet new challenges with discernment and equanimity. This naturally opens in to a life of more love, freedom and grace. Simon acknowledges that change requires engaging the physical body, the intellect, the emotions, every aspect of being (conscious and not-so-conscious), and he provides activities targeting all of them, beginning with yogic body opening and breath awareness techniques, and also employing meditation, visualizations, meaty journaling. Each of these, alone, is a potentially profound and effective practice, but, again, always in direct proportion to the amount of willingness, time and honesty a reader invests, start to finish. As ever, this is the crux. This is the era of personal responsibility. David Simon has offered us another worthy invitation. Title: From the Bottom of the Pond This book's title, while poetically apt, may not entice as many readers who would appreciate the content, which, simple and profound, could be analogous with a Zen Pond. Even the full title, From the Bottom of the Pond: The forgotten art of experience God in the depths of the present moment, I believe, fails to convey the quiet clarity, authority and benefit of the book, whose message resonates beyond of the New-age-diluted words of its title. Moving beyond that minor objection, I earnestly recommend gently diving below that surface matter into the still wisdom just beneath. The pond may be profound, but it is never over our heads. It seems to encourage wading in, savoring immersion, not strenuous aquanautics. Spiritual seekers can be prone to over exertion and analysis. The gift of this book is to call us back from that, like the sunlight calling the diver back to air. This is actually book on contemplative prayer, written from the perspective of someone who has waded through the fizzy waters of the New Age and found home as an illumined Christian. At only 77 pages, the book is an easy, satisfying contemplation of prayer itself, the gentle meditative form of prayer that connects to and cultivates all-pervasive Presence. It concisely synthesizes points you'll find more elaborately dissected by countless others. Author Simon Small has clearly discovered or assimilated this wisdom organically, and has distilled it into an appreciable review, and an invitation to let the information and words go now, and live it, feel it, know it. It is by stilling our own personal part of the pond that clarity spreads, and those around us find their footing on the bottom; and our hearts illuminate where earth and sky meet, and our minds witness report to (an from) Heaven. Title: God's Little Handbook for Humans: Learning to Master the Emotional Self "I've found that most of the problems we face in life, and in the world..., aren't logistical problems. They're emotional," says Bob Bloom in his introduction. "The problem is not that ...things happen. The problem ...is how we respond to these events; and our responses are directly linked to our emotional attitude." At a slim and succinct 71 pages, this unimposing little book is so simply and personally written and offers such valuable insight and application tools, that the reader may be tempted to order a case as Christmas gifts for friends and incorrigible relatives. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. It does, however, demonstrate exactly what the author wishes to illuminate: the near-undying tendency for the human ego to deflect and project, to focus on faulting and fixing externals (in ever more subtle and sophisticated ways), in order to avoid the truest and deepest aspects of spiritual maturity: to take responsibility and to forgive — genuinely, authentically and absolutely; and that is an inside job. With lighthearted Jiminy Cricket delivery, Bloom blends autobiographical examples, cogent observations and gratefully credited tools developed by Colin Tipping (Radical Forgiveness) and Byron Katie (The Work) (as well as a few tricks of his own), to fashion a set of simple steps and practices to support us through this most humbling (and fruitful) of endeavors. Obviously, much of the content is not new; but its concision both in size and delivery make it the sort of reminder and resource one could (and should!) carry around and whip out at just the time it's handiest. Not a bad idea to take a handful of copies home for the holidays; but make sure you've found your own stride walking the talk, first! To order a copy, or a case, contact the author at bob33scott {at} yahoo.com or www.GodsLittleHandbook.com. Title: The God Matrix To do justice to a title like The God Matrix — which inherently encompasses such a scope of themes, experiences and dimensions — would seem an audacious undertaking, even for a seasoned author commissioned for an encyclopedia! This work is fiction (for now), though, which immediately unburdens the author somewhat. And I have to say that Brian David Alexander has woven together quite an impressive breadth of sophisticated concepts and wisdom — and with a good measure of coherency — into an adventure whose subject may be far out, but whose premise seems less and less far-fetched. The content is grounded in a profound understanding, which, from what I glean on Alexander's website, does not "originate" with him, but from guidance with a higher, farther-reaching perspective. (For more on that, check out his intriguing website, listed above.) The plot is a vehicle for the message, so its summary hardly sells the book's more laudable features. It concerns one John Phoenix, who finds himself interacting with many alien abductees, and then with the aliens themselves, whose mission troubles him, until he realizes it is offering mankind a opportunity to reverse its course toward annihilation. Needless-to-say, our hero proves a quick study in his edifying exchanges with these advanced beings (and the Governing intelligence that works through them); and these meetings reawaken him — and the reader — to a potential far superior to our race's troubled level of evolution. The story uses the ambient, unsettled energy of our times to work on us below the surface, urging us to bring consciousness to our actions and the presumptions, principles and choices they demonstrate. The range of topics conveyed via the plot could not be adequately detailed here. The combination of plot and the deeper themes, however, engages the reader early and keeps him/her curious and hopeful. The read is a rewarding isometric exercise for mind and heart as you move through the tension between the highest human faculties and darkest human forces. Beyond those brief comments, I would simply commend the author for a reasonably good job articulating the insights in accessible context. He creates recognizable characters with relatively little expository description, and manages to pace the plot so that fatigue in the final stretch is minimal. I venture that the reader's own wise heart, and resonance with the phenomena recounted, are likely integral contributors to the book's success. As with The Celestine Prophecy and its ilk, the book is expediently written, in a quick, streamlined vernacular style that rather supports the mood of a page-turner. However, at what cost? This headlong pace, without passages of reverie or description to savor and steep in, threaten to "unground" the reader, and to undermine the depth with which the reader internalizes the powerful wisdom. It's like the difference between a desert squall — which, while drenching, often runs off the thirsty land — and a leisurely soak, which encourages deep roots and well-founded, enduring growth. Also common to such books, and what works most against this particular specimen as a pleasurable, credible read, is the proliferation of typographical, grammatical and editorial errors. The sheer number and nature of these may find even the most laid back reader channeling his 5th grade English teacher. The author hopes to remedy this situation with a second printing. Meanwhile, we'll say it's the thought that counts, and there is much to think about in this one. Title: The Good Cat Spell Book Like any litter of kittens, this one is a mixed bag! The Good Cat Spell Book starts with a sound and articulate premise: "Love is the connection to the Spiritual realm," where magic is accessed and activated through "connection to...the source of all life." The combination of the intimate relationship with one's feline "familiar" and the particular wisdom and abilities of cats, make for a powerful collaboration for positive manifestation. The book continues with a light summary of background on cat lore from ancient Egypt, through the witch trials, to the present; it offers a little primer on practical magic along the way, and it advises on relations with cats of different sun signs. These sections can be quite interesting, if at times a tad fanciful. Some of the assertions, however, and the section on the spells themselves, however, proved disappointing. Sometimes simplistic, in the case of the procedures themselves, other times sophomoric, in the case of the professed objectives of many of the spells. The emphasis on manipulating external circumstances and people, in my opinion, sold the potential of the book and its readers short, where insight gained from ones desires (and ones challenges to manifesting them) could promote more enduring reward and empowerment. That said, I believe that this book would culitvate two important things: 1) A person's intuitive discernment and confidence experimenting with spell-casting, and 2) an intelligent and mutually respectful relationship first with one's feline friends and then with all other beings with whom one interacts. The value of the book is proportionate to the potential of the reader to grow beyond it. And that could be said of any teacher or evolutionary tool. What's more, the is a lovingly, charmingly bound and illustrated volume, and a perfect gift for that certain sort of cat lover of whom each of us knows at least one. Title: The Gospel according to Judas Iscariot In The Gospel According to Judas Iscariot, Jesus reminds us that people often become impatient with sermons and lecture, but that they will hear stories to the end, so he delivered the message of the Christ, of God's immanence, in parables. Following this wisdom, Peter Leighton has capitalized, with uneven success, on the trend to predigest and package perennial Truth in a plot of more modern intrigue and contemporary vernacular. We are offered the sumptuous meat of these truths in a rather flimsy Wonder-bread account of a contemporary man who discovers himself to be the reincarnation of Judas Iscariot, and who must then prove this in court to serve God instead of time. Strained plausibility alone might not defeat this story for the reader inclined to value its purpose and conceits. However, the inconsistencies and anachronisms of language and tone combine with rampant grammatical errors to distract and threaten the credulity of even the most indulgent reader. The enchantment and clarity of the book's successful passages makes this a real pity. Certainly, Leighton has steeped himself in the historical accounts, re-infusing them with the powerful loving Heart of Christ that was interpreted, edited or constricted out of many traditional translations. This is a work of fiction, however; and Leighton takes bold liberties in this speculation on the relationships among Yehudah (the Sicarri) and Jesus (the man and the Christ), Mary Magdalene, Apostle Paul and others. His is a candid, compassionate exploration of how Judas might have played out his role in the perfect unfolding of "God's Plan" to demonstrate man's immanent divinity and the soul's immortality. Leighton also offers poignant insight into personal and political motivations for the many key players and events. A reader could be convinced to forget that this is simply one man's inspired speculation. That alone highlights a valuable teaching of this book, that every "historical account" can only be interpretation. For all its contrivance, period-hopping language, and grammatical errors, the period of this tale in which Jesus lives and teaches is a scintillating transmission. The Christ pours shimmering through, pure and inspiring. It is truly like reading a freshly unearthed take on the old story, or seeing a decent film adaptation of a seminal book: there is inevitable disappointment, but the resonance that ignited one so memorably in the original read awakens that inspiration afresh — in this case, the very Christ waiting within. Alas, the tale loses power and cohesiveness, and seems to succumb to more sloppy writing, after Jesus' apparition fades — as if the author might have been losing interest, too. This, itself, is another case in which the book's apparent flaws mirror life, itself, as humans lose direct inspiration and bog down it it's distractions, confusion and illusions and lose awareness or certainty of our timeless Truth. This book chronicles a soul's journey of forgiveness and acceptance, and it walks a willing reader through the same course, at more than one level. Just as all humans harbor the Christ, we all contain Judas as well. I'd venture that anyone willing to forgive the irksome flaws in the medium, would enjoy the redeeming value of Leighton's message. There is nobility in the effort. Title: Healing Stones for the Vital Organs This is a wonderful little resource. Aptly subtitled 83 Crystals with Traditional Chinese Medicine, Healing Stones for the Vital Organs combines the wealth of wisdom offered in the simple, yet profound, discipline of Traditional Chinese Medicine with the simple, yet diverse, elemental and energetic wisdom of the Earth herself, in the form of gemstones. Both these fields are vast, and each of the realms, individually, holds great healing potential; and there is something intriguing and nourishing about the way the two are merged here. Moreover, the authors have done a remarkable job of distilling this into an accessible reference, not only for practitioners, but as a self-help guide as well. To briefly summarize: The volume first presents an impressively concise overview of certain TCM principles, with emphasis on the five elements, the essence of Yin/Yan, and the Organ Clock. It then briefly discusses the various ways to use gem stones therapeutically. The final section, the bulk of the book, then moves phase by phase through the organ clock, introducing the color and organs associated with each, and those organs' physiological function and psychic domain (from the Chinese perspective). As they discuss the strengths, weakness and themes of each organ, they introduce about eight stones of the corresponding color and describe the subtly distinct influence that each might exert to balance and support that physical or psychic function. Although the book cannot possibly expound on all the associations between the two traditions, and certainly can't exhaustively examine either in this 175-page volume (originally published in German, by the way), what is presented here is an admirable taste: rich, balanced and inspiring. In a way, just reading the book, and gazing upon the photographed stones is therapeutic; and that's a welcome bonus. Title: History's Mysteries: People, Places, and Oddities Lost in the Sands of Time In History's Mysteries, Brian Haughton may play myth-buster, but in no way does he murder the mystery. Clearly the same intrigue with antiquity — whose pieces, places and personages can never fully explain themselves to us — which enticed the author into his research persists through the ages with the tenacity of life itself, ever distant yet ever relevant. Author of the earlier bestseller Hidden History, Haughton takes a tone of objective curiosity, not at all one of derisive debunking or joyless over-rationalization. His objective here is not to quell the mystique, but to dissipate the cloud of falsehoods that often obscure the facts about subjects like the Taj Mahal, Rennes-le-Chateau, the Tower of Babel, Mesa Verde, Cleopatra, the Ida Fossil, and dozens more. Not all the subjects are as readily recognizable as these, yet all yield interesting stories, some of which may be simply educational, others more personally stirring and edifying. Haughton's style is clear and levelheaded, refreshingly unsensational. The chapters never exceed ten pages, so the reader is not overwhelmed with minutia. However, the author seems to acknowledge most major legends associated with a subject, including their spin-offs — The Priory of Scion, for instance (recently glorified in the DaVinci Code) in the section on Rennes-le-Chateau. Then incisively, but respectfully, he peels away components of the myth that cannot be corroborated until the skeletal origins of the legend remain: less romantic, perhaps, but more solid. Something tells me he has hardly exhausted the subject. It's probably safe to stay tuned for a sequel. Title: Instant Healing: Accessing Creative Intelligence for Healing Body and Soul Barbara Semple is a dedicated, longtime student, practitioner and beneficiary of the healing art of Jin Shin Jyutsu. Her book, Instant Healing: Accessing Creative Intelligence for Healing Body and Soul, is clearly a labor of love, gratitude and understanding. This is a wise and user-friendly little manual of easy, yet profound, self-help "quick-steps" which draw prominently from the Jin Shin Jyutsu system, but from other sources, as well: wells that all tap the same source. Semple lays the foundation with a section that quotes many eloquent (past and present) oracles of science, health and spirit to convey her philosophy of the universal matrix in which consciousness and healing operate. It may be a lot of words, but it very effectively sets the tone, invoking and connecting the reader to that field in which all is possible and we connect to the intimate, infinite self. The complementary second section, illustrating the healing quick steps (with few words, more pictures ), is about the empowered experience of healing using these focusing tools, with an intention of being rather than doing this process. The pictures (and instructions) are clear and simple. The book definitely succeeds in making a profound resource accessible to anyone. Those among us familiar with the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu (or any similar practice) will recognize the deep, wise and joyful smile of the Tao, and of American Jin Shin Jyutsu founder, Mary Burmeister, in every page. Apparently the book is already reaching people and striking a chord. The author reports that it reached "bestseller" status on Amazon (in November 2009) in the Family Health, New Age and Spirituality categories! May the benefits continue to ripple outward. Given as a gift, this book has the potential to help not only the friend(s) gifted, but the world — one breath, one smile, at a time. Title: The Instruction Manual for Receiving God The jacket of Receiving God features praise from Carolyn Myss, Deepak Chopra and Bernie Siegel (among others), which sets rather a high expectation for the work, whose author's name may far less widely recognized. Jason Shulman, however, founder of A Society of Souls, has gained his own following, using a blend of Buddhist and Kabbalist wisdom to illuminate personal and spiritual evolution. His latest book features over 100 seed passages (distilled from Shulman's interaction with students), accompanied by elucidating text. At first, I confess, neither the aphorisms nor expanded text seemed so exceptional or revelatory as the jacket led me to anticipate. However, this is another guide book that quietly states the obvious — wisdom so pure, simple and intrinsic to our living nature that it is, more often than, not overlooked. In his introduction, Shulman says: There are many books that tell us how to find God.... But God is not missing or elusive or invisible. It is we who need to make ourselves ready to receive God, who is always knocking at the door of our heart, whose Voice is always speaking, whose heart makes our hearts beat, and whose Breath is the world.... [This book] is an exploration of the trail of our resistance to seeing things as they are.... So, as I reviewed passages and rested into their poetry, with the intention not to gain or find, but instead to remember and receive, the gifts of the words began to open, richen and reverberate. To the "spiritually seasoned", this book may say nothing new. There is really nothing new to say. This is another voice weaving its own poetry from one Truth. All and all, it's worth sitting still a while and listening, not just to Shulman's words, but to the voice within (and everywhere else, really) singing the very same song. As Shulman says, right here on page 105, "God cannot be known secondhand." Title: Invoking Angels, for Blessings, Protection and Healing This latest offering from author and Rabbi David Cooper echoes with the gentleness, depth and wisdom many have come to appreciate from him, both within and beyond the Talmudic tradition. The number and attributes of angels are as inherently infinite as God and the universe, according to Cooper; and they are found in some form in nearly every spiritual tradition. In this rich yet relatively brief book (and its accompanying CD of meditative invocations), he focuses only on those he considers most important and powerful to humanity and our phenomenal universe, including Archangels Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel, Metatron, Sandalphon, the Shekhina, and Dark Angels. He illuminates the nature of these angels and the origins of their names using language that honors and inspires readers who choose to personify angels as well as those who prefer to tune into them as impersonal and essential attributes that arise from the continuum of totality and that reside in us all. Title: Kuan Yin: Accessing the Power of the Divine Feminine This one is a keeper. In aesthetic as well as content, this simple yet full survey of the history, essence and many faces of Kuan Yin has instant and enduring appeal. A uniquely feminine touch and fulsome understanding is palpable in the deliciously illustrations of Antonia Baginski and sympathetic and articulate writing of Daniela Schenker. The book is gentle balm for the eyes to behold and the hands to hold. The cover art on the jacket also appears on the hard cover beneath, illustrating the tender care that went into it and emanates from it. The little volume seems the perfect balance of weight and lightness, physically and visually, as well as in verbal tone. There is clearly far more to the lore of this most beloved Bodhisattva of compassion than can be included in such a modest book (roughly 6x5" and 60 pages); yet it richly and gracefully transmits the spirit and vibration of its subject as effectively as I've seen. It concisely clarifies the origins and nature not only of Kuan Yin's many manifestations and permutations, but elucidates the phenomena of bodhisattvas and ascended masters along the way. The centerpiece of the book, the second chapter contains 33 beautiful portraits, each accompanied by a meditation and an excerpt from the original Lotus Sutra that originally detailed each aspect of Kuan Yin. Schenker also gives attention to the mantra most commonly associated with the deity. Kuan Yin: Accessing the Power of the Divine Feminine may be modest in scope, but seems impeccable in execution. This one makes a particularly loving and lasting gift. Title: The Language of Yoga: Complete A to Y Guide to Asana names, Sanskrit Terms and Chants This book and its accompanying pair of CDs make a solid reference companion for the serious or curious yogi. The Language of Yoga seems well thought out and accessible. It's even bound to lie flat, for use, one could imagine, during practice! It's an attractive little volume, which, for the amount of information it contains, is a remarkably manageable six by eight inches. The CDs follow the printed word very closely. The author begins with some basics on the Sanskrit phonetics. After including some pertinent, initiatory chants, the author begins to list, pronounce and explain the terms, concepts, deity names one is mostly likely to encounter in study of asana and other limbs of Yoga. He does so by category, including scriptural terms, elements, directions, animals, etc. The second half of the book concerns itself with the names of the classical asana (poses) themselves. The author even honors the name variations among the major traditions. Considerate of the Westerner, Bachman also provides a respectable cross-reference with common English names for the poses and with a picture of each. The audio is clear and devoid of passion one might hear on devotional or musical programs of Sanskrit mantra, chant or sutras. While making for a potentially sterile experience, this actually encourages an appreciation for the beauty and subtlety of the Sanskrit language: sacred and simultaneously simple and complex. "The (Sanskrit) alphabet," says Bachman in his introduction, "is perfectly designed for the human vocal apparatus, and the sound of each word represents the subtle energy of its meaning....Sanskrit is called Devanvani, or "language of the Gods." Title: The Lens of Perception: A User's Guide to Higher Consciousness Yes, you've seen the title before. Hal Zina Bennett originally published The Lens of Perception in 1987. The second edition emerged seven years later, and the third after another thirteen years. The topic, however, never ages, and, as we evolve as a species and mature as individuals, the thoughts and focusing practices offered in this book may be more relevant today, or relevant to more people, than ever before. The revised edition is enhanced by contemporary references, reflecting how the collective understanding of (and personal empowerment in) the invisible realms has grown, through research, writings (and maybe the morphogenic field) in the years since Bennett originally wrote the book. Not only has it grown in popularity, but in articulateness. Drawing from his own shamanic and interpersonal experiences, as well as from everything from Aristotle and Carl Jung to What the Bleep, in an efficient 170 pages, Bennett offers us a very accessible, pragmatic and quietly empowering little overview and manual that will guide and inspire both novices and seasoned travelers, freshening and simplifying topics and realms that seem to almost get murkier, the more words are published about them. This, of course, may be due to the fact, as Bennett himself underscores, that these realms are entered and known differently by each unique individual. Hence arises the title of the book, which refers to the unique bias each of us inevitably has in our perspective of the world, no matter how much meditation some may employ to quiet their minds and achieve neutrality and "objectivity". Bennett takes the Shaman's view, that the Lens through which each of us experiences the world cannot be eradicated, and shouldn't be, as it serves a unique and essential purpose as consciousness experiences and expresses itself infinitely through multiplicity. Therefore, the truest, most peaceful and creative path is to cultivate one's relationship with, understanding of and fluency in one's inner language and landscape, the gifts and biases inherent in the Lens, and how these influence our way in the outer world. The key is simply to recognize that everybody has one. For it is what we see in the lens, not what is beyond it, to which we actually react and relate. When that knowledge informs how we interpret and act with "other," the pressure is off, all is forgiven, and the game is fun again. Title: Medicine Trails: A Life in Many Worlds This is a very readable memoir. Culled from hours of recorded reminiscences, it is the story, in her own words, of Mavis McCovey, a medicine woman, wife and mother, among the Klamath River tribes of Native Americans over the course of 20th century. As of publication, McCovey was still alive. Her many worlds, then, would include the Native and White-man's cultures; the consensus, 3-D reality and other, "shamanic" realms: the world of a "Fatawanun's woman" and of a more conventional wife; and the different ways of life amid the quickening technological and cultural changes of her lifetime. Co-author John Salter, having earned the confidence of the tribes-people, presents the material with notable simplicity, sensitivity and transparency. The very conversational recollections do get repetitive at times, but this seems to serve the tone of the book — very no-nonsense, human, and rhythmic — and to reinforce the reader's sense of this continuum of worlds, of the place, time, and culture. Title: Milton's Secret Ironic, isn't it, that the essential wisdom eloquently conveyed in The Power of Now has been distilled into a package for children: the population, historically, most naturally connected to its truths and least in need of a primer? It's regrettable that the anxieties of our culture could be encroaching upon the innocents so as to necessitate it; but it is hopeful that resources like this book continue to offer remembrance rather than ritalin and promote early and conscious application of that remembrance! Milton (of the title) is a boy who is happy enough until accosted by a bully, after which time he is haunted by the spectres of "When" (past injury) and "Then" (future encounter). He is helped, by a wise adult and his wisdom of dreams, to learn how to return to the safe haven of the Now, by escorting his attention to first the "outside of the Now", then the "inside of the Now." Milton learns about presence and compassion; and importantly, with guidance, he comes to these realizations himself. I confess that at first I was disappointed, wishing Milton's Secret had carried a certain charm and contagion of other children's books I knew. Despite the book's expressive illustrations, what seemed to be a bland narrative failed to open up a rich world to get lost in. However, upon reflecting and summarizing this book for review, a simple brilliance in its teaching came into focus. This is an invitation to redirect our cultural dependence on alternate "once upon a time" realities and learn to abide richly, fluidly in the generously enchanting "Now." Ultimately, I recommend the book: a solid gift for kids on your list (as well as their parents). Since we don't know which of the seeds we scatter in the impressionable soil of young hearts and minds will germinate, it is better to offer sane and nourishing seed. While my own expectations allowed me to be underwhelmed at first, the book's gentle rain seeps quietly in. The idea behind Milton's Secret has rich potential; and so because a richer reading experience tends to promote the more enduring the impact, and thus, more deeply root its seeds of wisdom, my hope is that Milton's Secret becomes the first in a series of books, which together synergize their full potential as engaging, enduring children's literature that demonstrates the practical and pervasive and accessibility of the Now. Title: One City: A Declaration of Interdependence Ethan Nichtern lives and works in NYC, where he founded The Interdependence Project. He is a student and teacher in the Shambhala tradition of Buddhism, but more importantly, he is a student and teacher of life: Humanity 101 for the 21st century. Fundamentally One City is a refreshing argument for the timeless and ever more urgent relevance of meditation, along with concise and unpretentious instruction about what that really means, how it is done, and why anyone can do it. What sets it apart is Nichtern's effective use of contemporary urban vernacular and analogies. Tithed lately? Pick up a case for your local high school! Nichtern first summarizes the three main realms interwoven in the philosophy (and reality) of Interdependence, and then applies basic principles and tools of Buddhism, with humor and clarity, to the common and core conundrums we meet in modern life. Buddhism is intrinsic to Nichtern's presentation; but incidental to it's message. He keeps it personal (using mostly the first person) and launches with a disarming candor that imposes an instant, accessible confidence; in fact, the introduction, and every observed glory and personal foible the author intimates, serves to implicate the reader, inescapably, in the commonality of the human experience. Once implicated, the reader, by equal parts curiosity and filial obligation, joins Ethan on a lighthearted and lucid tour through the funhouse, where the conclusion becomes that once we really see, accept and laugh at the whole miraculous tangle of embodied life, there really is no other course but to embrace and enjoy one's choices and responsibilities. Wisdom, depth and humor are equalizing, unifying qualities. They cut across more superficial aspects of the human experience, like chronological age, culture, race and gender. To hear it in the deft (if occasionally verbose) voice of relative youth (Nichtern is about 30) always brings a welcome injection of hope, not only for the potential of younger generations, but for the potential of any human to wake up and exercise the timeless wisdom that awaits us within. Title: Practicing Conscious Living and Dying: Stories of the Eternal Continuum of Consciousness The title Practicing Conscious Living and Dying might sound like the latest Americanization of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. However, Annamaria Hemingway's book has blended first-person reportage of near death and out of body experiences, mediumship, and contact with and from the "dead," to demonstrate how personal knowledge of an afterlife (a continuum of consciousness beyond embodiment) can cultivate more purposeful, peaceful life in the mortal world. True enough. There is much to inspire in these pages! More and more people are having experiences that reveal or confirm life after death. However, for those who have yet to be blessed with first hand experience, this collection of accounts is poignant and compelling. Whether or not a reader is comfortable with the idea of a personality that survives the body in which it developed and expressed, the commonalities in the accounts are thought-provoking. The book gives us all the opportunity to relax and reassess what is most important to us, to realign with our hearts, if not some grand purpose, and realize that just showing up, being decent, appreciative and present in life, can have impact beyond our imagining. This little volume is not just a collection of NDE case studies. Some are reports of near death experiences and what wisdom the subjects carry hence; others detail the events of a loved one's life, death or communication from beyond and their profoundly tranformative impact on the narrator's approach to life and influence on others. The subject of each narrative has a distinct story, which illuminates a subtly different facet of the overall theme. However, the homogeneity of the voice in each first person narrative led me to inquire as to whether these were quoted reports or ghost written accounts. I believe that the accounts do reflect actually events, but that they may be paraphrased summaries composed by the Ms. Hemingway. (After all, some of the subjects are relatively visible people, among them, actor Larry Hagman.) I understand that a clarification on this point will appear in ensuing traditions. It would be a pity for credibility questions to undermine an otherwise inspiring read. Title: The Presence Process This is a brilliantly lucid work and a very important book. The publisher of The Power of Now, this year bring us The Presence Process. Although, in truth, both works stand alone impeccably, Michael Brown's book seems to pick up where the Eckhardt Tolle work left off. The Presence Process elaborates on a similar theoretical foundation by engaging us in a simple and concrete process designed to solidify our abidance in the Now. Tolle, Brown and others have defined our true identity as Pure Presence and might assert that pain and dysfunction don't really exist, are merely illusions born of time and mind. Acknowledging the convincing (if illusory) tyranny of mind and time, however, Brown's work promotes conscious integration of the unconscious phenomena that distract attention from our true nature. For readers new to these ideas, certain of Brown's assertions may be radical and challenging. However, those who celebrated the eloquence and irrefutable wisdom of Eckhardt Tolle's classic, or most anyone on the path of integrated consciousness, will find this book an exceptionally incisive reminder and synthesis of realizations poignantly familiar or inevitably forthcoming on this journey. It thus offers valuable and practical support. In The Presence Process, Brown has assembled, from his own experience, a blend of wisdom and tools reminiscent of psycho-spiritual and self-help disciplines we may recognize from elsewhere. Anticipating this, he carefully explains the distinctions in practice and intent — of his own. This workbook, of sorts, guides us through stages of insight and integration using the steady rhythm of a three-fold practice. We are offered a foundational breathing practice, which promotes focus and presence and illuminates hidden emotional material; a weekly activating statement; and accompanying readings. A particular virtue of this Process would seem to be its simplicity, which makes it a "do-able" means of delving deeply and gently into, and reconciling, the modes of human existence that can seem to work at cross purposes. His insight is refreshing; and his understanding of mechanisms that stand in our way gives the author credibility and the reader comfort and courage. Given the cumulative nature of this journey, I did wonder how much the degree of transformation cultivated in this Process is contingent upon a reader's existing level of self-awareness and previous experience with meditation and self-inquiry. This should discourage no one, however — novice or veteran. The journey is, after all, infinite and inevitable; moreover, the tools and support we need at each step tend to present themselves when we are ripe to employ them. The length and repetitiveness of the book's exposition may put off some readers. Brown acknowledges this early on. In a way these very challenges serve to measure the focus and motivation of the practitioner. Each one must tap his own wisdom, patience and willingness to persevere. This self-responsibility is a fundamental factor in the success of the endeavor. The planet can only benefit from this book's success in reaching and inspiring each soul ready and willing to humbly and courageously embrace wholeness! Title: Quantum Prodigal Son Lee and Steven Hager provide us with a refreshing and meaty journey in their examination of Jesus' familiar parable through the lens of the Quantum paradigm, and what it may be revealing to us about "God" and human life. The parable's teachings come alive in this reading, sharing far more with Gnostic Christianity, A Course in Miracles and ancient perennial wisdom of other traditions than with the conventional Christian authorities who claim it. In 300 pages, the Hagers carefully examine elements of the story often neglected in its telling centuries later. Most noteworthy for me was the significance of the older ("good") son. They do so interpreting it not only against Quantum phenomena, but what Jesus' imagery would have meant to its original audience of mostly Jewish enculturation. This proves quite illuminating. The book is well written, and the arguments are sturdier and better documented than those of many contemporary metaphysical treatises. There are a few points where the thread of an argument lapses momentarily and little flags may spring up in the minds of discerning academics. However, the sense is that it may be the language that is failing rather than the logic. It is a tricky and layered topic to articulate. The authors seem uncharacteristically remiss, however, when documenting their claims about cultural contexts that would influence the understanding of Jesus' details by his contemporaries. The purpose and efficacy of the Truths revealed, however, seem scarcely impaired by this oversight. The language poses the same problems encountered in A.C.I.M., where pronouns must play triple duty, referring to players at different levels of reality; and also in the choice here to refer to "God" in personal pronouns. This is challenging for some readers, including myself. Even so, I found certain arguments in the book even more compelling, at times, than in the dense and verbose A.C.I.M. perhaps due to the reassuring presence of more neutral, quantum language as well. Not everyone will be ready for this book; full participation demands naked honesty about what each of us wants: to play the game or wake up. However, it makes for compelling companionship while we are, inevitably, in the process of doing both. Title: The Reiki Magic Guide to Self-Attunement There have been a fair number of books published on the healing art Reiki since its emergence. Author and Reiki Master Brett Bevell, himself recommends at least one in particular in the pages of his own book. I have not read these other volumes; so, I base my comments on my experience as a healer, as a writer and as a reader who experimented with the ideas, practices, and energies addressed in Bevell's thoughtful and unrutted elucidation, The Reiki Magic Guide to Self-Attunement. His years of exploration give Bevell's voice a balance of authority, humility and authenticity, and his presentation seems consistently pragmatic, grounded and sensitive. He offers the basics: Beginning with his understanding of the history, energies and cosmology or Reiki; then introducing a familiar and fundemental full body self-treatment; then first and second degree attunements and their activating symbols; then some more advanced matters involving work beyond oneself and the beginnings of third degree principles. It is all lucidly and respectfully presented, even when the content might seem quite tenuous and esoteric to a reader uninitiated to these rarified realms. He defies traditional restrictions in revealing and instructing on key symbols and rituals. He does so, perhaps, in good faith about humans, but probably more from time-tested faith in the intelligent force(s) of Reiki's incorruptible origins and essence. He knows Reiki can take care of itself. His intention here is to speak to the wise, noble healer in all, to empower the wisdom and responsibility in each of us, and offer tools for harnessing, cultivating and ever refining that power for the collective good. This is his offering to a world waking up. It is indeed a gift, and one endowed to serve the reader for all time — and beyond. Title: Requiem for the Author of Frankenstein At within shooting distance of 600 pages, this ambitious novel manages to be both meaty and ethereal. The plot is subordinate to, and supportive of, the themes, which are better perceived through soft focus, an intuitive osmosis, rather than the sharp teeth of intellectual comprehension. Fortunately, a weighty portion of the novel concerns personages who actually lived and whose lives are, albeit not quite so intimately and evocatively illuminated, documented elsewhere. The story dreamily swims back and forth between present day character Anna and 19th century author Mary Shelley, whose distinct identities and times become blurred, to them as well as to us. The exploration of the intimate relationships between Mary Shelley, her husband, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the infamous Lord Byron anchor some of the more engrossing passages in the book. Although its portrayals don't feel quiet as solid, the parallel journey of Anna — on a mission both personal and scholarly, to discover why Shelley's life and cohorts are literally haunting her — can be equally compelling at times; and that story line helps to anchor Mary Shelley's relevance in contemporary times. Her classic satire Frankenstein was a much misunderstood demonstration of the perils of imbalance between the feminine and masculine. It's an urgent and cogent exhortation for our own era. The ghosts haunting these pages will follow readers into their other daily activities, and will sing them like sirens back to the characters and the many consciousness-bending realities invoked within the book's leisurely arc (toward what seems a rather rapid and tidy denouement). Along the way, we are immersed in the passionate and intellectual milieu of the Shelleys, Byron, even Coleridge and Blake. Dwyer celebrates, animates and orchestrates an intimacy with these personages who were so ahead of the parameters of their time. We can't help but join them in this defiance of time (both in the sense of their era and also the boundaries between past, present and future); it is thus meet ourSelves in the experience, out beyond time in the realm cosmic simultaneity, truth and the free-immortal human Spirit. The journey is at once befuddling, thought-provoking, inspiring, and entertaining. Our minds, endowed with a soaring, restless aspiration, can find no repose on earth, except in Love. Title: Return to Joy: A Family Initiation into the Mysteries of
Dementia What we did not realize was that the underworld for my mother was ultimately to be a place of positive feeling and well-being. A place which she had missed most of her life, and a place in which she would become Queen. — Charlotte Parker This is a sweet and trim little volume. However, even as a swift read, it attempts relatively successfully to illuminate an experience of dementia from three distinct angles. First it is a memoir, assembling essays and accounts written by two daughters (Virginia and Charlotte Parker), about their mother's dying — but more importantly, living — with this mysterious condition. The words are honest; and the love, frustration and gratitude, in turn, are palpable. Second, folded between the narratives, we find a succinct support manual for those dealing with the disease (mostly caregivers and family). Thirdly, Return to Joy examines the journey of the Parker women in light of the myth of Persephone and Demeter. I sometimes wished these passages had plumbed that analogy a bit more deeply and lucidly; but that might have bogged the book down in intellectual complexity, when clearly the opposite is required. A descent into the Heart is required in order to prevent the disintegration of an intellect from becoming a descent into Hell. Briefly, Persephone and Demeter are the Greek characters in a myth whose variations show up throughout history and many cultures. It is a story that depicts the mother/daughter dynamic and the lot of womankind, while explaining why and how we have the season cycle. Daughter Persephone is abducted by Hades (Lord of the Underworld) and must become his wife. Wandering in grief and anger, Mother Demeter neglects her duty as Goddess of the Harvest (earthly fecundity). The world goes barren until the people, languishing in endless winter, appeal to Zeus, who negotiates an arrangement in which Persephone spends part of the year above ground, with loving mother, and part of the year below. The book reveals the fertile potential in what may seem a devastating process. It describes the healing and discoveries that unfolded among the family members, individually and in relationship, and it celebrates the many forms of community that arose around taking care of this woman. This will be an easy, heartening, and useful read for anyone whose life is touched (past, present or future) by Dementia's spreading reach. Book (with CD) Title: Saved by a Poem: The Transformative Power of Words This is a must-read for poets and contemplative writers, sure, but likely a richly rewarding book for so many others, as well. It is a celebration but of Life in all its expressions and deep currents. It reclaims poetry's sacredness and accessibility from a mire of neurosis or obtuseness into which it — and with it a piece of the soul — was sunk early on, for so many of us, with a stone of deadening scholastic pendantry. The book is a journey of fellowship and remembrance. An adept practitioner and teacher of self-inquiry, as well as a respected poet herself, Kim Rosen's observations throughout this book hold up a lantern whose beam will escort you as far and deep as you are willing (or impelled) to go. "Know Thyself," said the Oracle of Delphi. Of course, as we follow this ever-deepening, spiraling course, the discovery is that we are all one Self (refracted as through water). The Self is a Well and the source of ultimate knowing and being. Rosen's book is an invitation and journey of self-inquiry and a guide to Poetry as a tool for divination and transformation and as a Sacred Spring from that Well. The topic may be poetry, but the themes are universal, deep and primal. Rosen explores the internal and external, personal, public and societal impact of poetry. She illuminates the phenomena of poetry that work their magic on us. Most powerfully, she sets the space and lets the poetry speak for itself — in an alchemy of rhythm, silence, metaphor, pathos and counterpoint; and the poetry speaking here issues from more than just formally quoted poets. It throbs from nearly every page of the book, in prose accounts reverberating with the power of poetry and in our wiliness to entrust our hearts and bodies to that wise force. Through poems and personal stories (hers and others'), Rosen leads us to that place that we most seek and most fear: that place of union in — or disappearance into — Truth ( human and universal) and equity among all souls, all life, all consciousness. The body is our instrument, and Rosen places emphasis on learning poems by heart (which she keenly distinguishes from memorization). This process reveals itself to be a juicy and revelatory sort of therapy, in which the instrument is not only equipped with a ready repertoire, but perpetually tuned. Title: The Secret Life of Water <The Secret Life of Water is the latest in Masaru Emoto's contemplations on the increasingly precious treasure and teachings held for us in water. This friendly little volume follows Emoto's original and still influential bestseller The Hidden Messages of Water and its sequels Messages in Water (I-III) and The Power of Water. Its focus is the wisdom accrued by water in its own evolutionary and cyclical travels as a component of life itself, from its origins and journey through space to Earth and its myriad forms and functions on the planet./p> The theses of all these books extrapolate from photography of ice crystals infused with various sentiments (love, gratitude, derision), essences (Hinduism, spring water, chamomile) and concepts (war, peace). These beautiful images continue to have poignant and inspiring impact that, effortlessly as ever, transcends the text in which they are nestled. These pictures reinforce quantum arguments about the subtle inter-connectedness and communicativity among all seemingly separate things in the universe. Demonstrating how water remembers and carries vibratory signatures imparted by nature or focused human intention yields the suggestion: If living beings are composed mostly of water, imagine what power thoughts, prayer and intention have to influence life and perception throughout the cosmos! Water is not only a sacred medium of life but of intelligence. As in What the Bleep..., (which cites Emoto's work) the evidence and implications presented gently return responsibility, power and hope squarely to our individual laps, exhorting us to take another look, take courage and dive in: To clear our hearts, minds and bodies of the clutter and oppression of negative, limiting thoughts, beliefs and habits, and see the transformation inevitably engendered within reflected in the "outer" world. The Secret Life of Water is not hard science; and one who intuits the truth asserted in Emoto's writings, which meander like a long, leisurely river, might wish he included more documentation of his claims. Perhaps, though, that is like asking a bird to prove the existence of air or the sea anemone, water. These books remind me of the sermons of an admired and ingenuous pastor, whose homilies one attends weekly for a dose of reassurance and remembrance of that which one already hopes, believes, or knows to be true. Whether his poetry would convince someone uninitiated to this faith is uncertain. Like so many intimate with the mystery and miracle of the Tao, he will live in celebration, ever sharing his gratitude and conviction, regardless of whether the sounds of the revelry and witness of his growing "congregation" awakes the "gospel" in the non-observant and late sleepers. While he does acknowledge the importance of his message and its relevance to humankind's present ecological and spiritual "predicament," Emoto's message carries the simple and irrepressibly appreciative innocence of a child, who cannot help but giggle in the face of a dour face and pessimistic outlook. The child knows a secret; and he knows you know the secret, too; and he wonders when you will remember; and he will meanwhile splash around in Life's vibrant miracle, sprinkling you with reminders, inviting, maybe hoping, but never insisting, that you join him in play, as he bathes in the nourishing, wise womb of water. Title: Serpent of Light - Beyond 2012 Book Review by Joanna Cherry Drunvalo Melchizedek has authored a true gift with his book, Serpent of Light. The information is new (to most of us) and essential knowledge, about the ending of the age we have been in for the past 12,956 years and the beginning of the next one, in 2012. Indigenous peoples, including the Maya and Inca, the Hopi, and the Maori of New Zealand, have held ancient knowledge and prophecy vital to the well being of our planet and humanity. (It is believed by some that Jose Arguelles presented a portion of Mayan knowledge, but not enough for an accurate understanding. Some of that is corrected here.) They understand the cycles of Earth with its wobbling axis, and the changes that come with each new cycle. To assist these changes indigenous tribes, often at the same time in different places, gather to perform ceremony: powerful people of true knowledge, heart-connected to Mother Earth, with pure intention for the good of our planet and her life. Some of the ceremonies are done only once in 13,000 years. Drunvalo gives a convincing argument that this world-furthering work may literally allow humanity to continue to evolve. It turns out that the reverberating date we've all heard about, December 21st, 2012, has an astrological significance of great importance to humanity. On this date, for the first time in nearly 13,000 years, the wobbling axis of Earth will point toward the center of our galaxy rather than away from itÑa cycle that has repeated for many eons. When this happens, spiritual leadership will shift from men to women, and indeed this shift has already begun. Another extraordinary piece of information concerns the kundalini of Earth, similar to that of a human. For the last cycle, the head of the "serpent of light", Earth's kundalini energy, was located in Tibet, long known as the spiritual headwaters of the world. A white pyramid was built at the exact spot where the serpent's head met the surface of the earth, which is visible for only two weeks out of the year. The discovery of this pyramid, and the one symbol in it, is one of the fascinating stories of the book. When the Dalai Lama left Tibet the serpent also left, and began a long, slow journey to what is the new spiritual center of the planet. The drama of this journey, an obstacle that delayed its progress for many years, and its final new location I will leave to the reader to discover. Much of the book concerns ceremony Drunvalo is asked to do by spirit (often in the form of Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god who appeared to him). Native American wisdom imbues the ceremonies, done in areas of present or past indigenous tribal life. Each has its own purpose: re-awakening the ancient spirit of the Maya, correcting a destructive decision made by the Anasazi when they disappeared, shifting spiritual leadership from the male to the female, and more. Some of these he does with one other person, but most involve a group of dedicated and powerful spiritual leaders. One of the ceremonies, in New Zealand, takes place at the location of a spiritual "university" given to the Maori by beings from Sirius. Dwelling upon numerous ceremonies may be more, or less, interesting to the reader. But, especially seeing how Drunvalo opens himself to be guided on each journey, one becomes convinced of the truth of his path. Finally, the author's connection with Mother Earth and Father Sky, from his heart, is an example any of us can beneficially follow, and thus contribute more to life. A highly recommended read. Title: Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes My overall objective in a review is to constructively report the basic plot, topic, or purpose of the book, as well as how successfully, clearly and artfully that objective is executed by the author. I also note any particularly strengths or weaknesses of the author's craft and any populations to whom the work might particularly appeal — or not. Sometimes the easiest books to recommend are the hardest to review, either because of a depth of personal relevance or an essential value not adequately conveyed in words. Both would be the case with Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes. Let it be clear then, to merely recapitulate in under 3000 words what author Bob Kull was challenged to summarize in many pages (after a transformational year of repetitive and cumulative experience and analysis), doesn't really do justice to the ineffable truths that emerge and bathe both Kull and reader as we immerse in the account of his experience. What experience? By making the topic of his Doctoral Dissertation a first hand analysis of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual impact of extended wilderness solitude on a man, Bob Kull realized a 25-year dream of spending a year "alone" (save for animals) in the wild — the watery and blustery wilds of remote coastal Chile. The "extremes" of the title refer, of course, to weather, but internal as well as external. It is a portrait of human courage, doubt, resourcefulness, neurosis, pain — vicissitudes and beatitudes. Culled mostly from the author's near-daily journaling, and interspersed with considered, well-cited commentary, it touches on far too many themes to enumerate here. It is sometimes travelogue, sometimes research thesis in philosophy, psychology or perennial wisdom, sometimes a handy-man's reportage, and many other things. There is something here for everyone, written by very thoughtful everyman. Even so, it is very frank, very analytical, and, like most diaries, necessarily repetitive; some readers may fatigue in the tedium of another person's minute self-analysis. Others, like me, I confess, will eat it up. An interesting paradox emerges, as the experience of reading this account of a man's solitude was for me an experience of solidarity. Kull is there intent to explore the subtleties of solitude experience, even while wondering if one who has been socialized is ever purely in solitude, carrying so much memory and mental compartmentalization that lures us out of full, living awareness of both solitude and a simultaneous absolute connectedness and belonging. He also wonders how his writing, which perpetuates the ambient soup of language and thought, and which often presumes a reader (and thus a relationship), dilutes or pollutes true solitude, and whether such considerations matter. Ultimately, he affirms that solitude is relative, and that all these descriptions — solitude, separation, aloneness, loneliness, etc. — are internally generated and labeled. Kull ever seeks a balance, reconciling the essence and space of an experience itself and the perceptual shell that defines it; in his describing that to us, we must rely on the quality of the experience that lives within us to fill the shell of his words. It's heady stuff at times, but such a fascinating, honest, poignant book by a man who becomes our foibled friend, as his process of discovery, acceptance, and forgiveness serves to engender the same in each of us. Title: Sounding the Mind of God "Harmonics continue to divide into higher and higher frequencies, traveling from the originator of the tone to infinity. No Sound is ever lost. Every word you have spoken or song you have sung will resonate throughout the universe foreverÉcontaining a wealth of information about the originator of the sound and resonating with other sounds and frequencies within the mind of God." There are near countless books on toning, chanting, sound healing practices (old and new), as well as the "modern" science behind these ancient traditions. Lyz Cooper, founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy (BAST), has chimed in with her new primer. It is a readable, insightful two-part overview, which introduces a gangly array of subtopics in the first section, and manages to cohesively weave them together in the practical applications of the second section. Part One, subtitled "Aligning to the Mind of God," is primarily expository, accessibly touching on subjects that could individually command whole volumes themselves: pertinent history, cosmology, and scientific, psychological and healing theories. Among other notables, she discusses a couple of unconventional chakras in her review of that system. Although Part Two is far more experiential (and, not surprisingly, more fun and inspiring), Part One also contains useful exercises for applying and understanding principles presented. Part Two then builds upon these with instruction and exercises with sounding (using voice and other instruments), which are meaty in and of themselves, but are simply launching points on a near infinite journey. In addition to advising the reader on creation of very distinct sounds and their power and purpose, she offers suggestions on choosing and using powerful sound healing tools and instruments, like drums and singing bowls. Laudably, Cooper doesn't dictate absolutes to the reader, acknowledging that everyone resonates uniquely; she encourages deep listening and experimentation. As the title implies, she discusses the ancient cosmological and scientifically-recognized assertion that sound/ vibration is essentially the stuff of our being and universe. This is as powerful as it gets — really far more than can be captured in words; but Cooper has done well in a relatively short and accessible volume. The book she offers is like a musical instrument itself. Its potential as a tool of liberation, healing, mastery, and joy is dependent on the acuity, will, intention, creativity and courage that a reader/player brings to it. Title: Thirty Miracles in Thirty Days The "subtitle" of Thirty Miracles in Thirty Days, which actually stretches above the title, across the very top of the cover, is 5 Steps to Unlimited Abundance. The cover illustration contains a selection of images from the "new age" vocabulary: a figure standing in a vast field, in a columnar shaft of rainbow light, before imposing mountains, with birds silhouetted in white against the hugely magnified planet or moon looming behind them all. All these features would naturally make a seasoned new age media reviewer grimace under the weight of cliché and manipulative catch phrases. And yet, something — perhaps, in part, that very human hunger on which such images usually prey — stopped me from dismissing the book. Something told me to open to it, give it a chance. I'm glad I did, personally and professionally. Because, for all the apparent cliché and the many editorial errors, there is a truth and a very clear voice accessed in the guided meditations, which offer great healing potential. The language and images of these meditations may not be for everyone, or every stage of "the journey." Yet, the intention of the meditations, and some archetypal (or possibly Divine) power working through the images, along with a participant's openness and willingness to let go of control and resistance, can, indeed, make for a transformational 30 days. The abundance advertised in the title ultimately speaks to a far deeper, richer river than mere monetary abundance, which is but one of its tributaries. The images include individual Archangels (and other Divine Entities) and colored "Divine" rays, which are invoked to facilitate the focus of the healing and to transform limiting influences in the subtle bodies, mind, heart and DNA. There is a keen, yet simple and wise insight in the words chosen in the meditations. A beginning section explains the "jurisdiction" of each Divine Entity invoked. On an included meditation disc, the author walks us through the five steps and five of the thirty visualizations. Although her reading voice is not the most compelling, there is sincerity there, and it can be helpful to let the words flow over one, allowing more steady focus on the breathing prescribed. Title: The Translucent Revolution: How People Like You Are Waking Up And Changing the World It has many names. Arjuna Ardagh calls it Translucence; it is a poetic and apt term. The increasing incidence and apparent momentum of this illuminated state in the human population is the Translucent Revolution. Many have likened the completely enlightened state to transparency. "Translucent" refers to those of us who have experienced transparency, yet still walk the world in relationship with denser realities and the frailties and challenges associated with mundane, mortal life. Ardagh and his wife have conducted workshops over some years. In this time, he has interviewed hundreds of Translucents, some unknown to the greater readership, others with recognizable names like Eckhardt Tolle, Byron Katie, Adyashanti, Saniel Bonder, Jean Houston, to name only a handful. He quotes these voices generously and poignantly, demonstrating that the translucent journey features reassuring commonalities as well as circumstances, vocabularies, and character unique to each individual. His own prose is poetic and precise, rich with humor, perspicacity, and compassion. I repeatedly found his use of metaphor very effective, amusing and inspiring. Ardagh knows that of which he speaks; and he draws upon the eloquence of others to add depth, shading, and credibility to his comprehensive examination of the distinct blessings, experiences and challenges — the enchanted ordinariness — of Translucence in every aspect of contemporary life. It is a long book (400+ pages), from which I took breaks, to recharge its poignancy. Repetition seems unavoidable, as Ardagh and company visit various aspects of life, including relationship, sex, parenting, art, self-refinement, education, business, health care, and religion. Translucent Revolution is graced with a forward by Ken Wilber, which alone speaks superlatively for it. I can only add my vote of unreserved and grateful approval. Title: Waiting for Autumn Waiting for Autumn is a sweet, simple novel in purpose and in prose, yet endearing for any of us who have swam the moody river of spiritual unfolding, with its mind-bending and heart-melting twists and trajectory. Like so many contemporary narrative offerings with inspirational focus, it forgoes the structural and linguistic sophistication and flourish of classic literary craft for more streamlined conversational reportage that lets the wisdom conveyed ignite the reader's recognition and engagement. It may not be high literature, but it's much better written than more than one blockbuster new age novel I could name. Moreover, its purpose and content do effectively illuminate truths about the human condition of spirits remembering that they chose to accept this mission, and, upon remembering, are compelled to affirm that choice (and even redouble their commitment). Professedly semi-autobiographical, Waiting for Autumn is a modern narrative about one man's waking up and the invitation we all receive to say "Yes!" It takes place in Ashland, Oregon, which serves as a benevolent character in the story and a nostalgic reunion for those of us who know and love the city as much as the protagonist, Scott (a recently transplant from L.A.). Scott has a lot of support, which fleshes out the multi-dimensional cast of characters; and with each experience of Scott's that reminds us of our own, we are cajoled into acknowledging that in not being as alone as he thought he is not alone! That is, none of us are as alone as we once thought. By the end of the book, I was interested enough in the characters and their story to be heartened that there is a prequel (Summer's Path) available on the Hay House website, and that we may expect sequels to Waiting for Autumn, either on line or in print. Title: What the Bleep do We Know?! Discovering the Endless Possibilities for Altering your Everyday Reality What a flirtation Life is. We all seem to know it's worth it, but "Why?" is the Big Secret. This book dances closer to answers. Although in their final words they disclaimed it being the final word, at last the creators of the film What the Bleep!?! have published the book version. One could spend paragraphs discussing the pros and cons of the written versus filmic medim for this information. Ultimately each has its advantages and limitations. For those who have yet to see the film, the best advice would be to tuck away this magazine and go do so, and then to revisit this review (or skip directly to the book). Second best would be to read book first. However, compelling as the book can be, both book and film are finally about applying the information presented in your own life; and for that, the kinetic impact of the film, and oneâs engagement with it, are invaluable. Both book and film explore where the frontiers of science and spirit merge in the realm of quantum phenomena. One advantage of the book is a more leisurely and in-depth examination of background information: the historic factors, forces and concepts on which its arguments are based. For this alone, I would recommend reading it very highly. The ideas in What the Bleep!?! are meant to apply as tools in our evolutionary toolkit, to help us examine, transfigure or transcend the societal paradigms and biochemical phenomena that help binds us in our boxes and stifle our potential as limitlessly creative forces of nature. In this way, it is, in a sense, a workbook, a launch pad. It is a challenging read, in multiple ways. The concepts themselves are quintessentially mind-bending. When honestly and deeply reflected upon, this material is at once empowering and terrifying: inspiring of great hope and excitement, and demanding great courage, conviction and responsibility. The authors intentionally employ very familiar metaphors and (informal and interactive) language in presenting these ideas, so as to make them as simple, accessible and playful as possible, and to ease the necessarily unsettling affect of their implications. Alas, they donât always succeed. Even so, What the Bleep??! serves as a grand primer and bibliography for exploring the many topics and questions it raises and can only begin to address. Sometimes it seemed to be more the writing than the concept that required me to reread passages several times to lock into the meaning intended. Some passages seemed to lack a coherency I intuited was possible. I came to recognize that this, along with most of my complaints with the book, were wonderful demonstrations of the very phenomena the material sought to illuminate. Just as classical physicists found Quantum Physics unsettling to their established laws and assumptions, I met my own irritation and rigidity in what I considered the authorsâ indulgences and sloppiness with language and idiom (and occasionally "fact"). I chose to recognize and embrace the greater message, for which language is a woefully inadequate medium to begin with! If the reader will indulge the following metaphor, the overall experience of this book was, for me, like reading a book about what's above the roof while pressed against the ceiling. Reading was challenged in the dim of being above the conventional light source. As my eyes tracked the lines on the page, I derived as much understanding from the intuitive knowledge illuminated within by focusing on the truth and energy behind or beyond the words and concepts. Leaning into the invincible, compassionate force of these new ideas relentlessly crushed the skull against the ceiling of all previously held understandings, in hope that something would give: the ceiling (societal paradigms, perhaps?) or my skull (read: mind, limited perception). To better understand this review, you may have to read the book! To best understand the book, you may have to give up an addiction to understanding. To understand how, I suggest you read the book. I can tell you it's worth it. It's your choice to find out why. Title: The World is a Waiting Lover: Desire and the Quest for the Beloved This book at once embodies and details the quintessential Labor of Love, as delivered by Trebbe Johnson, a leader of vision quests and workshops on desire and purpose internationally. Johnson's poetic writing plucks the strings of the heart, not with sentimental, cascading strokes on a harp, but with the deep, resonant, penetrating tones of a universal human Truth: Longing for the Beloved. The author deftly weaves together revelatory episodes from her own narrative and those of others, as well as mystical wisdom and practice and archetype and myth from across the globe. The effect, at times, is an entraining of the reader's heart with the One heart throbbing in all of creation. Johnson leads us as close as words might to the fire of passion and tenderness of love. We approach this bonfire and dance around the periphery, feel the gravity, the heat, and our own longing and resistance. We feel our own memory and appetite awake as we stand at that edge where the conceptual must give way to the empirical, as if waiting our turn to dive in. Each chapter refreshes the inspiration to reflect on our own objects of "allurement." In this way, the book is an inevitable and potent promotion for the vision quest process! Reading in the dead of winter, this writer felt like a captive animal sensing ghosts outside with whom I had divine appointment. Johnson recounts her discovery, and eloquently illustrates, that the Beloved, ultimately, is within each of us, if as a necessarily cagey presence. The people, gifts, endeavors and challenges that provoke in us compelling passion (whether appreciated or not) Johnson calls "escorts to the Beloved." She seeks to illuminate our own capacity to consciously recognize and healthily engage with these decoys, if you will, these catalyzing agents for a Love which transcends conventional categories. Like the Beloved itself, the book teases us along to revisit our own passions and potential. It cannot deliver the Beloved to us whole. It invites us into that sacred clearing to join the chorus ever intoning the call and response song that perpetuates Life. Title: Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds of the Past and Present Your Daily Walk is a facilitated journal, offering a structured daily satsang with one's deepest truth. It's a tool for cultivating and maintaining self-awareness and integrity. The book begins with a succinct introduction, including suggestions for its most effective use; then it just gets down to business in the quietly compassionate tone of a mentor who has been there, has nothing to prove and no one to convince. In the original edition, there is a page for each day of the year. Each day's theme is supported by a quotation, a focusing meditation, and an inquiry on which the reader writes a journal entry. One day's theme seems to build upon the previous. In this way, the program purports to steadily lay a foundation for true and abiding empowerment or change. Further supporting the process are monthly suggested books, by luminaries like Deepak Chopra, Mitch Albon, Victor Frankl, and other names familiar to the Self-help saavy. While both the quotations and the book list contain familiar, even classic, sources, neither list is a tired who's who or compendium of over-exposed platitudes. Many less predictable voices make it refreshing. Ultimately, as with any such offering, its success depends on the willingness and staying power of the reader. There seems to be a certain clarity and concision about the book — as it leans into universal and perennial human challenges — that encourages commitment and collaboration by anyone on the evolutionary spectrum. Two revised editions of this 2006 book — a pocketbook and a workbook — are expected in February 2007, from Love Healing Press. The pocket edition, condensing two days per page face, is a more portable size, but requires a separate notebook for journaling. The workbook will include more space for notes. Both will feature daily affirmations, a foreword by Dr. David Powell, an expanded reading list and a cross-referenced subject/author index.
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