In Review

Books

The Miracle of Breath: Mastering Fear, Healing Illness, and Experiencing the Divine
By Andy Caponigro
New World Library, 2005, $15.95

As children, running through our back yards, swinging from trees and yodeling like Tarzan, we were strong and fearless, bursting with energy and joy. What does this have to do with life today? The "Tarzan" breathing technique can take us to that same place of joyful energy, but quietly, without the yodel, so as not to wake the neighbors.

Have we, as grown-ups, been breathing shallowly? Very likely. And can we break through the blockages that we’ve accepted through the years? Yes we can. With the breathing exercises in this book, the author, Andy Caponigro, playfully leads us to understand the power of breath, which he explains is a way we connect with the life force of the universe, with God. The knowledge of this connection has been lost through the years and knowing about it can benefit us greatly.

In times of stress, it is important to keep breathing deeply. Shallow breathing blocks some fears and yet leads to anxiety, agitation, confusion, and paralysis. Caponigro states that in times of crisis, great saints and enlightened beings not only keep their breath open and flowing, but their breathing always stays calm and peaceful because they live in a permanent state of union with the spirit of God that lives in their breath.

Emotional problems, health problems, general lack of energy, tension and stress can be easily dispatched with the breathing techniques that Caponigro teaches in this book. And you can walk away with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

---LaRee Wilton

 

Every Heart Attack Is Preventable: How to Take Control of the 20 Risk Factors and Save Your Life
by Michael Mogadam, M.D.
New American Library, 2003, $13.95

Dr. Michael Mogadam has been an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., specializing in nutrition and cholesterol disorders. He states that an elevated blood cholesterol level is only one of twenty major risk factors for heart disease. He lists the twenty factors, which include abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, sedentary lifestyle, and points out ways to overcome these potential problems and thus prevent heart attacks.

According to Dr. Mogodam, what we eat and drink plays a huge role in the health of our hearts and arteries and can reduce the need for coronary drugs. His book is well organized and is easy to read and use as a reference book. It has a glossary and an index so it’s easy to find specific subjects.

The book has illustrations which show how arteries get clogged and proceeds to explain how to avoid the problem fats and encourages the use of "good" fats, such as olive and hazelnut oil. Eating should be pleasurable, not an exercise in math or chemistry, so Dr. Mogodam created the Twenty Risk Factor diet (TRF diet), which is the result of a decade of research in the area of food technology, nutrition, medicine, and health. It covers all sorts of foods, including prepared and fast foods and lists their risk factors, helping you make educated choices. He recommends that rather than feeling deprived, a person can eat just small amounts of high risk foods. The whole idea is balance.

---LaRee Wilton

 

A Book of Angels
by Sophy Burnham
Random House Publishing Group 1990, 2004, $16.95

What are angels? When did they descend to our world and begin their work among us? What stories about them have been treasured over countless generations and brought to us in the present day? This bestselling book on angels tries to answer some of these questions. A section called "Angelology" traces the history of angels, showing that they can be found wherever and whenever humans call on the Divine for guidance or aid. Other sections reveal the presence of comforting angels in dreams, images, and more especially in the dark nights and dangerous places that we sometimes find ourselves in. Published for the first time to rave reviews in 1990, it has been re-issued with even more angel stories to savor. This is a beautiful book, full of a warm energy that will bless your bookshelf and your heart.

---Sarah Saito

 

Altars of Power and Grace: Create the Life You Desire
by Robin & Michael Mastro
Balanced Books, 2004, $19.95

I have always enjoyed the concept of altars but the nitty-gritty of actually creating one that fit my needs has always been a daunting task. As I discovered, Altars of Power and Grace is a fun book that will assist even the most creatively-challenged person in crafting a work of beauty. The authors, a husband and wife team, have built on a system called Vastu Shastra whose basic idea is that by creating an altar to exact specifications, you create a magnet that draws anything you desire into your life.

The authors have simplified the original system with charts and easy instructions for which colors, scents and metals to use to energize your altar. Colorful photos are included to inspire you. At first, this exactness may seem to take some of the fun out of altar building, but the layouts are simple and elegant and I was pleased with the results, both visually and energetically.

You will need a compass to ensure that you layout your altar precisely and you may want to go shopping for special items to symbolize your desires. However, you’ll find that many items for your altar can be found around your home. Whatever you choose for your altar, I’m sure you’ll be happy with the results.

---Deborah Kingry

 

Openings to Lighten the Way
by John Sorrell
World House, $22.95

While many books lay out detailed prescriptions or programs for personal and spiritual growth, Openings to Lighten the Way lifts us up from the inside out to reveal our own inner strengths and gifts. Every page offers a single, brief Opening of just a few powerfully distilled lines, fusing inspiration, prayer, and poem, to create new illuminations. The very first one in the book strikes an open, inviting note that resonates through them all:

With each breath let me lift
my arms more open
till here I can hold
Whatever may come.

Sometimes crossing the paths of such explorers of the soul as Buddha, Saint Francis, and Rumi, these Openings always take their own unique twists and turns. They surprise us with light from behind shadow, nurture green growth from beneath long drought, inspiring us to make the most of every day.

I've mostly been going through these Openings on my own, but sometimes get together with friends, to share. One of them says when stress hits hard at home or work, he reaches for an Opening. Another finds so much inspiration and comfort in Openings to Lighten the Way that she sometimes sleeps with it. That in itself speaks worlds about the growing, lifegiving power of this wonderful book. Boundlessly refreshing, enlightening, exhilirating, and rewarding, Openings to Lighten the Way belongs in the hands of us all who reach for the deepest life and growth we can know.

---Leanne Bockus

 

Coaching the Artist Within: Advice for Writers, Actors, Visual Artists and Musicians
by Eric Maisel
New World Library, 2005, $14.95

This book is a godsend for the creatively challenged. Drawing on his experience as a psychotherapist and writer, Eric Maisel, who pioneered the profession of creativity coaching, presents twelve skills necessary for navigating the artist’s life. Maisel contends that we have to learn to create "in the middle of things," as opposed to waiting for that fantasy moment when the busyness of life subsides and we feel divinely inspired. What we may call "being blocked" or "not having enough time" Maisel identifies as fear, anxiety, or a lack of clear purpose, revealing the roots of why we don’t fulfill our creative goals. Without sugar-coating the genuine risks and rigors of living a creative life, Maisel offers practical, simple and effective techniques for meeting both internal and external challenges. Each chapter enumerates a different skill, with exercises to master that strategy, and includes an inspiring vignette from Maisel’s work with clients. It’s easy to trust Maisel’s recommendations on creativity, considering his own highly prolific record as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Coaching the Artist Within follows several other excellent books on creativity, including Fearless Creating, Deep Writing, and Affirmations for Artists. His advice for working artists can also be found in his regular column in Art Calendar magazine.

---Emily Trinkaus

 

Stillness Speaks: 50 Inspiration Cards
by Eckhart Tolle
New World Library 2004, $17.95

Sometimes it’s good to have new information in small bits, so we can focus on them more easily. Every card in this deck showcases a profoundly simple truth, easily worth chewing on over a few days or a week. When you shuffle through them, looking for an inspirational thought, the right one always seems to end up in your hand. The box lid comes up to hold one chosen card at a time, so you can showcase a particular thought if you like. It’s perfect for a short morning meditation, or adding a special touch to a sacred space somewhere in your house.

---Sarah Saito

Other Media

CD: Blue Sky, Red Guitars
by Erik Wollo
Spotted Peccary Music, $15.98

Erik Wollo’s latest release from Spotted Peccary Music is a warm and inviting soundscape. Blue Sky, Red Guitars begins with a flowing intro entitled Morning Dew which frames the album’s themes in a brief two minute window: beauty, evanescence and exploration. Melodies woven on a foundation of guitars, balalaika, mandolin and electric bass lead the listener through its expansive horizons.

Listening to Blue Sky, Red Guitars one feels the joy of exploring new ground as much as a déjà vu experience of being bathed in rich, melodic sound from a source far beyond this everyday ordinary world of noise pollution. It is an outstanding CD and when it’s over you’ll surely want to return to Wollo’s Blue Sky to see if an experience so beautiful was really real or just an evanescent dream. www.wollo.com

---Phil Jefferson