In Review

 

The Translucent Revolution
by Arjuna Ardagh.
New World Library. 2005, $16.95

This extraordinary book is based on 170 in-depth interviews with leading spiritual figures, like Eckhart Tolle, Byron Katie, Ram Dass, Jean Houston, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Robert Rabbin and Neale Donald Walsch. It is a fascinating and comprehensive report on contemporary spirituality, full of detailed information, valuable insights useful techniques, and great wisdom.

He describes the growing phenomenon emerging around the world - a gentle but profound revolution in human consciousness. It is something that has been experienced directly by millions of everyday people from all walks of life and the numbers continue to multiply exponentially. The breakthroughs they have experienced are startlingly similar and are marked by a new sense of well-being, increased joy in life, diminished fear, and a natural impulse to serve and contribute to the world in a real way.

For more than a decade, author Arjuna Ardagh has studied this worldwide advance in human consciousness marked by what he calls "translucents" -- individuals who have undergone a spiritual awakening deeply enough that it has permanently transformed their relationship to themselves and to reality while allowing them to remain involved in ordinary life.

The Translucent Revolution draws on the author's dialogues with thousands of writers, teachers, and workshop participants around the world who have been touched by a radical awakening, and whose lives emanate translucence. Ardagh blends observation, anecdote, and research, including commentaries from leading pioneers in the field of human consciousness to offer simple, concrete strategies for cultivating a translucent way of life. The Translucent Revolution offers a blueprint for positive change and an optimistic perspective on these uncertain times.

 

The Quantum Doctor: a physicist's guide to health and healing
by Amit Goswami, Ph.D.
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2005, $15.95

We currently stand on the threshold of a medical renaissance, according to quantum physicist Amit Goswami. He is author of the groundbreaking book, The Visionary Window: A Quantum Physicist's Guide to Enlightenment, and has again broken barrier concepts with his new book. In The Quantum Doctor Goswami sees this renaissance coming about through a shift towards Integral Medicine, which examines the meaning of disease and healing. In order for the new paradigm to experience such a shift, the art and work of healing must be based on consciousness, first and foremost, for, according to Goswami, consciousness comes first. "Everything, including matter, is a possibility of consciousness." His "science within consciousness" model resolves the separation of mind and body, conventional and alternative medicine, and even some of the paradoxes within quantum physics. Integral Medicine, he maintains, unifies all forms of medicine, including conventional Western Medicine, or allopathy.

The book discusses theories, data, concepts of healing, methodologies, techniques of alternative healing, and explores spontaneous healing and even the economic factors of well being and medicine. It includes basic lessons in quantum physics that are simple to understand, and this understanding is vital to using the book. Goswami discusses the five bodies of consciousness, the levels of disease, the concept of the ageless body, and the evolution toward such a goal. His book also asserts that illness may be an opportunity or entry point toward such evolution. This work is the closest that science has come to explaining transformation or alchemy in terms of physics. Ten years in the making, Goswami says his work is just getting started, but the ideas, concepts and applications found in the book could greatly benefit patients now, especially if the book found its way to every physician's desk.

-- Kerri Buckley

 

The Gift of Change: Spiritual Guidance for a Radically New Life
by Marianne Williamson,
HarperCollins, 2004. $21.95

This is an inspirational book for our troubled times. Written with spiritual immediacy and power, it recognizes our despair over the insane course away from love that the world seems to be taking. At the same time it encourages us to heal by inspiring us to remember this paradox: we are already the miraculous beings that we're destined to become, each moment being an extraordinary opportunity to embody our spiritual magnitude.

The gravity of the challenge to make this a better world for our children and ourselves is not glossed over. The privilege of and responsibility for change are gently but firmly laid in our laps. Change can either be personal or global; it's the way in which we make change that is significant. Whether to identify with the world or to go deeper into the stillness of our souls: how can we effect real change? We have a choice.

Whichever choice we make, our work will be made simpler by using the ten bridges of transformation Williamson offers. Building on reflections in her previous book, A Course in Miracles, her insights are full of good sense. Applicable to everyday circumstances, they provide opportunities for renewal.

Williamson uses anecdotes and humor to help us toward wisdom. We need to know when to change something and when to leave it alone. She also shows us that by living in the reality that we are all one, we have the power and ability to transform the world from the inside out.

Now is the time to be faithful to the unchanging principles of love, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion, and wonder at beauty. This is our gift of change.

--Marta Freundlich

 

The Energy Medicine Kit
by Donna Eden
Sounds True, 2005, $29.95

Donna Eden, probably the formost authority on the body’s energy system, invites you to learn the unspoken language of your body to boost your energy levels, address many specific health problems, and foster your overall health. The powerful "Daily Energy Practice" combines simple movements, pressure point massage, and breathwork to create a reservoir of "vital life force" that you can draw upon throughout the day.

This beautifully conceived and packaged kit is a great companion to Donna Eden's Energy Medicine book but it can also be used on its own, as a shortcut to the most useful techniques. The Energy Medicine Kit comes complete with: A 28-page booklet that teaches you the fundamentals of energy medicine and points you to specific exercises on the DVD and CD; 43 photo-illustrated Energy Medicine Cards; a DVD that demonstrates the methods of energy medicine and teaches you 15 restorative exercises; an audio CD that guides you through 21 more techniques for specific conditions, and a one-inch cut glass crystal on a cord with instructions for spinning it over your meridian endpoints and chakras in order to give yourself a quick, effective balancing of your major energy systems.

 

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

 

Embracing Your Power Woman: Coming of Age in the Second Half of Life
by Barbara Wilder,
Wild Ox Press, $19.95, 2005

This book surprised me, I have to confess. The title intrigued me, but I expected the typical self help book for women, complete with "They’re not hot flashes, they’re power surges," cheerleading tips. What I found, instead, was a multi-layered 12 week plan for gently examining one’s teenage years and briefly thinking about various reasons those dreams or ideas might have been thwarted, set aside or gotten detoured. It goes on with ideas to clarify dreams or goals and how to help yourself get there. Barbara likens the transition into the second half of a woman’s life to Inanna’s descent into the underworld and into a fetid darkness, rotting on a meat hook. This descent and dark period is seen as a pat necessary to the eventual ascent as a more powerful and dynamic woman, or, a downward spiral of labor and pain that ends in a birth – of a "new" or different self. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in transitions, regardless of their biological age.

--Alaina Zipp

 

Homes That Heal
by Athena Thompson
New Society Publishers 2004, $26.95

So you know all about the concept of your outer reality reflecting your inner one, and vice-versa, and you’re looking for a living space that supports this outlook. Perhaps you’re planning to remodel what you have, or you are ready to start building from the ground up.

No matter which category you find yourself in, this book has a lot to offer. There are numerous practical suggestions and resources for living, remodeling, and products that support an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Anyone who struggles with mold or other home-based allergies will also find a lot of excellent information here.

This book is also vital preparation for anyone who is planning to design their own home. Thompson first shows how many design features in today’s home are not particularly healthy, from attached garages to home office design. Then she explains simple but very effective ways, from placement to building materials, that will change or safe-guard your design before building. The index section is also full of resources worth checking out. In fact, this book has so much to offer that you should probably get two copies so you’ll have one handy when your friends want to borrow.

-- Sarah Saito

 

The Phaselock Code : Through Time, Death and Reality, The Metaphysical Adventures of the Man Who Fell Off Everest
by Roger Hart
Paraview/Pocket Books, 2003, $14.00.

The Phaselock Code is the story of a seeker and an extraordinary adventurer. By the age of nineteen he had visited every continent but one, exploring polar icecaps, tangled jungles and snow clad mountains. At twenty he had a glacier in Antarctica named after him. I would imagine that if Roger Hart had lived 200 years ago he would have been a buccaneer on the high seas. Instead, the cosmic winds blowing through the sixties landed him in India as a research physicist. He soon became a student of yoga and metaphysics, trying to find explanations for the many paranormal experiences he had been having since a near death experience on Mt. Everest, where he was on intimate terms with Mother Nature at her wildest.

Phaselock refers to experiments on the interconnectedness of the universe, where changes in one part, create instantaneous changes in the rest of the universe. Hart delves into an exploration of thought, probability and the nature of consciousness – all interwoven with riveting accounts of his mountaineering experiences. Hart’s journey makes a fascinating read.

A former research professor in the College of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, Hart currently lives on the Oregon coast.

--Miriam Knight

 

Straight From The Horse’s Mouth, How To Talk To Animals and Get Answers
by Amelia Kinkade,
New World Library, 2001 (hardcover), 2005 (newly published in paperback), $14.95.

If you want to be able to believe that only SOME very special people are psychic or can talk with animals, stop reading. If you want to be able to believe that magical and psychic powers are not only innate, but require no further work on your part to hone them, stop reading this review and don’t read this book.

I’ve loved this book from the first moment I read it in 2001. Coincidentally, that was right after I entered a life-altering, multi-year Wiccan training program. The book Straight From The Horse’s Mouth grabbed me by making the same distinction that my magic teachers made between raw talent (in this case, magical or psychic) and the ability to use the talent masterfully after practice. In this book, Amelia Kinkade provides clear exercises, demonstrates sensitivity to animals and their emotional states and speaks with touching frankness about the positive and negative parts of opening yourself to connection with animals, emotions, and Spirit.

Amelia recounts stories of animals that are sarcastic, loving, pissy, angry and frisky. At one time, I thought that the words of animals and Spirit might be only "deeply serious thoughts." Contrary to that, over the years, I’ve been visited by power animals and a Spirit that that tease me, cajole me, laugh at me and push me to get off my butt. (P.S. on that note, the story titled Nuts in chapter 4 is worth reading even if you do nothing else) At times, some people’s reactions and the voice of disbelief in me have challenged the messages I’ve received, with: "oh, come on, you’re making it up!"

There is always a faint pull to listen to that voice, instilled from society, the "them," that says, "it isn’t true, it just can’t be, you can’t be doing this." Unquestionably following that naysaying voice, though, is a slippery slope that can ultimately lead one to feel isolated, hopeless and stuck. This voice also says, "good girls and boys do/don’t do this," "you don’t deserve to be treated well (or you do deserve to be treated badly),"and a million other phrases that keep people "in line," and not happy, feisty and strong. Fighting against that negativity can take many forms, including drawing new connections, taking leaps of faith and speaking your own truth.

As I’ve told you, I love this book. I’ve checked it out of the library more than 10 times in the years that it has been in print. (Ok, I was also too cheap to buy it.) One day in mid-April, I thought about the book and idly thought of how fun it would be if the book showed up at the editor’s house when I selected books to review and I got my own copy, even though it was obviously not new. The next day, in perusing my selection, the book caught my eye, in paperback. Did I conjure it? Did I psychically sense that the book was waiting for me? I can’t explain the specifics of it, and luckily, I don’t need to. More than anything, what this story proves to me is the principle of this book which I will explain by quoting one of my magic teachers, Falcon River, "You know. You can and you do know."

--Alaina Zipp

 

The Book of Ceremonies: A Native Way of Honoring and Living the Sacred
by Gabriel Horn, art by Carises Horn
2005, New World Library, $14.95

The Book of Ceremonies: A Native Way of Honoring and Living the Sacred is a quirky little work that will probably not connect with the average New Age reader. It’s a small book physically and small in scope: a collection of short pieces, all intended as expressions of reverence for the beauty, power, and sacredness of life and its journey. Topics include birth, death, divorce, healing, marriage, pregnancy, and visions.

Written by Gabriel Horn in the style and spirit of traditional Native American literature, this is a contemporary effort with some undeniably modern references – like "apartments," "cetaceans," and "Chernobyl – which this reader found discordant.

Ultimately, The Book of Ceremonies is a feeling book, a mood book. It’s like a little art film, where the action takes place in some unusual, out-of-the-way place and things are just a little bit strange. Like such films, this book should please devotees, including fans of the author’s previous books, aficionados of Native American lore, and students of ritual. Enhanced by the tasteful and effective pen-and-ink drawings by the author’s son, it’s a pretty book, making it an easy and leisurely (if still not terribly compelling) read.

-- Paul Laurence

 

Love Yourself, "joy-filled affirmations to inspire, encourage and comfort
a Deck of 54 affirmation cards,
by Cheryl Rainfeld,
2005, $9.99

I have to share a secret. I am a counselor and a big part of my job is cheerleading, pointing out the positives to people who are often stuck in seeing the negatives. I’ve used positive sayings and chants, unconsciously and consciously to help myself survive situations a number of times. So, the secret confession is this-a small part of me thinks that affirmations are cheesy and it pictures lovable Stuart Smalley from the old Saturday Night Live scene mouthing his affirmations somewhat pathetically to the mirror.

Despite my conflicted feelings about affirmations, I really did enjoy Cheryl Rainfield’s affirmation card deck. While most cards I have seen in the past tend to have only words or ethereal pictures (relaxing, but somewhat abstract or hard to identify with), these cards are hand-drawn and display pictures of real-looking women-old, thin, fat, multi-ethnic and female. These cards are two sided, with one side’s affirmation in the first person, the other in the third person; i.e., "I am__," "You are_." I instantly thought of how some people would have a hard time immediately using the first person and so could "graduate" into it, if they liked. Reading the deck or just picking cards randomly made me feel, well, affirmed. I conducted a small non-scientific survey among acquaintances, and they unanimously agreed that these cards felt "different," than the usual ones, and they almost all had small, self-satisfied smiles on their faces after viewing them. So go ahead, affirm yourself! The author also has a website (cherylrainfield.com) that includes online affirmation cards, e-cards and links for teen and adult writers.

--Alaina Zipp

 

One Small Step Can Change Your Life, The Kaizen Way
by Robert Maurer, PhD
Workman Publishing, 2004, $16.95

Is there anyone who doesn’t want to change their life in some way? Just the fact that you are reading this review could possibly mean that you might be at least be open to thinking about some changes in your life. The kaizen way refers to a Japanese practice of making the smallest steps possible, and in that way, short-circuiting the physical and emotional fear response that the idea or practice of major change begins. By small steps (one example is a woman who owns a treadmill wanting to incorporate exercise in her life beginning with a few days of drinking her breakfast coffee in full view of the treadmill) one can prep a mind and spirit for infinitesimal changes that may lead to major changes. Not only did I find this book helpful personally, but I read most of its short chapters while sitting at my home computer waiting for my computer to boot up, i.e., in one to two minute increments.

--Alaina Zipp

 

Saint Ralph

Saint Ralph is a story about a precocious ninth grade Catholic school boy who is told that only a miracle can save his comatose mother's life, so he sets out to make one happen. Ralph, awesomely played by young newcomer Adam Butcher, latches on to a chance remark by his teacher and track coach, Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), that his winning the Boston Marathon would be "a miracle," and undertakes a single-minded, if unconventional training program. Impressed by his resolve, Father Hibbert, trains the boy through his triumphant win at a local race and prepares him for the marathon, despite opposition from his superior, Father Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsent).

This bittersweet comedy from Samuel Goldwyn Films, was beautifully crafted by former Detroit Marathon winner (’85), writer/director Michael McGowan. Its Canadian cast delivers uniformly superb performances. The film has echoes of Brighton Beach Memoirs and Chariots of Fire, but comes out engagingly fresh, funny and very poignant (take your tissues). It premiered at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews and opens in Portland and Seattle in August. Don’t miss it! [Rated PG-13]

--Miriam Knight

 

CD: La Kahena
Cheb i Sabbah
Six Degrees Records, $16.98 (WM enhanced)

It is no surprise that La Kahena has been the No. 1 download on iTunes since its release in May, 2005. This exuberant celebration of life through the music of the Maghreb stirs body and soul. Cheb i Sabbah has made a career out of blending music from all over the world into kaleidoscopic, dance-floor mixes. He returns to his Algerian roots to bring the mystical Sufi spirit to life with his musical textures and orchestrations.

Sufi music is the spiritual trance music of the Gnawa tribes. Gnawa master Brahim Elbelkani conveys the spirit of sub-Saharan African mystic healers, originally brought to Morocco as slaves. Michal Cohen, a Jewish singer of Yemenite descent, shares a song based on a spiritual poem by Shalom Shabazi, the 16th century Yemenite Jewish mystic. The result is the creation of some entirely new forms of music from traditional voices of the Maghreb region in northwest Africa.

In La Kahena, Cheb i Sabbah ends up with a wonderful synthesis of voices, musical textures, and totally amazing rhythms, and I defy anyone to sit still while listening to them. www.sixdegreesrecords.com

--Miriam Knight