The following are new books supporting body, mind and soul:
Avoiding Karma: A Mind-Challenging Way to Recognize Who, Why, and What You Truly Are, by Guy Steven Needler (Ozark Mountain Publishing), 130 pages, $14 — Karma is only a function of the physical universe, and our true energetic selves, when attracted to the lower frequencies associated with the physical universe, are linked to it. Hence the need to return to it, to break the link, to break the Karmic cycle. Once the link with the physical is broken, the need to incarnate is no longer necessary and the true energetic self can ascend the frequencies, evolving in the process without needing to experience ever again those lower frequencies associated with the physical universe. The information within this book, given to the author by the Source Entity, is specifically designed to make people change their ways, to recognize who and what they truly are, to come out of their incarnate slumber and ascend. Some topics covered: attraction to any physicality; love your enemy – for he is you; fear only exists in the physical; the Source Entity’s Ten Commandments of Avoiding Karma; accept everything, resist nothing; how jealousy affects us; attachment; and karma attracts karma.
Be Nobody: Find Freedom in Being Everybody, by Lama Marut (Atria Books/Beyond Words), 288 pages, $16 — This follow-up to A Spiritual Renegade’s Guide to the Good Life calls for the biggest revolution of all: the overthrow of our obsessive quest to be somebody. Like boardwalk tourists poking their faces through two-dimensional cutouts of the muscle man and bathing beauty, we are all desperately trying to be somebody, to be “special.” No one wants to be a loser, a small fry, a big zero. But maybe we’ve got it all wrong. With an edgy tone and radical perspective, Lama Marut shows that the quest to distinguish ourselves is the true cause of our dissatisfaction, and it continually leaves us feeling isolated and alone. Drawing from the spiritual truism that only by losing the self can we discover our real potential, Be Nobody provides guidance, actions, and simple meditations to help you lay down the heavy burden of trying to be somebody–without requiring you to live in a monastery or retire to a cave in the Himalayas. When we vacate ourselves, we will finally have the freedom to find true fulfillment. So stop narrating your life and start living it. Be nobody.
Black Smoke: Healing and Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon, by Margaret De Wys (Inner Traditions/Bear & Co.) 224 pages, $14.95 — A diagnosis of cancer leads to healing and transformation in the Amazon jungle. Black Smoke explains in vivid detail De Wys’s experience of being healed from cancer through visionary ayahuasca rituals in Ecuador. It describes her apprenticeship and relationship with the shaman who cured her and explores the ways this spiritual medicine can heal the emotional origins of disease now plaguing our modern technological culture. When composer and Bard College music professor Margaret De Wys learned she had breast cancer, the diagnosis shattered her comfortable life. Seized by fear, crushed by existential loneliness, she couldn’t respond when her loved ones reached out to her. To everyone’s concern, the illness propelled her away from her family and deep into the Amazon to work with Carlos, a charismatic Shuar shaman and master of medicina milenaria, an ancient mystical tradition with a highly sophisticated and precise technology of healing. In Black Smoke, De Wys writes of her amazing encounter with Carlos as he guided her into a world of potent visionary plants, harrowing initiations, ritual purification, and miraculous healings, including the complete disappearance of her cancer. It was, as Carlos called it, “the path of the warrior.” Sharing a journey not only through cancer but also through self-transformation, De Wys provides an intimate inside look at the shamanic ceremonies of ayahuasca and the ways this spiritual medicine can heal the emotional origins of disease now plaguing our modern technological culture. Capturing her physical, emotional, and “holy voyage” through a world that differs vastly from our own in its perception of healing and wholeness, she offers a revealing chronicle of spiritual insight and a trenchant exploration of the limits of idealism. She not only provides a probing look at how our society can learn and benefit from indigenous wisdom but also weaves a cautionary tale about how potentially dangerous it is — on both sides — to try to cross those frontiers.
Building Your Business the Right-Brain Way: Sustainable Success for the Creative Entrepreneur, by Jennifer Lee (New World Library), 248 pages, $21.95 — If you’ve started a business, you know that the journey toward success can be both invigorating and confusing, so where can you find advice that is practical and focused but still as playful and passionate as you are? Look no further than this book, which combines solid business expertise with a right-brain perspective that inspires creativity and innovation. Jennifer Lee’s fresh, empowering approach emphasizes taking action and continually improving to achieve extraordinary long-term results. Building Your Business the Right-Brain Way offers real-world-tested techniques that can benefit all sorts of businesses, whether you’re a sole proprietor running a coaching practice, a crafter looking to license products, a wellness professional with a team of employees, or any creative soul making a meaningful difference with your work. You’ll discover how to: assess your business’s unique “ecosystem”; build your brand and attract, engage, and keep ideal customers; develop new income streams that better leverage your time and resources; promote your products and services with authenticity and ease; grow your team (virtual and in-person) and manage staff and vendors; establish infrastructure and procedures to keep operations running smoothly; and carve out vital white space to pause, reflect, and celebrate
Collapsing Consciously: Transformative Truths for Turbulent Times, by Carolyn Baker (North Atlantic Books), 208 pages, $19.95 — A collection of probing essays and weekly meditations, this book addresses how to prepare emotionally and spiritually for the impending collapse of industrial civilization. Author Carolyn Baker offers wisdom, inspiration, and a sense of spiritual purpose for anyone who is concerned about the daunting future humankind has created. The author’s introduction to Collapsing Consciously articulates our current predicament of economic collapse, environmental degradation, and global conflict and expresses the confusion, anxiety, grief, anger, and despair we all experience when we take a hard look at the present-day global crisis and the likely future of the planet. But rather than showing us ways to prevent the collapse, Baker argues that the demise of our consumerist, corporate culture is inevitable, and that it is crucial to prepare emotionally and spiritually for the certain changes to come. Collapsing Consciously is a refreshing take on the perilous present and the grim prospects for our future. Instead of quoting discouraging statistics about our predicament, Baker offers a deeper perspective that makes sense of a world that most of the time appears psychotic or even surreal. Through inspiration and perennial wisdom she has created a manual for making meaning and generating joy, especially in situations that feel hopelessly devoid of both.
Communing with the Divine: A Clairvoyant’s Guide to Angels, Archangels and the Spiritual Hierarchy, by Barbara Y. Martin & Dimitri Moraitis (Penguin Group) 353 pages, $17.95 — In their newest book, award-winning authors Barbara Y. Martin and Dimitri Moraitis explore the sacred art of communing with celestial beings. Reading of Martin’s extensive direct clairvoyant experiences, this book will teach you to work closely with angels, archangels, and other divine beings who guide you in day-to-day living and help you achieve your destiny. You will learn how to strengthen your intuitive powers and hear what the divine is telling you, and thrill to accounts of Martin’s compelling personal encounters with celestial beings and her eye-opening encounters with dark spirits. Communing with the Divine is a practical training manual and an inspirational guide, with full-color illustrations of celestial beings and their auric composition. In it, you will discover: various types of angels, including joy guides, teaching angels, and guardian angels; techniques to call on Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, and other archangels; and ways in which leaders of the spiritual hierarchy influence your life.
Eating Well, Living Better: The Grassroots Gourmet Guide to Good Health and Great food, by Michael S. Fenster, M.D. (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers), 324 pages, $18.95 — Everyone loves to eat. And everyone wants to be healthy. But how do we navigate between today’s extremes–between those offering us gastronomic gluttony and the siren song of convenient junk food and those preaching salvation only through deprivation and boring food choices? Dr. Michael Fenster draws upon his expertise and training as an interventional cardiologist and as a chef to forge a path through this wilderness to offer readers a middle path that endorses both fine dining and health eating. As a chef and foodie, and someone who has battled the bulge himself, he knows that if the food doesn’t taste great, no one will sustain any program for a lifetime. Here, Dr. Mike introduces the idea of becoming a Grassroots Gourmet. Being a Grassroots Gourmet is all about using fresh, wholesome ingredients, from local sources when you can get them. It is about the judicious use of salt, sugars, and fat to create wonderfully appealing and tasty, restaurant-worthy dishes. You do not need to be a trained chef; a few simple techniques, described here, go along way. As a physician, chef, and martial arts expert, Fenster combines knowledge from all three fields to present a cooking and dining program that recognizes our desire to eat great food without gaining weight and without sacrificing our health along the way. Revealing the latest data on previously forbidden foods like red meat and foie gras, Dr. Mike describes why these can be delicious and healthy choices. He guides the reader step by step through a philosophy of eating and living that is sustainable and enjoyable once the commitment is made, and offers original, kitchen-tested recipes, and information about various food choices.
The Ecstasy of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life, by Judith Orloff, M.D. (Harmony Books), 432 pages, $26 — Are you longing for your life to be easier and more fun? Would you like to stop pushing, micromanaging, and forcing things so you can relax? What if you could enjoy what you have instead of always lusting for “more”? What if you could live in “the zone,” propelled by powerful currents toward the right people and opportunities? What if you could stop worrying about money and live with more emotional ease in the moment? If you answer “yes” to all these questions and desire lasting positive change, then prepare to experience the ecstasy of surrender. The art of letting go, Dr. Judith Orloff explains, is the secret key to manifesting power and success in all areas of life, including work, relationships, sexuality, radiant aging, and health and healing. In our superconnected world where emails and text messages constantly interrupt us, it’s easier to let go than you think. Once embraced, surrendering removes roadblocks and the exhaustion that comes from “trying too hard” — and it helps you achieve goals more effortlessly and brings ongoing happiness. With her stunning gift for storytelling coupled with her unique, results-oriented approach to physical, emotional, and spiritual health — marrying neuroscience, psychiatry, intuitive medicine, energy techniques, and more — Judith provides a powerful, practical, and accessible map for anyone who is longing to be happier but who feels stuck, burned-out, tense, worried, or afraid to let go.
Education of a Guardian Angel: The Training of a Spirit Guide, by Annie Stillwater Gray (Ozark Mountain Publishing), 475 pages, $19 — The Master Guides have decided it is time for humans to know what is possible. The relationship between a human and a Spirit Guide is and has always been sacred. Now a combination of factors is making conscious contact and constant communication between Guides and humans a reality. The time is right for you to not only know your Guides, but to develop a deep relationship with them. You can work with your Guides to improve your life and life on Earth. It is a challenging and joyful undertaking. This is the true-life account of the author’s experiences with her Life Guide. This beautiful story gives us insight into the education of a Guardian Angel. Meet Darcimon Stillwater, a soul newly departed from Earth, who is informed that he has earned the opportunity to become a Spirit Guide. Follow Darci as he faces test after test, learning to interact with the human world with unconditional love and non-judgment. Learn, as he learns, about karma, birth imprints, death imprints, telepathy, energy, healing and the workings of the universe.
Encyclopedia of Goddesses & Heroines, by Patricia Monaghan, Ph.D. (New World Library), 448 pages, $29.95 — Groundbreaking scholar Patricia Monaghan (1946-2012) spent her life researching, writing about, and documenting goddesses and heroines from all religions and all corners of the globe. Dr. Monaghan is widely hailed as one of the pioneers in feminine spirituality. Her work demonstrated that from the beginning of recorded history, goddesses reigned alongside their male counterparts as figures of inspiration and awe. Drawing on anthropology, folklore, literature, and psychology, Dr, Monaghan’s vibrant and accessible encyclopedia covers female deities from Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, Asia and Oceania, Europe and the Americas, as well as every major religious tradition. Encyclopedia of Goddesses & Heroines provides a comprehensive introduction to the ways these figures have been viewed through the ages, covering the myths and attributes of goddesses and female spiritual powers from around the world. It makes clear that the history of goddesses is essential to understanding the historical, cultural and spiritual histories of all peoples — and is undeniably meaningful and resonant in contemporary life. Today, even the most modern among us still speak of Mother Earth and Mother Nature, yet few books offer the depth and breadth of knowledge and information about the feminine divine as this revised edition.
Experiencing Spirituality: Finding Meaning Through Storytelling, by Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham (Penguin Group) 352 pages, $25.95 — A great master once said, “The shortest distance between a human being and truth is a story.” In Experiencing Spirituality, Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham take readers on a journey through storytelling as a means of self-discovery. Recounting and interpreting great wisdom stories from all ages and all cultures, as well as telling many of their own, the authors shed light on such experiences as awe, wonder, humor, confusion and forgiveness. In story after story, seekers look to those whose lives reveal a special quality–sometimes called spirituality–and ask the masters what they must do to attain that same quality. The answer is simple: “Come, follow me, and see how I live.” Experiencing Spirituality teaches through the example of human experience. The authors of the bestselling classic, The Spirituality of Imperfection, highlight the importance of human experience for spiritual growth. With its rich source material and non-linear format, Experiencing Spirituality epitomizes the classic theme of the spiritual teacher or master showing rather than telling his student how to attain enlightenment.
Exploring the Crack in the Cosmic Egg: Split Minds and Meta-Realities, by Joseph Chilton Pearce (Inner Traditions/Bear & Co.) 208 pages, $14.95 — In this classic follow-up to his bestselling The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, Joseph Chilton Pearce explains the process of acculturation and the mechanisms that create our self-limiting “cosmic egg” of consensus reality. Laying the groundwork for his later classic Magical Child, Pearce shows that we go through early childhood connecting with the world through our senses. With the development of language and the process of acculturation not only do our direct experiences of the world become much less vivid but our innate states of nonordinary consciousness become suppressed. Trapped in a specific cultural context–a “cosmic egg”–we are no longer able to have or even recognize mystical experiences not mediated by the limitations of our culture. Motivated primarily by a fear of death, our enculturation literally splits our minds and prevents us from living fully in the present. Drawing from Carlos Castaneda’s writings about Don Juan and the sense of “body-knowing,” Pearce explores the varieties of nonordinary consciousness that can help us return to the unencumbered consciousness of our infancy. He shows that just as we each create our own cosmic egg of reality through cultural conditioning, we also innately create a “crack” in that egg. Ultimately certain shifts in our biological development take place to offset acculturation, leaving an avenue of return to our primary state. Pearce examines the creation of the “egg” itself and ways to discover its inherent cracks to restore wholeness to our minds, release us from our fear of death, and reestablish our ability to create our own realities through imagination and biological transcendence.
Fight Diabetes with Vitamins and Antioxidants, by Kedar N. Prasad (Inner Traditions/Bear & Co.), 240 pages, $16.95 — In this practical yet scientific guide, leading researcher in cancer, heart disease, and diabetes prevention Kedar N. Prasad, Ph.D., reveals the latest revolutionary discoveries on the use of antioxidants and micronutrients to treat diabetes. He details how the proper combinations of vitamin and antioxidant supplements can greatly increase the effectiveness of standard medical treatments to halt and even reverse the progression of both type I and type II diabetes and prevent onset in those who are diagnosed as pre-diabetic. Prasad shows how chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and free radical damage are the chief culprits for the progression of diabetes and its complications and that merely changing your diet and activity level and regulating blood glucose levels cannot fully counteract this unhealthy internal state. He provides an easy-to-follow daily supplement regime for both diabetics and pre-diabetics in multiple age groups to target free radical damage and cell injury and stop the progression of diabetes complications. Reviewing much of the scientific research on diabetes treatment, he debunks the flawed conclusions of the medical community that vitamins and antioxidants are ineffective, revealing how the studies focused on specific micronutrients rather than synergistic combinations. Offering the missing complement to the standard care of diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes promoted by mainstream medicine, this guide provides a truly holistic approach to diabetes prevention, treatment, and care.
Indie Spiritualist: A No-Bullshit Exploration of Spirituality, by Chris Grosso (Atria Books/Beyond Words) 272 pages, $15 — Brutally honest and radically unconventional, Chris Grosso’s collection of stories and musings about his meandering journey of self-inquiry, recovery and acceptance shows what it means to live a truly authentic spiritual life. Set amongst the backdrop of Grosso’s original music (included for download via QR codes in the text), Indie Spiritualist encourages you to accept yourself just as you are, in all your humanity and imperfect perfection. After years of heavy addiction, Grosso found himself literally on his knees, utterly lost and broken. Grasping for life, he needed to find a new path, one that went beyond conventional religious or spiritual doctrine — one free of bullshit.
Making Marks: Discover the Art of Intuitive Drawing, by Elaine Clayton (Atria Books/Beyond Words), 224 pages, $18 — Through the simple act of drawing — whether it’s doodling or creating detailed illustrations — embrace your inner voice and unlock the power of your intuitive intelligence. Do you remember being a child and the pure joy brought on by a box of crayons and piece of paper? Do you still find yourself sketching away every time you pick up a pencil? That’s because drawing is a natural impulse that stays with us throughout our entire lives. Whether you are doodling in a notebook or carving your name in the sand, this simple, stream-of-consciousness activity is a window into your deepest, truest self. In Making Marks, you’ll learn that every single line, smudge, or spot you make contains visual imagery with the power to heal the past, develop your sense of empathy, and reveal solutions and answers you never realized before. You don’t need to have any specific experience or skills to benefit from this book; through simple steps and interactive exercises, people of all ages and artistic abilities can gain insight and learn to reconnect with their creative selves. With beautiful black-and-white and full-color illustrations, Making Marks is a powerful guide to self-discovery. Tap into your unconsciousness as artist and spiritual guide Elaine Clayton takes you on a journey of the soul.
Peaks and Valleys: Integrative Approaches for Recovering from Loss, by Sherry O’Brian (Ozark Mountain Publishing), 128 pages, $13 — Learn how to transform your pain into possibility. Many losses are subtle and go unrecognized; some are life changing. Whether it is the loss of a loved one, a relationship, or a job, the energy of grief often weighs heavily upon our hearts. These losses can accumulate and make it difficult for us to enjoy life. This book provides readers with powerful tools to transform and recover from any kind of loss and reawaken to the possibility of joy in their lives. Are you having difficulty moving forward after a significant loss? Are you searching for meaning and purpose in your life? Have you lost your sense of self or identity as a result of a significant loss? The powerful tools and techniques shared in this book will keep help people who are you having difficulty moving forward or who are searching for meaning and purpose in their life after a significant loss. In short, the author will help all to triumph over tragedy.
Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm: Beyond the Doors of Perception Into the Dreaming of Earth, by Stephen Harrod Buhner (Inner Traditions/Bear & Co.), 576 pages, $26 — In Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm, Stephen Harrod Buhner reveals that all life forms on Earth possess intelligence, language, a sense of I and not I, and the capacity to dream. He shows that by consciously opening the doors of perception, we can reconnect with the living intelligences in Nature as kindred beings, become again wild scientists, non-domesticated explorers of a Gaian world just as Goethe, Barbara McClintock, James Lovelock and others have done. For as Einstein commented, “We cannot solve the problems facing us by using the same kind of thinking that created them.” Buhner explains how to use analogical thinking and imaginal perception to directly experience the inherent meanings that flow through the world, that are expressed from each living form that surrounds us, and to directly initiate communication in return. He delves deeply into the ecological function of invasive plants, bacterial resistance to antibiotics, psychotropic plants and fungi, and, most importantly, the human species itself. He shows that human beings are not a plague on the planet, they have a specific ecological function as important to Gaia as that of plants and bacteria. Buhner shows that the capacity for depth connection and meaning-filled communication with the living world is inherent in every human being. It is as natural as breathing, as the beating of our own hearts, as our own desire for intimacy and love. We can change how we think and in so doing begin to address the difficulties of our times.
Plant Spirit Medicine, by Eliot Cowan (Sounds True), 256 pages, $16.95 — Whether you live in a mountain cabin or a city loft, plant spirits present themselves to us everywhere. Since it’s first printing in 1995, Plant Spirit Medicine has passed hand-to-hand among countless readers drawn to indigenous spirituality and all things alive and green. In this updated edition, Eliot Cowan invites us to discover the healing power of plants-not merely their physical medicinal properties, but the deeper wisdom and gifts that they offer. Enriched by many new insights, this guide unfolds as a series of chapters on how plant spirit medicine helped Cowan resolve specific challenges in his own healing journey and in his work with others. In the telling, we learn how plant spirits can directly communicate with and aid all of us, including: plant spirit medicine’s five-element view of healing; ways to assess our own states of health and balance; receiving guidance from plants, including those found within herbal preparations; and new passages on community and sacred plants such as peyote, marijuana and tobacco.
Resurrecting Jesus: Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic, by Adyashanti (Sounds True), 272 pages, $25.95 — The story of Jesus has not waned in its power to change lives. Yet today, even though the majority of us grew up in a culture suffused by the mythos of Jesus, many of us feel disconnected from the essence and vitality of his teachings. With Resurrecting Jesus, Adyashanti invites us to rediscover the life and teachings of Jesus as a direct path to what may be the most radical of transformations: spiritual awakening. Jesus crossed all of the boundary lines that separated the people of his time because he viewed the world from the perspective of what unites us, not what divides us. In Resurrecting Jesus, Adya asks us to consider the man known as Jesus as a model of enlightened engagement with the world. He examines the story of Jesus from his birth to the Resurrection to reveal how the central events in Jesus’ life parallel the stages of awakening that we may be called to experience ourselves. Adya then illuminates five central archetypes of the Jesus story — Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, Judas, and Pontius Pilate — and the key insights they hold about the way we might relate to the spiritual impulse within. Our journey concludes with an inspiring call to “live the Christ” in a way that is unique to each one of us.
The Self-Actualizing Cosmos: The Akasha Revolution in Science and Human Consciousness, by Ervin Laszlo (Inner Traditions/Bear & Co.), 208 pages, $14.95 — Science evolves through alternating phases of “normal science” and radical shifts that create scientific revolutions. We saw this at the turn of the 20th century, when science shifted from a Newtonian worldview to Einstein’s relativity paradigm, and again with the shift to the quantum paradigm. Now, as we recognize the nonlocal interconnection of all things in space and time, we find our scientific worldview shifting once again. With contributions by physicists Paul A. LaViolette and Peter Jakubowski, pioneering systems scientist Ervin Laszlo explores the genesis of the current revolution in scientific thought and the latest findings in support of the Akashic field. He explains how the burgeoning Akasha paradigm returns our way of thinking to an integral consciousness, a nonlinear mode of understanding that enables us to accept the reality of nonlocal interconnection throughout the world. This new inclusive way of understanding reaffirms the age-old instinctive comprehension of deep connections among people, societies, and nature, and it integrates and transcends classical religious and scientific paradigms. Providing examples from cutting-edge science of quantum-resonance-based interactions among all living systems, Laszlo shows the cosmos of the Akasha to be a self-actualizing, self-organizing whole, where each part is in coherence with all others and all parts together create the conditions for the emergence of life and consciousness. The advent of the Akasha paradigm marks a new stage in science’s understanding of the fundamental nature of the world and offers unique guidance for contemporary efforts to create a peaceful and sustainable world.
Soul Contracts: Find Harmony and Unlock Your Brilliance, by Danielle MacKinnon (Atria Books/Beyond Words), 208 pages, $15, available June 24 — Stop worrying and start living. This entirely new approach to life helps you recognize and release hidden barriers in your soul that are blocking the way to true happiness and success.How many times have you wondered why, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t keep a relationship? Can’t stay healthy? Can’t make enough money? Can’t find happiness? Have you ever stopped to think–perhaps there is some other force at work? In Soul Contracts, intuitive coach and consultant Danielle MacKinnon helps you recognize and release the energetic barriers lodged deep in your soul, called soul contracts. Born out of despair, fear, pain, or anger, a soul contract is an unconscious promise that you’ve made with yourself in the past that is now hindering your ability to move forward in life. Through a five-step process, you can identify, master, and release these hidden blocks, and thus unlock your greatest potential. Don’t let anything stand in the way of living the life you deserve. Soul Contracts can help you eliminate these barriers and start living a brilliant, happy, and prosperous life.
The Tao of Intimacy and Ecstasy: Realizing the Promise of Spiritual Union, by Solala Towler (Sounds True), 182 pages, $16.95 — Harmony is the essence of a lasting and loving relationship,” teaches Solala Towler, “and no teaching offers us greater insight into the path of harmony than the Tao.” For anyone seeking to build greater connection, intimacy, and sexual fulfillment in their relationship, Towler presents The Tao of Intimacy and Ecstasy — an essential guide to a natural and joyous way of love. Filled with timeless practices and guidance for both individuals and couples, this elegant book explores: how to use the principle of yin/yang to find balance both within your relationship as well as within yourself; the art of clear, respectful, and authentic communication; using sexual energy for fun and sensual lovemaking, spiritual cultivation, and better health; and chi gong (qigong) exercises, tai chi practices, and meditations to balance your subtle energies and align your spirit with that of your partner. Does building a lasting relationship always require hard work and effort–or can you instead follow the natural flow of love, desire, and spiritual connection between you and your partner? With The Tao of Intimacy and Ecstasy, Solala Towler offers a practical and inspiring guide to traveling the “watercourse way” with your partner — one that gives you both the space to grow, explore, and discover the richness of your sacred union.
Toxin Toxout: Getting Harmful Chemicals out of Our Bodies and Our World, by Bruce Lourie and Rick Smith (St. Martin’s Press), 304 pages, $25.99 — The Rubber Duck boys are back, and after showing us all the ways that toxins get in our bodies, now they give us a guide for scrubbing those toxins out. Following the runaway success of their first book, two of North America’s leading environmental activists give practical and often surprising advice for removing toxic chemicals and cleansing our bodies and homes. There are over 80,000 synthetic chemicals in commerce today, including hormone-disrupting phthalates and parabens, cancer-causing pesticides, heavy metals and air pollutants. Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie use their outrageous experiments (they and their brave volunteers are the guinea pigs) to prove how easily our bodies absorb these chemicals from the foods we eat, the air we breathe, and the products we smear on our skin — day after day. Then they give us the good news about what is in our control and the steps we can take for reducing our toxic burden. They investigate the truth behind organic foods, which detox methods actually work, if indoor air quality is improving, and how we dispose of waste (where do those chemicals go?). The result is nothing short of a prescription for a healthier life.
Without You There, by Paramananda Ishaya (Mantra Books/John Hunt Publishing), 175 pages, $19.95 — Without You There takes a look at the Zen of Unity and presents the author’s unique perspective. By avoiding conceptual traps and, therefore, lessening the time it takes to live in full realization, Paramananda offers the reader a way to resonate with their own authority. “Paramananda takes on the challenge of articulating the nondual, which is often conveyed in an overly holy, very serious, and impersonal way, and fills it with humor, humanness, and user-friendly accessibility, with bright gems of wisdom strewn throughout. A beautiful book,” writes Mariana Caplan, Ph.D., psychotherapist and author of Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path and Halfway Up the Mountain. The author, Paramananda, is an internationally known Teacher of the Bright Path based in Vancouver, Canada.
Your (Re)Defining Moments: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be, by Dennis Merritt Jones (Penguin Group), 272 pages, $15.95 — Who does your soul ask you to be? In Your ReDefining Moments, Dennis Merritt Jones provides an exciting road map back to our center, where we will find our Authentic Self. It can seem like every person, every television show, and every ad has an idea of who we are supposed to be. But who does your soul ask you to be? In Your ReDefining Moments, spiritual teacher Dennis Merritt Jones offers a road map back to your center, where you will find your Authentic Self. It is from that center, Merritt Jones shows, that you can live the life you were born for, rather than the tug-of-war so many people get caught up in, trying to be all things to all people, trying to be anyone but who they truly are. In Your ReDefining Moments, you will discover the Seven Intrinsic Qualities of the Authentic Self: Wholeness, Reverence, Fearlessness, Integrity, Non-attachment, Non-judgment and Unconditional Love. Being who you are matters; the gift of your Authentic Self is the gift you have come to share with the world.
