Walking Your Blues Away: How to Heal the Mind and Create Emotional Well-Being, by Thom Hartmann (Park Street Press, Rochester, VT, 2006) $12.95
Can it really be this simple? Just walk for thirty minutes and your traumas, fears, embarrassments, concerns and creative blocks will just melt away? Thom Hartmann emphatically answers "Yes!" After all, how did our ancient ancestors cope with witnessing a wild beast devouring their friend? They walked back to the village with the images racing through their minds then danced and drummed (also bilateral therapies) to say farewell to their friend and to process their emotions. Only in our modern walk-less society have we had to resort to professional office visits to help us cope with our emotional experiences. Using walking as a "whole-brain psychological healing process," Hartmann roots his technique in the successful work of Mesmer, the father of hypnosis, and Freud, while pointing out that his technique shares a basis with modern popular and successful therapies such as EMDR and Emotional Freedom Technique. Explaining the basics of how the brain receives, processes and permanently stores our experiences, Hartmann emphasizes that the Walking Your Blues Away technique does not mask your pain in forgetfulness, but rather processes what your brain failed to complete through other natural means, such as REM sleep. Described by one client, a mental health worker, as "the herb tea of therapy: easily administered, and of immense value. I would choose this over traditional therapy in a second." Using Hartmann’s incredibly simple technique, you will be amazed by how much your life can change by simply going for a walk.
Hiring the Heavens: A Practical Guide to Developing Working Relationships with the Spirits of Creation, by Jean Slatter (New World Library, Novato, CA, 2005) $12.95
If we believe that we are the physical manifestation of the divine, why, when it comes time to deal with the issues of daily existence like traffic and paying the bills, do we suddenly forget our divine nature, instead feeling afraid, angry and ultimately alone in our challenges? Jean Slatter, an intuitive natural health practitioner, reminds us in Hiring the Heavens that not only are we not alone, but that the entire universe is conspiring to help us succeed if only we allow it. In this lively text, she deftly shows how to quickly and easily bring your life into alignment with your divine purpose and acquire all the resources you need to reach your fullest potential. No matter how small or seemingly impossible your tasks and dreams, the Spirits of Creation are at your call, whether you see them as "actual beings, facets of own inner or higher selves, or a handy way to conceptualize the infinite resources and benevolence of the nonphysical dimension." Using creative and entertaining metaphors, such as finding help in the Universal Yellow Pages, learning to use your Angel Express Card (a credit card with no limit and no bills to pay!) or contacting the Spiritual Temp agency, Slatter inspires you to heed the call of your inner voice to create your life in alignment with the universe, take charge of your daily affairs, and accept your own divine power, all with a little help from your friends.
Quantum Doctor: A Physicist’s Guide to Health and Healing, by Amit Goswami, Ph.D. (Hampton Roads Publishing, Charlottesville, VA, 2004) $15.95.
"What is lacking in the field of mind-body medicine is a clear understanding of the manner in which mind and body can interact without dualism and of where the causal efficacy of that interaction lies." Amit Goswami closes this gap without sacrificing either breath or depth in his theory of Integral Medicine. Convincingly providing not only an underlying unity for all forms of alternative medicine (including: traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, biofeedback, chakra psychology, etc.) Goswami explains how each form works and places alternative medicine along with conventional medicine into one theory based on the primacy of consciousness as the mediator between mind and body, effectively erasing dualism. Goswami, a teacher, lecturer, researcher and the resident quantum physicist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, integrates the work of Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra and Larry Dossey while complimenting the work of other thinkers such as Ken Wilber, and creates a plausible explanatory principle where traditional scientists and doctors only find paradoxes. Rooted in creativity, spirituality and health research, Goswami’s text goes beyond declaring that we can actively choose between disease and healing and begins to place Integral Medicine into the concrete reality of the practicing doctor and participating patient, moving us towards a system of healing practices. Not willing to settle for simply healing our bodies, however, Goswami offers his theory in hopes that it will also be used to heal our spiritual selves.
