The following are new books that will make inspiring summer reading.
Dr. Bernie Siegel writes with humorous, down-to-earth wisdom that has improved the lives of countless readers. In 365 Prescriptions for the Soul, he treats us to his most user-friendly work of all: daily doses of inspiration and humor that gently and joyfully help us live more peaceful, loving and fulfilling lives. This is a practical, hands-on guide full of practical ideas for strengthening the body, mind and spirit. A topic is presented for each day of the year, accompanied by an inspirational quote and a “SOULution of the Day.” Dr. Siegel reminds us that in order for his prescriptions to help us, we must go beyond simply reading them by directly applying their wisdom to our lives. “My prescription for you,” he says, “is to use this book as part of your daily ritual. Take the time to read a selection and reflect on its meaning for you. Allow it to make a difference in your day, and help heal your life and the lives of those you touch. May this book guide you to a place where your heart will find true peace.”
Because science has long taught us to rely on what we can see and touch, we often don’t notice that our spirit, thoughts, emotions and body are all made of energy. Everything is vibrating. In fact, each of us has a personal vibration that communicates who we are to the world and helps shape our reality. In Frequency, Penney Peirce shows you how to feel your personal vibration and work intentionally with energy to transform your life. By learning to find your “home frequency” – the highest, most natural personal vibration you can attain – you can maximize clarity, minimize struggle and discover new talents and capacities. Awakening to the new reality that a higher frequency reveals can help you dramatically improve relationships, find upscale solutions to problems and materialize a life that contains everything you need. Frequency shows you how to manage your energy “state” so you can stay on track with your destiny – and reap the benefits of the life you’re truly built for. Weaving together fundamental ideas from quantum physics with proven intuition techniques, Frequency takes readers into new knowledge and skills only hinted at in recent popular books and DVDs like The Secret.
Sum is a dazzling exploration of funny and unexpected afterlives that have never been considered – each presented as a vignette that offers us a stunning lens through which to see ourselves here and now. In one afterlife, you may find that God is the size of a microbe and is unaware of your existence. In another, your creators are a species of dim-witted creatures who built us to figure out what they could not. In a different version of the afterlife you work as a background character in other people’s dreams. Or you may find that God is a married couple struggling with discontent, or that the afterlife contains only those people whom you remember, or that the hereafter includes the thousands of previous gods who no longer attract followers. These wonderfully imagined tales – at once funny, wistful and unsettling – are rooted in science and romance and awe at our mysterious existence: a mixture of death, hope, computers, immortality, love, biology, and desire that exposes radiant new facets of our humanity.
Dr. Nancy L. Snyderman’s instant New York Times bestseller, Medical Myths That Can Kill You, separated fact from fiction in an effort to challenge common medical myths in our culture. In her new book, Dr. Snyderman takes on diet myths both big and small. Ever wonder if muscle really weighs more than fat? If you can eat after 8 p.m. and not gain weight? Do you feel confused over the true meanings of low carb, low cal, reduced fat and low fat? Do you wonder, as so many of us do, if carbs really are the enemy? Throughout the book, Dr. Snyderman explains the history and underlining meaning of these myths – and the truths behind them.
Why is it that good fortune is often followed by negative emotions that overtake us and result in destructive behaviors? “I don’t deserve this,” “this is too good to be true,” or other harmful thought patterns prevent us from experiencing the joy and satisfaction that we have earned. This is what New York Times bestselling author Gay Hendricks calls the Upper Limit Problem, a negative emotional reaction that occurs when anything positive enters our lives. In The Big Leap, Dr. Hendricks presents a simple yet comprehensive program for overcoming this barrier to happiness and fulfillment, and the book delivers a proven method for breaking through to achieve what Hendricks refers to as our Zone of Genius.
Does being a single woman mean something different today than it did a few decades ago? Are more women choosing to remain single than in years past? What kinds of challenges, if any, do they still face and what does this mean for the rest of society? These questions and much more are revealed by Jane Ganahl, who wrote the popular “Single Minded” column in the San Francisco Chronicle for nearly five years, by assembling a chorus of sophisticated, edgy and humorous voices who tackle the topic of being female, unmarried and in one’s prime. “Many, many women are single by default,” Ms. Ganahl says. “And these women are forced to reinvent their lives from scratch, sometimes very unhappily. In my experience, what gives these women comfort is the very act of reinvention – doing some personal exploration, discovering what is meaningful to them, and pursuing those things with a passion.
Cartwheels in a Sari opens as Jayanti’s devout parents swaddled her in a sari and plopped her before the throne of the man who declared himself God – known as Sri Chinmoy. Shuttling between the Guru’s ashram in Queens, New York, and her family’s outpost as his Connecticut missionaries, Jayanti was the ultimate insider in a community of radical outsiders. As she grows up in the cult, Jayanti unmasks a leader who convinced tens of thousands of disciples to follow him, scores of nations to dedicate monuments to him – the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, and the Sydney Opera House – and throngs of celebrities to extol him – Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, and Sting. Carlos Santana and his wife were members of the cult for nine years, before leaving to have a child (sex and marriage – as well as TV, dancing, radio, and eating red meat, were forbidden). After repeated attempts to leave, Jayanti was permanently banned from the cult when she was 25 years old. Sri Chinmoy died in October 2007, though his movement continues to flourish. Cartwheels in a Sari is a book about a young woman’s struggle to break free from her family’s unconventional life. It shines a fascinating light on a world most of us could never imagine.
In his new book, beloved poet-philosopher and international best-selling author Noah benShea reveals, “Greatness isn’t ahead of you; it’s within you.” With these wise words, Noah defines what greatness really means and guides you on a personal journey toward happiness, fulfillment, and a life of meaning and purpose. Now a national public television special, The Journey to Greatness book shares Noah benShea’s deeply profound insights with warmth, wit and wisdom. His inspirational messages and life-changing stories offer a practical and commonsense approach to life, leading towards the realization that true greatness is not so much about what you have, but who you are. “If you are hoping this book will change your life, the answer is, it won’t. Only you can transform your life. What this book can do is help. This is less of a book and more of an operating manual for living a great life on planet earth and stopping the pain of being less than you always promised yourself would be or could be,” says Noah.
The founder of the phenomenally successful web site DoOneNiceThing.com, Debbie Tenzer has written a book that promotes the idea of doing a nice thing once a week. “In spite of everything that’s going on in the world now, we can make it better, and we don’t need a lot of time or money to do it,” Ms. Tenzer says. She believes that in today’s world full of pink slips and bad news, helping others once a week is empowering. “Maybe we can’t solve the big problems, but by working together we can solve a lot of smaller ones. And we’ll help ourselves, too. I call it strength training for the soul. By making kindness a regular habit, we can exercise our compassion muscles and keep them strong.
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