UPPER MIDWEST TITLES
Breaking Free from Pain and Opioids: Discovering the Hypnosis Option, by Roberta K. Fernandez (FARE Hypnosis), 92 pages — If you suffer from chronic pain, this is the book to help you take back control! The Facts: “Chronic pain affects an estimated 100 million people – nearly one- third of our entire population. This is more than those affected by heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined. Seventy-eight Americans die every day from an overdose of opioids. This includes heroin and prescription painkillers like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone. Deaths from prescription painkillers have quadrupled since 1999, as have the number of prescriptions for them” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Opioids are the first line of treatment for most chronic pain sufferers. But there are other options that have no negative side effects or issues of addiction. Understanding how the brain processes pain provides the realization that you do have control over how you perceive it. Studies in neuroscience have shown that the brain cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is vividly imagined. This is why hypnosis is an important addition to your toolkit. Because all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, you can learn to take back control from your pain and manage your level of comfort in the way you want to perceive it. Fernandez balances personal and client stories, explains how your brain processes pain and provides the scientific research that gives insight into the effectiveness of hypnosis for pain management.
Living from the Center Within: Co-Creating Who You Are Becoming, by Michele Rae (Paragon House Publishers), 224 pages — Living From the Center Within is a highly engaging, interactive, informative and accessible journey toward higher consciousness. Moving from personal pain and lacking to abundance and wholeness is possible. Living From the Center Within helps readers center, quiet and open the mind-body-heart. Using the wisdom of ancient teaching and modern science, invitations to daily transformative practice and reflection questions, Rae walks with readers through three levels of human consciousness. Expanding awareness, focusing attention and clarifying intention brings people to their center within. Living from one’s true nature amplifies creativity and benefits the personal and professional life. It also has collective impact culturally, politically and economically as people become more effective at service, relationships and work. Living From the Center Within explains how minds, bodies and emotions are intertwined, and gives the reader tools to move toward a healthier self. It is for people eager to actualize their beings and fall in love with their lives. You can live full out and fearlessly from a sense of calm, joy, and peace. With increased awareness, we naturally shift toward transparency, compassion, tolerance and interdependence. Now is the time for humanity to claim a higher level of consciousness for personal and communal growth.
Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry-changing Egg Farm — from Scratch, by Lucie B. Amundsen (Avery), 336 pages — When Lucie Amundsen had a rare night out with her husband, she never imagined what he’d tell her over dinner — that his dream was to quit his office job (with benefits!) and start a commercial-scale pasture-raised egg farm. His entire agricultural experience consisted of raising five backyard hens, none of whom had yet laid a single egg. To create this pastured poultry ranch, the couple scrambles to acquire nearly two thousand chickens — all named Lola. These hens, purchased commercially, arrive bereft of basic chicken-y instincts, such as the evening urge to roost. The newbie farmers also deal with their own shortcomings, making for a failed inspection and intense struggles to keep livestock alive (much less laying) during a brutal winter. But with a heavy dose of humor, they learn to negotiate the highly stressed no-man’s-land known as Middle Agriculture. Amundsen sees firsthand how these mid-sized farms, situated between small-scale operations and mammoth factory farms, are vital to rebuilding America’s local food system. With an unexpected passion for this dubious enterprise, Amundsen shares a messy, wry, and entirely educational story of the unforeseen payoffs (and frequent pitfalls) of one couple’s ag adventure — and many, many hours spent wrangling chickens.
The Road to Spiritual Freedom: Mahanta Transcripts, Book 17, by Harold Klemp (Eckankar), 381 pages — Do you relish life? Is it an adventure of discovery, joy, and satisfaction? It can be! Harold Klemp confronts a world of limitations and offers startling possibilities. His wisdom and heart-opening stories of everyday people having extraordinary experiences tell of a secret truth at work in your life–there is divine purpose and meaning to every experience you have. Every single moment of your life is the handiwork of a higher cause. And you can know what it is. Hint: God’s love is the key, and spiritual freedom is the goal. If you want true freedom from the limitations upon your heart, mind, and spirit, here’s a chance to earn it. Be open to the inner voice of Soul–your true self–as you explore the revelations given within these pages. Pay attention to your dreams. Invite the wonder of the great unknown into your being. Are you ready to accept the freedom of a new state of consciousness? Then nothing can hold you back. Spiritual freedom can be yours! Harold Klemp speaks to spiritual seekers and members of the Eckankar religion twice a year at international seminars. As the spiritual leader of the teaching, he is known as the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. These transcripts reveal his approach to giving insights, wisdom, and guidance through the stories of people from around the world. Spanning a variety of topics, this book is a compilation of his talks from 2000 to 2006. Author Harold Klemp is known as a pioneer of today’s focus on everyday spirituality. He was raised on a Wisconsin farm and attended divinity school. He also served in the U.S. Air Force. In 1981, after years of training, he became the spiritual leader of Eckankar, Religion of the Light and Sound of God. His full title is Sri Harold Klemp, the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master. His mission is to help people find their way back to God in this life.
Shamanic Wisdom for Pregnancy and Parenthood: Practices to Embrace the Transformative Power of Becoming a Parent, by Anna Cariad-Barrett (Inner Traditions/Bear & Company), 288 pages — The journey into parenthood transforms us, whether our children are biological, adopted, in spirit, or not yet conceived. As we give birth through heart or body, we not only shape-shift into mothers and fathers, but also gain access to the deep inner well of spiritual wisdom that opens with initiation into parenthood. In this guide to consciously exploring the shamanic journey of pregnancy and parenthood, Anna Cariad-Barrett offers techniques and ceremonies to honor the transformation of becoming a parent and engage the sacred wisdom-keeper within. She provides tools and meditations to create personal shamanic medicine to support you and your family on this journey as well as connect with the wisdom of nature, expand your intuition, and explore altered states of consciousness. Restoring honor to the shadow side of parenthood, the author discusses the shamanic perspective on miscarriage, fertility, sexuality, postpartum stress and depression, blended families, and adoption as a form of birthing through the heart. She explains how to heal any deep psychic wounds from your birth family and transform negative beliefs you may hold about parenthood. She provides chapters on each trimester of pregnancy, offering specific teachings and techniques appropriate to each stage as well as conception, birth, and the postpartum period. Whether you are preparing to welcome your first child or seeking spiritual support for the multidimensional experience of being a parent, the author shows how to reclaim and reconnect all the experiences of parenthood and how, through this rite of passage, we give birth to our most authentic selves.
Turning Points: Discovering Meaning and Passion in Turbulent Times, by Laurence C Peters, Jacqueline Mosio, editors (ChangingTimesPress), 230 pages — This is an anthology of essays concerning how a group of social and political activists found their passion and changed their own lives and the society around them during the last half of the 20th century. Turning Points is an anthology project of the Peace and Social Justice Writers Group at The Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis. The anthology is filled with stories of Americans finding their passion for equality, freedom and community, the original ideals of our original democratic revolution. Birthing a democracy is similar to a sentence of life at hard labor and this event is just a small part of a nationwide effort to turn the tide away from full-blown corporate fascism. In the Introduction by Laurence Peters, he writes, “It is clear as the 20th century recedes into history that more than ever we need these stories of people at the passion-filled turning points in their lives. Historians looking back on this period will have many accounts of the ways leaders like Betty Friedan or Tom Hayden made their decisions to move in one direction or another, but not as much about those who escaped the spotlight chose to live out their lives.”
CLASSIC BOOK REISSUES
The Cosmic Energizer: The Miracle Power of the Universe, by Joseph Murphy (Penguin Publishing Group/TarcherPerigee), 272 pages — This is one of three classic reissues by the mega-selling author of The Power of Your Subconscious Mind to inaugurate TarcherPerigee’s exciting new line, The Joseph Murphy Library of Success! Here is your invitation to command the Eternal Force that will bring vast abundance and goodness in your life. Joseph Murphy’s guidebook features all of the ancient prayers, techniques, and meditations for calling upon the Great Power of the Universe–the Eternal Force that will act on your heartfelt desires and lead you into a cosmic view of life. A native of Ireland who resettled in America, Joseph Murphy, Ph.D., D.D., (1898-1981) was a prolific and widely admired New Thought minister and writer, best known for his metaphysical classic, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, an international bestseller since it first appeared on the self-help scene in 1963. A popular speaker, Murphy lectured on both American coasts and in Europe, Asia, and South Africa. His many books and pamphlets on the auto-suggestive and metaphysical faculties of the human mind have entered multiple editions. Murphy is considered one of the pioneering voices of affirmative-thinking philosophy.
The Cosmic Power Within You: The Simple, Safe Way to Harness the Extraordinary Power Hidden in Every Individual, by Joseph Murphy (Penguin Publishing Group/TarcherPerigee), 272 pages — This is one of three classic reissues by the mega-selling author of The Power of Your Subconscious Mind to inaugurate TarcherPerigee’s exciting new line, The Joseph Murphy Library of Success! In this practical guide, Joseph Murphy shows you a simple way to harness the cosmic power hidden within to achieve physical, spiritual, and career success. The secrets of this life-changing art are spelled out simply and clearly, drawing upon both Eastern and Western cultures for special techniques and prayers. You will discover how to tap into the power you already possess to heal, make decisions, and attain your life-long goals. A native of Ireland who resettled in America, Joseph Murphy, Ph.D., D.D., (1898-1981) was a prolific and widely admired New Thought minister and writer, best known for his metaphysical classic, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, an international bestseller since it first appeared on the self-help scene in 1963. A popular speaker, Murphy lectured on both American coasts and in Europe, Asia, and South Africa. His many books and pamphlets on the auto-suggestive and metaphysical faculties of the human mind have entered multiple editions. Murphy is considered one of the pioneering voices of affirmative-thinking philosophy.
Within You Is the Power, by Joseph Murphy (Penguin Publishing Group/TarcherPerigee), 272 pages — This is one of three classic reissues by the mega-selling author of The Power of Your Subconscious Mind to inaugurate TarcherPerigee’s exciting new line, The Joseph Murphy Library of Success! In this deeply practical and engaging guidebook, Joseph Murphy takes you into different cultures and ancient teachings from around the world to expose you to the unadorned truth of who you really are: a physical temple of cosmic power that is waiting to be unleashed by exercises, prayers, and techniques which have brought abundance and power to men and women across the ages. A native of Ireland who resettled in America, Joseph Murphy, Ph.D., D.D., (1898-1981) was a prolific and widely admired New Thought minister and writer, best known for his metaphysical classic, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, an international bestseller since it first appeared on the self-help scene in 1963. A popular speaker, Murphy lectured on both American coasts and in Europe, Asia, and South Africa. His many books and pamphlets on the auto-suggestive and metaphysical faculties of the human mind have entered multiple editions. Murphy is considered one of the pioneering voices of affirmative-thinking philosophy.
NEW BOOKS
Beautiful Money: The 4-Week Total Wealth Makeover, by Leanne Jacobs (Penguin Publishing Group/TarcherPerigee), 288 pages — This revolutionary four-week wealth plan shows you how to stop chasing money and start creating joyful, powerful, and meaningful wealth. Most of us believe that pounding our way through our days is the only way to prosperity and success. We sacrifice time with our loved ones, our weekends, our vacations, and perhaps even our sanity, in exchange for a paycheck. We put ourselves and our health at the bottom of our priority list and give everything to the great pursuit. We want to have it all, but don’t find satisfaction in any of our achievements. Instead, we find ourselves sitting in our offices and big houses feeling unhappy, broke, burnt out, and unfulfilled. Beautiful Money offers another option. This book does more than show readers how to make more money, streamline personal finances, and learn how to invest and budget. The Beautiful Money program is based on the simple but powerful premise that in order to achieve true wealth, you must connect and align your inner self with clear and specific external actions. Based on Leanne Jacobs’s popular Beautiful Money course, this book shows you how to connect in a deep and meaningful way with yourself and your money. Beautiful Money takes a holistic approach to increasing net worth.
Carefrontation: Breaking Free From Childhood Trauma, by Arlene Drake (Regan Arts.), 272 pages — With more than thirty years of experience, Dr. Arlene Drake writes a guide for those desperately in need of a way to break free from the pain of childhood abuse and reclaim their lives. When confronted with an abused child, our first impulse is to drop everything and provide comfort, get him or her out of danger, and find out what the hell is going on at home. It’s obvious that the child is helpless, in trouble, and needs protection. Parents or not, we instinctively know what to do: We take care of the child. But what if the child is you? Active and directive, Carefrontation is filled with exercises and the simple, effective tools Dr. Drake has used successfully with her own clients for more than three decades. It lays out a powerful way to repair the damage of childhood abuse and its lasting effects, by teaching you what your parents couldn’t: an invaluable set of skills and practices that will give you the resources to live as a healthy, happy adult. With the clear path this book provides, you can finally acknowledge that the suffering and the pain can stop. The destructive patterns can end. You can graduate, at last, into a life beyond “abuse victim” and for the first time take the power back from your abusers and finally be at peace.
Crystals for Karmic Healing: Transform Your Future by Releasing Your Past, by Nicholas Pearson (Inner Traditions/Bear & Company), 288 pages — As direct geometrical expressions of the Divine, crystals have the ability to work upon the soul at the deepest levels. The more mindfully and conscientiously we spend time with these crystalline forms, the more crystalline we become in terms of our spiritual bodies and their inner, holographic perfection. As potent catalysts of elevated consciousness and overall spiritual growth, crystals and gemstones offer a powerful resource for resolving negative karma patterns and realigning you with the light of your soul’s purpose. Detailing the spiritual and chemical interpretations of more than 50 healing stones, as well as fossils, flint, and amber, Nicholas Pearson guides readers through the how and why of resolving karmic knots and obstructions with the help of crystals. He offers hands-on crystal meditations and demonstrates how to use crystal grids and layouts for healing karma. He explains how to cleanse and program stones and shares more advanced crystal exercises for past-life regression, cutting karmic cords, releasing off-world karma and cellular memories, and accessing the Akashic Records to reveal your soul’s blueprint and rewrite its contracts with higher powers. Explaining how to incorporate color, chakra therapy, gem elixirs, and dreamwork in your karmic crystal practice, Pearson also explores how to access the Violet Flame of spiritual alchemy, the Seventh Ray, to transmute restrictive karmic patterns. He introduces the Lords of Karma and other spirit guides, gods, goddesses, and angels who can help with karmic healing. He offers guidance on what stones are appropriate for everyday wear and on working with crystal skulls, Lemurian seed crystals, shungite, and time link crystals. The author also explains how crystals can be used to resolve planetary karma, releasing us into the next phase in the collective transformation of humanity. Unveiling the inner teachings of the mineral kingdom, Pearson shows that if you work with crystals consciously, reverently, and humbly, your life will transform.
The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People, by Judith Orloff (Sounds True), 288 pages — What is the difference between having empathy and being an empath? “Having empathy means our heart goes out to another person in joy or pain,” says Dr. Judith Orloff. “But for empaths it goes much further. We actually feel others’ emotions, energy, and physical symptoms in our own bodies, without the usual defenses that most people have.” The Empath’s Survival Guide is an invaluable resource for empaths and anyone who wants to nurture their empathy and develop coping skills in our high-stimulus world–while fully embracing their gifts of intuition, compassion, creativity, and spiritual connection. This practical, empowering, and loving book was created to support empaths through their unique challenges and help loved ones better understand the empath’s needs and gifts. Dr. Orloff offers crucial practices, including: Exercises to help you identify your empath type and where you are on the empathy spectrum; Tools for protecting yourself from sensory overload, exhaustion, addictions, and compassion fatigue while replenishing your vital energy; Simple, effective strategies to stop absorbing stress and physical symptoms from others and protect yourself from narcissists and other energy vampires; How to find the right work that feeds you; How to navigate intimate relationships without feeling overwhelmed; Guidance for parenting and raising empathic children; and Awakening the empath’s gift of intuition and deepening your spiritual connection to all living beings. For any sensitive person who’s been told to “grow a thick skin,” here is a lifelong guide for staying fully open while building resilience, exploring your gifts of depth and compassion, and feeling welcome and valued by a world that desperately needs what you have to offer.
Essential Kundalini Yoga: An Invitation to Radiant Health, Unconditional Love, and the Awakening of Your Energetic Potential, by Karena Virginia & Dharm Khalsa (Sounds True), 352 pages — Kundalini is a universal life force within each of us that, once awakened, holds the power to transform every facet of our lives. Kundalini yoga is the art and practice of activating this radiant energy. With Essential Kundalini Yoga, Karena Virginia and Dharm Khalsa present the core principles and practices of this revered tradition in an inviting and accessible guide. “Kundalini yoga opens joyous space for connecting deeply with the energy states of our being,” write Karena and Dharm, “It brings vital health to the body and opens our consciousness to new potentials of awareness.” Created for the modern practitioner, this book offers clear, comprehensive instruction in the key insights and practices of kundalini yoga. From philosophy and lifestyle, to working with anatomy and physical asana, to activating our energy bodies, Essential Kundalini Yoga is a uniquely practical and in-depth manual. Rooted in tradition and infused with a sense of infinite possibility, Essential Kundalini Yoga is a joyful invitation for practitioners of all levels to awaken the vital energy within and receive the gifts that emerge from connecting more deeply with your own potential for creativity, abundance and joy.
The E-Word: Ego, Enlightenment & Other Essentials, by Cate Montana (Atria/Enliven Books), 240 pages — “An excellent and entertaining look at the issues, challenges, and resolutions that come with the territory of awakening,” says Gary Renard, bestselling author of The Disappearance of the Universe trilogy. A book of liberation and ecstasy, The E-Word lucidly explains how the ego is created, how it thinks, and how its limited mind-set can be expanded–not inflated–into a joyous transpersonal perspective that eradicates feelings of isolation, fear, and insecurity in your life. Through stories, practices, and a masterful detangling of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the Matrix, and quantum physics, The E-Word strips the ego bare and liberates the soul in highly entertaining, relatable ways, revealing how even self-improvement techniques can chase away the very fulfillment and wisdom we seek. Montana further reveals how the ego co-opts spirituality, dangling enlightenment in front of us as a prize. Stuffed with electrifying insights and transformative meditations and exercises, The E-Word is the ultimate how-to guide for discovering the “real you” within.
How to Be Ultra Spiritual: 13 1/2 Steps to Spiritual Superiority, by JP Sears (Sounds True), 272 pages — Welcome to the Glorious Grandeur of Ultra Spirituality. In case you haven’t noticed, the New Age has become the Old Age. But don’t recycle your crystals just yet! His Enlightenedness JP Sears is ushering in the Newer Age, blinding us with the dawn-like brilliance that is Ultra Spirituality. How to Be Ultra Spiritual presents Ultra Spiritual JP’s none-of-a-kind guidance, so you can better yourself through teachings on: Competitive spirituality–the Ultra Spiritual foundation that the rest of your Ultra Spiritual path rests on; Why burying your feelings alive makes you thrive; Dreaming up your awakening–how to engineer your carefully contrived spiritual narrative; Rigidly yogic yoga–the moisture-filled cloud formation that drops rain upon your river so your flow can flow; Following the light to the greener spiritual pastures of veganism; He-ness, financial levity, deathliness, and other qualities of the quality guru; Mindfullessness–all of the fullness of mindfulness with none of the mind; Merciless meditation–the most effective way to become more meditative (and, duh, more spiritual); Accessing the forces of critical non-judgment; Using plant spirit medicine to experience a degree of enlightenment that you aren’t enlightened enough to experience without the spirit who lives inside its particular vegetation; and Humbleness, and how to employ it in the most superior sense of the word. With How to Be Ultra Spiritual, His Enlightenedness JP Sears brings the heart and soul of ancient spirituality back to life with a progressive aggression, replacing the diluted uselessness of modern spirituality with the way more spiritual wisdom of Ultra Spirituality. See if you can keep up . . .
How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future: Why Left Hemisphere Dominance Has Brought Humanity to the Brink of Disaster and How We Can Think Our Way to Peace and Healing, by James Olson (Origin Press), 344 pages — Our brains have numerous functioning parts, all of which serve us at any one moment. But decades of research reveal the existence of two basic brain “operating systems”–two fundamental ways in which the whole brain processes incoming information. Because of this phenomenon of brain dominance, most of us tend to favor the input of either our “dualistic” left-brain (which focuses on parts instead of wholes) or our holistic right hemisphere. This means that typically only half of our innate intelligence informs our thinking–and since the left-brain operating system dominates most males, our culture has itself become left-brain dominant. How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future explores this left-brain bias in our civilization, revealing it to be the root cause for centuries of war, racism, and political polarization–and eons of misunderstanding between the sexes. While most of our technological and scientific progress is driven by left-brain thinking, the great advances to come will require that we consciously harness both sides of our brain to greatly improve our cognition. Award-winning author James Olson goes on to explain how we can achieve greater internal harmony between the two operating systems of the brain–both as individuals and as a culture–thus showing us how ad why thinking with our whole brains will lead us to peace and to the ultimate healing of our relationships and our world.
The Infinite View: A Guidebook for Life on Earth, by Ellen Tadd (Penguin Publishing Group/TarcherPerigee), 304 pages — Written by internationally revered clairvoyant counselor and educator Ellen Tadd, The Infinite View is a spiritual classic in the making. People often lean towards either trusting their gut or relying on their analytical mind, but Tadd urges readers to consider a new approach that allows both emotions and the intellect to be guided by wisdom. Through describing how the Spirit, soul, and personality are integrated, she guides readers in deepening and expanding their perceptions to discover practical solutions to everyday challenges. According to Tadd, Spirit is the God Force that animates and empowers us and suffuses everyone and everything. But while Spirit is conscious and communicative, we haven’t been taught to look for or listen to it. In fact, most of us have been conditioned not to look or listen. When we choose to attune our conscious mind with Spirit, we find ourselves able to engage life with greater clarity–even when it tests us through illness, death, loneliness, anxiety, or fear. The Infinite View offers tools and insights needed to achieve this attunement. Drawing on her personal narrative, as well as the experiences of her students, Tadd helps readers transform their understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Justin Time: Autobiographical Stories from an American Spiritual Master, by J. Jaye Gold (Peradam Press), 312 pages — A truly unique presentation from an even more unique individual. With humor and perspective, Gold recounts stories from his life that underlie his metamorphosis from ordinary American kid to enlightened spiritual master. His point of view is so high and wild that it transforms many of the experiences we have in common into a remarkable odyssey that spans five continents and close to 70 years. If you let this book take you beneath the surface of things, exciting new discoveries will ensue — like the first qualification for a spiritual friend or Guru, “One who can pass the salt to you and mail a letter for you,” and “The only pride that causes no separation between us is the pride of being a human being.” The author has been assisting people in their search for inner meaning for 35 years. He is currently living in the Sierra foothills of Northern California where he works with several dozen seekers of truth. Over the years he has deliberately resisted the trend to become a “traveling guru” with thousands of followers around the world in favor of preserving an element which he considers precious — that of maintaining opportunities for developing an actual teacher/student relationship. He is available to anyone who seeks his guidance and has never asked to be compensated for his help, either monetarily or otherwise.
Light on the Mountain, by Dr. Stewart Bitkoff (Abandoned Ladder), 108 pages — This is the legend of the Ancient One, a spiritual being that has been asleep for 1000 years. According to prophecy he awakens to lead the people of the city plain out of despair and oppression. Offering a message of hope and renewal, he sets in motion universal forces, which restore the balance. This captivating tale parallels the challenges of modern society where wars rage with elusive terrorists, millions are homeless without shelter or nourishment and the rich continue to amass fortune. We are in need of a permanent solution to these age-old problems. So come join the Ancient One as he brings Light to the mountain and reveals the inherent power of our collective human potential, working together and reaching higher. The author, an expert in therapeutic recreation and psychiatric rehabilitation and treatment, has been on the faculty or served as field instructor for multiple colleges and universities. He has written work centering on the topic of the completed person and the original human development system. For years Dr. Bitkoff studied in two modern mystical schools. Professionally he worked to help the mentally ill integrate their altered states of consciousness into the physical world; recently he worked with children and their families as a behavioral consultant.
The Little Black Book of Suicide Notes, by Adele Paula Royce (Live Your Light Publishing) 86 pages — Suicide should never be taken lightly. According to the latest research, it is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and has caused immeasurable pain and suffering to families around the world. But what about those who have contemplated suicide and lived to talk about it? What can we learn from those who have looked so directly into the face of death that they discovered something about life? In her debut novel, The Little Black Book of Suicide Notes, Adele Paula Royce presents a semi-fictional look inside the mind and heart of a tortured soul who is on the verge of ending her own life. Through this raw and authentic journey into the heart of darkness, Adele shines a unique light on the human experience that leaves you more inspired to live life to the fullest. Adele’s “little black book” doesn’t contain notes left behind by someone who has killed themself. It is composed of 27 contemplations by someone who is bravely attempting to answer the question, “Is life worth living?” Even if you’ve never considered suicide yourself (though research suggest that most people have at some point in their life), you’ll find resonance with her story. Each note takes you deeper down the rabbit hole, and conveys a kind of philosophical bravery that comes from facing your own demise. By the end, you’ll find yourself looking at life in a new, and surprisingly optimistic way. One part suicide journal and one part spiritual memoir, Adele’s novel is really a tale of life, death, and rebirth. She draws upon her own rich history of spiritual practice and inquiry to look at suicide from the deepest possible level. In doing so, she uses her character to show us how to live by showing us first how not to live. And by going into the deepest darkness she finds a different kind of light at the end of the tunnel than she expected.
Love Lost, Love Found: A Woman’s Guide to Letting Go of the Past and Finding New Love, by Tatiana Jerome (New World Library), 184 pages — When author Tatiana Jerome had a bad experience with a relationship breakup, she decided to explore her feelings through communicating with other women on social media. By facing her pain and challenges, even acknowledging what she did to contribute to the relationship’s failure, she began to heal and move beyond the broken heart to a better understanding of what would make her happy, and, most of all, of the type of love she deserved. Her insightful posts and blogs went viral, and soon other women were coming to her for advice and support. Based on Tatiana’s journey and that of other women she has coached, Love Lost, Love Found is a woman-to-woman conversation that nurtures each woman hurting over her breakup by allowing her to let go of her past, find love within herself, and welcome new love into her life. You’ll learn to avoid self-sabotaging behavior and other things on Tatiana’s “drop list,” implement a personal action plan, attend to your physical well-being, and stay connected to your spiritual life. Uplifting and honest, Tatiana helps you ask the difficult questions and face reality while building a better life by prioritizing self-respect, self-care, and self-confidence. You’ll discover that focusing on your own healing, spirituality, and growth is the surest path to leading an extraordinary life and attracting new love.
Love, Sex, and Awakening: An Erotic Journey from Tantra to Spiritual Ecstasy, by Margot Anand (Llewellyn Worldwide), 360 pages — A true virtuoso of Tantra and a brilliant star in the universe of erotic delights, bestselling author Margot Anand has led a life of sexual ecstasy and spiritual bliss. This book recounts her fascinating adventures and provides techniques and exercises to help you connect to the spiritual potential of sex and cultivate a deeper, more fulfilling love life. One of the first teachers to bring Tantra to the West, Margot has explored the connection between sex, body, mind, and spirit with gurus around the world, including Timothy Leary, Alan Watts, Osho, and many more. Love, Sex, and Awakening shares her amazing stories and explores the answers to profound questions: What is Tantra? What does a woman need to realize her multi-orgasmic nature? What does it mean for a man to be a Tantric lover? What is awakening?
Mindful Money: Simple Practices for Reaching Your Financial Goals and Increasing Your Happiness Dividend, by Jonathan K. DeYoe (New World Library), 304 pages — Is it possible to be a conscientious citizen of the world and grow wealth? The author, a Buddhist and a financial planner, says yes and explains exactly how. Money drives many of our decisions. We all worry about earning it, spending it, and saving it — regardless of our income level or spiritual perspective. Yet few of us understand money’s true nature. Jonathan K. DeYoe helps you create a unique financial plan that is guided by your deepest beliefs, and shows you how to save, invest, pay off debt, and fund your retirement and dreams by building a lifetime income stream. With a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winner Alice Walker, Mindful Money does all this while emphasizing that money is a tool you can use to support your lifestyle, reach your goals, and earn the “happiness dividend” everyone deserves. DeYoe begins by debunking common money myths and shows how those illusions lead to mindless spending, procrastination and risky investments. “Illusions and fears about money cause us to manage our financial lives in ways that generate misery, not wealth,” he says. From there, he moves beyond finance and examines the legitimate motives for acquiring money while striking a balance between non-attachment and making a living. He demonstrates how sound money management fits into the overall goal of a happy life — a life that includes relationships, the importance of health, generosity and remaining both optimistic and grateful.
Ordinary Goodness: The Surprisingly Effortless Path to Creating a Life of Meaning and Beauty, by Edward Viljoen (Penguin Publishing Group/TarcherPerigee), 240 pages — This is a call to action to live a life full of goodness and purpose. People often struggle to find a life filled with passion, happiness–and just plain goodness. This struggle drives many to depression and addictive tendencies. Author and New Thought minister Edward Viljoen argues that the struggle need not be an arduous or painful one–that through everyday acts of kindness, faith, and compassion we can create peaceful and contented lives. Using personal stories, practical tips, and exercises, this book shows us that regardless of our circumstances, we can create meaning and beauty in our lives and in the world. Viljoen offers deep insights, showing: How caring about ordinary things leads to meaningful and extraordinary life experiences; How society’s messages about perfection distract us from our ordinary goodness; and How faith is a muscle that must be exercised. People are always striving to live happy and fulfilled lives. This book reassures us that this is attainable–nothing extraordinary is required.
Out of Your Mind: Tricksters, Interdependence, and the Cosmic Game of Hide and Seek, by Alan Watts (Sounds True), 192 pages — In order to come to your senses, Alan Watts often said, you sometimes need to go out of your mind. Perhaps more than any other teacher in the West, this celebrated author, former Anglican priest, and self-described spiritual entertainer was responsible for igniting the passion of countless wisdom seekers to the spiritual and philosophical delights of India, China, and Japan. With Out of Your Mind, you are invited to immerse yourself in six of this legendary thinker’s most engaging teachings on how to break through the limits of the rational mind and expand your awareness and appreciation for the great game unfolding all around us. Distilled from Alan Watts’s pinnacle lectures, Out of Your Mind brings you an inspiring new resource that captures the true scope of this brilliant teacher in action. For those both new and familiar with Watts, this book invites us to delve into his favorite pathways out of the trap of conventional awareness, including: The art of the “controlled accident”–what happens when you stop taking your life so seriously and start enjoying it with complete sincerity; How we come to believe “the myth of myself”–that we are skin-encapsulated egos separate from the world around us–and how to transcend that illusion; Why we must fully embrace chaos and the void to find our deepest purpose; and Unconventional and refreshing insights into the deeper principles of Buddhism, Hinduism, Western philosophy, Christianity, and much more.
Pause: Harnessing the Life-Changing Power of Giving Yourself a Break, by Rachael O’Meara (Penguin Publishing Group/TarcherPerigee), 256 pages — Feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or stuck? Discover the power of the pause. Sometimes life throws you for a loop. You’re stressed out at your job; you’re torn between work and family; your motivation and productivity are taking a nosedive. Your impulse might be to lean in and tough it out, but what you may really need to do is take a step back. Reassess your life with a clear head and dive back in with purpose and poise. In this enlightening book, Rachael O’Meara guides you through the steps of your own pause journey: The signs that you’re in need of a meaningful break; Planning your optimal pause–whether it’s as short as a day or as long as an epic journey; and Reentering the world with renewed clarity and purpose. Incorporating the latest findings from psychology and neuroscience and peppered with inspiring stories of successful pauses, this book will show you that the fastest way to happiness is to slow down. Whether you pause by taking a five-minute walk outside, spending a day unplugged from digital devices, or taking a few weeks off to yourself, Pause will give you the tools to find what “lights you up” and the ability to lead the most satisfying and fulfilling life you choose.
Psychotherapy East & West, by Alan Watts (New World Library), 208 pages — Before he became a counterculture hero, Alan Watts was known as an incisive scholar of Eastern and Western psychology and philosophy. In this 1961 classic, Watts demonstrates his deep understanding of both Western psychotherapy and the Eastern spiritual philosophies of Buddhism, Taoism, Vedanta, and Yoga. He examined the problem of humans in a seemingly hostile universe in ways that questioned the social norms and illusions that bind and constrict modern humans. Marking a groundbreaking synthesis, Watts asserted that the powerful insights of Freud and Jung, which had, indeed, brought psychiatry close to the edge of liberation, could, if melded with the hitherto secret wisdom of the Eastern traditions, free people from their battles with the self. When psychotherapy merely helps us adjust to social norms, Watts argued, it falls short of true liberation, while Eastern philosophy seeks our natural relation to the cosmos.
The Reflective Parent: How to Do Less and Relate More with Your Kids, by Regina Pally (W.W. Norton & Company), 288 pages — An innovative parenting approach empowering parents to trust their instincts and embrace uncertainty. Figuring out how to raise happy, healthy, and successful kids can be overwhelming. Parents find themselves wading through tons of conflicting advice. Books that outline a “right way” of doing things can leave even the most dedicated caregiver feeling discouraged and inadequate when real life doesn’t measure up. An experienced psychiatrist and founder of the Center for Reflective Communities, Regina Pally serves up something totally different in her book. She argues that the key to successful parenting is learning to slow down, reflect, and recognize that there is no one key to doing it right. The Reflective Parent synthesizes the latest in neuroscience research to show that our brain’s natural tendencies to empathize, analyze, and connect with others are all we need to be good parents. Each chapter weaves together discussions of specific reflective parenting principles like “Tolerate Uncertainty” and “Repair Ruptures” with engaging explanations of the science that backs them up. Brief “Take Home Lessons” at the end of each chapter and vivid examples of parents and children putting the principles into action make this a highly readable, practical guide for anyone looking to build loving, lasting relationships with their kids.
The Science of Planetary Signatures in Medicine: Restoring the Cosmic Foundations of Healing, by Jennifer T. Gehl with Marc S. Micozzi (Inner Traditions/Bear & Company), 272 pages — When we look at the vast and intricate cosmos — galaxies, planets, organisms, organs, cells, molecules, atoms — there is a fundamental order, a music or harmony of the spheres. Our cells reflect the images of galaxies seen through our telescopes. We are the microcosm, reflecting the macrocosm of the heavens. Our ancestors understood these patterns and connections between humanity and the universe and developed spiritual and healing traditions in line with these cosmic truths. Yet in the 19th century, knowledge of these connections was set aside as medical science sought to create the “one size fits all” approaches to healing that dominate modern medicine today. In this comprehensive exploration of the celestial influences that underlie health and healing, Jennifer Gehl, with Marc Micozzi, examines how ancient and modern traditions of healing interconnect through the doctrine of signatures, “As above, so below”. She reveals how one’s celestial nature — the arrangement of the cosmos at the moment of birth — has implications for personal health and how each sign of the zodiac corresponds to parts of the body, the chakras, and specific plants, herbs, colors, and emotions. She explains how sound re-arranges forms according to the principles of harmony, leveraging not only the human self-regulating capacity to restore health but also that of the Earth to restore balance and harmony. Also explored are the recurrence of geometric forms in nature and how to apply this knowledge in sound healing and medical astrology. Weaving together the threads of ancient science and spirit that formed the original tapestry of medicine, Gehl explains how to restore the cosmic foundations of healing for personal, planetary, and universal health and wellbeing.
Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for an Afterlife, by Leslie Kean (Crown/Archetype), 416 pages — “While exploring the evidence for an afterlife, I witnessed some unbelievable things that are not supposed to be possible in our material world. Yet they were unavoidably and undeniably real. Despite my initial doubt, I came to realize that there are still aspects of Nature which are neither understood or accepted, even though their reality has profound implications for understanding the true breadth of the human psyche and its possible continuity after death.” So begins Leslie Kean’s impeccably researched, page-turning investigation, revealing stunning and wide-ranging evidence suggesting that consciousness survives death. In her groundbreaking second book, she continues her examination of unexplained phenomena that began with her provocative New York Times bestseller UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record. Kean explores the most compelling case studies of young children reporting verifiable details from past lives, contemporary mediums who seem to defy the boundaries of the brain and of the physical world, apparitions providing information about their lives on earth, and people who die and then come back to report journeys into another dimension. Based on facts and scientific studies, Surviving Death includes fascinating chapters by medical doctors, psychiatrists, and PhDs from four countries. As a seasoned journalist whose work transcends belief systems and ideology, Kean enriches the narrative by including her own unexpected, confounding experiences encountered while she probed the question concerning all of us: Do we survive death?
Words at the Threshold: What We Say as We’re Nearing Death, by Lisa Smartt (New World Library), 208 pages — What do our last words reveal about life, death, and the afterlife? A person’s end-of-life words often take on an eerie significance, giving tantalizing clues about the ultimate fate of the human soul. Until now, however, no author has systematically studied end-of-life communication by using examples from ordinary people. When her father became terminally ill with cancer, author Lisa Smartt began transcribing his conversations and noticed that his personality underwent inexplicable changes. Smartt’s father, once a skeptical man with a secular worldview, developed a deeply spiritual outlook in his final days — a change reflected in his language. Baffled and intrigued, Smartt began to investigate what other people have said while nearing death, collecting more than one hundred case studies through interviews and transcripts. In this groundbreaking and insightful book, Smartt shows how the language of the dying can point the way to a transcendent world beyond our own. “My research of four years indicates that my father was not alone in experiencing metaphorical and nonsensical changes in language, seeing visions of angels, and making references to another dimension in his final days,” writes Smartt. “The words at the threshold suggest to me that consciousness does indeed survive, and that we ourselves can be both guides and tourists as we journey with those we love to the portal.”
Your Power to Heal: Resolving Psychological Barriers to Your Physical Health, by Henry Grayson (Sounds True), 264 pages — The greatest medical breakthrough in recent years isn’t the creation of a new drug or treatment–it’s the discovery of how much your mind affects your health. With Your Power to Heal, Dr. Henry Grayson offers a treasury of techniques and insights to help you harness the mindbody connection. “When we can identify and change the inner voices that keep us feeling powerless,” writes Dr. Grayson, “we can go beyond treating just symptoms or relying on doctors to fix us. We have far greater potential to heal than we realize.” In this practical guidebook, Dr. Grayson presents life-changing insights and effective tools anyone can use, including: The new physics of healing–the ever-expanding body of research that reveals our untapped capacity for self-healing; Simple tips to nip many symptoms in the bud as they start; Self-assessment questionnaires to help you locate and change subconscious beliefs and disturbances; The Emotional Freedom Technique for resolving trauma and restoring your vitality; Thought Field Therapy to clear the blockages in your body’s energy system that are impeding health; and Why therapy, diets, and exercise regimens often fail–and how to make them succeed. You don’t need years of meditation practice to use your mind to improve your health. Your Power to Heal is an invaluable resource to help you harness the power of your own thoughts, transform illness at its source instead of just alleviating symptoms, and start taking charge of your health today.
