Books

2012 and the Galactic Center: The Return of the Great Mother (Christine R. Page, M.D.) from Inner Traditions
This is an extraordinary time in the planet's history. In 2012, for the first time in almost 26,000 years, our sun will be most closely aligned to the Galactic Center. This Galactic Alignment, which began with the Harmonic Convergence in 1987 and will conclude in 2023, presents a thirty-six-year window of opportunity for humanity to participate in the creation of a new era of expanded consciousness.

Animate Earth: Science, Intuition, and Gaia (Stephan Harding) from Chelsea Green Publications
Modern science and western culture both teach that the planet we inhabit is a dead and passive lump of matter, but as Stephan Harding points out, this wasn't always the prevailing sentiment and in Animate Earth he sets out to explain how these older notions of an animate earth can be explained in rational, scientific terms.
In this astounding book Harding lays out the facts and theories behind one of the most controversial notions to come out of the hard sciences arguably since Sir Isaac Newton's Principia or the first major publications to come out of the Copenhagen School regarding quantum mechanics. The latter is an important parallel: Whereas quantum mechanics is a science of the problem--it gave rise to the atomic bomb among other things--Gaia Theory in this age of global warming and dangerous climate change is a science of the solution. Its utility: Healing a dying planet becomes an option in a culture otherwise poised to fall into total ecological collapse.

Awakening into Oneness (Arjuna Ardagh) from Sounds True
A fascinating discovery in southern India has caught the attention of spiritual teachers from every tradition, leaders from around the world, and millions more. It is the phenomenon called the Oneness Blessing (also known as "deeksha" in the East), a powerful transfer of energy believed to elicit the realization of unitive consciousness. Awakening into Oneness: The Power of Blessing in the Evolution of Consciousness tells the remarkable story of this radical new gateway to personal and global transformation.
Arjuna Ardagh shares dozens of firsthand accounts of the Oneness Blessing's life-changing effects on individuals from all over the world, from the mystical children who first experienced it nearly two decades ago to its continuing exploration at the Oneness University under the guidance of esteemed teachers Sri Bhagavan and his wife, Sri Amma. "The Blessing is something few will be able to ignore in the years ahead," Ardagh writes. "It has proven to be the fastest growing spiritual development in living memory."

Compassionate Action (Chatral Rinpoche) from Snow Lion Publications
Chatral Rinpoche, the quintessential "hidden yogi," has been a legend in the Himalayan region for the past seventy years. Although he has never traveled to the West, his amazing story and teachings have gradually been infiltrating the Western Buddhist consciousness since Father Thomas Merton first met him in 1968 and famously remarked that he was "the greatest man I ever met."
This is the first English-language book of this living legend, and includes his biography and autobiography, six of his essays, five prayers he composed, an exclusive interview, and sixteen pages of photos from throughout his life.

Cosmic Fusion (Mantak Chia) from Inner Traditions
Cosmic Fusion is an advanced level of Inner Alchemy that teaches how to bring the physical body into balance with the energy body--a necessary prerequisite for the formation of the universal body, the pearl of compassion that is one with Original Creation and the Universal Tao. Cosmic Fusion works with the expression of the eight pakua (bagwa) of Chinese cosmology, through which all creation is divided and given form, nature, and definition.
Cosmic Fusion exercises establish the spiritual body firmly in the lower abdomen, where chi energy is gathered and distributed to all parts of the body--and into all creation. The fully illustrated exercises in this book also show how to collect and channel the greater energies of the stars and planets. By "fusing" all these different energies together, a harmonious whole is created, a unity of what is above and below. As heavenly and earthly forces are brought into balance, the life perfectly suited to the practitioner manifests, allowing the spirit body to prepare to move into worlds beyond--and back.

The Dalai Lamas on Tantra (translated by Glenn H. Mullin) from Snow Lion Publications
Interest in Tantric Buddhism has grown tremendously in recent years, but authentic translations from classical sources remain difficult to find. The great popularity achieved by the early Dalai Lamas was due in part to the clarity and power of their tantric writings. Glenn Mullin's translations present this rich resource to a wider audience, offering a wealth of tantric materials, the most extensive such collection available in print.
Over the past five hundred years the Dalai Lamas have contributed works of vital importance to the library of tantric literature. Glenn Mullin, a translator and scholar of Tibetan texts and an acknowledged authority on the Dalai Lamas, has collected many of these writings here for the first time. His introduction situates the tantric tradition within overall Buddhist practice. The sweeping survey by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama which follows treats all the principal Tibetan Buddhist tantric systems found in all four categories of tantras.

Dazzle Gradually: Reflections on the Nature of Nature (Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan) from Chelsea Green Publications
At the crossroads of philosophy and science, the sometimes-dry topics of evolution and ecology come alive in this new collection of essays--many never before anthologized. Learn how technology may be a sort of second nature, how the systemic human fungus Candida albicans can lead to cravings for carrot cake and beer, how the presence of life may be why there's water on Earth, and many other fascinating facts.
The essay "Metametazoa" presents perspectives on biology in a philosophical context, demonstrating how the intellectual librarian, pornographer, and political agitator Georges Bataille was influenced by Russian mineralogist Vladimir Vernadsky and how this led to his notion of the absence of meaning in the face of the sun--which later influenced Jacques Derrida, thereby establishing a causal chain of influence from the hard sciences to topics as abstract as deconstruction and postmodernism.

Death of Religion, Rebirth of Spirit The Death of Religion and the Rebirth of Spirit (Joseph Chilton Pearce) from Inner Traditions
We are all too aware of the endless variety of cruel and violent behavior reported to us in the media, reminded daily that in every corner of the world someone is suffering or dying at the hands of another. We have to ask: Is this violence and cruelty endemic to our nature? Are we, at our foundation, really so murderous? In The Death of Religion and the Rebirth of Spirit, Joseph Chilton Pearce, life-long advocate of human potential, sounds an emphatic and convincing no? Pearce explains that beneath our awareness, culture imprints a negative force-field that blocks the natural rise of the spirit toward its innate nature of love and altruism.

The Dimensions of Paradise (John Michell) from Inner Traditions
In The Dimensions of Paradise, John Michell describes the results of a lifetime's research, demonstrating how the same numerical code underlies sacred structures from ancient times to the Christian era. In the measurements of Stonehenge, the foundation plan of Glastonbury, Plato's ideal city, and the Heavenly City of the New Jerusalem described in the vision of Saint John lie the science and cosmology on which the ancient world order was founded. The central revelation of this book is a structure of geometry and number representing the essential order of the heavens and functioning as a map of paradise.

Do It Anyway: Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness by Living the Paradoxical Commandments (Kent M. Keith) from New World Library
Dr. Kent Keith published the Paradoxical Commandments as part of a book he wrote for student leaders in the 1960s when he was an undergraduate at Harvard. These maxims for finding meaning in the face of adversity took on a life of their own, making their way into countless speeches, advice columns, books, institutions, and homes around the world. They were even found on the wall of Mother Teresa‘s children‘s home in Calcutta. They became the basis of Keith‘s bestselling book Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments.
Do It Anyway expands on the vision behind the Paradoxical Commandments. It includes forty stories of people who live the commandments each day and gives you the examples, tools, and encouragement to find personal meaning and deep happiness, no matter who you are or what your circumstances, even when times are tough.
Excerpted with permission from Do It Anyway: Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness by Living the Paradoxical Commandments (©) 2008 by Kent M. Keith. Printed with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA. www.newworldlibrary.com <http://www.newworldlibrary.com/> or 800-972-6657 ext. 52.

The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy -- and Why They Matter (Marc Bekoff) from New World Library
Based on award-winning scientist Marc Bekoff‘s years studying social communication in a wide range of species, this important book shows that animals have rich emotional lives. Bekoff skillfully blends extraordinary stories of animal joy, empathy, grief, embarrassment, anger, and love with the latest scientific research confirming the existence of emotions that common sense and experience have long implied. Filled with Bekoff‘s light humor and touching stories, The Emotional Lives of Animals is a clarion call for reassessing both how we view animals and how we treat them.
Excerpted with permission from The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy -- and Why They Matter (©) 2007 by Marc Bekoff. Printed with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA. www.newworldlibrary.com <http://www.newworldlibrary.com/> or 800-972-6657 ext. 52.

Emptiness Dancing (Adyashanti) from Sounds True
Who are you when you are not thinking yourself into existence? What is ultimately behind the set of eyes reading these words? In Emptiness Dancing, Adyashanti invites you to wake up to the essence of what you are, through the natural and spontaneous opening of the mind, heart, and body that holds the secret to happiness and liberation.
From the first stages of realization to its evolutionary implications, Adyashanti shares a treasure trove of insights into the challenges of the inner life, offering lucid, down-to-earth advice on topics ranging from the ego, illusion, andspiritual addiction to compassion, letting go, the eternal now, and more. Whether you read each chapter in succession or begin on any page you feel inspired to turn to, you will find in Adyashanti's wisdom an understanding and ever-ready guide tothe full wonder of your infinite self-nature.

Feminine Mysteries in the Bible: The Soul Teachings of the Daughters of the Goddess (Ruth Rusca) from Inner Traditions
Ruth Rusca unveils sacred mysteries of the feminine and the alchemical relationship of the male and female forces at the heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Drawing on over 30 years of research, she explores four archetypal women in the Bible: Tamar, the sacred prostitute; Rahab, the meretrix; Ruth, who redeems the soul; and Bathsheba, the daughter of the Goddess. These women--sacred prostitutes one and all--represent the indestructible feminine life force, the wisdom of the Goddess, and the transformative power of the soul, and they symbolize the four stages of the development of soul consciousness.

Flow of Grace (Krishna Das) from Sounds True
"Krishna Das introduces Hanuman to the West in a personal, heart-to-heart way, a pure transmission of Hanuman. Flow of Grace is an extraordinary devotional book touching on various aspects of Hanuman ranging from who he is through why and how to chant the Hanuman Chalisa, the beautiful forty-verse chant in his honor. Having Hanuman in your life awakens you to loving service as a spiritual path, and this wondrous book provides us with a sweet and compassionate insight into Hanuman, the epitome of love and devotion." --Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now

Forbidden Religion (J. Douglas Kenyon) from Inner Traditions
Forbidden Religion serves as a compelling introduction to the true history of the heretical religious traditions that played as vital a role in society as the established faiths that continuously tried to suppress them. Born in the same religious ferment that gave birth to Christianity, these spiritual paths survived in the "heresies" of the Middle Ages, and in the theories of the great Renaissance thinkers and their successors, such as Isaac Newton and Giordano Bruno. Brought to the New World by the Masons who inspired the American Revolution, the influence of these forbidden religions can be still found today in "The Star Spangled Banner" and in such Masonic symbols as the pyramid on the back of the dollar bill.
Following the model of his bestselling Forbidden History, J. Douglas Kenyon has assembled from his bi-monthly journal Atlantis Rising material that explores the hidden path of the religions banned by the orthodox Church--from the time before Christ when the foundations of Christianity were being laid to the tumultuous times of the Cathars and Templars and the Masons of the New World. Revealed in this investigation of the roots of Western faith are the intimate ties of ancient Egyptian religion to Christianity, the true identities of the three magi, the link forged by the Templars between early Christianity and the Masons, and how these hidden religious currents still influence the modern world.

Gemstones A to Z (Diane Stein) from Ten Speed Press
Reprinted from Gemstones A To Z: A Handy Reference To Healing Crystals, by Diane Stein. Copyright © 2008. Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA. www.tenspeed.com.
Legendary healer Diane Stein shares her extensive knowledge of gemstones in this concise agate-to-zircon reference. Each listing includes the stone's common name, its corresponding color and chakra, and a concise resume of its healing properties. Stein suggests ways to use stones to support physical and psychic well-being, by simply carrying one in a hand or pocket, wearing it as jewelry, or engaging in more advanced practices like the "laying on of stones." She also presents a glossary of terms designed for beginning students of metaphysical healing practices, and teaches how to clear, dedicate, and maintain crystals to maximize their beneficial effects.

God's Echo: Exploring Scripture with Midrash (Sandy Eisenberg Sasso) from Paraclete Press
The Rabbis of old believed that the Torah was divinely revealed and therefore contained eternal, perfect truths and hidden meaning that required ongoing elucidation. The meaning of a text was more complicated that simply reading it. And meaning changed over time. This understanding of how the Bible mystically relates to all of life is the fertile ground from which midrash emerged.
"The rabbis believed that nothing in the Bible, not the choice of words or their spellings, not the order of events or the relationship of one text to another, was haphazard or inconsequential. Everything was there with purpose. They deemed it their reponsibility to discover connections and harmony where on the surface none appeared to exist. A text may contain multiple meanings. Time is of no consequence. They felt free to read back into old stories what happened in future eras, and to see in the early stories of Genesis a foreshadowing of future events."

Good Grief: Healing Through the Shadow of Loss (Deborah Morris Coryell) from Inner Traditions
In this compassionate guide, Coryell gives inspiring examples of how embracing our losses allows us to awaken our most profound connections to other people. Though our society tends to rank losses in a "hierarchy of grief," she reminds us that all losses must be grieved in their own right and on their own terms, and that we must honor the "small" losses as well as the "big" ones. Paying attention to even the most minute experiences of loss can help us to be more in tune with our responses to the greater ones, allowing us to once again become part of the rhythm of life from which we have become disconnected. 10th anniversary edition with a 60-minute CD of the author reading select passages from the text.

Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path (Thubten Chodron) from Snow Lion Publications
The lamrim (stages of the path) presentation of Buddhist teachings has become a core topic of study at many Buddhist centers in the West. For busy practitioners, the lamrim gives a concise and easily graspable picture of the Buddhist path. Best-selling author Thubten Chodron has a unique ability to present these teachings. In this volume, she provides clear explanations of the stages of the path, while the mp3 files on the accompanying CD contain guided meditations on each of the topics covered in the text.

Healing the Addictive Personality: Freeing Yourself from Addictive Patterns and Relationships (Lee Jampolsky) from Ten Speed Press
Reprinted from Healing the Addictive Personality: Freeing Yourself from Addictive Patterns and Relationships, by Lee Jampolsky. Copyright © 2008. Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA. www.tenspeed.com.
Jampolsky's straightforward approach, based on firsthand experience, presents ways of healing addictive thinking, behavior, and destructive relationship patterns with forgiveness, compassion, and the potential for limitless opportunity through an eleven-week action plan.

Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective (Dalai Lama) from Snow Lion Publications
Buddhist traditions unanimously state that compassion and love are the foundation of all paths of practice. To cultivate the potential for compassion and love inherent within us, it is crucial to counteract their opposing forces of anger and hatred. The Dalai Lama shows how patience and tolerance overcome the obstacles of anger and hatred.
His Holiness presents the practice of the Six Perfections, the central role of bodhichitta, the twelve links of dependent origination and offers a clear road map for the practitioner to achieve the goal of liberation. The techniques and methods are relevant for everyone--the Dalai Lama shows the power that patience and tolerance have to heal anger and to generate peace in the world.

Healing Light of the Tao (Mantak Chia) from Inner Traditions
Healing Light of the Tao presents the more advanced methods of chi cultivation in the Microcosmic Orbit, offering a full understanding of Taoist spiritual theory through its comprehensive overview of the complete Taoist body/mind/spirit system. The book also includes more advanced meditation methods for absorbing the higher frequencies of Earth Force, Cosmic Force, and Universal Force (Heavenly chi) into the basic orbit. It establishes a spiritual science that not only emphasizes practical benefits to health, sexual vitality, and emotional balance, but also shows how changes made in the energy body can lead to physical rejuvenation that the Taoists called immortality.

Holy Silence cover Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality (J. Brent Bill) from Paraclete Press
People of all faiths and backgrounds are drawn to silence. We yearn for it in these busy and difficult times, but often, when silence becomes available, we don't know what to do with it. For centuries, Quakers have taught that when we are silent, God grants us insights, guidance, and spiritual understanding that is different from what we might realize in our noisy, everyday lives. This wise book invites us to discover this and other unique gifts of the Quaker way. It is a satisfying experience and taste of a spiritual tradition unflinching in its dedication to listening for the sounds and voice of God.

How (Not) to Speak of God (Peter Rollins) from Paraclete Press
With sensitivity to the Christian tradition and a rich understanding of postmodern thought, Peter Rollins argues that the movement known as the "emerging church" offers a singular, unprecedented message of transformation that has the potential to revolutionize the theological and moral architecture of Western Christianity.
How (not) to Speak of God sets out to explore the theory and praxis of this contemporary expression of faith. Rollins offers a clear exploration of this embryonic movement and provides key resources for those involved in communities that are conversant with, and seeking to minister effectively to, the needs of a postmodern world.

The Illumined Heart: Capturing the Vibrant Faith of Ancient Christians (Frederica Mathewes-Green) from Paraclete Press
From the Author:
When I look back at the process of writing The Illumined Heart, I'm amazed all over again at how God directed it. I wrote the whole thing in a week, the week before Christmas, in fact, which is so typically congested with last-minute errands, unpredicatable weather, aches and sniffles. For Orthodox Christians, it's also a week that we fast from meat and dairy, adding another ball to the juggling act. Yet somehow I started writing the book on Monday morning and completed it Sunday night, just fourteen minutes after the Christmas Eve service began.

Jesus the Wicked Priest (Marvin Vining) from Inner Traditions
The Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in 1947 at Qumran, were written by a Jewish sect known as the Essenes and are commonly thought to have been written 100 to 200 years before Jesus lived. Marvin Vining advances and modifies the controversial work of Barbara Thiering and Robert Eisenman to show that the scrolls were actually written when Jesus was alive and that they speak directly to the origins of Christianity and are a mirror image of the Gospels from the perspective of Jesus's enemies. Christianity arose out of a schism between the exclusivist, rigid, and militant views of the Essenes and the inclusivist, tolerant, and nonviolent views of Jesus. Jesus was raised an Essene, but he refused to follow their militant ways. Vining shows that the Dead Sea Scrolls are written in a secret coded language called pesher in which Jesus emerges as the Wicked Priest, the antagonist to the Teacher of Righteousness who was the leader of the Essenes. Jesus the Wicked Priest revitalizes the Gospel message by rescuing Jesus's legacy from the Essenes' disinformation to reveal his true role as tireless social reformer and revolutionary teacher. Vining's detailed study also reveals long-lost Christian doctrines of reincarnation. He shows Gabriel to be the high priest Simeon and the Teacher of Righteousness and discloses Gabriel's role in transmitting the seed of the holy bloodline to the Virgin Mary.

Living The Field (www.livingthefield.com) from www.livingthefield.com
Living The Field evolved out of the cult bestseller The Field, by Lynne McTaggart.
The Field was lauded around the world, from scientists and non-scientists alike, as the first book to synthesize all the discoveries from frontier quantum physicists about the nature of consciousness into a unified theory, comprehensive to the ordinary layman.
The book is also an exciting, compelling read, a scientific detective story. It is the number one read for anyone interested in paradigm shift, the nature of consciousness, the so-called 'paranormal'.
The book has been applauded by notables such a Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Dr Wayne Dyer, called it 'the most profound and enlightening book I have ever read.'

The Magic Mirror: Divination through the Ancient Art of Scrying (John Nelson) from Hampton Roads Publishing
"Snow White is the fairest of them all," says the evil queen‘s mirror in Snow White. In Chaucer‘s Canterbury Tales, a mirror displays happenings in the realm. The Mirror of Erised in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter books reveals a person‘s deepest desires. The Mirror of Galadrial in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s fantasy displays the past, present and possibilities for the future. While these accounts are fictional, the black mirror has been used for developing clairvoyance and divining the future for centuries.
John Nelson has reinterpreted spiritual and metaphysical concepts to make them more accessible to today‘s reader. You will learn the origins and history of scrying, how to develop clairvoyant powers and how you can benefit from scrying. Traditional rituals and interpretation are juxtaposed with modern-day psychological explanations. You, too, can have a magic mirror. What will your mirror reflect?

Magic and the Power of the Goddess (Gareth Knight) from Inner Traditions
In this wide-ranging view of magic and ritual, Gareth Knight demonstrates the presence of the Goddess throughout Western esoteric traditions. From Greek myths and the Mysteries of Isis to the emergence of the cult of the Blessed Virgin and seventeenth-century Rosicrucian spiritual alchemy, he shows how the Goddess--the elemental consciousness of Earth--has revealed herself in different times and places. Honoring her many guises, Knight explores the powers of the Goddess as maiden, mother, initiator, protector, sorceress, and faery queen. Guided meditations on each of these qualities lead the practitioner into direct contact with the potent healing energy of the Divine Feminine. The author also offers rituals, exercises, and other practical tools for integrating the Western magical tradition with worship of the Goddess. He shows how we, and our planet, have suffered due to the repression of the feminine principle. For our own health, and that of our environment as well, we must recognize the power of the Goddess within to reconstitute and guide our existence.

Meeting The Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self (Anne Carolyn Klein) from Snow Lion Publications
Despite the daunting barriers of geography and language that separate them, Buddhism and contemporary feminism have much to say to each other. Buddhist practices such as mindfulness (in which calm centering and keen awareness of change co-exist) and compassion (in which the self is recognized as both powerful in itself and interdependently connected with all others) can be important resources for contemprary women, while feminism can expand the traditional horizons of Buddhist concerns to include social, historical, and psychological issues. The image and ritual of the Great Bliss Queen, an important Buddhist figure of enlightenment, form the unifying theme of the book, modeling the practices and theory that can assist each of us in being at one with ourselves and fully engaged with others.

Mind Training (Ringu Tulku) from Snow Lion Publications
This accessible book contains the essence of the Seven-Point Mind Training, expressed in the intimate, colloquial style that distinguishes Ringu Tulku's teachings. The Seven-Point Mind Training, a lojong practice, assumes no prior special training or preparation. It does not require practitioners to enter seclusion or change the way they live their lives. It asks that they examine their relationships with all those around them, and to make a strong determination to become enlightened for others' sake rather than for their own. It gives instructions for tonglen, a breathing practice that ties the concepts of lojong to the physical act of breathing. Mind Training focuses simply on giving up self-cherishing and transforming self-centered thinking into compassion, egoistic feelings into altruism, desire into acceptance, and resentment into joy.

Mudhouse Sabbath (Laren F. Winner) from Paraclete Press
After her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, Lauren Winner found that her life was indelibly marked by the rich traditions and spiritual practices of Judaism. She set out to discover how she could incorporate some of these practices into her new faith. Winner presents eleven Jewish spiritual practices that can transform the way Christians view the world and God. Whether discussing attentive eating, marking the days while grieving, the community that supports a marriage, candle-lighting, or the differences between the Jewish Sabbath and a Sunday spent at the Mudhouse, her favorite coffee shop, Winner writes with appealing honesty and rare insight.

The Mystery of 2012 (Edward F. Malkowski) from Sounds True
Are we truly coming to the end of a cosmic cycle? Will there be an age of awakening, a new step in human evolution, or even an end to the world we know? For years, archaeologists have known the Mayan calendar predicts this date as the end of an era on Earth. Yet today, more and more researchers, spiritual explorers, and even scientists are witnessing signs that 2012 will mark a critical shift in the history of our planet. Now, for the first time, the leading authorities on the 2012 phenomenon present their insights about this enigmatic date in a single book: The Mystery of 2012.

Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief (John Lash) from Chelsea Green Publications
Basing much of Not in His Image on the Nag Hammadi and other Gnostic writings, John Lamb Lash explains how a little-known messianic sect propelled itself into a dominant world power, systematically wiping out the great Gnostic spiritual teachers, the Druid priests, and the shamanistic healers of Europe and North Africa. They burned libraries and destroyed temples in an attempt to silence the ancient truth-tellers and keep their own secrets. But as Lash reveals, when the truth is the planet Earth it cannot be hidden or destroyed.
Not in His Image delves deeply into the shadows of ancient Gnostic writings to reconstruct the story early Christians tried to scrub from the pages of history, exploring the richness of the ancient European Pagan spirituality--the Pagan Mysteries, the Great Goddess, Gnosis, the myths of Sophia and Gaia--and chronicles the annihilation of this Pagan European culture at the hands of Christianity.

Quantum Shift in the Global Brain (Ervin Laszlo) from Inner Traditions
In this book, Ervin Laszlo presents a new "reality map" to guide us through the world shifts we are experiencing--the problems, opportunities, and challenges we face individually as well as collectively--in order to help us understand what we must do during this time of great transition. Science's cutting edge now views reality as broader, as multiple universes arising in a possibly infinite meta-universe, as well as deeper, extending into dimensions at the subatomic level. Laszlo shows that aspects of human experience that had previously been consigned to the domain of intuition and speculation are now being explored with scientific rigor and urgency. There has been a shift in the materialistic scientific view of reality toward the multidimensional worldview of multiple interconnected realities long known by the world's great spiritual traditions. By understanding the interconnectedness of our changing world as well as our changing "map" of the world, we can navigate with insight, wisdom, and confidence.
4 Star Rating Read review

Reality Is All the God There Is (Adi Da Samraj) from Inner Traditions
In this book Adi Da Samraj offers his unique renderings of the dharma of the great sages of Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism, including Gotama Sakyamuni, Nagarjuna, Shankara, and Ribhu. Rather than simply translate their teachings from available source texts, Adi Da, himself a Realized Master, respeaks them as one who has personally realized their truth, revealing that the Buddhist "Nirvana" and the Advaitic "Brahman" point to the same transcendental condition. Adi Da's transmissions restore to these texts the profound communication intended by the spiritual masters who created them.

The Rubais of Rumi (Nevit O. Ergin and Will Johnson) from Inner Traditions
The first English translation of the rubais of Rumi.
Rumi is well known for the over 44,000 verses that appear in a 23-volume collection called the Divan-i Kebir. Yet Rumi also composed 1,700 rubais, short aphorisms and observations, whose depth and message belie their brevity. The form of rubais first became well known through the 11th-century collection The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. But unlike Khayyam, who like most poets would sit and carefully craft each word, Rumi would compose and speak his poems through the spontaneous "language of poetry" that poured from his lips as he traveled the streets of Konya, Anatolia (present-day Turkey). Very few of Rumi's rubais have been translated into any of the languages of the contemporary Western world. Now, Nevit O. Ergin, the translator of the complete Divan-i Kebir, and Will Johnson present here 233 of the most evocative of Rumi's 1,700 rubais.

Sacred Geometry (Janosh) from Sounds True
Behind geometry lurks the mystery of creation. There is no denying that our entire world is shaped according to set geometric values. These mathematical patterns arrange the cells in our body and define the distances between the stars and the planets. They can be recognized in everything--from atoms, stars, and flowers to human creations and structures. Our very bodies are excellent examples of this universal geometry. Simple examples of sacred geometric shapes are, among other things, the circle, triangle, square, pentagon, and pentagram. Three-dimensional examples include the sphere and the five platonic solids: the tetrahedron, hexahedron (cube), octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron. Numerical values of significance are pi and the Golden Ratio or Mean, also known as phi (pronounced "fee"). What follows is a brief discussion of some of these wonders.

Sacred Land: Intuitive Gardening for Personal, Political and Environmental Change (Clea Danaan) from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. 2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125-2989. All rights reserved, used by permission and with the best wishes of the publisher.
The soil is a vast kingdom beneath our feet, home to giant and minute earthworms, billions of bacteria and microspiders and ants, and wise, ancient stones. Rich black, sandy red, or pale and gritty, it is in the soil that life on land begins. But not all soil is the same-far from it.
The first step to getting to know a garden is to meet and appreciate the soil. The health of a garden depends on its soil.

Saint Teresa of Avila (Edited by Mirabai Starr) from Sounds True
"The important thing is not to think much, but to love much, and so to do whatever best awakens us to love." --St. Teresa of Avila
Journey to the 16th century to discover the fiery passion of Saint Teresa of Avila, one of Christianity's most inspiring saints. A tireless reformer and the mentor of Saint John of the Cross, Teresa's greatest legacy is her revelation of ecstatic love for God--a love so powerful that it pierces the heart like a burning sword. Through illness, hardship, and persecution by the Inquisition, this courageous mystic lit the way with her unquenchable spirit to an "interior castle," a place of unimaginable beauty and light where no darkness can touch us.
Saint Teresa of Avila gives you a direct link to the living presence of this brave and gentle woman, to draw upon her strength in your own times of need.

Science and the Akashic Field (Ervin Laszlo) from Inner Traditions
Mystics and sages have long maintained that there exists an interconnecting cosmic field at the roots of reality that conserves and conveys information, a field known as the Akashic record. Recent discoveries in vacuum physics show that this Akashic Field is real and has its equivalent in science's zero-point field that underlies space itself. This field consists of a subtle sea of fluctuating energies from which all things arise: atoms and galaxies, stars and planets, living beings, and even consciousness. This zero-point Akashic Field is the constant and enduring memory of the universe. It holds the record of all that has happened on Earth and in the cosmos and relates it to all that is yet to happen.
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Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action (J. Matthew Sleeth) from Chelsea Green Publications
Five years ago Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth and his family lived in a big house, had two luxury cars, loads of money, and lots of stuff. As chief of the medical staff at a large hospital, Sleeth was living the American dream--until he realized that something was terribly wrong. As he saw patient after patient suffering from cancer, asthma, and other chronic diseases, he began to understand that the Earth and its inhabitants were in trouble. Feeling helpless, he turned to his faith for guidance. He discovered how the timeless lessons of personal responsibility, simplicity, and stewardship taught in the Bible could be applied to modern life.
The Sleeths have since sold their big home and given away more than half of what they once owned. In Serve God, Save the Planet, Sleeth shares the joy of adopting a less materialistic lifestyle, and reveals what was easy and what was hard about the changes his family has made.

She Still Lives: A Novel of Tibet (Bill Magee) from Snow Lion Publications
She Still Lives: A Novel of Tibet is an action-love story set in a fictional Tibet of the future. The beginning of the next century is a pivotal time for the Land of Snows. A nascent freedom movement has been crushed by the Communists. Tara Gyatso, beloved Dalai Lama, and her advisor Mila Lakpa, have been imprisoned.
Many years later Mila Lakpa emerges from jail. He is an aged remnant of his former self, but he rallies for a final act of rebellion. Outwardly he may appear to have forgotten the Dalai Lama, but inwardly a secret plan is taking shape. The path to success is a razor's edge: on the one side, the Dalai Lama's freedom; on the other, a life sentence and the annihilation of his hopes. The Chinese believe he poses no danger to the State. For all Mila knows, they may be right.

The Spiritual Technology of Ancient Egypt (Edward F. Malkowski) from Inner Traditions
Since the dawn of the Age of Science humankind has been engaged in a methodical quest to understand the cosmos. With the development of quantum mechanics, the notion that everything is solid matter is being replaced with the idea that information or "thought" may be the true source of physical reality. Such scientific inquiry has led to a growing interest in the brain's unique and mysterious ability to create perception, possibly through quantum interactions. Consciousness is now being considered as much a fundamental part of reality as the three dimensions we are so familiar with. Although this direction in scientific thought is seen as a new approach, the secret wisdom of the ancients presented just such a view thousands of years ago.

Spot of Grace: Remarkable Stories of How You Do Make a Difference (Dawna Markova, Ph.D.) from New World Library
You don‘t have to discover penicillin, feed the poor in the streets of Calcutta, or be the first person to swim to Antarctica to make a remarkable difference in the world. The stories in Spot of Grace tell about moments when one person did something very simple -- asked a question in wonder, smiled from the heart, risked a reach across the chasm of isolation so many of us experience. Extraordinary things start with these ordinary gestures. And as they grow and flourish, they can make a profound difference in someone else‘s life.

Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions (Karl Brunnholzl) from Snow Lion Publications
Straight from the Heart brings together an inspiring collection of Buddhist teachings, songs of realization, meditation instructions, and enlightened poetry all chosen for their power to speak directly to the student. Drawn from Indian Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, as well as from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, some will impress with their beautiful poetry and powerful imagery; others with their profound power of instruction. Still others share personal advice for life that seems to come directly from the mouth of the author, and some serve as immediate and profound practice instructions. Several are just delightfully unconventional, even outrageous, letting in fresh air on petrified views or musty traditions. Most of them are simply unknown precious gems which deserve a wider audience.

The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep (Lama Tenzin) from Snow Lion Publications
"If we cannot carry our practice into sleep," Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche writes, "if we lose ourselves every night, what chance do we have to be aware when death comes? Look to your experience in dreams to know how you will fare in death. Look to your experience of sleep to discover whether or not you are truly awake."
The yogas of dream and sleep are used in the Bon and Buddhist traditions of Tibet to attain liberation.
Included are detailed instructions for the dream yoga including foundational practices done during the day.

Touching Enlightenment (Reginald A. Ray, Ph.D.) from Sounds True
What does it mean to "meditate with the body"? Until you answer this question, explains Reggie Ray, meditation may be no more than "a mental gymnastic"-- something you can practice for years without fruitful results. In Touching Enlightenment, the esteemed author of five books on Buddhist history and practice guides you back to the original practice of the Buddha: a systematic process that results in a profound awareness "in your body rather than in your head."
Combining the scholarship that has earned him international renown with original insights from nearly four decades practicing and teaching meditation, Reggie Ray invites you to explore:

How to enter fully into communion with your embodied nature
The insights of Tibetan yoga, from guidance on breathing and working with discomfort to its challenge to modern practitioners on the path to realization
Why "rejected" experience becomes imprinted in the body--and how to receive it anew to "reconstitute your human way of being"
Karma of cause and karma of result--taking full responsibility for your life
Your three bodies--the physical, the interpersonal, and the cosmic

A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Others (Jeffrey Hopkins) from Snow Lion
The Dalai Lama often says, "Kindness is society." By learning to live from a more compassionate viewpoint, Jeffrey Hopkins writes, we can create a better life not only for ourselves but for everyone. In A Truthful Heart, Hopkins uses Buddhist meditations (including the Dalai Lama's favorite), visualizations, and entertaining recollections from his own life to guide us in developing an awareness of the capacity for love inside us and learning to project that love into the world around us.

Twelve-Tribe Nations: Sacred Number and the Golden Age (John Michell, Christine Rhone) from Inner Traditions
Throughout the world--in countries as far apart as China, Ireland, Iceland, and Madgascar--there survive records and traditions of whole nations being divided into twelve tribes and twelve regions, each corresponding to one of the twelve signs of the zodiac and to one of the twelve months of the year. Best known are the twelve tribes of Israel under King Solomon, but there have been many others. Wherever they occur, they are associated with an ideal social order and a golden age of humanity.

Understanding a Course in Miracles (D. Patrick Miller) from Ten Speed Press
Reprinted from Understanding A Course in Miracles: The History, Message, and Legacy of a Spiritual Path for Today, by D. Patrick Miller. Copyright (©) 2008. Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA. www.tenspeed.com.
This comprehensive introduction to the grassroots phenomenon A Course in Miracles covers the book's role in America's changing spiritual landscape, investigates its origins and history, and explains its principal tenets and philosophies. Weaving together extensive research and student perspectives, journalist D. Patrick Miller sheds light on the provocative and oft-misunderstood text.

Weather Shamanism (Nan Moss with David Corbin) from Inner Traditions
Through a unique blend of anthropological research, shamanic journeys, and personal stories and anecdotes, Moss and Corbin show how humans and weather have always affected each other, and how it is possible to influence the weather. They present teachings directly from the spirits of weather that show how our thoughts and emotions affect weather energetics. They also reveal the ceremonial and therapeutic aspects of "weather dancing," a practice used to communicate with the weather spirits.
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The Wisdom of Imperfection: The Challenge of Individuation in Buddhist Life (Rob Preece) from Snow Lion Publications
If you have been practicing Buddhism for a while, why do you still have problems? And how do you balance the (apparently) sometimes different needs of spiritual and psychological perspectives? This wonderful book fills a hitherto unmet need among Buddhists.
Psychotherapist and meditation teacher Rob Preece draws on his eighteen years as a psychotherapist and many years as a meditation teacher to explore and map the psychological influences on our struggle to awaken. Acceptance of imperfection, for both psychological and spiritual health, is key.

Writing through the Darkness (Elizabeth Maynard Schaefer, PhD) from Ten Speed Press
Reprinted from from Writing through the Darkness: Easing Your Depression with Paper and Pen, by Elizabeth Maynard Schaefer, Ph.D. Copyright © 2008. Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA. www.tenspeed.com.
Virtually everyone copes with significant grief and turmoil at times. Writing Through The Darkness offers a menu of writing approaches--freewriting, memoir, poetry, and storytelling--to alleviate the anguish, confusion, and pain associated with depression. Quotes and writing samples from students provide inspiration and encouragement, and extensive resources direct readers to additional writing prompts, instruction, and accurate mental health information and assistance. Practical how-to discussions and plentiful exercises demonstrate how writing can help those with depression modulate their moods, develop greater insight, feel a sense of accomplishment, and reconstruct a damaged life.

Your Body Speaks Your Mind (Deb Shapiro) from Sounds True
We all know how we cry tears when we are sad or get butterflies in our stomach when we are nervous. These are simple connections between the mind and the body that are easy for us to understand. But what about the bigger issues, when the body gets ill, diseased, or damaged? Now with Your Body Speaks Your Mind, Deb Shapiro--author of The Body Mind Workbook and Unconditional Love--shows you a practical way to learn the language of your body so you can understand how your thoughts and feelings directly affect your physical health.The body shows us what we are unconsciously ignoring, denying, or repressing, she says.
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