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September/October 2002 Conscious Media
Reviews

Karmic Relationships, Healing Invisible Wounds

by Charles Richards (Jodere Group, $23.95)

I wondered idly this month "what if I were to review a book that answered all my questions?" You know, THOSE questions-about life patterns, destiny and purpose. This book claims to do just that. Karmic Relationships details the author’s beliefs about how the past lives of your soul impact your current life. The author claims that most, if not all, unusual, painful or unexplainable aspects of your current life are tied to past lives.

Souls are eternal, the book explains. After the physical body they are in dies, the soul goes to a "cosmic classroom" to rest and gather information before being given another physical body to inhabit. Knowledge from previous lives becomes lost in the next body’s unconscious, though memories can filter through. These may come as the stereotypical affinity for Victorian turret rooms, chronic migraines or being drawn to certain relationships or certain people. By bringing these past lives into consciousness (though past-life regressions such as the author’s Soul Journey process) one can release the "energy residue" from past lives and diminish, delete or at least understand what was unexplainable.

This is a thought-provoking book, detailing countless cases of people with chronic pain or confusing relationships which are cleared by the process of exploring their past lives. As a mental health professional, it was especially challenging to consider ideas such as: is it ethical for a family or individual therapist to use past-life regression as a tool in treatment (the author possesses a certification in marital and family counseling); or are there people who, due to their individual personalities or mental health issues, shouldn’t attempt past-life regression, with or without a trained professional to assist them? I also have some basic disagreements with this author’s approach to abusive relationships; for example his statement that adults who discover childhood abuse from parents and pursue legal charges are, in the author’s words, "stuck in their anger wounds" and represent a "job undone for the therapist."

My ethical and philosophical issues aside, this book is interesting for detailed information about one person’s beliefs and processes of past-life regression. The exercises for self-exploration are also intriguing. While his intent is obviously positive, I would recommend readers notice that the author has some obvious biases of his own. This is the first book I personally have read on past-lives, I am looking at it as a stepping stone to pursue other books on the same topic and compare the differences.

---Reviewed by Alaina Zipp

 

Second Chance

by Suzane Northrop (Jodere Group, $20)

There are many second chances in this book by Suzane Northrop. I like reading about second chances since I think we all deserve them. The really exciting message of this book is that loved ones who have passed on are still with us and have a second chance to tell us how they feel. It paints for the reader a positive picture of the afterlife, and encourages us with the thought that we are eternal after we leave this shell of a body.

Northrop begins by talking about how emotionally difficult it was as a child to see dead people. At the funeral of her grandmother the apparition of her dead grandmother stood beside her and wanted to visit with her. When Northrup told her parents, she was promptly ushered out of the funeral. Treated as an outcast, she sat in the family car hidden away from everyone. Her consolation was that her grandmother sat right next to her in the back seat, keeping her company. As she grew older and became a music composer she received daily messages from the DP’s (dead people as she calls them) who assisted her and others she met in making life decisions. Then with the guidance of friends like John Edwards, host of TV’s "Crossing Over", she was helped to use her gift in a wonderful healing way.

This book covers stories of séances she has given and the incredible clarity and accuracy by which the DP’s talk through her. It even deals with such subjects like "is there a devil?" and "how to reach your loved ones on your own."

If you have had any experiences where DP’s may have contacted you or you long for a close relationship with loved ones that have passed on, you will find this book comforting and a quick and easy read.

--- Reviewed by Jean Foerster

 

The Oracle of the Kabbalah: Mystical Teachings of the Hebrew Letters

By Richard Seidman (Thomas Dunne Books, St.Martin’s Press, $29.95)

I must admit that I was surprised at the depth with which I connected with this elegantly simple little book and pack of cards. It has been my constant companion during the past three months, encouraging and challenging me through major surgery and the frustrating tedium of convalescence. Richard Seidman successfully marries the ancient rooted wisdom of mystical Judaism with the adventurous and inclusive spirit of the New Age.

Oracles and divination tools, such as this, offer alternative perspectives in the symbolic language of our right brain. By lifting us out of our habitual patterns, we, hopefully achieve more satisfying and holistic perceptions. The Oracle of the Kabala emerges from the folklore and the mystical teachings of the Hebrew alphabet. According to the earliest known book on Jewish mysticism, the Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Creation), written more than fifteen centuries ago, God formed the entire universe through speaking aloud the twenty-two letters. "Out of nothingness, with the vibration of God’s cosmic utterances, all things spring to life."

Each letter is understood as an archetype and has its own personality, its own magic and its own way of organizing the whole of existence around itself. It has ways of combining with other letters to form new meanings, and the words with which we in turn, create our reality. The mysticism and profundity of meaning within the system of letters and numbers of the Kabala is a lifetime study in itself, but this Oracle of the Kabala encapsulates it in simple language. Magically, it tends to meet one where one is, emotionally and intellectually, on any given day. As a divination system it sheds new light onto whatever question it is asked. However, Richard borrows from other traditions, especially Zen, to clarify and amplify his themes, which allowed me to feel included in the Universal family even though I am not Jewish and have little exposure to traditional Judaism.

While the Oracle of the Kabbalah is not intended to foretell future events, it can provide a perspective on a present situation and show considerations to keep in mind when weighing possible courses of action. It seems to me that the secret lies in one’s ability to form an accurate and perceptive question before consulting the Oracle. Vague and general questions get vague and general answers! The answer can only be as helpful as the question is precise. With this admonition in mind, I fully recommend this little book, both as a tool for divination and simply as a source of comfort and spiritual inspiration.

A portion of the profits from the book sales will be donated to Friends of Trees in Oregon, a wonderful gesture by the author, and one absolutely in keeping with the whole spirit and tone of the book. Thank you Richard Seidman. Shalom.

---Reviewed by Jenny Swanpool.