July/August 2009 Conscious Media
Reader's Choice 7-09

Empowering Your Indigo Child, Wayne Dosick and Ellen Kaufman Dosick, Red Wheel/Weiser, 2009, $15.95

Among children born today, more than 80 percent are Indigo children. So what makes an Indigo child? They are highly intelligent, intuitive and extremely likable creative kids that don't fit into the norm. This book is hands-on for parents and caregivers of Indigos, who are advanced spiritually and highly sensitive children. Three sections offer demonstrations to spiritually heal your child's emotional wounds. "Gracelight" gives directions for a spiritual healing process for children up to age seven, while "The 17" is for ages seven to 17 and "The Point of Essence Process" heals adult Indigos.

The techniques or special "games" include hands-on healing, scripted meditation and other simple exercises that take about two minutes to play. Plus, more than 100 black and white photographs illustrate the techniques.

As a mother of two Indigo children, I felt this book shed some light on some of the issues occurring at home. I can't wait to see the results of playing these games.

- Tiffany LaRue

Signs From Above, Doreen Virtue and Charles Virtue, Hay House, 2009, $10.95

This pocket-sized book, co-authored by Doreen Virtue and her oldest son Charles Virtue, provide signs and messages that our guardian angels are always present and available to help. Do you see rainbows, find "pennies from heaven," hear repetitive or meaningful songs, find feathers or perhaps see repetitive number patterns? These are real signs from your angels in answer to your prayers and thoughts. This small gem of a book shares true life stories of individuals who received their messages in times of need and how those messages and signs helped them on their journey. The book shares ideas and suggestions for prayers, allowing you to receive signs for your own specific life issues. Interestingly when I was reading this book I did find many pennies from heaven in response to my own asking. We just have to remember to ask our angels for help as they will not intervene without the invitation. A must read for all Doreen Virtue fans.

- Jelina Vance

The Scavengers' Manifesto, Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson, Tarcher/Penguin, 2009, $14.95

When people hear the term "scavenging," they may think of dumpster diving in a dark alley. Authors Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson have a broader view of this thrifty pastime: Scavenging is any activity where you can legally acquire things for free or cheap, either outdoors or in a standard retail environment. These activities run all the way from thrift shopping to coupon clipping and recycling to more adventurous enterprises such as freecycling, beachcombing and urban foraging (that's where you harvest fruit from trees that grow on or overhang public property). Everything old is new again in The Scavengers' Manifesto, which makes you think critically about your consumer lifestyle. Clothing and furniture aren't just objects - they've become a part of the life and death cycle of the earth's landfills. You resurrect these used items when you pick them up again at garage sales, creating a second life in a new home. It makes sense spiritually and ecologically to be a savvy scavenger.

- Vicky Thompson

Sixty Seconds-One Moment Changes Everything, Phil Bolsta, Beyond Words/Atria Books, 2008, $18.95

Not quite as quick as a New York minute, but 60 seconds, one minute, can be all it takes for our world to profoundly change. Forty-five well-known people from a wide variety of fields each contributed a life-altering incident or experience that led to a spiritual transformation. Collected by Phil Bolsta into a handy, quick-read format, each story is unique. The book is divided into Life-and-Death and Mysterious Moments in Glimpses into the Unknown, Heartbreaking and Sacred Moments in Living Life, and Life-Altering and Enlightenment Moments in Insightful Incidents. Epiphanies abound.

You finish one story, in contemplative awe, and then the next, and the next: "Wow." This book demonstrates that at any moment we may be awakened, directed down a different path in life and transformed. We need to be open to recognizing these moments for the transformational opportunities they present.

- Alice R. Berntson

Total Reflexology, Martine Faure-Alderson, Healing Arts Press, 2008, $19.95

Dr. Martine Faure-Alderson had integrated naturopathy, acupuncture and homeopathy into her medical practice for 25 years before she began her training in reflexology in the 1960s. Faure-Alderson takes reflexology to a new level by integrating alternative therapies and her back ground as a physician at her Total Reflexology Therapy school in Paris. She brings a scientific precision to using the foot as a map of the body and all of its systems providing the first complete holistic approach to using reflexology.

Total Reflexology is the first complete book of reflexology to incorporate osteopathy, craniosacral therapy and the chakra system. Presented in turn, are each of the major body systems. This reference book remaps the entire foot to fine tune the pressure points for each system of the body, including the brain. Its 30 full color detailed diagrams provide precise illustrations of pressure points. Easily read and understood, this is a great guide for anyone to use and enjoy reflexology at home or in a professional setting. The information is so complete and in depth that any professional healthcare practitioner should add this to their reference library.

- Annique Lottin, LMT, CR

The Evolution Angel, Todd Michael, Tarcher, 2008, $14.95

Michael, a medical doctor, wrote this book while serving as the medical director of an emergency room and level three trauma center. He believes that his attendance at more than 500 deaths gave him a closer relationship to spirit. By opening himself to unlimited possibilities and by using his imagination and meditation, he was able to develop a relationship with a spiritual messenger, referred to as the Evolution Angel, rather than the Angel of Death. Through this entity, Michael learned many aspects of life and death of the human body and evolution of the soul. He asked many questions of this light-hearted friendly being about reality, abundance, religion, Jesus and more. Michael was told that this process is available to everyone and although he was present for the deaths, this was just one way to silence his mind long enough for spirit to start communication with him. In the last few pages you learn a process to help silence your mind and become closer to spirit.

- Jelina Vance

Spiritual Liberation, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Beyond Words/Atria Books, 2008, $26

Perhaps you remember Michael Bernard Beckwith from the movie, The Secret or perhaps you know him as the founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center. Now he is sharing his messages through a much anticipated book which demonstrates how to achieve a greater state of awareness. He says that most people have the tendency to operate in an unconscious state of awareness and end up making decisions based on fear, lack or limitation. Once people become aware of this unconscious program, it loses power over them. "When it starts to rear its head, they can say, 'Oh that's a program - that's something I've inherited from the world. That's a part of my unconscious belief system." If you feel that you are stuck in some aspect of your life, just know that by surrendering to that stuck feeling it will help you open and gain new insights. "If you can get a feeling that you're all right already, you begin from wholeness and move from glory to greater glory. That's spiritual liberation." This book is a great read for anyone on their spiritual path. It has many gems of knowledge and is written from a truly compassionate perspective.

- Jelina Vance

The Secret Destiny of America, Manly P. Hall, Penguin Group, 2008, $16.95

This book is a new compilation of two previous works, The Secret Destiny of America, published in 1944, and America's Assignment with Destiny,published in 1951. Hall presents his evidence for a mysterious plan (think Templars and Masons) for the birth of the United States. Before our Founding Fathers, though, Hall presents his evidence that other civilizations were here long before even the Native Americans.

Sometimes his methods of numerology and coincidences seem a long stretch, but maybe everything is true. History is only what some writer or storyteller chooses to pass along as fact, leaving us to ponder what other information is missing. It's those often neglected fragments of history that Hall presents. It's fascinating to think about, and it could be right in plain sight all the time, in things we take for granted. Take the U.S. $1 bill, for instance. That mysterious eye above the pyramid on the reverse of our currency is on the cover of the book. Hall includes its symbolism in his findings. One wonders what additional evidence might have come to light in the decades - more than a half-century - since Hall wrote the original books.

- Alice R. Berntson