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September/October 2010 Conscious Media
Reader's Choice

by Vicky Thompson

Visions of a Universal Humanity, Beyond Words Publishing, 2010, $27.95

In this DVD, Barbara Marx Hubbard, a futurist and visionary of our time, spreads her message that, “Our crisis is our birth.” She brings together theologians, philosophers, physicists and visionaries to discuss the evolution of humanity. This film gives hope to humanity for a positive future and offers many illuminating ideas and concepts from well known personalities, including Jean Houston, Bruce Lipton and Rev. Michael Dowd. Widely known as Buckminster Fuller’s philosophical heir, Hubbard is a social innovator, author and leader in the new worldview of conscious evolution. This movie is a true testimonial to all that Hubbard believes is possible for humanity.

— Jelina Vance

Alchemical Medicine for the 21st Century: Spagyrics for Detox, Healing and Longevity, Clare Goodrick-Clarke, Healing Arts Press, 2010, $16.95

In this information-packed book, Clare Goodrick-Clarke gives a detailed history of alchemy. She elaborates on the pioneers of Spagyrics and explains the healing art of Spagyric Medicine. This branch of medicinal alchemy was developed by Paracelsus. Spagyrics harnesses the life force in plants to help the body rebalance and recover from illness. The second half of the book explains how to make Spagyric essences as well as providing plant profiles and the therapeutic actions of the alchemical preparations. An interesting and informative book.

— Annette Epifano

The Power of Compassion, Pamela Bloom, Hampton Roads, 2010, $15.95

The Power of Compassion shares simple stories of compassion that remind you how your daily actions can profoundly affect others. The 40 first-person stories feature Thich Nhat Hanh, John F. Kennedy, the Dalai Lama and other luminaries. The power of a heartfelt apology is demonstrated when a woman bumps into a man on a crowded New York City sidewalk. He launches into a verbal attack, and instead of yelling back, the woman finds the courage within to say how truly sorry she is for running into him. The ranting man sputters to a stop when he is truly seen by another human being. In another story, a jazz musician, reeling from the pain of his father’s death as well as a recent divorce, learns how to live from the heart: “I realized that there was something there that I wasn’t seeing and that was the witness inside me. It felt revolutionary to realize that I am not my anger, not my depression, not my sadness — these are just mind-states that come and go. I may not be able to fully feel compassion for myself, but if I can do it for someone else, then I will just practice that.”

— Vicky Thompson

The Five-Minute Miracle, Tara Springett, Red Wheel/Weiser, 2010, $14.95

Do you have five minutes? That’s all it takes to experience a miracle. When I first read the title of this book I thought it sounded like a cheesy home shopping network ad. Boy, was I surprised! This fabulous book describes a quick and easy method that can be adapted and used by anyone, including children. Springett, a Tibetan Buddhist who had this healing process pop into her head more than 10 years ago, uses this method in her therapy practice. She reports that 100 percent of patients have found significant improvement from whatever problem they have been suffering from, including addictions, depression, anxiety, and physical and emotional pain. Reading the book will give you the simple steps to make your own miracle happen.

— Annette Epifano

There is Life After Death, Roy Abraham Varghese, New Page Books, 2010, $15.99

This book seeks to explore the concept of life after death from a scientific and historical perspective, but clearly states that it can’t be proved scientifically or measured quantitatively. Varghese desires to go beyond what other authors and researchers have stated, from religious beliefs, anecdotes from near-death experiences, metaphysical speculation and communications from “the other side.” Varghese reviews various researchers’ works and provides pros and cons to concur with the concepts or debunk them. Renowned physician, researcher and author Dr. Raymond Moody provided both a foreword and an afterword to the book. In the end, Dr. Moody states that the book provides progress in a rational inquiry into the topic. Each reader will have to decide if the evidence is compelling. But in the end, we will all find out soon enough the answer to this eternal question.

— Alice R. Berntson

 Gene Keys: Unlocking the Higher Purpose Hidden in Your DNA, Richard Rudd, Gene Keys, 2009, $50

In this gracefully written “codebook,” Richard Rudd invites us to explore the life purposes encoded in our DNA. Each of the 64 gene keys has many correspondences — to the I Ching, to a part of the body, to an amino acid and to another gene known as a “programming partner,” and each gene is described in terms of its shadow, its gift and its siddhi, or divine gift. Gene 30, for example, the gene of “celestial fire,” has desire as its shadow, lightness (expressed as humor) as its gift and rapture as its siddhi. Gene Keys is a heavy book, both literally — it weighs more than 3 pounds — and in its dense but consistently accessible content, which continually surprises and enlightens. “You alone are the architect of your evolution,” Rudd writes, and this book helps you build as the architect designs. Visit www.genekeys.net.

— Fran Gardner

Beyond Limitations, Stuart Wilson and Joanna Prentis, Ozark Mountain Publishing, 2010, $14

You know about cocreation, you practice it, sometimes it works and other times you are left wondering, How and why did I create that? Why would I create something that I don’t want? Maybe someone else created this. Within this book, lie the answers. The angel Alariel, who speaks for a group of 12 angels, channels information through Stuart Wilson. The result is a detailed description of the mechanism behind reality creation, the influence of others’ creation on our own, limiting protocols and timelines. Cocreation is completely covered in the first three parts of the book, leaving the last four parts to cover metaphysical subjects such as planetary changes, crystal children, the advancement of consciousness and spiritual development. The result is an interesting and informative read that empowers us to create, grow and experience reality beyond what we know. Whether you are a seasoned cocreator or a novice dabbler, this book has something for you.

— Nea Akayla

Interstellar Moonlight Therapy, Beyond Words Publishing, 2010, $19.99

Would you believe that moonlight has actual healing qualities? It may help with stress relief, deeper meditation, pain management, and improved health and sleep. This DVD documentary was filmed on site at Interstellar Light Applications (ILA) in Tucson, Ariz. where a new technology uses a specially designed moonlight collector to capture the moon’s healing light spectrum. The collector uses 84 parabolic mirrored panels to concentrate the energy of moonlight more than 100 times. According to ILA, people afflicted with health issues ranging from cancer to asthma and depression have sought out this concentrated moonlight to assist in their recovery.

— Jelina Vance