November/December 2010 Conscious Media
Readers Choice
by Vicky Thompson
The Next Ten Minutes
, Andrew Peterson, Beyond Words, 2010, $17.99
This book is subtitled 51 Absurdly Simple Ways to Seize the Moment and it truly is just that. This wonderful purse-sized book is written with humor and wit, and is a joy to read. Peterson shows us how to take 10 minutes out of our busy schedule and learn the importance of being fully engaged and present in the moment. He brings into focus the mundane, silly and wildly crazy tasks that we often take for granted. Most people consider staring at a wall to be boring to say the least. However, after you read this book you may have a totally different view point about wall staring. With all the pressures of the world on us, this book is truly a humorous escape that offers a highly valuable approach to everyday living.
— Jelina Vance
The Spiritual Anatomy of Emotion
, Michael A. Jawer and Marc S. Micozzi, Inner Traditions, 2010, $24.95
Boundaries — thick and thin — this continuum in people is an underlying concept in Jawer and Micozzi’s exploration of attributing “paranormal” events to one’s internal feelings and biology. Thin-boundary people don’t see a clear delineation between themselves and the exterior world. Jawer asserts that this type of person is more sensitive and susceptible to perceiving (even creating) anomalous events, and that such phenomena results from their internal states, not from anything in external consciousness.
— Alice R. Berntson
How to Thrive in Changing Times
, Sandra Ingerman, Red Wheel/Weiser, 2010, $12.95
This book could not be more timely. Ingerman is a wonderful healer, teacher and guide. In this book she relates how everything that manifests in our physical world is a result of our thoughts and words. She discusses ways to engage in spiritual practices to create a more balanced life and to be able to thrive in today’s ever-changing world. She also goes into actions or steps you can take to affect change on a personal, community and global level. This book is a gem.
— Annette Epifano
The Courage to Be Free: Discover Your Original Fearless Self
, Guy Finley, Weiser Books, 2010, $16.95
Guy Finley, in his gentle but powerful way, reminds you of your original self — the you that is free from fear, worry and pain — the person you were meant to be. By reliving the past, you’re powerless to change a present misunderstanding, Finley teaches, which frees you to have the courage to be your authentic self. It’s not about being right, but instead living as a friend of truth. Life never travels the same roads twice, Finley says, and as I read this compact book, I found myself slowing down, realizing that rushing doesn’t serve who I am. Finley gently points a finger at my heart, reminding me to seek myself within.
— Vicky Thompson
Sacred Power of the Universal Laws Revealed
, Sharka Glet, Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2010, $14.95
Sharka Glet’s doctorate of divinity and 25 years experience as a spiritual researcher and teacher, shine through in this descriptive book that helps us to understand the 12 universal laws that are the foundation for every major religion and spiritual teaching. Glet uses diagrams, entertaining stories of personal experience, reader exercises and hand drawn illustrations to further explain the principles. The result is complex subjects such as structure of the mind and creation being distilled to easily grasped and insightful presentations. I have a background in psychology and the study of religions and spirituality, and I was thoroughly charmed by Glet’s melding of this wisdom to present a cohesive picture of physical reality and the spiritual laws behind it.
— Nea Akayla
The Future That Brought Her Here
, Deborah DeNicola, Ibis Press, 2009, $16.95
Deborah DeNicola shares her amazing journey over three continents that led to her spiritual awakening. She writes in an engaging way, interlacing poems with a moving story. In the United States, we have not experienced stories about the Black Madonnas and what some say is the true story of Mary Magdalen and her relationship with Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary. DeNicola’s vision takes her to the American West, Israel and Southern France. Along the way she weaves together references from the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels, the story of Mary Magdalen, Medieval history, the Templar Knights, the Black Madonnas, string theory and quantum physics to find the repeated linkage between divinity and humanity. DeNicola’s personal story urges us to call upon our atrophied feminine way of knowing to awaken and aid humanity’s shift into higher consciousness during the inevitable changes ahead for our civilization.
— Vicki Burr
Psychic: My Life in Two Worlds
, Sylvia Browne, HarperOne, 2010, $25.99
Sylvia Browne has authored 22 bestselling books and was one of the first psychics to openly share her visions and perceptions with the public. She has worked with police on missing person cases and many different investigations, worked side-by-side with well known celebrities, and has made countless TV and media appearances. She now offers her readers a chance to get to know her on a different level with her autobiography, Psychic. The book begins with her life as a small child and how she just “knew” things very early on. Browne discloses the details of her childhood, school years with the nuns, marriages, divorces, legal troubles, health issues, and a few funny and often scary stories from the other side. A very interesting and enjoyable read that offers a new side of Sylvia Browne.
— Jelina Vance