Reviews written by Corinna Underwood

Raymond Moody, the man who coined the phrase ‘near-death experience,’ became familiar with death at an early age, as a boy growing up during WWII. His interest took on a unique twist as a college student when he heard a lecture on near-death experiences. Though the phenomena fascinated the young man, he had no idea how common it was until some years later when lecturing philosophy. It wasn’t long before he decided to delve deeper and conduct his own research into the afterlife.

Drawing on a lifetime of personal scholarship, Moody presents the common factors that people encounter during a near-death experience, such as difficulty expressing the emotional experience, hearing themselves pronounced dead, feelings of peace, strange auditory sensations, the feeling of being drawn though a tunnel and meeting a being of light. His revelations about this life and the afterlife are interspersed with his own philosophical thoughts and his personal trajectory through life, including a compelling account of his own journey into his past lives through hypnotic regression.

Already renowned for his seminal work on reincarnation Life After Life Raymond Moody, along with author and expert on near-death experience, Paul Perry, brings a fresh perspective to the subject of death and the afterlife based on his own personal encounters. This is a thrilling journey to the edge of death and beyond. Whether or not you are new to the notion of near-death experiences, this book will change your perspective on death and dying.

If you have become used to living a lifestyle with anxiety and stress as your constant companions, Tristan’s book will help you find the relief you need to stop worrying and start truly living again. This reader-friendly text is based on four core concepts: making choices, changing your outlook, taking risks on the road to recovery, and embracing your true spirit. Each concept is covered in one or more chapters which offer guidelines to maneuvering within the core ideals and booting unhealthy stress and anxiety from your life for good.
Once you have woken up your hidden powers and become aware of the many options your life offers, says Tristan, “the key to making worry work for you instead of against you is a matter of focus knowledge and willingness to change unproductive habits.” Even for readers who find it hard to shake of their anxieties and use worries in their favor, this book is a wonderful tool, not only because of its wealth of tips and guidelines for life improvement, but also because of its real life examples of how people have used these techniques to change their lives for the better.
Read this book if you wake up each morning with a familiar knot in your stomach and feeling of dread in your heart, it will help you sleep better at night and wake up each morning smiling and confident.

Marc Lesser is the CEO and cofounder of the nonprofit Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute. He has created Know Yourself, Forget Yourself to empower readers who wish to break free from the confusion and distractions that too often cause obstacles in our daily lives.
This is a fascinating, semi-autobiographical account that presents creative methods to help readers evaluate their emotional and intellectual skills, focus on important areas of their lives without being distracted by the multitude of demands at home and in the workplace, and improve personal and work-related relationships.
Lesser has developed a wide range of practical tool, some of them are so simple you’ll find it hard to believe you hadn’t thought of them yourself, while others will astound with their subtle complexity. Lesser’s route to overcoming personal paradoxes, is based on the Buddhist notion of “the middle way.” His five truths incorporate knowing and forgetting yourself, maintaining self-confidence while questioning everything, embracing change while accepting that which is immutable, accepting emotions and simultaneously finding peace, and benefiting the self through acts of kindness to others.
What makes this book stand out above many others in the genre of personal growth is its interweaving of poetic tone, poignant testimonials, and graceful practice.

Dancing With Duality is a book about finding true freedom, and its lesson is that freedom is not always what you might perceive it to be: “I’ve learned that true freedom is not the ability to indulge in pleasures or emotional highs. Real freedom comes from discipline and focus.”

This is the remarkable story of author Stella Vance’s journey throughout the four corners world to find herself. In North and South America she explores her sensuality, in she Arabia she deepens her understanding of a culture where women’s freedom is limited, and in India she finds enlightenment. Vance’s in-depth reflections on the critical points in her life show how each gave her more freedom to love, live and express herself honestly.

Her journey begins in the early 1970s when Stella moves from a small town to a larger city and begins to learn how choice and karma affect all our lives. Her exploration of Christianity boosts her self-esteem grows and her spiritual awareness releasing her from the shackles of spiritual dogma. Throughout her courageous journey, Stella survives heartbreak, an eating disorders, addiction, abortion and involvement with a cult. Her experiences awaken her to the illusion of duality. Now she is truly free, she realizes that death is merely a dimension of life and there is nothing in this world that can truly hurt her soul.


Vance’s personal story is painted in rich colors and she describes her travels, her lovers and her growing spirituality with a rare honesty. Every page is full of vitality drawn from the vastly different cultures she has explored and her own increasing awareness of their beliefs and practices. By the end of the book you will feel as though you have taken the journey with her.

Meg Blackburn, Ph.D., author of several books including The Children of Now, Pyramids of Light, Awakening to Multi-dimensional Reality and the Online Messages, also hosts the Internet radio show Cosmic Particles. “Dr. Meg,” as she is affectionately known by her fans has been visiting the world’s spiritual sites for decades. Guided by masters of higher dimensions, she shares her spiritual experiences and insights with the world through her books, lecture and radio.

Dr. Meg’s previous books are renowned for taking the reader on a fascinating and unique journey through the world we live in and the world that lives within us all. Touching The Light does not fail to deliver. Each illumination invokes a strengthening calm and an invitation to delve deeper into its philosophical and spiritual depths.

“147. The immensity of reality can always be refined to the simplicity of the moment.
This day I will find my passion, realizing that it is nothing more than my own love in action,” is just one enlightening example.

Whether you read this book from cover to cover, read one illumination each day, or dip into its pages at random for an inspirational meditation, you will have found a precious gem to carry with you through your daily activities.

If you’ve ever thought you have too much material clutter in your life, and how your lifestyle might change for the better if you reduced it, this is the book for you. Driven by emotional, financial, and environmental stress, author Tammy Strobel made the decision to ditch the “gotta have it—must get it now” mentality, and to take one step at a time to uncomplicate her life, and more importantly, to become a happier person.

Strobel is quick to point out a simple fact that we often forget; the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and yet many of its inhabitants are far from happy. She also explains how this inverse wealth/happiness index correlates. It’s quite simple, really: the more we accumulate, the more choked we become by stuff we never really needed in the first place.

You Can Buy Happiness offers gradual stages toward living a simpler life, such as taking the “100 things challenge,” saving your kids from drowning in a deluge of gifts, creating space in your home for things you love, and reorienting your values to relationships rather than things. This up-beat book offers practical guidance to finding joy in the realization that “less is more,” and is a testimony to the assurance that we could all improve our life by downsizing.

There are a number of New Age books in print right now that address the law of attraction and how to think your way in to achieving and acquiring what you want in life. This book takes a refreshingly new look at the Power of Intention by discussing the Law of Agreement. More than just a spin or semantic game, the author’s perspective it actually opens up a deeper way of thinking about and acting upon our desires.

As Burroughs explains in his introduction, the fundament difference between the laws of allowing or attracting, and that of “agreement,” is that agreeing actually “reinforces reality.” The beauty of this is that the more people who are in agreement, the greater the positive effect this can have upon reality. This empowers us to use the practice of “intending,” for such personal matters as acquiring a place to live or a better income, and for global matters as well, such as improving the environment and working toward world peace.

Equally important, is Burroughs’ notion of withdrawing agreement. He explains that by withholding our agreement from issues such as war, bigotry, or political oppression we can weaken their power and eventually conquer them altogether.

This optimistic book offers inspiring lessons and practical insight about the power of intention, developed from personal experience and from the experiences of the author’s students. It is a great reminder that human potential truly has no limits.

This book is a compilation of eighteen profound teachings by Gampopa; one of the founding fathers of Tibetan Buddhism. Its author, Ringu Tulku, is a Buddhist Master trained in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. This masterful scholar has created Confusion Arises as Wisdom to guide students of Buddhism through Gampopa’s wisdom.

Each lesson is explained with such simplicity and beauty that the reader easily “journeys” along a path of deep understanding through some of the main tenets of Tibetan Buddhism. Beginning with the lineage of Gampopa’s teaching, which provides context to understanding the Kagyu school of Buddhism, the text is rich with profound and inspiring prose. Subsequent chapters explore many of the essential concepts of Buddhism, from the necessity of devotion and the dharmas, to the relationships between meditation, action and results.

Tulku’s chapter on the application of coemergence is particularly enlightening. This is often a difficult concept for Western students of Buddhism to fully grasp. Tulku explains that coemergence is not merely the intermingling of two energies or substances, but it is “the recognition of inseparability, or the experience of non-duality.” This is just one example of the simple yet poetic way which he guides the reader along the Buddhist spiritual path. This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to delve deeper into the wisdom of the Tibetan religion or those who simply wish to enhance their daily Buddhist devotions.

Patricia Walker is just an ordinary wife and mother when she reluctantly takes a trip to Cabo San Lucas with her husband Dee. Although she’s never heard the singer Sammy Hagar before, she agrees to accompany Dee to a bar to see Hagar’s show. In the middle of the concert amid the thrumming guitars and thumping drums, Pat is drawn upwards, out of her body in a bubble of light and is flooded with a feeling of ecstasy. This moment, understandably, changes her life forever. Although the experience was mind-blowing and shakes her to the core, Pat blames it on the tequila. But she can’t deny that something unexplainable is happening to her. She becomes more sensitive and more in tune with the world in a way she has never been before. Before long she is having numerous synchronous experiences and discovering a pathway to enlightenment through music. Now she realizes she is more fully awakened than before, and there’s no turning back to who she was. This insight brings her freedom and spiritual peace.

Walker has written a refreshingly honest book, revealing her innermost thoughts and feeling with a courage that is rare. Readers will enjoy accompanying her on a transformational journey as she learns more about herself and her connections to the universe. This moving and inspirational story reminds us that through the tears and the laughter, life is a celebration. A thought-provoking and entertaining read.

Michael Coquet is a scholar of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Eastern philosophy, and the author of more than thirty books in French on religion, philosophy, and the martial arts.

In Stones of the Seven Rays, he intertwines the Theosophical teaching of the seven rays of the soil with the fascinating field of gemology. Drawing on the writings of theosophist Alice Bailey, and linking them to other sources such as, Hermeticism and ancient Hinduism, Coquet delivers an in-depth and informative text that will delight serious students of the esoteric.

This book is a valuable reference tool than can be kept on hand both for study and practical use. It is packed with easily accessible information relating to the esoteric properties of the seven main gemstones: diamond, sapphire, emerald, jasper, topaz, ruby and amethyst. Readers can dip in to find out about their spiritual powers, healing properties, and also substitutes for these precious stones.

This book is not for the novice reader. At least a rudimentary background is needed to be able to wade through the details and to find contextual meaning in the references to mystical and religious texts. For someone already on this spiritual path, however, the book is a mine of valuable information. Coquet is an expert in this field and a most trustworthy source for anyone wishing to learn more about the stones of the seven rays.

Brain L. Weiss is considered to be America’s leading expert in past-life regression therapy. He has been helping people explore and validate their past lives in order to free them from emotional and physical pain for more than two decades. This book is a collection of first-hand case studies from some of the many people he has helped over the years. Through his client’s experiences, Weiss illustrates how past-life regression therapy can be used to heal emotional scars, bring family members back together, remove obstacles to success and bring peace of mind.

Having your past life experiences validated doesn’t just help to heal emotional problems, it can also relieve physical symptoms or diseases. According to Weiss, physical healing through past-life regression therapy is often “dramatic and rapid, permitting the patients to throw open the jail doors of disabilities and leave behind the conditions that have been robbing their lives of joy.”

The heartfelt accounts are more than just a mere validation of past lives; they show how we are all truly connected in this life and beyond. Whether you are a skeptic or a true believer in reincarnation, this book will give you food for thought and raise questions about your own existence and possible past lives

This book has been loved by readers for thirty five years, and the reason is clear; from the minute you start reading it you’ll have difficulty putting it down. It opens with a wonderful poem entitled Autobiography in Five Short Chapters. The poem encapsulates the process of learning from life’s experiences and how this enables us grow into more self-aware human beings. Following this theme, the subsequent “pieces” comprise snippets of thoughts and feelings sprung from movements in and out of love, interspersed with wonder and confusion at the obstacles life puts in our path.

Written from a perspective of mid-life self-awareness, Nelson wrote the book to bring her own life experiences together into a coherent whole; “These pieces have had a bit of trouble finding a comfortable concept that would knit them into one book…just as I have had difficulty molding a multi-faceted misfit into one person.”

Nelson expresses a broad spectrum of sentiments relating to life and love, and does so with poignancy and often humor. Her gift lies not only in the depth of her own self-analysis but in the poetic way she expresses them, so they are immediately meaningful to all. This is a book you will read straight through in one sitting, and then keep handy to dip into at leisure; it’s a real inspiration.

Courage: Overcoming Fear and Igniting Confidence

By Debbie Ford

In the initial chapter of her book, Ford states, “I promise that your life will alter when you see what has been hidden from your conscious view. When you take the time to explore your behavior without self-deception or illusion, you will be able to clean up the past and glimpse the future you long for.” That is quite a big promise to make, but does she live up to it? The answer is yes, and in such a way as to make the journey as painless and inspiring as possible.

Each chapter is interspersed with Ford’s real life experiences; many of them painful, embarrassing, and at one time debilitating. However, this neat little guidebook is not merely an autobiographical account of the author’s own transition from fear to self-confidence, it is also a guiding hand for anyone else who wishes to make the same journey. She supplies codes for “fearless warriors” who wish to leave their personal baggage behind. From “divine confidence” and a “loving heart” to “inspired vision” and “supreme beauty,” Ford shows the reader that is possible to break the bondage of low self-esteem and to step into the bright sunlight of a new day feeling confident and full of self-confidence.

Through deep introspection, self-analysis, and understanding, Ford has developed a systematic method that is available for anyone who has the courage to take one step at a time, to ask themselves some probing questions, and to give themselves honest answers. This is a good starting point for examining personal issues that you may be reluctant to face, and offers the guidance and support to take you all the way to clarity and confirmation, if you have the courage to push yourself forward.

The book opens on a promising note with the premise that although we might have strayed from a meaningful spiritual path in this life, there is hope. We can regenerate ourselves in this era where past, present and future are all simultaneously accessible, enabling us learn how to walk freely between dimensions. This liberating notion is accompanied by the explanation that we can each choose to manifest our most ideal futures by using breathing techniques, dreams and meditation.

Star Wolf takes us on a journey that embarks with a description of her earliest experience of walking between the worlds. Drawing on Gods and archetypal imagery from the Egyptian Pantheon and Native American mythology she discusses her understanding of dreams and their interpretation en route to her initiation into visionary shamanism. Much of her guidance is inspired by the wisdom of gifted elder Grandmother Twylah Nitsch, Wolf Clan Grandmother of the Seneca Tribe. As she tells her personal story she discusses concepts such as activating our imaginal cells – a means to open the portals to the difference dimension, types of shamanic portals, and the difference between the spirit, soul and ego.

These ideas are imbued with wonderful color and spiritual wisdom and they also obviously have a much deeper practical meaning for each individual. Though interspersed with hints and clues, the book is disappointingly lacking in either tools or exercises to help the reader explore these notions on a deeper, more personal level. This is an autobiography rather than a guidebook to activating your own imaginal cells.

Since 1995, Jessica Bryan has been a certified lay minister and magnetic healer associated with the Faith in God Spiritual Church, Pangasinan Province, Philippines. Since then she has been conducting clairvoyant readings with the aid of Paul, her guide from the spirit world. Mediumship and the Flow of Grace is a collection of these readings, outlining exchanges between Paul and one of Jean’s clients, as communicated through Jean herself.

Each chapter begins with a brief explanation of a different aspect of spirituality, from reincarnation to astral projection, cellular memory and the illusion of time and space. Each also contains a detailed account of a session between Jean and some of the many people whose lives she has helped to change for the better.

Just one example is Shoba, for whom Jean was able to perform healing at a distance. Shoba was an artist living in India who was suffering from a severe finger infection that was keeping her from the art that the loved so much. Through her message from Paul, Shoba learned to become calmer, happier and more thankful for whet she had in life. Within months her finger had completely healed and she was able to paint again. Two years later she took a pilgrimage that Paul had recommended. On her journey she experienced a complete transformation in her psyche. Shoba, like so many of Jessica’s clients was able to find peace, healing and a deeper spiritual connection thanks to the guidance of Paul.

This is not a guidebook for someone wishing to learn the techniques of mediumship, but rather an illustration of how such practices work. Bryan’s accounts of meetings and readings for her individual clients reveal the strength of her communication to the spirit guide and validate the numerous ways she has been able to help people who reach out to her. The book is sensitively written and instills a feeling of calm. It is one of those rare books that you will read over and over and each time will find something new.

Today, Jonathan Talat Phillips is a motivational speaker who also practices a unique combination of Reiki energy healing, Bioenergic Therapy, and life coaching. His route to get where he is now was far from direct.

The journey of awakening began when Phillips was a countercultural media activist. After being devastated by the result of the 2004 election, he was a young man who felt disillusioned and uncertain of which direction his life should take. After an experience with the drug ecstasy in a night club, Phillips discovers that he can see colorful auras vibrating around everyone he meets. Believing the drug has opened his mind to a new level of consciousness, he begins to research spiritual texts for a connection. He finds a most compelling link in the Gnostic Gospels. These are a number of preserved religious texts that are believed to be based on the teachings of a number of spiritual leaders including Judas, Phillip and Jesus.

Convinced that the auras he is seeing is a spiritual energy that connects all living forms, he decides to explore his newly found gift further. This leads him to participate in underground mystical ceremonies and experiments with the natural hallucinogen ayahuasca. Over the next few months he experiences a powerful kundalini awakening, flashbacks to past lives, prankster spirits, and encounters with extraterrestrial beings. Finally realizing the power and energy we all carry with us, Phillips makes it his mission to share it with others to continue to raise consciousness.

“The Electric Jesus” is Phillips’ moving and often humorous chronicle of his mystical awakening. It is also an introduction to an underground global movement involving people who are aware of our current planetary crisis, and are seeking ways to prevent it through the power of collective consciousness. Phillips continues his mission to make changes through his public speaking and the development of small groups through the “Evolver Social Movement.” This entails “spreading an emerging heart-based culture, creating a synchronized latticework to today’s dangerous and divisive systems.” The book is an interesting exploration of mysticism and subculture and provides some tantalizing clues to a movement that deserves a closer look.

Meditation: The Complete Guide by Patricia Monaghan and Eleanor G. Viereck

Patricia Monaghan, author, poetess, and practitioner of zazen and qigong has combined her knowledge of meditation, mythology and spirituality with Eleanor G. Viereck’s dedication to ecology, health, and yoga to produce a wonderful book that guides readers through the many and diverse methods of meditation. Find your favorite or sample them all: there are plenty to choose from. Whether your preference is dance, yoga, candle meditation, journaling, or creative visualization there is something to suit your taste. There are even a few creative methods that you may not have associated with meditation before, such as nature sketching, needle crafts, and sports.

More than just a guide to meditation, this book offers a fascinating insight into the power of mythology and belief behind each of these styles of meditation. Readers can learn about the fascinating histories of rhythmic dance which permeate all belief systems, the liberating practice of writing haiku poetry, and the uplifting melodies of Taize singing. Each chapter offers an introduction to a form of meditation, information on its history and guidelines on how to practice it. There are also checklists for further practice and ample resources for those who wish to delve deeper.

Monaghan and Viereck have created a book that is great for those who want to begin meditating but are not sure where to start. For readers who are concerned that meditation may not come easily, rest assured that you will be able to follow gentle exercises that will help focus you thoughts and movements in ways that are enjoyable and come naturally.

If you have not read any of Roman’s Orin books you are in for a surprising and delightful adventure. If you are already familiar with the teachings of Orin, this book is a wonderful way to continue living with joy. Roman has been channeling her guide Orin and sharing his teaching through books and workshops for several years. She describes Orin as a non-physical Being of Light, with whom she connects through conscious channeling. Their combined mission is to remind us that the abundant universe is on our side, and though we may not realize it during every moment of our existence, or understand why, that everything that happens is for our absolute good.

Like each of Roman’s books, Living with Joy is aimed at helping you unlock your potential and release and develop your inner power. This time, the main theme is to grow though joy and not through crisis, pain or struggle.

This book can be used as part of your regular regimen for medication and development either by reading it chapter by chapter, or by dipping in at random and going with the flow. Either way it works. Each chapter contains a discussion and mediation on a number of creative ways to release yourself from inner bondage. From “Changing the Negative to the Positive,” to “Clarity; Living in More Light,” each reflection is a pause for contemplation along the journey to personal transformation. Roman provides wisdom and insight to help the reader shed unwanted skins and move on to the next stage in the spiritual transformation. The play sheets at the end of each chapter are designed to help you lay the foundations to a positive lifestyle so you can formulate your inner desires and bring them into fruition by means of affirmation. Don’t worry if you’re feeling uninspired, the book abounds with more than 300 positive affirmations and 18 “Daily Joy Practices” to help get you day started with a smile and a heart full of faith in yourself and others that will last all day long.

Once again Roman has used her special talent for getting to the heart of transformative thinking and created a book that is perfect for individual or group reading, discussion and practice and will help you love yourself, be open to receiving love from others and boost your energy, spirituality and personal well-being.

Be Love Now, The Path of the Heart by Ram Dass is the completion of the trilogy that began with Be Here Now and Still Here. The book is an autobiography, spiritual guidebook, and study of saints and spiritual guru rolled into one. Formerly known as Richard Alpert, Ph.D., Ram Dass was a professor of psychology at Harvard until 1963 when he was fired for his unauthorized experimentation with psychedelic drugs. On a personal quest to understand human consciousness, Alpert traveled to India where he met an Indian guru whom he came to know as Maharaj-ji, and from that moment Ram Dass felt a new sense of love that he had never known before.
“When I was first with Maharaj-ji, I experienced such bliss and love that all I wanted to do was just be around him and rub his feet. As time went on, that love kept growing, but became different, until I started to feel just as fulfilled being at a distance from him.”
From this deep, unconditional love, Ram Dass learned that love is a state of being that is part of our evolution of consciousness. In this book, he shares with his readers how this new way of thinking and feeling changed his life, and how it can change ours.

In the closing chapters, Ram Dass introduces the reader to a series of saints and inspirational teachers, and explores their lives of devotion and the love they shared with the world. The foreword by Rameshwar Dass, co-writer, long-time friend, and fellow spiritual seeker, is a moving recollection of the myriad ways that Ram Dass has influenced a generation of people looking for spiritual enlightenment.
The pages of the book are rich with the sentiment of unconditional love and each chapter gives a moving spiritual message, which although steeped in Eastern philosophy, is more relevant than ever to our contemporary Western lives. Whether you are a follower of Ram Dass, or you are seeking your own path to spiritual awakening, this book will assist you on your spiritual journey.

Lynn Woodland has many irons in the fire; she has been a successful transpersonal psychologist for more than 35 years, and she is an expert in human potential, motivation, and spiritual healing. In Making Miracles she has fed the fire of human love and possibility with all her experience to create a remarkable book aimed at raising consciousness and improving the quality of life for everyone.
The author draws upon spiritual values, our changing awareness of time, and quantum science, weaving them into an intricate fabric of being. She considers a wide range of practices and processes, from spiritual healing to group prayer, and from the nature of miracles to the spiritual light that shines within us all. Readers can follow a series of exercises throughout the chapters, each moving a step further toward raising consciousness.
What is unique about this book is not only the uplifting tone and lyrical style, but the fact that the text itself is imbued with Woodland’s deep understanding of the fluidity of time and collective consciousness. This is demonstrated in each exercise, as the reader is invited to connect with the consciousness of previous and future readers; thus combining the power of collective thought and imagery. Everyone who cares about improving the condition of life and the world we live in should read this book. It is a wonderful journey into positive transformation and beyond.

If you suffer from chronic pain and you feel you have tried everything but still cannot find relief, or you are caring for someone who knows the agonies of prolonged pain;
this book is for you. Maggie Phillips is a psychologist and author, and Peter Levine is the creator of a body-based approach to recovering from trauma. In this book, they have combined their talents to teach readers how to find complete recovery.

The book starts out with an explanation of what exactly pain is and how important it is for our natural survival system. Initial chapters also examine how and why the pathway out of pain is significantly different for each person and how to choose your own route. From there, the authors guide readers through a range of exercises that help to distinguish physical and emotional pain. Along with the exercises, each chapter also contains personal accounts from pain sufferers who are already on the path to freedom. These genuine insights help to remind us that we are not alone in our pain, and also to emphasize that we all have the ability within us to find relief.

Subsequent chapters encourage exploration and mindfulness of the body to help sufferers find pain free moments during which they can reinforce their energy. There are also exercises to help ease anger and irritability and for finding relief through the practice of gratitude. Sections discussing specific pain conditions such as chronic back pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, chronic depression and medical trauma are beneficial for the thousands of Americans who feel the pain of these conditions every day.

The authors present an excellent workbook that maintains a gentle pace so that readers - whether they are carers or sufferers themselves - will not become overwhelmed by the books claims. They remind us that the key to release from the prison of pain is to resolve the emotional trauma that traps it inside our bodies. This is not a journey to be taken alone. The authors encourage sufferers to develop a pain plan with their doctors, therapists and family members. With the help of Freedom From Pain there is hope for the relief for even sufferers of long-term chronic pain.

From the outset this book is an open invitation to expand not only our awareness, but also the way we identify with God. Moving away from the popular concepts of God as a superhuman being, an invisible parent or a bodyguard, Unity Minister Rev. Martella-Whitsett takes us on an insightful journey to God through the exploration of the “I AM,” or the pure presence of Being and spiritual essence.

“Words produce effects. Whether our words and thoughts spring from our own experience or from our interpretation of others’ words, what we tell ourselves affects us” she tells us. With this Rev. Martella-Whitsett encapsulates the importance of the fundamental purposes of prayer. She demonstrates that because of the power and effect of words, it is vitally important that we pray and how we pray.

The author’s road to self-realization is intersected with many of her own penetrating experiences offering signposts along the way. One of the key chapters is “Practice Denials and Affirmations In Prayer,” in which she explains how, paradoxically, spiritual denial can be used in a positive way to re-affirm positive thoughts and actions. To help us understand this, she gives concrete examples of both, and sample prayers that the reader may use directly or adapt. Subsequent chapters discuss the importance of a combined program of meditation and prayer, and the five phases of group prayer. The highlights at the end of each chapter are great for personal meditation or group discussion. Conversational in tone, the book feels like time spent with a good friend.

By the end of the book the reader, regardless of his or her denomination, will have developed a deeper connection to the Divine through prayer and affirmations. This is a great book for anyone seeking to strengthen their spiritual practice, dig deeper into their own spiritual nature and let go of limiting, negative habits and beliefs; a book you can return to again and again and find something new each time.