Have you been looking for details about the role of the chakras in the body's energy system? In the 6-cassette kit Energy Anatomy, medical intuitive Carolyn Myss (pronounced mace) has more than nicely filled the breech. Myss, a pioneer in the field of energy medicine and human consciousness, presents detailed information clearly and practically so that you can follow her blandishments to use it for healing body and spirit. Distributor Sounds True reports that in less than three months after the offering became available, more than 4,200 were sold; I suspect this is only the beginning of a major groundswell. Myss considers the chakras one by one, personalizing them with care and relating cultural attitudes that underlie misunderstanding of essential links to nature and spirituality. Among the subjects she presents are "why some people heal and others do not...the role of victim consciousness in epidemics...using intuitive gifts to sense how fear and anger translate into blocks to wellness and become locked in your body -- and how to release them naturally. Her comparison of the seven chakras, the seven Christian sacraments and the Sephirot of the mystical Jewish Kabbalah (three pairs plus four singles equal seven) is inspired. What she has to say about energy patterns, and the accompanying 8-page study guide, are priceless additions to the energy-and-consciousness library. $59.95 from Sounds True: 1-800-333-9185.
The thirteenth in a series of transcripts of talks given by the spiritual leader of Eckankar to audiences worldwide, The Slow Burning Love of God is a guide to help you experience God in your life. Author Harold Klemp, the present spiritual guide and guardian of the universal teachings of the Light and Sound of God, expected to enter the ranks of mainstream clergy but inner experiences, unexplainable by most religions, led him to the spiritual path of Eckankar with its practice of Soul Travel and surrender to the golden wisdom of the heart. Klemp is a terrific storyteller; his twenty-some published books are full of humor that opens the heart and deep wisdom that can lead past the buffeting of everyday moods and events to the personal experience of divine love. Among subjects dealt with are how to have an abundance of love, peace and purpose in your life; experiences on the inner planes; the power of simple, non-directed prayer; keeping our balance; and dream teachings. The Slow Burning Love of God has an honored place among writings that point the ready reader to the inner subtleties of spirit. $14.00, available at bookstores and from Eckankar, 1-800-LOVE-GOD.
On the very day the hibiscus plant in the office offered us the most resplendent blossom ever, the mail brought a two-volume set of God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita, one of the most impressively packaged versions we've seen, chronicling the dialogue between God and the soul called Arjuna about the passage to enlightenment. This new translation and commentary on the sacred Hindu text was created by Paramahansa Yogananda, whose influence on seekers' hearts lives on after him. He has brought to his translation and commentary "a staggering sweep of psychology, spiritual instruction, linguistic discernment, esoteric physiology, cosmology, and yoga doctrine to show that every individual soul is a unique and heroic protagonist engaged in an epic battle for spiritual realization." As you may know, Yogananda is the author of the inspirational classics Autobiography of a Yogi and The Wine of the Mystic. The set, from the Self Realization Fellowship, offers top quality design, paper and color illustrations. $42, available from bookstores.
The Other Side of Death by Jan Price is one of a growing number of first-hand accounts that ease expectations of what lies on the Other Side of life. Jan's remarkable story of experiences before her return from a near-death journey also encompasses reflections about why these have become so much more common. Like others who have undergone the adventure, she was changed -- as the considerably comforted reader may be, also. (Price's bestselling inspirational-writer husband, John Randolph Price, adds his own impressions of the crisis that gave rise to her spiritual encounter.) This small but worthy paperback from Fawcett Columbine has a $10 price tag, making it handy to keep several on hand for friends who are grieving the loss of a loved one, be they human or pet.
Rich Zubaty, dubbed a monk without a monastery, presents Water People, a paperback of lovely, poetically expressed quotations of high spiritual merit, dedicated particularly to men. It's one of those little books you keep handy on the desk, bedside table, the kitchen counter -- wherever the pleasure of spiritual inspiration is what you're looking for. This is a carefully chosen collection of words from a wide diversity of history's quotable, from Gerald Jampolsky to Jesus, Rupert Sheldrake to Socrates, Mother Teresa to Mick Jagger . . . I could go on. In three appendices, Zubaty offers a Buddhist Meditation, excepts from Your Brain Is Not Your Own (his latest novel), and excerpts from his Surviving the Feminization of America, called "a new mythology for men." If you're not near a Barnes & Noble bookstore, call 1-800-203-4028 to order one. A mere $5.95 in the U.S.