Inprint - New Books of interest

A Perfect World: Words and Paintings from Over 50 of America's Most Powerful People by Debra Trione. (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $16.95, Paperback.)

"Name two things you hope will be true about the world in fifty years. Tell me about an environment in which you personally thrive. Now paint a picture of your ideal world." That is what author Debra Trione asked over fifty of the most powerful and influential American leaders to do.

Of course public figures like Norman Schwarzkopf, Alan Dershowitz, Nancy Pelosi, Julian Bond, and Knight Kiplinger can articulate their vision with veteran skill; all work in the medium of words. But at the end of Trion's interviews, when she pulled out a box of acrylic paints and oil pastels and asked for a pictorial representation of what they'd effortlessly verbalized, every one of them sat for a stunned, awkward moment in speechless disbelief. Amazingly, they complied. The result is an entertaining and enlightening collection that opens a unique window into the lofty ideals of national leaders.

Interestingly, when one compares the statements and illustrations to each other, dominant and recurring themes emerge among these varied individuals, and paintings done by political adversaries aren't always as different as one might expect.

I Don't Know What I Want But I Know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work by Julie Jansen. (Penguin, $14.00, Paperback.)

Recent studies show that 75% of people are dissatisfied with what they do for a living, and yet actively searching for a more gratifying profession is still an alien concept for most of them. These days it seems a person will devote more energy and time toward buying a house, or planning a wedding than toward finding rewarding work. Part of the reason for this is that people don't know how to get started. In I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This, career coach Julie Jansen offers an invigorating and empowering primer for anyone at any age who wants to have a rewarding job.

In the first part of the book Jensen identifies the situations that are typical of workers seeking satisfying work. She then offers a series of career assessment quizzes which helps readers learn how to recognize and understand their present work or career situation. She also provides personality evaluation exercises to help readers discover what type of work they are best suited for. Using this self-knowledge, Jansen puts readers on the path to creating the change they want and need. She also includes "the top ten qualities of success": her keys to help readers envision a new future and make changes successfully for themselves. Also included are steps necessary to move to a new more desirable, fulfilling, and satisfying work situation. The book is filled with personal anecdotes of those who have gone on to do just that.

Your Hands Can Heal You: Pranic Healing Energy Remedies to Boost Vitality and Speed Recovery From Common Health Problems by Master Stephen Co and Eric B. Robins, M.D. (The Free Press, $26.00, Hardcover.)

One of the most effective tools you have to restore your health is your hands. Your hands can heal with the energy medicine of Pranic Healing, a powerful system that is rapidly gaining in popularity, and that works with your own natural, vital energy to accelerate the body's innate self-healing ability.

Easy to learn and apply, Pranic Healing uses a series of powerful but simple methods to generate energy, including non-touch hand movements; energetic hygiene, the practice of keeping your personal energy tank clean and full; breathing; and brief meditations. Using these techniques, you can identify, clear, and purify unhealthy, imbalanced energy and replace it with fresh energy that helps your body heal itself from a wide range of physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms and disorders.

With step-by-step instructions, drawings, and numerous real-life medical stories, Your Hands Can Heal You demonstrates and explains a program that anyone can use to harness the energy of body, mind, and breath to produce health and facilitate repair. Trained by Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, who developed this system, the authors provide the same detailed guidance as in the Pranic Healing workshops.

Master Stephen Co appears in Chicago for a book signing on February 11 at 7:00pm and for a mini workshop on February 12 from 7:00 to 9:30pm at Transitions Bookplace. Call 800/979-READ for information. Master Co returns to Transitions later this spring, watch for details.

Mindfulness and Money: The Buddhist Path of Abundance by Kulandanda and Dominic Houlder. (Broadway Books, $23.95, Hardcover.)

Many of us have a love/hate relationship with our money. No matter how much we have, we don't feel it is enough, or we fear losing it, or we mourn the way we earn it. Now, two instructors in both business and Buddhism bring a way of finally making peace with your finances and finding the true meaning of wealth.

These two Buddhist instructors live very different lives: Kulananda founded a multi-million-dollar business but chooses to live on little money in a Buddhist community, whereas Houlder, the founder of a successful management consulting firm, lives alone in Central London and is relatively wealthy. They do, however, have this in common: both have learned that Buddhist teachings do not require a life of poverty, and can go hand-in-hand with wealth and prosperity.

Kulananda and Houlder point out in their introduction that true Buddhist economics is not about an idyllic world where money and riches have been abolished. The issue is how you get your wealth and money and what you do with it. The authors interpret traditional Buddhist teachings to apply to today's Western context.

Through the prescriptive meditations, reflections, exercises, and Q&As outlined in the book, readers can begin to earn and spend more purposefully, the key to finding financial peace, whatever one's income.

The Natural Medicine Guide to Autism by Stephanie Marohn. (Hampton Roads, $15.95, Paperback.)

In the past fifteen years, autism has risen by as much as 1000% in the United States. Satisfactory explanations for this meteoric rise have been lacking, and conventional medicine has failed to come forward with successful treatments to reverse this condition.

The Natural Medicine Guide to Autism gives reasons for this rise and details therapies that in many cases can successfully treat or reverse this disorder. Certain environmental factors can trigger autism, such as vaccine overload, exposure to heavy metals, toxic overload, nutritional deficiencies, and structural distortions from birth trauma. Unlike the grim prognosis conventional medicine gives autism, evidence presented in this book shows that when you identify and remove these triggers using natural medicine therapies, many of the symptoms of autism often disappear and a normal life is suddenly possible.

Medical journalist Stephanie Marohn draws from extensive interviews with groundbreaking physicians and numerous real-life patient histories to present fourteen natural treatment options. Among the innovative practitioners is William J. Walsh, PhD., chief scientist at the Health Research Institute and Pfeiffer Treatment Center in Naperville, Illinois. Dr. Walsh's recent discovery may have pinpointed the key genetic component of autism that has eluded scientists for decades and opened the way for successful treatment of in many cases.

Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey Into the Religious and Folk Traditions by Ellen Pearlman. (Inner Traditions, $29.95, Paperback.)

Tibetan Sacred Dance explores the significance and symbolism of the sacred and ritual dances of Tibetan Buddhism. Since Buddhism entered the mythical land of the snows, Tibetans have expressed their spiritual devotion and celebrated their culture through dance. Only since the tragic diaspora of the Tibetan people have outsiders been privileged to witness these performances. To many, they still remain mysterious and enigmatic. Ellen Pearlman, who studied with Lobsang Samten, the ritual dance master of the Dalai Lama's Namgyal Monastery in India, set out to discover the meaning behind these mysterious dances. She found the story of the indigenous shamanistic Bön religion being superseded by and woven into Buddhism, a story full of complex liaisons, secret teachings, brilliant visions, and unrevealed yogic practices.

Pearlman explores the mystical beginnings and complex practices of sacred Cham, the secret ritual dances of Tibet's Buddhist monks, and Achi Lhamo, the storytelling folk dances and operas. She describes the mental and physical process of preparing for these dances, the meaning of the iconography of the costumes and masks, the spectrum of accompanying music, and the actual dance steps as recorded in a book of choreography dating back to the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1647. Beautiful color photographs from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts and Pearlman's own images of touring monastic troupes complement the rare historic black-and-white photos from the collections of Sir Charles Bell, chief of the British Mission in Tibet during the life of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. From the week long sacred Kalachakra initiation to the folk opera performances, Pearlman reveals the beauty, drama, and compelling nature of these dances and rituals and shows how Tibetan dance is an essential part of the rich history of Tibet and the survival of that culture.

In Search of the Magic of Findhorn by Karin Bogliolo and Carly Newfeld. (Findhorn Press, $14.95, Paperback.)

Findhorn -- the name still evokes a sense of adventure into a totally new world of living in community, cooperating with the nature kingdoms and bringing spirit into our daily lives. Many years ago, the best selling book The Magic of Findhorn, captured the imagination of the world and caused a multitude of people to visit the community and experience for themselves a new and exciting way of working and living together. Now, more than a quarter of a century later, both the Findhorn Community and the world have changed considerably and Karin Bogliolo, a former longterm community member, returns on a quest to see if the magic is still there. Encouraged by her innovative writer friend, Carly Newfeld, who lived there in the early '70s, Karin begins to build a fascinating, fresh picture of the groundbreaking community as it is today.

Karin's quirky, down-to-earth personality and sense of humor enliven her investigation. She talks to present members, engages in their daily lives and challenges, shares their family meals, and recounts their differing viewpoints, all while reliving her own experiences. Despite the difficulties caused by growth, finances, changing personalities, and the departure and death of co-founder Peter Caddy, is there still magic at Findhorn? Do people ever leave, even when they go away?

If you have ever visited the Findhorn community, whether for a day, a week, a month or for many years, this book will help you remember your experience and give you an insight into where the community is now. For those of you who haven't yet visited the community, this book may be the one that finally tempts you to make the journey. At the very least it will transport you to a space deep inside yourself where you may just connect with the magic.