Inprint - New Books of interest by Jeanne Spiro

Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism by Patricia Aburdene. (Hampton Roads, $24.95, Hardcover.)

In their best-selling Megatrends and Megatrends 2000, John Naisbett and Patricia Aburdene predicted the shift from an industrial to an informational economy, the booming 1990s, and the power of high tech/high touch.

In Megatrends 2010, Patricia Aburdene puts a mirror to the heart of business and concludes that the spirit, ingenuity, and integrity of the people will drive performance and shareholder value. She articulates what many have felt but couldn’t prove: Corporate responsibility is actually good business. Old-fashioned values, honest accounting, and stewardship for each other and the environment translate into healthy profits. She gives us the data that show doing the right thing and giving back pays off for everyone.

Aburdene reports that corporate scandals, the bursting of the tech bubble, and a mistrustful public are compelling business to demonstrate ethics and trust. A grassroots movement of CEOs, investors, managers at all levels who bring their spiritual principles to work, and over 63 million consumers who shop according to their values are giving birth to “business with integrity” where innovation is accelerated and job satisfaction is enhanced. Megatrends 2010’s blend of meaning, morals, and bottom-line economics celebrates the demise of business as usual.

The Woman’s Book of Money & Spiritual Vision: Putting Your Spiritual Values into Financial Practice by Rosemary Williams with Joanne Kabak. (Inner Ocean Publishing, $15.95, Paperback.)

How can you invest your money wisely and create a better world at the same time? Understanding how to make money work on a spiritual level can be difficult, especially for women, according to expert financial planner Rosemary Williams. Many women harbor conflicting messages about money that keep them from realizing their financial goals. Here she teaches women how to recognize their spiritual and economic power and become architects of their own lives and the world they live in.

For women who want to look at their finances in new and freeing ways, A Woman’s Book of Money & Spiritual Vision is a complete “workshop in a book.” Learn how to understand your personal financial facts and uncover the feelings that these facts bring up. Create alignment between your personal financial picture and your core values. Develop a financial action plan. Whether you are looking at small solutions for cutting down financial stress or taking a big leap toward a simpler life, this book will be your guide to realizing a safe and secure future without compromising your values.

Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being by Andrew Weil, M.D. (Knopf, $27.95, Hardcover.)

At the heart of Healthy Aging is Dr. Andrew Weil’s belief that although aging is an irreversible process, there are many things we can do to keep our minds and bodies in good working order through all phases of life. To that end, he draws on the new science of biogerontology (the biology of aging) as well as on the secrets of healthy longevity—diet, activity, and attitude—that he has gathered from cultures around the world.

In part one, Weil explains how the body ages and explores the impact of gender, genes, environment, and lifestyle on an individual’s experience and perception of the process of aging. He talks about the various would-be elixirs of life extension—herbs, hormones and anti-aging medicines—separating myth from fact. He writes about the ways in which the acceptance of aging can be a significant part of doing it well, and of recognizing and appreciating the great rewards of growing older.

In part two, Weil details an easy to implement anti-inflammatory diet that will protect the immune system and aid your body in resisting and adapting to the changes that time brings. Included is extensive practical advice on exercise, preventive health care, stress management, flexibility, and spiritual enhancement—all of which can help you achieve and maintain the best health throughout the lifelong process of aging.

The Source of Joy Within by Bhashkar Perinchery. (Inner Metamorphosis University, $14.95, Paperback, www.bestmassagetable.com)

The Source of Joy Within offers you a chance to reconnect with those aspects of life that cannot be directly learned but must be imbibed. It invites you to understand yourself more deeply and to thereby realize and live a more authentic and loving life. It helps you to consciously experience and rejoice in the wonder that life is, the wonder that you are, and the wonder that surrounds us all the time.

Filled with beautiful full-color photos, this book contains reminders that support the inner growth and flowering of the human potential. These reminders can be applied and practiced in day-to-day life without much additional time or effort. They were originally given by Bhashkar Perinchery for monthly Sesshin (period of intense awareness) practice. Each set is meant to be used for three weeks with a one-week gap between reminders. There are twelve sets in this book, enabling you to use them for one year. They can be practiced by all, regardless of one’s cultural or religious background, and will help one to discover that which is deeply true.

Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships: Healing the Wound of the Heart by John Welwood. (Trumpeter, $19.95, Hardcover)

If love is so great, why are relationships so hard? If love is the source of happiness and joy, why is it so hard to open to it fully and let it govern our lives? Nationally known couples therapist John Welwood has identified an underground epidemic: a deep-seated emotional wound that sabotages all our relationships. He identifies this widespread “wound of the heart” and explains why it is the single root cause of all relational problems. With eloquence and insight, he argues that this wound must be acknowledged, examined, and healed before successful relationships are possible.

According to Welwood, the problem is not the amount or quality of love we receive, but our limited ability to fully accept the love that is available. He offers practical exercises and engaging stories that guide the reader through a profound healing process—one that will allow us to receive love in a way we never have before. He also explains how this process has implications beyond our personal lives, exploring how it could heal the cycles of violence and destruction that we see in the world at large.

The One Decision: Make the Single Choice that Will Lead to a Life of More by Judith Wright. (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, $23.95, Paperback.)

Look around. Have you noticed the handful of people leading truly great lives? Not average, plodding lives. Not yearning-for-meaning, marching-in-place lives, but vibrant, extraordinarily satisfying lives. What’s their secret? What do they know that the rest of us don’t?

The difference between a vaguely satisfying life and a truly great life depends on a single decision, says Judith Wright. It all comes down to making the decision to pursue more in life, she asserts—more love, fulfillment, purpose, satisfaction, meaning, abundance, contribution, intimacy, and spirit. To do that, it’s imperative that we reject a dissatisfied, sleepwalking existence and be fully present in an adventurous new kind of life. It’s not what we do that’s important, but why we’re doing it. A successful life comes from living a life of purpose, what some would call a deeply felt life.

The One Decision begins with an in-depth look at the power that comes from a life-changing commitment. It then offers nearly a dozen illuminating paths to finding the one that works for you. Once this life-transforming approach is identified, practical approaches are offered with a 30-day guide filled with practical advice and insights. This month-long program supplies a blueprint for building the life most people long for.

Take the Step, the Bridge Will Be There: Inspiriation and Guidance for Moving Your Life Forward by Grace Cirocco. (Xephor Press, $14.95, Paperback.)

Many people are unable to move forward when they are confronted with difficult personal or professional challenges or when they want to make important changes in their lives. For example, they dream about giving up their secure jobs and becoming entrepreneurs, but can never bring themselves to act on their dreams; they want to broach an emotionally difficult subject with their spouse, but cannot summon up the courage to do so; they have a vision for the kind of life they want to live during their retirement years, but don’t know how to turn that vision into a reality.

Take the Step, the Bridge Will Be There uses a combination of inspirational stories and reflections, practical exercises and compassionate, down-to-earth advice to provide you with the guidance and encouragement you need to overcome obstacles and to tackle problems and challenges head-on. It helps you become unstuck so you can move forward. According to Grace Cirocco, “Action (take the step) and faith (the bridge will be there) are the two most important ingredients for achieving anything you want in your life. Typically, the problem is that if we want to take action, we don’t move forward because we don’t believe in ourselves. Or, if we do believe in our abilities, we’re too afraid to act. Rarely do we display both faith and action at the same time and in the right mix.”