Inprint - New Books of interest by Jeanne Spiro

The Hero and the Goddess: The Oddyssey as Pathway to Personal Transformation by Jean Houston. (Quest Books, $16.95, Paperback.)

After the Trojan War, it takes the hero Odysseus ten years to get home, guided by the goddess Athena. Jean Houston’s experiential retelling leads us to enter Homer’s great epic, The Odyssey, as if it were our own. With Odysseus, we search for the Beloved, endure setbacks, and finally know the joy of homecoming.

By becoming the cunning warrior, the goddess protector, a faithful mother, and endearing son, we meet with the honest reflections of our deepest yearnings and betrayals, our subconscious feelings of grief and loss. Awaiting the champion who stays true is that of the newly awakened self. And although the mythic journey begins in us, these great archetypes most reveal the transcendent revelation of oneness, the impetus for higher global consciousness. This transformative journey brings resurrection and healing to those who dare to embark on the path of The Hero and the Goddess. Discover the Athena and Odysseus within, welcomed home to join again the “Divine Beloved of the Soul.” This is a book to be done, not just read. It leads us on a powerful journey of the soul in which we awaken to a larger, nobler life.

The Power of Premonitions: How Knowing the Future Can Shape Our Lives by Larry Dossey, M.D. (Dutton, $25.95, Hardcover.)

In The Power of Premonition, Larry Dossey, M.D., uses cutting-edge research to examine the effect that premonitions have in our everyday lives. Case studies and real data prove that they are as much a part of our abilities as being able to add 2+2 without thinking. He breaks down the anatomy, the history, scientific studies, and the process of having a premonition so that we can open up to the possibility of them, as well as recognize and act on our own when they appear.

Dossey has experienced premonitions himself. When he was in his first year of medical practice, he had a week of precognitive dreams about patients, all of which came true; prompting him to begin research for this book. Throughout history, there have been examples of how the sensing of future events has helped save lives. Reports have shown that hundreds of individuals all over the country had premonitory dreams prior to the events of 9/11. Many cancelled travel plans at the last minute because of a vague feeling that something was wrong, resulting in high vacancy of the planes involved in the attacks.

Over the last three decades, solid breakthroughs have occurred in premonition research. Experiments show that everyone has the innate ability to sense the future. These studies have been replicated and confirmed by scientists around the world. There is evidence that precognitive dreams are the most common psychic event to appear in the life of the average person.

Single Women of a Certain Age: Romantic Escapades, Shifting Shapes, and Serene Independence, a collection of essays edited by Jane Ganahl. (New World Library, 14.95, Paperback.)

Does being a single woman mean something different today than it did a few decades ago? Are more women choosing to remain single than in years past? What kinds of challenges, if any, do they still face and what does it mean to the rest of society?

There are currently over 32 million single women over 35 in the United States. According to a recent AARP study, the majority of them report they don’t feel the need to find a partner to be happy. Clearly baby boomers are rewriting the mating game. Why are so many women choosing to remain single as they grow older? Or, are they choosing? Do we really need a partner to be happy?

These questions and much more are explored in Single Women of a Certain Age. It features essays by many outstanding writers and personalities. These writers address the challenges and rewards of growing older as a single woman: sex, loneliness, motherhood, financial struggles, blossoming careers, menopause, and more. Swinging between desperation and optimism, bad moods and good grace, these 29 essays range from the mild to the wild, the glamorous to the mundane, each expressing the gifts and travails of going solo.

Breathe into Being: Awakening to Who You Really Are by Dennis Lewis. (Quest Books, $16.95, Paperback.)

The chaos of this modern world has pushed our schedules to the max. Balancing the many aspects of our lives leaves us feeling that we don’t even have time to breathe. Qigong and meditation educator Dennis Lewis believes the time has come to break away and do just that, simply breathe. In this easy to use guide, he instructs us how to restore calmness and clarity. He shares his knowledge of natural breathing to bring us face to face with our true and present self. He demonstrates how focused breathing disbands physical and emotional knots and restores physical, mental, and spiritual levels.

Breathe into Being offers purposeful breath through exercises that are short and attainable, while maintaining rich, insightful content. Learn how so many of us unconsciously hold our breaths, and how to correct this surprising and unhealthy tendency. We can discover the body’s various breathing spaces and how to most effectively work with the diaphragm; determine where our structural tensions lie and how to sense the spine and reconnect with our center of gravity. Both body and mind can emerge refreshed and at peace, bringing spiritual vitality and awareness throughout.

Visionary Business: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Success (Revised Edition) by Mark Allen. (New World Library, $14.95, Paperback.)

Imagine working for a socially responsible business that truly cares about the well being of its employees, community, and the environment. Imagine them generously giving you and everyone who works for them a substantial percentage of their annual profits, as well as funds to donate to the charity of your choice each year. This is the business philosophy that has been at the foundation of New World Library’s publishing success for over thirty years. Founder and president Marc Allen shows step gy step how it is possible to build a truly visionary business that supports its employees, the community, and the environment.

Framed as a parable, the story follows Allen’s unlikely rise to success. His mentor, an older investment specialist named Bernie, teaches him the ways of ethical and socially responsible business. Together they turn this fledgling attempt at business into a thriving corporate success, founded on principles as diverse as Eastern and Western spirituality, simple kindness, mysticism, and market savvy. Visionary Business is a guide for entrepreneurs as well as a philosophical call to action for established business owners.

The Living Universe: Where Are We? Who Are We? Where Are We Going? By Duane Elgin, foreward by Deepak Chopra. (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $15.95, Paperback.)

Science has traditionally regarded the universe as made up mostly of inert matter and empty space. At one time this point of view was liberating, part of the Enlightenment-born rationalism that helped humanity free itself from superstition and fear and achieve extraordinary intellectual and technological breakthroughs. But this paradigm has outlived its usefulness. It has led to rampant materialism and environmental degradation—if only we are alive, then the inanimate stuff of the universe should be ours to exploit. We now know that not only is this view of a dead universe destructive, it is also inaccurate and misleading.

The Living Universe brings together evidence from cosmology, biology, and physics to show that the universe is permeated by a living field and that we are always in communion with that field of aliveness—whether we are conscious of it or not. This is a world view that is shared by virtually every eastern and western spiritual tradition, and the implications of it are vast and deep. In a living system, each part is integral to the whole, so each of us is intimately connected to the entire universe. Our identities manifest on a whole series of levels, from subatomic to galactic. Far more that biological beings, we are beings of cosmic connection and participation.

To confront our ongoing planetary crisis of dwindling resources and escalating conflict, we need to move past an ideology of separation and exploitation and learn to live sustainably on the Earth, in harmony with one another, and in conscious communion with the living universe.

Jesus in the Lotus: The Mystical Doorway between Christianity and Yogic Spirituality by Russill Paul. (New World Library, $14.95, Paperback.)

Spiritual teacher and musician Russill Paul asserts that the exploration and integration of the philosophy of yoga need not threaten, or take away from, essential Christian beliefs but can add a dimension to them and deepen one’s faith.

In Jesus in the Lotus, he tells us the compelling story of how, after a motorcycle accident and subsequent crisis of faith, his heart opened to the work of renegade monk Bede Griffiths, who was one of the first to synthesize these two great religious traditions. Paul then presents what he calls a pathless path that blends the wisdom of Christianity and the spiritual teachings of yoga for a holistic daily spiritual practice.

Drawing on a deep knowledge of Christian scripture as well as Hindu philosophy, Paul shows that the mystical core of religion offers us much more than the simple solace of unthinking religious dogma. By demonstrating that these two seemingly separate and irreconcilable religions can actually unite in our spiritual practice at the core of our life—as they did for him—he offers an alternative to religious intolerance and strife, as well as hope for spiritual liberation.