Inprint - New Books of interest

The Fifth Harmonic by F. Paul Wilson. (Hampton Roads, $22.95, Hardcover.)

When Dr. Will Burleigh discovers that he has terminal throat cancer, his only option seems to be to get his affairs in order and say goodbye to his loved ones. But then, unexpectedly, at the urging of one of his own patients, he sees a shamanic healer — a woman who tells him more about himself than he wants to know.

What follows next is a tale of adventure. The shaman Maya claims she can help him, but only if he opens himself up completely to her and the harmony of the world around him. She convinces him to journey with her to her Mayan homeland in search of “the fifth harmonic.”
If they are successful, this might be Burleigh’s salvation, but there are obstacles along the way including Will’s painful and rapidly spreading tumor. Maya, too, has her secrets and as Will begins to unravel them, he begins to fear he might have made a terrible mistake.

F. Paul Wilson is a practicing physician who brings a personal authenticity and insight into the character of Will Burleigh, M.D. He is also the author of the bestselling Repairman Jack series.

Pay Attention, for Goodness’ Sake: Practicing the Perfections of the Heart, the Buddhist Path of Kindess by Sylvia Boorstein. (Ballantine Books, $12.95, Paperback.)

According to the Buddha, the path of kindness is the path of happiness. Sylvia Boorstein has taken the 2500-year-old practice of developing the qualities of a compassionate heart, the core of the Buddha’s own practice, and made it accessible to all. In a cheerful and inspirational style, Boorstein guides Western readers on the path of the Buddha’s Ten Paramitas, the Perfections of the Heart.

In this simple and witty book, Boorstein combines traditional Buddhist teachings and parables with stories from her own life, as well as easy-to-follow meditations, to show how the practice of Mindfulness — paying attention in all the activities of everyday life — can lead to these perfections that all of us strive to attain. The ten Paramitas, or perfections, are Generosity, Morality, Renunciation, Wisdom, Energy, Patience, Truthfulness, Determination, Lovingkindness, and Equanimity.

Pay Attention, for Goodness’ Sake is not just a book for the practicing Buddhist. It is for all who, in their busy lives, wish to pay more attention to the mind and heart. Within this book lies the possibility of a transformed life.

Faith and the Placebo Effect: An Argument for Self-healing
by Lolette Kuby, Ph.D. (Origin Press, $14.00, Paperback.)

Physicians have known for centuries about placebo healing, and healers worldwide have long recognized that simple faith can cause healing miracles. In this study of the unacknowledged power of the placebo, Dr. Kuby argues that the common denominator across all forms of treatments for illness is an innate self-healing capacity that medicine calls the placebo effect, and which religion knows as faith healing. She explores the religious, psychological, historical, and political aspects of the placebo effect, while linking it with what is known about faith healing and spirituality. She goes on to explain how you can consciously trigger this effect, independent of external agencies, through direct faith in the inner source of all healing.

Kuby authored this book after her own experience of healing breast cancer through faith. Writing with the power of first-hand experience, she raises a prophetic voice against the excesses of modern medicine, and in favor of self-reliance. This book claims to be the first ever to systematically link the placebo effect with spiritual self-healing and the first full-length treatment of the placebo phenomenon for the lay reader.

Dante’s Path: A Practical Approach to Achieving Inner Wisdom by Bonney Gulino Schaub, R.N. and Richart Schaub, Ph.D. (Gotham Books, $25.00, Hardcover.)

Using Dante’s Divine Comedy as a metaphor for personal growth, and the teachings of Dr. Roverto Assagioli, the founder of Psychosynthesis, Bonney and Richard Schaub teach readers to connect with their inner wisdom using a holistic method that has successfully treated hundreds of patients for over thirty years. According to the Schaubs, the source of enlightenment is within each and every one of us, and by tapping into it, readers will experience a deeper reality, full of love and free of fear.

Like Dante’s pilgrim, who was forced to travel through Hell and Purgatory in order to find Paradise, we must witness and name our demons so that we can move past them. Dante’s Purgatory is depicted as a steep mountain that gets easier as the Pilgrim climbs. Along the mountain path are seven ascending terraces where the work of spiritual development and transformation takes place. Likewise, the Schaubs lead readers through seven practices designed to help solve problems by energizing the answers in their hearts and minds. At the top of the mountain, the pilgrim is liberated from his fears as he reconnects with a higher power and reaches Paradise. Like Dante, the Schaubs strive to lead readers from misery to bliss and enable readers to cultivate self-knowledge and inner wisdom that lead to harmony in everyday life.

Discovery of Atlantis: The Startling Case for the Island of Cyprus
by Robert Sarmast. (Origin Press, $22.00, Paperback.)

When Plato first presented the story of Atlantis in two of his most famous dialogues, he may have unwittingly launched one of the greatest mysteries of all time. Robert Sarmast shows that Plato’s description of Atlantis was not a figment of his imagination, not just a philosopher’s allegory, or literary ornament, and can be taken at face value. Discovery of Atlantis attempts to prove that Plato’s richly detailed story actually referenced something very real: a sunken landmass, a majestic city, a great people, and a civilization of extreme antiquity. And if Plato is to be taken literally, that civilization existed on the island of Cyprus and especially on the submerged landmass just south of it.

The basis for this bold claim is the nearly fifty physical clues that Plato provides in his account of Atlantis. Sarmast shows that Cyprus and its vicinity is a near-perfect match for them. He goes through each clue and compares them with simple facts or logical inferences abut Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean region. The high point of the argument is a series of 3-D bathymetric maps, based on new scientific data, that show for the first time a stretch of sunken land off of Cyprus. The general layout of the landscape of Atlantis as described by Plato is easily discernable, as well as the apparent location of its capital, Atlantis City.

Sarmast presents the legend and legacy of Atlantis, acting as storyteller, researcher, sleuth, and explorer. The fields of mythology, history, and geology have all been tapped in order to fashion a vivid and comprehensive image.