2 comments about Gifts From the Heart : Meditations on Caring for Aging Parents.

1. This book was a lot more than help for people with sick parents or people who's parents live with them. It shows how to enrich one's relationship to one's parents in their elder years,and how to gain insight into one's own life and aging process through frequent or occassional interaction with one's parents.



2. If you are caring for aged parents, you should run right out and buy this wonderful little book. It deals with that time when our situation with parents is reversed, when the child becomes the caregiver, the supervisor, the shepherd charged with guiding those who brought us in the front door of this life out its back door. This can be a momentous time, when responsibility can hang almost too heavy. But it can also be a time of joy and healing. Goldberg and Kendall have put together a collection of meditations on old age and caregiving that show how to turn the frustrations, exhaustions, and traumas of caring for old parents into a time of spiritual enrichment. Like Goldberg's Room to Write and The Spirit of Pregnancy, Gifts from the Heart is a book to keep beside the bed, a book to be dipped into and savored. It will restore your spirit when you are exhausted by duties and demands, and encourage you to look beyond the day-to-day to the beauties and revelations that can heal divisions between child and parent and bring about a final separation that rises toward transcendence. This is not a how-to book, although it abounds with practical suggestions. Rather, it is a series of parables, simple on the surface, but full of depths and comfort. It is a book to heal the human spirit.

3 comments about There's Always Help; There's Always Hope: An Award-Winning Psychiatrist Shows You How to Heal Your Body, Mind, and Spirit.

1. Excellent, hopeful book: very easy to read and clear. Written with compassion and dedication. Carefully examines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, psychodynamic influences, medication, and spirituality making a cogent case for an integrative approach.
   Highly recommend to therapists and clients.



2. Dr.Wood, M.D. gives hope to those who enter therapy with the idea that spirituality and hope is there for us to be found with the help of the counselor/therapist. I especially liked the idea that one should as the patient get in touch with the feelings I am feeling rather than have a negative or flat affect on my face. Or like smiling while inside I am crying my mind out. The pages in her book which list many emotions brought tears to my eyes. I had never got into touch with the real me before reading this book and discussing it with my psychotherapist/psychologist. I have already ordered both of Dr.Wood's upcoming new books. (And one is even in May 2007 due to be out!)



3. THIS IS AN EXCLLENTLY WRITTEN BOOK,THE FOMAT IS VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND ,IT HOLDS YOUR INTEREST FROPM BEGINING TO THE END.

5 comments about The Secret of How to Ace Any Job Interview - with Confidence! Inside Tips on Terrific Resumes, Interviews, and How to Eliminate Nervousness Forever!.

1. This is a very useful program for building confidence - whether you're a first-time job hunter or an experienced pro! I highly recommend it.



2. Trust me when I say it is the little things we forget or worse assume we know when it comes to interviewing. This CD is a great asset to own whether you need to brush up on a few things or it is your first time entering the working world. I bought this for my son to help him when he decided he wanted to get a job. I have also had the pleasure of attending a class by David. The CD is just as great and informative as he is in person.



3. I was fortunate enough to see Mr. David Portney speak at a Career Fair in Los Angels. Mr. Portney is a dynamic speaker with great information and enthusiasm. At that time, I purchased his CD "The Secret of How to Ace Any Job Interview with Confidence". I have listened to it a number of times and have replayed certain chapters back as refreshers. It contains relevant information on the interview process and enables you to build your confidence. The section on building confidence and reducing nervousness is most helpful. There are many other tips included that can make your interview go smoothly. I highly recommend this CD to newbies and veterans alike.



4. Do NOT waste your money on this CD! Most of the content was soft mediation simply telling you to visualize yourself as 'confident' in an interview... over and over and over. The rest of the 'inside tips' were so basic, it was no more than common sense (ie. don't be late for the interview).



5. The CD served me as a wonderful guide for my first job-hunting experience.
   It helped me develop a detailed image of the interview process and build confidence.
   It also gave me the opportunity to review basic, yet important facts that peole tend to forget at the time of the interview.

2 comments about Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality.

1. This pocketbook is a handy and convenient tool which aids in helping one improve their self-esteem through daily reflection. The concepts presented facilitate positive change as they draw one's mind (back) into focus. Very helpful.



2. I found the insights very helpful in bringing "aha" thoughts to light. I especially thought the section found in "August" readings good. These readings dealt with inner integrity and congruence. The section that shared on "romantic love" was also very challenging and insightful. These readings confront and strip self deception to one that is open and seeking growth. I recommend this book. The opening section titled "Self-Esteem as a Spiritual Discipline" is excellent. This book is acollection from various writings of Branden.

2 comments about Vocal Power: Harnessing the Power Within.

1. Arthur's book did not only change my perception towards my voice, but towards my whole life! I started speaking better after reading just some pages - unbelievable! A must read for everybody who "speaks"!



2. This book is standard if you are looking for a gentle exercise. What I would recommend is `an introduction to singing with style' I came across this book quite by accident on amazon.co.uk and it has helped me a lot. It goes into great depth about how to develop a great singing voice, vocal projection, vocal clarity and this book even tells you what diet to avoid and what food is good for healthy living it's amazing

2 comments about How to Love Yourself When You Don't Know How: Healing All Your Inner Children.

1. I never thought I'd say this about a book, but this one changed my life - or rather, is continually changing it.

   Hurts and unfulfilled needs left over from childhood can be anything from bothersome to crippling, and they can't usually be expected to be resolved by anyone except yourself (with or without the help of a therapist). This book gives very clear and thorough directions as to how to nourish those parts of you that have been deprived in one way or another.

   No matter how small, hurt, angry or lost you're feeling at any time, those feelings are not the sum total of you. They do need to be taken care of, and the book explains how to do this by strengthening the responsible, loving part of yourself and drawing on it to supply yourself with what you need on an ongoing basis.

   The Inner Family healing technique taught by this book continues to make my attitude to my life increasingly constructive and optimistic. The process is incredibly eye-opening, surprising, and as a bonus - often a lot of fun. More than anything, it is a huge joy and a relief to discover that one has the capacity to take care of emotional needs that have been neglected for many years. For any adult who feels that he/she still needs a little or a lot of parenting, I can't recommend it enough.




2. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is an excellent book for finding emotional healing and forgiveness.

   I have read alot of books on psychological & emotional healing. Jacqui Bishop explains everything clearly and simply. I have found true peace and emotional clorsure to alot my pain b/c of this book. Responsibilty for our own happiness ultimately lies within ourselves.

   Jacqui Bishop is an incredible author who has changed my life. We no longer have to play victim and accept the abuse people seem to heap on us...

3 comments about Silva Mind Control for Success and Self-Confidence.

1. It worked so well with me I am now purchasing copies to give to friends and family!



2. Listen to the introduction once. Listen to side three, half and hour and you can de-stress and help yourself became a better person. I lost 30 pounds by listening to this faithfully... it is a great tool.



3. The Silva Method saved my life at a time when it needed saving. It showed me how to hold a vision/goal and work towards it. It always worked when I applied the Silva Method.
   
   I tried many techniques before that and none helped me to hold the vision/goal as well as the Silva Method did.
   
   I still use it...and it is still working. I recommend this Book, CD or whatever you are using, It works.

1 comments about 31 Words to Create a Guilt-Free Life: Finding the Freedom to be Your Most Powerful Self - A Simple Guide to Self-Care, Balance, and Joy (39 Power Words).

1. 31 Words To Create A Guilt Free Life: Finding The Freedom To Be Your Most Powerful Self is a self-help guide to coping with and overcominig all harmful forms of guilt, from learning honesty to acknowledge and release one's guilt to forming connections in opposition to shame in silence. Each passage describes the helpful meaning within a single word, from "Forgiveness" and "Integrity" to "Responsibility", "Poise", and "Freedom". An uplifting, gentle, and helpful collection especially recommended for sufferers of self-inflicted mental misery.

5 comments about Woman Power: Transform Your Man, Your Marriage, Your Life.

1. Respect your husband and treat him like a man instead of a boy and guess what...HE WILL ACT LIKE A MAN INSTEAD OF A BOY!!! If you want to have a better marriage, you've got nothing to lose :)



2. "Having emotional independence, money, possessions, and position at the expense of emotional interdependence and obligations to one's family do not make a woman more powerful." ~ pg. 153
   
   If you are looking for a book about marriage then you may want to skip this book and order "10 Stupid Things Couples Do To Mess Up Their Relationships." In "Woman Power" Dr. Laura relies heavily on letters from listeners in regards to her book: "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands." So unless you have read the first book, this one won't make as much sense. There are also many pages with lines so you can write down your own thoughts. So basically this is a very quick read unless you are using it as a workbook.
   
   There are a few good internet jokes and responses by listeners. You might also enjoy reading about the most wonderful things a wife can say or do for her husband. In one chapter she briefly talks about men's basic needs but she doesn't really include enough information to "transform you man, your marriage, your life." While I agreed with a lot of what she has to say in regards to what men need I did disagree with her advice to a woman who wanted to go on a vacation with her friends. While she discouraged the idea, I can say that my husband bought me a plane ticket so I could go to Paris with my best college girlfriend. It was an experience I never forgot and I'm always thankful to my husband for being supportive about the trip.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



3. The truth is we can influence others. The thing we need to realize is the difference between influencing and manipulation! Some men are just not worth our effort though! Ask yourself, is this worth fighting for and am I the only one fighting for it?



4. These days men are expected to be the leader while their authority as leader is stripped from them thus destroying leadership rule 101. This book helps clarify issues as men see it. Just great it was written by a woman



5. *Wow! Actual accounts, facts, of other guys feeling, having the same or worse experiences than us guys....
   *Read it you'll like it enought to buy it again if you loose it.
   
   P.S. I didn't give it five stars because I'm a hard critic.

5 comments about Dojo Wisdom.

1. While many of the 100 "lessons" are fairly commonsense, the way this author distills them to digestable nuggets is worthy of a read. This book is not what I'd call a "sit down and read" book (unless, like my husband, you read... sitting elsewhere!), but more of a "pick it up here and again" sort of thing. I have internalized many of the "lessons," not because I didn't know them prior to reading this book, but because in the race of life, you sometimes focus so hard on FINISHING that you forget your form, or finishing WELL. Even if you only take one or two of the "exercises" (ways to practice the lessons that the author provides) and put them to daily use, you will feel like a better you; walking the walk of being a better person, rather than watching from the sidelines.

   My favorite lesson has to be Lesson #9 "Strike Through The Target." Here, Lawler explains how martial artists (and I fully admit that I am not a martial artist, and the closest I have ever come was watching Karate Kid in 3D) are taught to see THROUGH their target, because if you see what you're actually trying to accomplish, as opposed to what you need to do to get there, getting there will be far more attainable. I am not explaining it well, which is another reason you should read the book, as she makes it much clearer than I ever could!

   The only downfall to the book, and it'll depend on how active a reader you are and your personality style, is that the author frequently uses the "she" pronoun. While warriors can certainly be women, men might feel alienated, and the over-usage of "she" where "he" would do (or a whole other sentence structure) is a constant reminder of this author's beliefs. While I was not bothered, I did notice, and some less-patient readers might not make it through the book (which is the WHOLE POINT!).

   This book is a great gift if you know someone who is about to make a change in their life (graduate, fiance, parent-to-be), or someone who's stuck in a rut and needs some motivation (you, maybe?), or someone who could just use a great, positive, easy to digest, read!




2. Jennifer Lawler's 'Dojo Wisdom' is a valuable book that contains:
   '100 Simple Ways to Become a Stronger, Calmer, More Courageous Person'.
   
   Although this book is a very good one for martial artists to read and absorb, it is also one that contains a great deal of value for anyone. Although most people probably think of them as physical pursuits, those who practice the traditional martial arts place a great emphasis on the mental aspects involved. Lawler has captured many of these and given practical applications in all areas of life.
   
   Even in sections with titles like `Speed is power' and `Never Lose Sight of the Blade' that sound very much like martial arts topics, Ms. Lawler has provided tips on how to incorporate these nuggets of wisdom into one's everyday life. Although I read it straight through, it might be good to read and ponder one of these lessons each day so that each can be focused upon for a time.
   
   This book will be worth your time.



3. Picking and choosing from various sources, Lawler has a knack for choosing the most trite material. Nothing original here.



4. Being an avid reader of wisdom literature and a searcher for great wisdom quotes and texts, I found this book very disappointing. I expected from the title, to find a book full of martial wisdom, but although there were a few interesting things found throughout this book, overall it contained very little useful wisdom for anyone who has done any studying at all in martial wisdom or worldly wisdom. The wisdom I did find in this book was very generic and can be found in almost any book on martial arts wisdom or philosophy.
   
   The beginning martial artist may find some use in reading this book, but if you have been in the martial arts for a while or have read some of the other books on martial arts wisdom and philosophy, I would recommend passing on Dojo Wisdom. There are better sources for the wisdom that you are seeking.
   
   Bohdi Sanders, author of Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior



5. This book was very inexpensive and had a lot of great wisdom for everyday people not just the Martial Artist. A quick easy read.