3 comments about Deep Trance Shamanic Journey; Volume One: Pachamama's Child.

1. This is one of the best meditation CDs I have ever used. The background music appropriately supports the words of the meditation, enhancing your actual feeling experience. Jessie's voice is a good guide. She is easy to follow and thoroughly explains what is going on without being invasive or causing you to lose the thread of what you are experiencing. The first meditation is extremely important, teaching us how to access our fourth dimensional consciousness for the purpose of changing old outdated core beliefs which no longer serve our life journey. Once these old beliefs have been released and replaced with new, effective beliefs, be prepared to experience the results in your waking reality. Your ego might pitch a fit within 24 hours or so of dislodging the old stuff, but just let it do what it needs to, all the while understanding that you are not your ego. The release is necessary and when you get through it, you will find yourself operating under the new core beliefs. Just like that. The second meditation is a pure healing as you interact with Pachamama, Mother Earth. You will feel much lighter after this experience. I highly recommend these meditations for anyone intent on healing their Rainbow Body.



2. Ayani's voice is perfect for this type of CD - mature, calm, and detached. The background music is well selected and placed.
   
   The first of the two journeys, which concentrates on breaking down Core Beliefs, is especially powerful and includes the forming of new beliefs to put into place once the old ones have been removed.
   
   I found this CD so helpful in my spiritual work that I have just purchased the second CD in the series, Right Relationship.



3. well, i didn't have a deep trance, or a shamanic journey. sorry to post a bad review, but it just doesn't do what it says it will.

2 comments about Sleepy Ocean & Gentle Rain.

1. These CDs are permanently in my bedroom CD player. We listen to them every night.
   
   OCEAN
   - realistic wave sounds
   - no distracting additional sounds, e.g. birds, bells, etc
   - helps to regulate breathing
   - helps to relax
   - helps to cover street noise (we live in a city with a lot of noise at night)
   
   RAIN
   - realistic rain sounds
   - hard to distinguish between CD and real rain on our skylight
   - relaxing
   - helps to cover street noise
   
   Sometimes the Delta music CDs will wake me up, but I've never had that problem with these CDs. I can't imagine sleeping without them on.



2. I bought the "Sleepy Ocean" CD for around $12.99 and the "Sleepy Rain" CD at around $12.99 from Amazon.com. They were not offered, to my knowledge, in one package for what Amazon.com is showing today as $14.99 for both. So this is a great savings. Both the rain and ocean recordings are very real sounding and very relaxing to listen to either as background atmosphere or for sleeping. The rain CD is just the relaxing sound of rain droplets, no thunder, birds, crickets, owls, pigeons, cars, music, or anything else that's otherwise distracting. The ocean recording is a steady, real sounding recording of the water/tide coming in from an ocean onto a beach. No large blasts of noise followed by long periods of nothingness. This ocean recording does sound very peaceful.

3 comments about Turn Stress into Bliss: The Proven 8-Week Program for Health, Relaxation, Stress Relief.

1. This is a great book if you want to learn how to enjoy life more by using the unique Phoenix Rising body-mind approach. Its easy and it works. If you follow Lee's program you will most certainly change your life for the better and have more fun. Its also a book that could be well used in corporations, schools, prisons, or anywhere people want their own personal stress reduction program that's easy to follow. Its also a very beautiful book. Great photos and excellent layout. Definitly five stars



2. There is a lot of information in print about stress, and how much we need to manage it, and dire warnings about what will happen to us it we don't. But, what, exactly, does one DO! This book gives very simple, easy to follow daily practices that will change your life. Its that simple. I have practiced yoga and meditation in the Phoenix Rising style for five years now, and continue to learn about myself. I am more aware of my choices, my resistance to change, and, most important, moments of joy. I am less angry, and more grateful. This book is written with warmth and insight into our less than perfect humaness...Let it inspire you. Susan Sullivan



3. This book has it all - yoga, meditation, pranayama (breath). I especially like the way the book breaks down the plan with a specific focus for each week and gives a plan for each day of the week. Well worth the commitment of 40 minutes a day.

5 comments about Original Prayer: Teachings and Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus.

1. If you know in your heart that there is something deeper than the language and the meaning you find in the traditional Bible translations . . .

   If you're a mystic in spirit, always yearning for a greater, more intimate experience of God . . .

   If you're avidly curious about the man known as Jesus, what he really said, what he really meant, how he really experienced life and God . . .

   If your heart sings at the thought of chanting, singing, praying the actual sounds used by Jesus as he taught his followers what we now know as the Lord's Prayer . . .

   . . . Then this audio series is for you. Built on a strong foundation of scholarship that transcends religious traditions (Douglas-Klotz was raised in, studied and deeply respects Christian, Jewish and Islamic beliefs and practices, and brings all of them into his discussion), this work is warm, deep, accessible, open, and transparent. It is a poet's work, exposing the many interwoven threads of meaning imbedded in every word of Jesus's Aramaic prayer and inviting each of us into our own intimate, deeply personal interpretation and understanding of every phrase, word, sound. This is not something to be "learned" -- it's something to be lived, breathed, experienced. Beautiful!




2. Sorry to say, but this work is NOT one of the best. First of all, the interpretations the author gives - may they be spiritually uplifting - are a sufi interpretation and addition. Sufism is the mystical school if the Islam.
   If you want to get down to the core of Jesus and his prayer you must look at him entirely through Near Eastern eyes at the time of Jesus.
   The pronounciation: a complete enigma! No Aramaic scholar whould know where Mr Klotz got the pronounciation from which he displays here. Abwoon dbaschmaya. The "b" letter as written in both cases must collaps in this grammatical case when pronounced: awoon dwashmeya. And that is only 1 shore example.
   The way Mr Klotz speaks the lord's prayer, Jesus has definitely NOT spoken it. There exists a CD with the reliable pronounciation of the Lord's Prayer but I am afraid it is only available ... word by word and phrase by phrase spoken in Aramaic and explained in English by Dr. Rocco Errico (more about him further below), the world's foremost authority in Aramaic studies in relation to Jesus. The title of that CD is "Acht Einstimmungen auf Gott" (Eight Attunements to God).

   If you ask me, the only reliable source for Aramaic knowledge is Dr. Rocco Errico, whose many books you can find here ... By the way, Dr. Errico was one of Douglas-Klotz's teachers and this makes Mr. Klotz's pronounciation more than incomprehensible because he learnt it actually from the number one authority in the world.

   In closing: if you want a worthwile interpretation of the Lord's Prayer based on the ancient Near Eastern culture and language, trust the book "Setting a Trap for God" by Dr. Rocco Errico. Everything else is coloured by Mr. Klotz's own preferences. But it has nothing to do with Jesus and his times. Jesus was down to earth and a revolutionist, not a sufi mystic.




3. If you read all of the reviews on this audio series you will notice a general positive trend, but at least on review which suggests that the author may have taken liberty with the pronounciations and interpretations. I think all these reviews may be true. The bible has existed in two forms - the mostly Greek and Latin version which has been protected by the Roman Catholic church and an Aramaic version which is possibly older and closer to the words that Jesus actually spoke. There are very few scholars who have tackled the latter version. Infact there are only two scholars who have achived significant recognition in this area: Dr. Rocco Errico and Dr. Klotz. As a result I am not surprised to see some disagreement about whose views are more accurate. I do know that Dr. Errico's work has undergone some scrutiny for basically being sloppy and Dr. Klotz's work has been scrutinized as being an overly liberal interpretation. What I like about this series by Dr. Klotz is that he is very open about where his interpretation comes from and only offers his concepts as one version of the truth. I think such comments come from a very insightful mind. I think over the next 20-50 years of scholarship in the Aramaic bible we will better understand where the truth is, but in the meantime this is a very inspiring series that has nothing less than changed my life for the better.



4. Aramaic scholar Neal Douglas-Klotz has brought his lecture and written work to the public in a highly usable, audio form. Here one hears the sound of the original words of Jesus, learns the meaning when translated from that source and appreciates the ancient power of chant by experiencing it. Outstanding resource and powerful spiritual tool.



5. What if 'organized' religion had never organized for the purpose of profit but instead brought forth with greater clarity what the teachings in the Aramaic language are telling us? Neil Klotz does a great job of explaining the more accurate translations of Aramaic into the English language. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in truly hearing the meaning behind the words and teachings of Jesus. The time is 'ripe'!

3 comments about People Pleasers: Helping Others Without Hurting Yourself.

1. Yesterday I purchased this book with the intent that I would not like it and would take it right back after reviewing it. It less than 1 hour of reading it, it has become my salvation! I have been so unhappy and did not realize why until I read Les Carter's PEOPLE PLEASERS. In a flash I am cured of my curse of being sickeningly helpful - all to my detriment.I thought I should see a therapist, because I cound not understand why I felt I had to be so nice and helpful to everyone and almost nobody ever returned a kindness. This book was easy to understand and extremely helpful and though I will continue to be a pleaser, I have learned how to successfully please without hurting myself. I wish Les Carter had come into my life sooner. The rest of my life is now in control and I feel more confident -- the book made me realize I had to change -- it wasn't about other people it was all about me. Thank you Mr. Carter!



2. I thought this was an awesome book. It really really hit home for me. Now I know that I've been a people pleaser since I was a child, how it happened and what to work on to change it! This is the most important book for me that I have ever read. I practically highlighted the whole book!
   It's so great to be able to put a label on it. Being a people pleaser can make you miserable and depressed and it can also be a turn off...



3. This book is an excellent staple in the library of people pleasers. Carter outlines many situations I've seen myself or others in, and gives practical solutions to setting boundaries for oneself and the demands of others. I especially liked the end of each chapter where he provides introspective questions and even space to write your answer. I didn't write my answers in, because I wanted my husband (who is also a people pleaser) to read it, and also I'm keeping the book to read and review again in a few years, and my answers may be different then.
   
   All in all, this is a straightforward, easy-to-read, practical guide for people who are really overwhelmed by trying to please others (usually unsuccessfully). When I applied some of the techniques I learned in this book, I was astonished at the power I felt over myself and situations where I had previously felt helpless.
   
   For example, I was having lunch with a friend, who was yet again complaining about her "horrible" husband, but never giving him any credit for anything good he does (he's not a bad guy, just has a big nag for a wife). During the course of the conversation she said something like "my husband is just so demanding and stubborn!" to which I replied, "as are you!" This is something I would never have said previously, but I was sick and tired of agreeing with her to try to make her feel better. She instantly shut up, the conversation turned from there, and I subsequently had a nice break from her company for a while. :)
   
   Another not-so-user-friendly, but very helpful book I would recommend is "Why is it Always About You? The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism," by Sandy Hotchkiss.

2 comments about Luminous Mind: Meditation And Mind Fitness.

1. This is a wonderful book, written by two people who obviously practice what they teach. It contains specific and well described practices from many of the oldest wisdom traditions on earth. The trick, for me, is to remember to stay with them.........



2. I have read a lot of books on meditation. In fact, I have a shelf full of titles looking at or teaching meditation for relaxation, awareness, contemplation, and spiritual enlightenment from various religious, spiritual, scientific, health, and interfaith perspectives. Really, I should have saved all my money and just bought Luminous Mind: Meditation and Mind Fitness.
   
   If you are interested in meditation, no matter what your purpose (enlightenment, spiritual contemplation, relaxation, pain therapy, increasing awareness, becoming more creative, etc) Luminous Mind: Meditation and Mind Fitness is THE book to read. It is packed full of all sorts of meditation exercises, from various contemporary, religious, and spiritual sources. Detailed instructions and helpful hints are included for each.
   
   The reader has several options on how to use this text. Those new to meditation can go through the chapters systematically trying a new exercise for a few weeks and then going onto the next one until they find what works best for their needs. For those individuals looking for meditations for a specific purpose or those having troubles getting past particular problems (such as getting fixated, not being able to concentrate, or getting bored), they can skim through the associated chapters to quickly find what they want. Personally, I enjoyed going through the various exercises to come up with new suggestions, creative techniques, and ways to enhance my mediation experience.

No comments about Turning Inward (Journals).

4 comments about The 14 Day Stress Cure: A New Approach for Dealing With Stress That Can Change Your Life.

1. My stress level disappeared after reading this book. I realized that stress was a meaningless word and that whenever I felt "stressed", I needed to identify the specific problem that was affecting me. As I identify my problems (when I drive too fast and people do not use their turn signals, I get upset), I can readily see my part in causing the stress (I was driving too fast) and the "stress" goes away. My life did not change easily. I still have to remind myself of the conversations or techniques in the book (years later), but when I remember - no stress. Overall, I react much less with "stress" and am happier since working with this book.



2. The 14 day stress cure made such a difference in the lives of 3 wmen that they meet for dinner occasionally and talk about how to tell other people about the book and what it can do to enhance your life and the quality of lives of people around you. Between the 3, we have handled problems of anger, guilt and shyness, decreasing the level of what we used to call stress to virtually nil.



3. I found The 14 Day Stress Cure a unique guide to meeting life's unanticipated upsets and managing the resulting stress. It has been a great assist in my three years fight with cancer.



4. This book has a good variation of explanations on ways to cure stress.

1 comments about Attunements for Dawn and Dusk: Music to Enhance Morning and Evening Meditation.

1. This double CD was a total surprize. It is exceptional. I am into indian music and meditation and I really struck gold with this CD. The music is very slow and otherworldy, mixed in with natural sounds like night birds. A great CD.

5 comments about EMDR : The Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma.

1. Very useful and understandable, practical tool and method. It is welcomed as an assett to the counseling profession



2. This book provides an excellent study of the effectiveness of EMDR--eye movement desensitization and reprocessing--for prospective patients and their families, alike.
   
   No question, the book is very well written, and, as one other reviewer noted, a page turner. As a result, we were seriously considering this method for our child. And we may well consider the idea again in the future.
   
   For the moment, we are pursuing neurobiofeedback, which seems to treat injured portions of the brain very effectively, promoting calm, stability and mood elevation. But in nations and regions where neurobiofeedback is not yet available, EMDR may well provide the next best thing.
   
   My only concern is a report of possible brain injury as a result of this therapy. I have not seen any medical corroboration of that report, however. And it seems that EMDR is now a medically accepted method of treatment, particularly in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.
   
   This book provides a great introduction to the concepts, and frequently positive results, of such treatment.



3. This book is good for having an overview of EMDR and its history. It is not, however, the most current book out there and is also more appropriate for clinicians than for the layman.



4. This book is not particularly useful for clinicians. Laypeople who want a clear overview of EMDR will find it in this book by the "discoverer" of the techniques.



5. Medicare needs to pay for this therapy - for all of us, and for all of our veterans with PTSD - can be cured in 3 sessions, on average - rather than 25+ years of suffering - pick one!