JOURNEY: FROM ONE LIFE TO ANOTHER
By Paco Rabanne, Element Books Limited, 1997, 165 pages, $24.95

The very last place I would expect to find spirituality is in the highly materialistic world of high fashion, the “haute couture” of Parisian design. It was an unexpected surprise then to discover an autobiography of Paris Fashion designer, Paco Rabanne, on a “New Age” bookshelf in a bookstore. It must be a shelving error, I thought.

But when I examined Paco Rabanne’s Journey: From One Life To Another, I discovered a deeply thoughtful examination of the meaning of life and one man’s exploration of his own spiritual journey. Rabanne speaks of his life long psychic experiences, his spiritual guides, his past-life memories, astral voyages, alchemy, oriental religions, the first Christians and passages in the Gospel. He discusses karma, the chakras, and higher spiritual planes. The book is a delightful experience for readers who enjoy both biographies and spiritual journeys.

Rabanne, perhaps best known as a designer of metallic dresses and his best-selling scent for men, Paco, shares a number of original points of view about reincarnation. His views offer many insights to consider.

Rabanne shares many wise thoughts about finding meaning in life and accepting responsibility for our actions. “It is here and now that man progresses and attains divine light,” he says. “It is... an opportunity for evolution. It is by our daily behavior that we can make our karma lighter.” He sees reincarnation as “an encouragement to act in the present.”

Rabanne comments on the distractions of modern “conveniences.” He views television and radio as a modern day Tower of Babel. Instead of the usual absorption in the hypnotic babble of the television set, Rabanne recommends meditation “anywhere and as soon as an opportunity arises.” He even discusses how thoughts can be positive or negative. All thoughts “rebound towards us” like boomerangs. Therefore he warns readers about the dangers of negative thoughts, especially willful, bad thoughts sent out to others.

Although Rabanne himself is highly psychic and has studied astrology, numerology, and the tarot, he warns against consulting clairvoyants too often because by doing so, “one ends up... relinquishing one’s own will in the process.” Occasional consultations, however, can be useful, he says, for providing possible insights or options to consider in making important decisions.

This is a fascinating book to read. I expected a life story, but instead I discovered the serious, insightful thoughts of a metaphysical philosopher. Rabanne shares his thoughts on nearly every possible spiritual topic in easy to understand prose. He provides plenty to stimulate every reader to think and ponder his vision of the world. This book is a real “page-turner.”

Reviewed by Gayl Woityra

YOUR BODY’S MANY CRIES FOR WATER
by F. Batmanghelidji, MD, Global Health Solutions, 186 pages, $14.95.

 If you are suffering from allergies, hypertension, heartburn, peptic ulcers, weight problems, asthma and any other form of painful, degenerative diseases, Batmanghelidji has an urgent message for you. You are not sick, you’re thirsty! Dehydration is the source of your pain, and the cure is unbelievably simple. Drink more water. (See lead interview with Dr. Batmanghelidji in the May issue of phenomeNEWS.)

This controversial diagnosis and prescription is the heart of Your Body’s Many Cries For Water. We all need to drink more water to be healthy – but seldom has the argument been more convincingly and factually presented and supported than by the research and conclusions presented in Your Body’s Many Cries For Water. A medical doctor for 33 years with 20 years devoted to research on the effects of chronic dehydration on the body, Batmanghelidji made his groundbreaking medical discovery while a prisoner during the Iranian revolution of 1979. Denied access to medication to treat his fellow inmates, Batmanghelidji “discovered” the healing power of water. There was nothing else he could prescribe. During his incarceration, he cured over 3,000 cases of peptic ulcer with prescriptions of increased water consumption. His research has continued unabated.

Although the human body is over 75 percent water, the author argues, the prevailing scientific view regards water as a “space filler” in the body, a virtually insignificant “packaging material” for the tissue, bones, organs, cells and membranes of solid matter. Quite the contrary. Every bodily process is regulated by and depends on water to function. In effect, the body is a complex, highly sophisticated hydraulic system which is forever monitoring the flow of water and fluids, and insuring that all the cells of the body are adequately nourished. When water intake is insufficient, the body’s drought management system begins to draw water from one system to nourish another. However, the prolonged stress from insufficient water intake (sorry, juice, colas and alcohol are not substitutes) overly taxes the cells and ultimately produces symptoms of disease. Heartburn signals a water shortage in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. Rheumatoid joint pain is a sign of insufficient water in a painful joint. Heart pain reveals drought conditions in the heart/lung axis. Migraine denotes a need for water by the brain and eyes. Many brain cells are 85 percent water and when inadequately nourished, cannot perform their vital functions. Thus, unintentional chronic dehydration may also be the physiological cause of depression and other emotional disorders. These afflictions, Batmanghelidji argues, are your body’s many cries for water, and are frequently misdiagnosed as “disease” and treated with medication. While sufficient water can relieve and even reverse these conditions, he also advises prudent medical oversight with chronic problems.

Your Body’s Many Cries For Water is invaluable reading for everyone interested in taking responsibility for their own health. In it you’ll discover a magic elixir for our ills, virtually free of cost, readily available and with no toxic side effects. I’ll drink to that!

Reviewed by Robert Krajenke

Communion with God
by Neale Donald Walsch, Putnam Pub Group; ISBN: 0399146709, 221 pages.

I knew just from reading the book cover that this book, the fifth in a series of Conversations with God, would fill me with more positive energy and quench the thirst of my soul’s continuous hunger for the truth.

I know, I sound a little dramatic, but I am speaking passionately from my heart. This series of books inspires me to express myself in the greatest version of the grandest vision I have of myself.

All roads lead to God and I was led to this book to undo the illusions of life and to truly know God – myself. Within the first few pages I found myself at home. Tears sprang to my eyes as I read words that brought God closer to me than I have ever felt before.

When I read these books, I really feel as though I have a direct line of communication with God and guess what, we all do! God, love, freedom and you – we are all one. This message is so important. If only we could all see that we are all one. Our world would change instantly.

You are asked to suspend any disbelief you may have – to give up any previous notions you may have about God and life – not forever, just while you are reading this book. To allow the possibility that there may be something you do not know – the knowing of which could change everything.

Within the first 20 pages we are shown the big illusions that we as humans have created for ourselves. Each illusion is created to fix the previous illusion. We have forgotten to live within the illusion and not in the illusion.

There are 10 Illusions.
• Need
• Failure
• Disunity
• Insufficiency
• Requirement
• Judgment
• Condemnation
• Conditionality
• Superiority
• Ignorance

None of the above illusions are real. None. Let this reality sink in. We have made it all up.

Illusions serve a purpose when you use the illusion as a tool to create an experience. We find out who we really are by creating these illusions, by experiencing who we are not.

While reading about the 6th illusion – Judgment – I came across a paragraph that seemed to be written for me and probably about a billion other people on the planet.

Some of us expect perfection from others and ourselves. We feel we have to fulfill the 5th Illusion – Requirement. This is how we create our illusion of judgment – by believing that God judges us and we then have to judge ourselves and others and that it is somehow our right to do so. This can lead to prejudice against others and, as we are truly all one, when we judge another we are also judging ourselves. Now why would we want to do that? There is a difference between observing and judging.

Neale shows us what the illusions are, how to see the illusions, how to use the illusions and how to re-create our reality. There is a hint of another book after this one (Dying with God.)

I really like the way Neale does not force his opinions on you. He stresses for you to find what is true for you and to make up your own mind. Listen to your higher self, your own inner wisdom, say this book is true for me not this book is true.

We set the stage for our lives. We decide which illusions we want to act out and then, when we have triumphed, we recreate another illusion. Always remember it’s not real. We are just setting ourselves ways to achieve experiences we wish to have, to truly know you.

The trick is to be aware that we are only acting. None of it is real. It’s like going to see a play only in this play we are the star and we can recreate our character as often as we wish. But don’t get stuck in the illusion. Nothing is real.

This is one of the hardest concepts that we will ever try to understand. Nothing is real? How can that be? There is a good analogy in this book that makes the above a little easier to comprehend.

Imagine you are someone who is always running late. You decide to set your watch 15 minutes ahead so that you will always be on time and you won’t have to stress out. This is living within the illusion. You are fully aware that it is not real, that you have that extra 15 minutes up your sleeve and you don’t have to rush around.

Now, if you forget that you have set your watch ahead and you continue to run late then you are living in the illusion and are not using the illusion for what it is intended – to experience, to create, to learn.

The one message in this book that stands out for me is this. Be love – love is who you are. The answer to every question is love. It is as simple as that.

Reviewed by Sharon Wiechec

The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success
by Nicholas Lore. Simon & Schuster, 1998, 385 pages, $14.

Looking for the answer to that age-old question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” The Pathfinder is a comprehensive guide to digging out the answers whether you’re venturing out into the world for the first time at 18 or thinking about your fourth, fifth or fifteenth career at 80.The Pathfinder is a workbook aimed at helping its readers become one of those happy fulfilled people who joyfully looks forward to each day doing their chosen work. It is not about finding a career. It is about designing a career. It is about asking yourself questions and getting a new perspective on your life from the answers. The author, Nicholas Lore, asks at least as many questions as he offers advice and answers.

Every so often, he asks the reader to stop for an inquiry, an exercise where you dig into yourself and answer questions, draw maps, bring up pearls that have been lying dormant inside of you. There are more than 30 of these inquiries in the book. As you go, you collect all this material in a notebook. He asks that you not read past those points until you have put your answers on paper. As you proceed, a picture starts to take shape and lights go on in your thinking.

Lore has been down this road himself. He developed The Pathfinder from his own experience. Many years ago, he found himself restless and bored with his job as owner of a conservation and solar energy company. His work had been fulfilling but something was wrong.

“My office looked out on a beautiful harbor where lobster boats and foghorns greeted the new day. Yet, I had trouble getting through the workday. Even with an extensive background in psychology and Eastern philosophy, I had difficulty understanding why my workday left so much to be desired. How could it be that working on interesting projects in an idyllic setting and making a positive difference in the world and getting recognition could get boring? It was an absolute mystery to me.”

Lore looked for career coaches to help him, but eventually found Buckminster Fuller in his own network at the local boat club. With Fuller as a mentor, Lore found the path he was looking for, and in 1980 he started the Rockport Institute, an organization devoted to helping people find the work they love. The Pathfinder is the result of Lore’s 20 year experience in developing ways to help people make effective career and education choices. This book asks its readers to ask the questions that will bring up refreshing water from deep wells within. If you want life to be more about merrymaking than melancholy, consider The Pathfinder as your new year’s workbook to bring you to new levels of enjoyment and fulfillment, even perhaps a new life’s work.

Reviewed by Sally Kimbel

INNER WISDOM
by Louise L. Hay, Hay House, 2000, $9.95, 101 pgs

We have been using and loving Louise’s Page-A-Day (Workman Publishing) calendar for years and always marvel at the accuracy of the affirmations she has created for each day. They are amazingly in alignment with what our daily experiences are. Louise is one of my favorite people on this whole planet. She is truly a visionary and with this delightful new little book, she has created yet another tool for helping us stay connected to our divine essence. Louise offers this suggestion in her introduction, “The way we begin our day sets the tone for the experiences that will follow and how we will react to them. A good way to use this book is to open it at random first thing in the morning. Know that the meditation you choose is the perfect message for that day.”

The passage I opened up to this morning read, “I am connected to all of life. I am spirit, light, energy, vibration, color and love. I am so much more than I give myself credit for. I am connected with every person on the planet and with all of life. I see myself healthy, whole and living in a society where it is safe for me to be who I am and to love others. I hold this vision for myself and for all of us, for this is a time of healing and making whole. I am part of that whole. I am one with all of life.” This little gem of a book is just the ideal size to ride along with you, tucked into your briefcase, pocket or purse to provide that perfect little shot of daily inspiration just when you need it.

Reviewed by Cindy Saul

CREATIVE THOUGHTS
monthly publication from Religious Science International, Spokane, WA 99202, $2.50/copy, $24.95/year.

This handy pocket-sized publication comes out monthly and contains pages and pages of inspiration. It begins with an editorial and a few short articles and then continues with daily thoughts. Each one is written by a different Religious Science/New Thought minister so they are in many different styles but I’ve not found one that I couldn’t relate to. The daily offerings begin with a quote followed by a few paragraphs about a particular topic. The subtitle of Creative Thought magazine says it all, “Bringing forth our natural creative power through the conscious daily use of spiritual laws to heal, inspire and enrich our lives.” I’ve gotten into the habit of reading it every morning. This is a nice little gift that provides spiritual food for reflection and inspiration each day of the month.

Reviewed by Cindy Saul

O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE
founded and edited by Oprah Winfrey, monthly slick magazine found on most newsstands and by subscription

And speaking of monthly publications, I just can’t say enough about O, Oprah’s contribution to the spiritual enlightenment of humanity. I just LOVE this woman. She uses every tool at her disposal to help us all understand what it means to be human and to assist us in re-discovering our spiritual connection. Years ago, I heard her say in an interview that television could be a tremendous vehicle for transformation. And she has, almost singlehandedly, accomplished just that by making that her mission in life. I look forward to my monthly copy of O and eagerly devour it cover-to-cover. Even the ads are written in a positive, uplifting manner. There are many pages devoted to self-reflection and shots of positive affirmations are in evidence throughout. Along with magnificent visuals and awesome photography, this is truly a “class act” produced with the highest quality in mind. I appreciate the extra attention to detail in the design and execution. It is like a fine piece of artwork which also happens to contain strong, positive messages. The printed word has power and Oprah knows it. It also has longevity and will be held and cherished and passed along by readers who are touched, moved and in some way inspired for many years to come because the messages are universal and resonate somewhere deep inside the soul. Pick up a copy and check it out for yourself. You won’t be disappointed. Many “aha” and goosebump moments await you within its covers.

Reviewed by Cindy Saul

THE INSTANT TAROT READER
by Monte Farber and Amy Zerner, St. Martin’s Press, 1997, 342 pgs & card set, $29.95

This is just plain FUN. Husband and wife team Monte and Amy have been creating divination systems and self-transformation tools since 1988. The Instant Tarot Reader is very user friendly and will have everyone wanting to play along. You need no background in tarot or card reading. You can pick it up right away and begin to give readings to your friends, family and even yourself. The beautiful illustrations on the tarot deck and in the book are from the creative artistry of Amy who does fabulously inspired tapestries from which much of this artwork has come. And the copy is very easy to follow and has clear, practical instructions on how to use the cards for one, three, and eleven card readings. The neat part about using this little self-help tool is that you also will be learning how to read and interpret the tarot cards. Other fun tools they have co-created are Karma Cards (find out if you have to do this again), The Psychic Circle, Cupid Cards (is he/she the love of your life?), The Alchemist (create the love of your life), The Oracle of The Goddess (you can never have too many girlfriends!) and The Pathfinder Psychic Talking Board (this friend tells you all you want to know). All of these are wonderful tools to bring to any gathering. What’s more fun than playing a game that helps you learn more about yourself and your life? And, it could just provide you with some answers that you’ve been looking for.

Reviewed by Cindy Saul

LOUISE L. HAY... WISDOM CARDS
by Louise L. Hay, Hay House, 2000, 64 cards, $15.95
... POWER THOUGHT CARDS
by Louise L. Hay, Hay House, 1999, 64 cards, $15.95

Both of these sets of affirmation cards are vibrantly alive with colorful, lively, fun artwork. The Power Thought Cards were created to “help you find your inner strength” and the Wisdom Cards are “to help you develop your inner wisdom.”

What is it about affirmations that touch the human spirit? I think affirmations are phrases that remind us who we really are. They are most effective when you feel a resonance while reading them. These cards have that resonant energy. The lively, unique and engaging artwork invites your attention while the affirmations by the “Queen of Affirmations” Louise L. Hay resound in your being. Here are a few examples: “I listen with love to my body’s messages,” is on one side of a Wisdom card. Flip it over and it continues the thought ... “My body, like everything else in life, is a mirror of my inner thoughts and beliefs. Every cell responds to every single thought I think and every word I speak.” Provokes some reflection, doesn’t it? How about this one ... “I have unlimited potential.” Flip side, “Loving myself and thinking joyful, happy thoughts is the quickest way to create a wonderful life.”

These cards would be interesting to bring out at some of your social gatherings. You could just pick one out and invite discussion on that particular topic. Or, how about dropping one on a co-worker’s desk or into your spouse’s briefcase or purse to remind them of their magnificence and beauty? I can think of many uses for these inspiring cards.

Reviewed by Cindy Saul

The TELEVISIONARY ORACLE
by Rob Brezsny, North Atlantic Books, 2000, $16.95, ISBN 1-583940006, 480 pages.

I want to be as concisely posh, sensibly comic, masterfully muse-like, romantically cosmic and as illustriously sublime as Rob Brezsny. His divine, dramatic, drizzly, dynamic, delirious, distinctive, devotional, docket of desire, The Televisionary Oracle is downright delightful.

The book is a real cross dresser of a novel. I saw it trying to fit into the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery Thriller and Metaphysical Movie script. The characters are right out of a children’s books – well okay, for a pretty sophisticated child. There’s the Goddess figure; Rapunzel Blavatsky (even Helen plays a version of herself) and her male protagonist; Osiris Rockstar. The supporting casts of characters ooze of Santa Cruz, very California hip.

It’s a magical tale of the Drivetime, that space between Waketime and Dreamtime where the reader is often asked, “What do you want?” The wonderful events that occur prove to be both sacred and sacrilegious to almost any religious tradition you might conjure. The Televisionary Oracle is accessible to any of us, if we want it. And why wouldn’t we?

It promises 22 minutes, days weeks, months and years of World Orgasm. It preaches the casting out the “genocide of the imagination,” the slick media makers we forget we bow down to. If your imagination is feeling annihilated, read this book. Don’t just read it, cuddle it to your heart and sleep with it over your eyes on a park bench. You too can help “Kill the Apocalypse” and end that ending.

Chapters begin with a prayer or perhaps lesson would be a better description.
Please allow me to quote for the sake of review... Chapter 35 begins like this:

“This is how spells are broken by changing your name every day for a hundred days by bragging about  what you can’t do and don’t have by telling nothing but lies for 24 hours by staring at yourself in the mirror for hours by confessing profound secrets to people who aren’t particularly interested by forcing yourself to laugh nonstop for one hour by acting with absolutely no ulterior motives by dancing alone all night in slow motion with your clothes on inside-out by seeking out information that renders your political beliefs irrelevant by pretending to be dead for three days by burning down the dreamhouse where your childhood keeps repeating itself by communing with the Televisionary Oracle

If you haven’t recognized Rob Brezsny after all these clues, he’s also the regular, weekly writer of the world famous horoscope column, Free Will Astrology, now coming to a newsstand near you. I recommend it.

Five starry-eyed, Roseann Gabrys