Hawaiian Healing Herbs: A Book of Recipes

Kalua Kaiahua was a teacher to one of our contributors and a gifted man with an open heart, a giving nature, and a wonderful sense of humor. He generously shared his craft, passed down to him from his family's kupuna (elders), to people in Hawaii, the West Coast, and Germany. His book is one that occupies the resource libraries of many Native Hawaiian practitioners. We highly recommend it for yours.

Reiki: Hawayo Takata's Story 

The most authoritative book available on Reiki, Mrs. Takata's own story is told simply and powerfully by her student and friend, Helen J. Haberly, a Reiki Master whose years of experience with this healing energy qualify her as a respected Elder in this ancient tradition.

Helen Joyce Haberly passed away on June 25, 1999 and was also a teacher of one of our contributors. Besides being soft-spoken, graceful, and gracious, she was a dedicated teacher to the art of healing called Reiki. Helen's teacher was the woman who instituted this art, Hawayo Takata, and this book is both a loving tribute her and a manual for the proper, traditional practice of Reiki.

Of Helen, our contributor writes, "In my youth, I once called and awoke Helen at a very indecent hour out of sheer panic at the impending death of someone very close to me. In those early morning hours, Helen explained to me the nature of life and death in such a way that by the time I hung up, I was completely calm and accepting. I will never forget her for that."

Anatomy of the Spirit

What sets Anatomy of the Spirit apart is Carolyn Myss's ability to blend diverse religious and spiritual beliefs into a succinct discussion of health and human anatomy. For example, when describing the seven energy fields of the human body, she fuses Christian sacraments with Hindu chakras and the Kabbalah's Tree of Life. Fortunately, Myss is a skilled writer as well as researcher, able to ground her extensive spiritual and religious discussions by using real-life stories and a tight writing style. Those who are squeamish with the notion of biography affecting biology will find this book a struggle (in one chapter, Myss links pancreatic cancer with a man's refusal to unburden his life and start fulfilling his dreams). Many, however, hail Myss for creating a valuable contribution to the ongoing exploration of spirituality and health. --Gail Hudson

One of our editors writes:

"Caroline Myss' book, Anatomy of the Spirit, sat unread for a very long time in my book pile. The long journey of life's inexplicable sorrows finally caught up with me one night and culminated in a single thought: I don't want to feel this way anymore. As I raised my head from my pillow, I looked down on the floor and saw Myss' book and wondered how it got there from the bottom of the perpetually growing stack on my nightstand. Curious, I opened the book to a random page, and there it was ~ all my emotional, physical, and spiritual symptoms in a chapter about the crown chakra. So much of what she said helped me make sense of my situation, and her recommendations for achieving a sense of wellbeing worked flawlessly for me. So ever since, I've been a great fan of and believer in Caroline Myss' work."

Ron Roth, Ph.D., the author of several books, is an internationally known teacher, spiritual healer, and modern-day mystic who has appeared on many television and radio programs. He served in the Roman Catholic priesthood for more than 25 years and is the founder of the Celebrating Life Institute in Peru, Illinois. Ron regularly gives healing seminars and healing prayer celebrations throughout the country.

Prayer is the key to healing -- not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. Ron Roth's Prayer and the Five Stages of Healing is a guidebook to developing an effective prayer life and integrating prayer into every aspect of daily life.

The first half of this book traces the relationship of prayer to five distinct phases of healing based on the classic stages of enlightenment found in the mystical literature of the world. These stages known as awakening, purification, illumination, dark night of the soul, and divine union, represent a significant evolution in spiritual life that leads to what the author calls "healing into wholeness."

The second half of the book is devoted to advanced methods of prayer drawn from Roth's many years of experience with prayer and healing. He shared his personal secrets for summoning the energy of the saints, invoking the sacred throughout the day, learning to use silence and solitude, and making forgiveness the linchpin to genuine and effective prayer.

Each chapter in the book also contains one or more prayers and spiritual exercises designed to help you deepen your grasp of the principles Roth presents, and to help you implement them in a meaningful way into your life.

We first caught wind of Ron Roth via Caroline Myss who has spoken highly of him. What intrigued us most was what a former priest would say about healing. We were not disappointed. After one of our subscribers  read the book, he wrote, "I grew up a Catholic and eventually became totally disenchanted by the whole religion. I began reading this book half-heartedly but quickly started to really get into it realizing also that this experiential and unaffected view of Christianity was speaking volumes to me. I've finally understood the real meaning of prayer through Ron's very dogma-less explanations. My outlook, and therefore my life, is now changing rapidly. Thanks for recommending this book!"

Caroline Myss, Ph.D.: Why People Don't Heal and How They Can/Three Levels of Power and How to Use Them

Caroline Myss will change your life! She is rare individual who can alter our fundamental ideas about health and well-being. In her no-nonsense high voltage style, Caroline provides insights that foster hope and inspiration, unlocking the doors to health and healing. Her motto, "Your biography becomes your biology" is based on fifteen years of research as a medical intuitive. Caroline reveals how your thoughts and feelings are recorded in every one of your cells and how this determines your emotional, spiritual and psychological well-being. She explains the cultural blocks to healing and shows how to improve your health with revolutionary Five Steps to Healing. With humor and compassion, Caroline Myss shares a bold new vision that will electrify you. Discover the infinite possibilities for a healthy, vibrant and spiritually fulfilling life. Caroline Myss shows how power and the loss of power is at the root of every health issue. Three Levels of Power & How to Use Them reveals how nature and inherent energy of power can strengthen and invigorate our lives. Caroline discusses how The Three Levels of Power (external, internal and symbolic) and the seven energy centers in the body relate to one another. Through riveting stories from those who have undergone the transformation from illness to health, she unlocks the secret role that honor, faith and forgiveness play in the healing process. Caroline Myss provides the key to preserve your power, enhance your creativity, and infuse your cells with vitality for a more wholesome life.

Being fairly visual people, we loved this DVD set and Caroline Myss! Caroline is definitely NOT a fluffy, new age teacher but a very real, humorous, and droll speaker who rarely minces words.  We like that because there is no mistaking what she attempts to convey. Her message is clear: yes, you can heal yourself. Very highly recommended.

This is probably the most fun we've had getting healthy! This "game" is the closest thing to a chill pill you'll ever find. Amusing but extremely helpful exercises while on a journey complete with stunningly beautiful backdrops is definitely our idea of stress relief. Did we mention that it's fun too? Very highly recommended!!