Cheri Huber is a student and teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She has devoted 30 years to helping people free themselves from suffering and enjoy the lives that are their birthright. Her gentleness, clarity, and humor support the challenging work of spiritual growth. She is the author of 17 books.

Cheri Huber has long been one of our favorite authors. Her books are clear, easy to understand without all the mumbo-jumbo, and most importantly, explicitly compassionate. They are filled with examples from her own life and of those with whom she has met, which gives us the unmistakable impression that she knows what she's talking about. Always aware and sensitive to the specific needs of her readers and students, she formats her books in very ingenious ways. The Depression Book is a wonderful example.

The Depression Book

This Zen guide to utilizing depression as an opportunity for spiritual growth and personal acceptance includes personal accounts, written excercises, and meditation instructions.

We loved this book at first sight. The last thing we need when in the throes of depression is to have to find the will and energy to power through a book about it. This book is written in and drawn by Cheri's own hand. Yes, drawn. So that it's easy on your exhausted state and allows you feel that Cheri is speaking to just you. You will truly come to cherish this book.

This book reveals the origin of self-hate, how self-hate works, how to identify it, and how to go beyond it. It provides examples of some of the forms self-hate takes, including taking blame but not credit, holding grudges, and trying to be perfect, and explores the many facets of self-hate, including its role in addiction, the battering cycle, and the illusion of control. After addressing these factors, it illustrates how a meditation practice can be developed and practiced in efforts to free oneself from self-hating beliefs.

After reading this book, one of our staff writers told us that it transformed her life. So many of us battle self-doubt and profound feelings of undeservingness. This book isn't just another book about meditation as a panacea; it's about understanding the multitude of patterns in self-sabotage we practice ~ and let's face it, we all do it to certain extents. This is a great companion to The Depression Book.

Based on surveys and interviews with hundreds of teenagers about what does and does not work in their lives, how they perceive the adult world they are about to enter, and what they want adults to know about them, this book provides communication techniques to empower teenagers to take the lead in the conversation that must happen between teens and adults.

A very valuable book for not only teenagers to begin a healthy practice in self-understanding but also for parents so that they may better understand what their teenagers are going through.

As ending suffering requires that one sees how suffering happens, the book urges readers to be willing to be quiet and pay attention to the process of suffering in effort to see each moment as an opportunity to step beyond illusion into freedom.

"Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." This little truism has long been in the hearts and minds of each of us at Halcyon Illuminations. Healing is a skill developed and honed over the course of our lifetimes, which also implies that we will inevitably encounter painful situations that make healing necessary. Suffering, however, is a choice, and Cheri Huber so compassionately explains not only the difference between pain and suffering but how to tweak our thoughts so that we train ourselves to recognize the difference. An especially wonderful book for grief processing.

This book tells precisely how to examine an issue that is causing us difficulty, how to discover the source of the problem, and how to free ourselves from the suffering that is created.

As one of our readers once wrote, "For me, Buddhist philosophy has been really helpful because it gives you a road map for recovery instead of just making you feel guilty about how messed up you are." We loved this book for that very reason. Its instruction embraces methodical, logical problem solving that heals so many aspects of our discontent all at once. We highly recommend this one.

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.