Book Reviews
By Kathy Santis & Dr. Maryel McKinley
Power Animal Meditations
Shamanic Journeys with Your Spirit Allies
By Nicki Scully
Illustrated by Angela Werneke, Artist of “Medicine Cards”
Have you ever wanted to take your own powerful shamanic journey, but
didn’t know how, were too afraid, or didn’t know who to trust to take
you there?
Well, “Power Animal Meditations” was the perfect answer for me, as I
felt the same way many of you might have. This powerful yet simple book
gave me the tools and instructions to take my own healing journey by
finding out what my power animal was, and how to have a relationship
with it for self-understanding, and insight.
You will benefit in many ways by utilizing the meditations, exercises
and journeys in this book full of ancient wisdom.
Happy travels on your very own life-changing shamanic journey!
Published by Bear and Comp-any, this book is available at your local
bookstore or online at www.InnerTraditions.com
Reviewed by Dr. Maryel McKinley
Magical Souvenirs
True Spiritual Adventures from Around the World
By Arielle Ford
Arielle Ford, author of the “Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Soul”
series, has topped her personal best with “Magical Souvenirs.” Packed
with spiritually uplifting and enlightening true stories from around
the
globe, she was inspired to bring this precious pearl to us based on a
mystical experience she had while in college in London, England.
Ford believes people are open to having extraordinary and unexplainable experiences while traveling because “I like to think they have created more time and space for something to happen. While living our usual jam-packed lives, most of us are too busy or distracted to notice something unusual.”
With this book you can envelope the wonders of the world and become connected to people from all walks of life as they fearlessly tell their personal journeys going into realms that are indeed magical to say the least. So if you missed your summer vacation, come travel with Arielle Ford and her mystical friends. Published by Plume Publishing, this book is available at your local bookstore.
Reviewed by Dr. Maryel McKinley
Secrets of the Ancient Incas
A Modern Approach to Ancient Ritual and Practice
By Michael Peter Langevin
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Magical Blend Magazine, Peter Langevin
has given us a real gift with “Secrets of the Ancient Incas.” Langevin
became fascinated with the ancient Incas when he heard his University
Professor describe a recent trip to Latin America. He knew with an
intuitive sense that he needed to see Peru at least once, and thank
goodness he did because his travels and studies since that first trip
to
Peru more than 20 years ago have developed into this excellent recount
of his sacred journey.
This is the most intense, yet entertaining and enlightening book I have ever read on the subject of Shamanic work and the history of the ancient Incas. It includes everything you will ever need to know about the people, the culture, the mystery and magic that inhabits Peru. But most importantly, “Secrets of the Ancient Incas” actually offers specific information on sacred Shamanic practices such as initiation, power totems, ayahuasca use, tool gathering, astral viewing and requesting favors from the Gods and Goddess of the Incas.
As you learn the drawing of natural energies, you will become increasingly skilled and practiced in this unique modern approach to an ancient way that has been preserved by Peter Langevin, explaining that dreaming can become a powerful tool for us as it was for the Incas. You will be granted the key to Inca living and how to climb the archetypal Inca trail, which is living first “about the heart.”
This book is a must for the library of every Awareness Magazine reader. I highly recommend it.
Published by New Page Books, this book is available at your local bookstore.
Reviewed by Dr. Maryel McKinley
The Book Of Miracles
The Healing Work of Joao de Deus
By Josie RavenWing
“The Book Of Miracles” by Josie RavenWing, offers readers a glimpse
into a world that is rarely seen, but often heard about. With true revelations
by people who have entered this world sick, and come out healed at the hands of
Joao de Deus, “The Book of Miracles” enters the
world of the unknown through the eyes of Josie RavenWing as she sets
out
to help herself and others traveling to the Casa De Dom Inacio in
Brazil
and witnessing rare psychic surgeries and healings unprecedented by
medical science.
Who is Joao de Deus? He is a humble Brazilian man who has been compared to King Solomon, performing miracles on a daily basis.
Incredible close-up photographs of Joao doing incisions that don’t bleed, eye surgery, and many other photos that have never been seen until this amazing book. RavenWing says, “The potential of the work of the Casa De Dom Ignacio are vast and already having an effect on the world.
A most inspiring book that deserves recognition and careful reading, you will learn how to be more proactive in your personal healing.
Published by 1st Books Library, this book is available at your local bookstore.
Reviewed by Dr. Maryel McKinley
CALL OF THE GREAT SPIRIT
The Shamanic Life and Teachings of Medicine Grizzly Bear
By Bobby Lake-Thom
This redemption story of Native American healer Bobby Lake-Thom invites
readers to enter a world of authentic indigenous traditions and
ceremonies. Because he was raised by relatives who had fallen away from
traditional knowledge it took him some time to recognize his shamanic
calling. He says he didn’t realize that his vivid dreams, psychic
abilities and visitations by wild animals and ghostly figures were
calls
from the Great Spirit.
It took a near-death experience for the message to get through to him. Though still a young man, he was wracked with debilitating arthritis. Unable to handle the physical and psychic pain he set out into the wilderness determined to kill himself with an overdose of drugs and alcohol. But before taking the substances he approximated a Native American ceremony to send a heartfelt prayer for assistance to the Great Spirit.
He woke up ? alive ? the next morning and received a message from Eagle telling him to seek help from Wahsek, a medicine man in the northern California Mountains. Aware that Bobby was destined to receive his shamanic knowledge and carry his healing work forward Wahsek took Bobby on as his apprentice. Forbidden to reveal Wahsek’s secrets until ten years after his death, Bobby is now free to share this fascinating story with the world.
As I read this book, I followed Lake-Thom on his quest for the TRUTH, through a natural and spiritual way, or as it seemed to me, a psychic and supernatural way to make that discovery and connection.
Published by Bear and Comp-any, this book is available at your local bookstore or online at www.InnerTraditions.com
Reviewed by Kathy DeSantis
THE LAKOTA WAY
Stories and Lessons for Living
By Joseph M. Marshall, III
This book is about native American wisdom on ethics and character. Rich
with storytelling, history and folklore, and the authors’ own personal
experiences, “The Lakota Way” expresses the heart of Native American
philosophy and the twelve core qualities that are crucial to the Lakota
way of living: Bravery, fortitude, generosity, wisdom, respect, honor,
selflessness, perseverance, love, humility, sacrifice, truth and
compassion.
For example, the myth of the Deer Woman teaches a lesson on respect. The legend of Crazy Horse illuminates a lesson on humility. The story of the Eagle brings home the importance of compassion. These stories from the heart of Lakota culture ? and its survival ? and their meanings still resonate with my life and others. I found the stories to be healing and full of gentle lessons.
The author, Joseph Marshall, has dedicated his entire life to spiritual fulfillment and teaching others the essence of Lakota wisdom. As a child, he learned from his grandfather: “Insults can hurt but only if you let them. If you learn to let the wind blow through you, you will take away its power to blow you down.” The Lakota have a wisdom that transcends the ages. Marshall delivers it with grace and power. He is a natural storyteller who creates an integrity of spirit and a reverence for a way of being in the world.
Published by the Penguin Group, this book is available at your local bookstore or online at www.penguinputnam.com
Reviewed by Kathy DeSantis
The WAY OF THE DRUM
By Russell Buddy Helm
Turn off your TV and grab a drum ? you are about to go on a journey
around the world and into your own soul. This is spiritual drumming and
it’s been around since the beginning of mankind. The primal beat of the
drum expresses the basic human desire to connect with one another and
to
express creative energy and emotion.
Helm says “Feeling a groove puts us in a mythic state of passion and personal power. We sense universal mystery and unnamable magic. It gets our juices flowing and we feel alive… Without our connection to those inspirational animal grooves our souls turn grey.”
In this book, Helm describes and teaches us how to tap into the rhythm of life through the way of the drum. He should know. Drumming since the age of eight, he has played live and in recording sessions with a variety of rock bands. He has taught everything from Afro-Cuban to jazz. His current drumming workshops make the healing qualities of the drum accessible to all people regardless of their musical backgrounds. He integrates insider’s stories from the entertainment industry, practical how-tos of drumming experience, inspiring personal reflections and unforgettable tales of the healing effects of the drum on people’s lives.
The book comes with a CD of invocation drumming, a moving example of the points made in the book, which features exercises for trance drumming, tantric sex grooves and releasing the wounds inflicted from past music teachers. I would recommend this book if you have a drum or want to get started drumming and need help in following or finding a beat, whether it be the beat of your heart or the sound of your footsteps ? life expresses itself in a chorus of sound and rhythm.
Published by Llewellyn Publications, this book is available at your local bookstore or by calling 1-800-The Moon. For bookings, workshops and lessons contact: www.buddyhelm.com
Reviewed by Kathy DeSantis
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