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Book
Reviews:
Deep Healing
Reviews by Dawn
Brunke
The
Essence of Healing:
A Guide to the Alaskan Essences, 2nd Edition
By Steve Johnson (Alaskan Flower Essence Project, 2000, softcover
$19.95)
As Homer resident Steve Johnson notes in this second edition of his
guide to Alaskan Essences, "We are living in one of the most
exciting times this planet has ever known. As the energy of change
accelerates on the Earth, we are individually and collectively being
asked to go through a level of personal transformation never
encountered before by the human race."
As exciting as the times may be, the journey of transformation is
equally full of challenge. How we relate to our challenges determines
not only our course but also our level of clarity and perspective. In
this sense, deep healing is a matter of reconnecting -- of revisioning,
remembering and remaining true to the deepest inner processes that
guide us all. This is no small feat, and the task can seem
overwhelming at times. Still, there is an abundance of help and
support available all around us. As all forms of nature generate
healing energy, one excellent method of "retuning" ourselves
is through the aid of the plant, mineral and elemental kingdoms.
Early in his work with essences, Johnson discovered that each
kingdom possesses distinct qualities of vibrational energy. By
absorbing particular vibrational essences, we may begin to retune
ourselves in a variety of ways -- from releasing old obstacles to
meeting those parts of ourselves that require further integration --
and thus continue to meet our unique life challenges in ever more
conscious ways.
As with the first edition, this book covers the indications and
healing qualities of all the Alaskan essences. Information on using
essences with animals and plants is included, and a handy
cross-reference section matches qualities to corresponding essences.
The expanded edition includes some new information and the very
welcome addition of Johnson's beautifully vibrant, close-up color
photos of Alaskan flowers and environments along with affirmations for
each.
Well structured and easy to follow, this is both an aesthetically
pleasing book and a valuable resource. Steve Johnson has done a superb
job of presenting discerning, grounded information about the
potentials for healing and forming deeper connections with the natural
world that so readily supports us all. For more information, see www.alaskanessences.com
Healing Dreams:
Exploring the Dreams That Can Transform Your Life
By Marc Ian Barasch (Riverhead Books, 2000, hardcover $26.95)
In ancient Greece, healing dreams were thought to be divinely
inspired. Presenting visions of unmistakable meaning, the healing
dream was believed so potent that an ill person blessed with such
imagery could wake up completely cured.
Marc Barasch's latest book explores this imaginal world -- the
place where physiology meets spirituality. Barasch surveys the history
of dreaming (from the Ancient Greeks to modern day) and presents
surprising bits of new information (for example, recent studies reveal
that dreaming and REM sleep may be controlled by different brain
mechanisms and are not synonymous, as formerly believed). He also
offers a magnificent feast of dreams and dream images. From the dream
writ large (Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" or
Mahatma Gandhi's famous dream that unified warring factions of India)
to the dream writ small (dreams of prophecy, insight or personal
calling), the inner theatre of the mind has an awesome capacity to
transform a scrimmage of images into something deep, profound and
innately healing.
Betwixt dreams of the body and dreams of the spirit, Barasch
explores the paradox of time and space, of how it is that these
elegant movies we create for ourselves have such power and incisive
advise. By sharing dreams, we may touch the lives of others, and by
working with dreams we may come to better know ourselves. As Barasch
notes, "A dream, once loosed, becomes a living presence with
unpredictable effects upon the destinies of all whom it touches."
This is a fascinating book and definite must-read for those who
work with dreams. Barasch's observations are insightful and
penetrating, yet his presence in this book is unassuming. He is
clearly a man who respects and honors the shadow, and the world is
richer for this perceptive dreamworker sharing his tale. Diligently
lifting the veil from the slumbering dragon's lair, Barasch encourages
us all to accept the deep wealth and wisdom we so willingly offer up
to ourselves in the warm embrace of sleep.
For more information, see www.healingdreams.com
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Walking
the World in Wonder...
~ Reviews by Dawn Baumann Brunke
Walking
the World in Wonder
A Children's Herbal
By Ellen Evert Hopman, Photos by Steven Foster (Healing Arts Press,
2000, Softcover $19.95)
Master herbalist Ellen Evert Hopman presents a playful, informative
book for young children between 5 and 10 years old. Sixty-seven herbs
introduce themselves and their habitats ("We are ferns. We grow
on the forest floor." "I am chamomile. My leaves are
feathery and light green.").
The book is colorful, well designed and easy to use. Hopman has
wisely limited the text to a few simple yet interesting basics so that
little minds won't be overwhelmed. Close-up color photographs help
children learn to identify plants, and a warning symbol accompanies
all plants that are not safe to eat. Basic herbal skills are also
addressed through an activity associated with each plant.
Hopper writes that she created this book to encourage wonder.
Indeed, what child would not have fun while learning how to make such
unique treats as maple syrup lemonade, candied violets and strawberry
honey? Budding herbalists may even amaze their friends by noting that
fresh blueberries can help cure mouth sores (especially good to know
for kids with braces!) or that the sap of milkweed encourages warts to
disappear. Not to mention the near-magical paradox that although
touching stinging nettle will cause a sting, simply rinsing the leaves
in cold water will make the sting disappear and, moreover, that a
soothing wash for burns and itchy skin can actually be made from
chopped nettle leaf.
It is encouraging that books such as this are introducing children
to a deeper appreciation of plants, animals, and all the healing
riches the natural world offers us free of charge. The earth supports
us in so many ways. It is never too early to develop a sense of caring
responsibility for our home.
As Hopper reminds us all, "Please remember to give thanks to
our green sisters and brothers. Without plants we would have no food
to eat, no medicine, no furniture or homes, no clothing, no air to
breathe. We depend on them for our very lives and they need our help
too."
Pagan Fleshworks
The Alchemy of Body Modification
By Maureen Mercury, Photos by Steve Haworth (Park Street Press, 2000,
Softcover $19.95)
Although I was sent a review copy of this book by mistake, once I
opened it, I had a difficult time putting it down. It was the
photographs that first grabbed me: a young man with myriad piercings
covering his ears, nose, eyebrows, lips, nipples and bellybutton, also
completely 'illustrated' with tribal tattoos; a young woman (a model,
in fact) who transformed herself into a cat, with leopard spot tattoos
arching over shoulders and chest. And there are more -- many more
variations of body modification than I ever imagined possible: pointed
ears, split tongues, cautery brandings and a wide range of surgical
implants, including captive bead rings (looking a bit like small,
rounded horseshoes), horns (ranging from tiny bumps on the forehead to
what look like actual horns about to erupt from the skin) and other
metal shapes (bears, ankhs, beads, even a series of ridges termed
bionic implants) inserted beneath the skin to show in relief. Other
implants allow gemstones to be secured into the sternum, or, in the
case of one man, metal spikes screwed directly onto the top of the
head.
What is going on here? Close-up photographs by Steve Haworth (noted
in the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records as the "Most
Successful 3-Dimensional Artist" and creator of many of the body
transformations in this book) are aesthetically intriguing, further
pushing home the idea that what is actually happening with these
individuals may be something much deeper than many of us (the
uninitiated anyway) suspect.
In this collection of soul-transforming fleshwork stories, Maureen
Mercury, a depth psychologist, is our able guide. As she sees it, body
modifications have become the medium for a new type of initiation.
Initiation into what is the question. On the surface, a tattoo or nose
piercing may be a way of identifying with a group or asserting one's
individuality. Beneath the surface, however, Mercury maintains that
fleshworks are a vehicle through which people create their own
symbolic meanings in order to feel a deeper sense of divinity within.
As Mercury puts it, "Those who choose to modify their bodies
cross a sensate threshold in addition to a psychological one, which
places them within the ancient tradition of using the body as a
vehicle for the search for ecstatic experience."
This is probably not a book for the physically squeamish and yet,
for those who are interested and desire to probe deeper the mystery of
body modification, it offers ample rewards. Mercury interweaves her
knowledge of history, spirituality and rites of passage with true,
personal stories. She is relentless in pursuing the gold, constantly
digging beneath the surface to seek the mystery of the ritual process
itself -- in this case, a portal to the psyche: a colorful, beaded,
pierced or otherwise richly adorned opening that connects body and
spirit.
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The
New Children and Near-Death Experiences
P. M. H. Atwater
(Inner
Traditions International, 2003; $16.00)
 For
those unfamiliar with her work, P. M. H. Atwater is a well-respected
writer in the Near-Death Experience (NDE) field, and several of her
books are considered classics. Why? Perhaps it is because her protocol
is that of a police investigator, a skill she learned from her police
officer father. Her specialty is interviews and observations (which she
herself subjects to cross-checking a minimum of five times) in many
different parts of the country to ensure a minimum of bias and that her
findings are not wholly anecdote based. In addition, Atwater brings to
the table her own experience of several NDEs and the guidance she
received on returning to her body to write books about the power of
these events.
This particular book (an updated and much larger rewrite of her
previous Children of the New Millennium) is based on
Atwater’s interviews and observations with over 3,000 adults and 300
children who have had NDEs. Along with presenting her in-depth study of
NDEs in children and the aftereffects, the core of this book revolves
around Atwood’s findings that these children are not the same as
before, but a “remodeled, rewired, reconfigured, refined version of
the original.” In addition to the very same structural, chemical and
functional changes in the brain, changes of higher intelligence and
empathic abilities are also found in children born since 1982 – the
so-called “Indigo” or “New Children” whose enhanced abilities
cannot be tied to simple genetics.
Is the NDE a second birth, asks Atwater, “an acceleration of
intellect that makes the children part of the groundwork evolution lays
for the next ‘upgrade’ in our species?” It is a fascinating
question, and one that Atwater returns to time and again as she explores
a variety of other intriguing areas – from investigating the
remembrance of past lives to the phenomenon of missing fetus syndrome,
UFO encounters and alien existences. Despite the seeming “far out”
nature of some of these issues, Atwater does a solid job of staying
grounded, focusing on her research, like the “gumshoe of near-death”
she claims to be. This is an excellent book for those interested in NDEs
as well as parents of “New Children” or children who have had a
near-death encounter. |
On
Gypsies and Shamanism
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Absolutely
everything you are experiencing
at this moment in time is able to talk to you,
wherever you are, whoever you are with!
~Patrick
Jasper Lee
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We
Borrow The Earth ~
An Intimate Portrait of the Gypsy Shamanic Tradition and Culture
by Patrick Jasper Lee
(Thorsons, 2000, $16.00)
 Although Romani
Shamanism has been practiced in Europe for hundreds of years, much of
this tradition remains steeped in mystery. This is partly because most
people have long viewed Gypsies with a mixture of fear and
fascination, either persecuting or overly romanticizing them so that
understanding falls short of what this incredible culture truly
embodies.
Drawing upon personal experience, as well as stories from his
grandfather and family, author Patrick Lee, one of the few remaining
practicing chovihanos (Gypsy shamans) in Europe,
presents a fascinating account of the history, culture and practices
of the Romani peoples. Lee focuses not only on elements of healing,
magic, and shamanic journeying, but also upon our deeper connectedness
to plants, animals, nature spirits, the living earth, as well as the
many worlds that exist simultaneously with our own.
Lee reminds us that all aspects of life -- from rocks to rain --
are sentient beings with knowledge to share if only we quiet ourselves
enough to listen. For example, Gypsies look upon many animals as witty
guides and teachers, often courageous in their actions, profound in
their relationship to life and each other, and sometimes more advanced
than ourselves. Lee also shares tales of the Biti Foki, the fairy
people, and links the Romani fairy-tale form of journeying to our
Indo-European past when we related to the magical, imaginative world
in a much more meaningful manner.
In this respect, one of the most important bits of Lee's sage
advice is that all experiences are real, no matter what they are, for
they are our experiences, part of our own personal inner world, with
the power to charm, transform, heal and enlighten us in myriad ways.
Patrick Lee writes with simple elegance and this book is certainly
one of the best you will find on Romani shamanism, and perhaps
shamanism in general. Lee offers a great deal of knowledge in an
engaging, entertaining and utterly enjoyable format.
~Review by Dawn Brunke
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