Book Reviews: Healing, Reflection & Enlightenment Reviews by Dawn Brunke   I want to unfold, I don’t want to stay folded anywhere, because where I am folded, there I am a lie… ~Rainier Maria Rilke   The Deep Healing Process: A Quick Guide for Those Who Dare by Bruce Bibee Infinity Publishing, 2005; softcover, $13.95 Website: www.brucebibee.com Fans of Bruce Bibee’s “Paths to Enlightenment” column (and longtime formerly running Spiritual Warrior column) in Alaska Wellness will be delighted to know that this book presents the same type of discerning insights in the same inimitable style that Bibee is known for. (For those who are unfamiliar with the column, Bibee has a Master’s in Transpersonal Psychology, over 25 years experience as a counselor and trainer, and is a Master-Instructor of Kung Foo.) Originally written for a family member undergoing sexual abuse recovery, Bibee focuses his material not as a self-help, text or work book, but as a guide that investigates the challenges—and rewards—of the deep healing process. Half of the book looks at the healing process itself. This includes exploring different types of awareness, defining the various processes and types of integration that occur during healing, and presenting a variety of healing strategies—from meditation and breath work to religion, psychotherapy and dreams. The other half of the book is an absorbing glossary that includes history, discussion and summary on everything from the three A’s (abuse, abandonment and assimilation) to wants, warriors and yoga. It is probing, perceptive and often amusing. Although based on encyclopedia references, Bibee notes, “the flip style of writing represents my own definitions and comments.” For many, this alone is well worth the cost of the book. Direct, no-nonsense and engaging, this is a great little addition to the healing library of Those Who Dare.      Healing Through the Shadow of Loss by Deborah Morris Coryell  Healing Arts Press, 2004; softcover, $12.95  Website: www.innertraditions.com Deborah Morris Coryell, who has worked in the health field for over 30 years, created the Shiva Foundation when she realized that sharing the task of grieving made her heart sing. As she writes about the Foundation, “…we are exploring the possibilities of healing through grief; of learning a language with which we can communicate our griefs; of having images for loss that open us to the unknown instead of shutting us down in terror; of having ways to think about death and the myriad losses in each day of our lives so that we can ultimately realize the only real loss is our unwillingness to engage life.” And, essentially, this is what her heartfelt book is all about.  The chapters are grouped into three sections (Explorations into the Nature of Loss, Resources for Transforming Our Relationship to Loss, and Healing the Mystical Body of Loss), with each chapter consisting of a 3 to 6-page essay that both surveys and digs deep into a particular aspect of loss. These range from Being Lost and Rituals of Remembering to Shadow Work and The Gateless Gate. Well-written and inspirational—in the sense of inviting us to inspire ourselves more fully and at deeper levels—this book is profound without being heavy, encouraging without being phony or superficial. Indeed, this is a genuine book and its words ring with the clear, unmistakable tones of authenticity. The author wisely shares self-reflections that are also universal. Healing demands that we find our own inner truths; however, this is a journey that requires courage, honesty, and—more often than we realize—the help of others. As Coryell so aptly notes, “We are all in this alone. Together.”     Shore Lines: Reflections Beside the Wide Water  by Mari Messer Conari Press, 2004; softcover, $14.95 Website: www.redwheelweiser.com   Mari Messer, the author of this fine little book of life reflections, penned her essays while living by the ocean. “The things I write about happen in the subtle space between everyday life and imaginal life, between beach and sea.” As might be expected, Messer’s writing thus follows the scenic route, from actual physical events through beams of daydreams, swirls of memories, tunnels of wonderings and ideas. Nothing is too large (a storm, a pod of manatee, the sea itself) or too tiny (a shell, the delicate remnants of a feather, a small black spider) to contemplate, ponder, and become more familiar with in intensely personal ways. As Messer notes, many great writers and thinkers have craved time by the sea. Why? Perhaps because water invites reflection. As a workshop leader on writing and creativity, Messer has created a good book for opening up these spaces of self-reflection and jump starting one’s own creativity. “Go deep,” she advises. “Fling your fishing line wide and let the hook go down. When you feel a tug, pull up the line to net some surprising new shimmery thing you’ve never seen before. Something to bring back to your everyday life when your time by the sea is over.”      The ABC of Enlightenment: A Spiritual Dictionary for the Here and Now  by Osho Thorsons Element, 2004; softcover, $14.00 Website: www.thorsonselement.com   Osho (formerly known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) was a philosophy professor turned celebrated guru in the mid-1970s. For many years, he led an ashram in India, drawing devotees from all over the world. Outspoken, provocative and frequently outlandish, Rajneesh/Osho was often found at the center of legal controversy, both in India and the United States. Through it all, however, Osho emphasized his belief in the importance of releasing ego-based repressions and inhibitions on the transformational path to detachment and spiritual illumination. As the back cover of this shrewd yet sassy little book warns, “Get shocked and teased into enlightenment.”  It is a fitting description for Osho’s lively definitions that often provide a different take on certain words and ideas. Consider: Gurus – “Gurus and disciples are mind phenomena. Because your mind needs gurus, there are gurus…This is a game. Some people enjoy it so they play it. If you enjoy it, play it deeply; if you don't enjoy it, forget it.” Mantras – “Chanting a mantra can only dull your mind; all repetition dulls the mind, makes you silly and stupid…” Transcendence – “You don't have to transcend anything. You have to live everything that is natural to you, and live it fully, without any inhibition…Just by living it deeply, a transcendence will come.”  My sense is that some readers may be annoyed by a certain smugness that seems to creep into Osho’s writing, though others will no doubt find his views refreshing. In any case, it’s definitely a book with many challenging ideas and, for that alone, it’s worth the read.