Pathfinding with Pachamama – Spirit of the White Jaguar

by The Spiritual Sojourn Centre

The CD starts with South American style music and the calls of birds with a deep underlying beat to soothe and relax the listener.

The female voice starts to list the links to Pachamama and Peru – Cuzco is the city of the White Jaguar and Lake Titicaca means Lake of the Stone White Jaguar. She also explains that more White Jaguar people are incarnating to help bring balance to Mother Earth.

The systems for guided meditation are then set up – following the breath and surrounding the self with White Light for protection. You are then guided to see Pachamama and White Jaguar. The voice explains that White Jaguar is with you because part of your spiritual journey is to be alone like White Jaguar. White Jaguar never seeks to be seen – you only know where it has been – White Jaguar does not need to depend on ego. White Jaguar comes to tell you to stop procrastinating and move forward with faith and courage. Don’t lash out at others from your own pain; honour others, ourselves, Mother Earth/ Pachamama, hearth and home.

Inca Shamans must follow the 4 fold path of the Medicine Wheel and the voice goes on to guide you along the directions South, West, North and East. Then there is a request for healing at all levels and the music comes back to the fore and the meditative state for healing is invoked. This goes on for about half of the taped session.

The voice returns and there is a call for us to transcend time and live life wisely and in harmony with Pachamama. We are asked to consider the way that we use resources and how we can be more respondent to the natural flow of our environment. White Jaguar medicine is then invoked for us to take control of our lives and become leaders. We are asked to send healing to Mother Earth. Then the tape begins to bring us back to ourselves, closes the chakras, leaving us revitalised and recharged. The voice ends with the welcome back to our lives.

The music returns and fades slowly out for the end of the session.

This meditation is easy to follow and has a good beginning and completion; you are left feeling refreshed and thoughtful about White Jaguar and Pachamama. The idea of the Medicine Wheel would have to be followed up in another form to have any benefit, but there is an abundance of Shamanic writing/guidance on this for those who are interested in taking it further. A good basic meditation for anyone to use, beginner or experienced meditator – though those with more experience may have wished for there to be a little less music and for it to have been shorter.

Review by Ros Ogden

Published by The Spiritual Sojourn Centre

http://www.spiritualsojourn.com

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Hidden Beauty of the Commonplace

by Philip Pegler

This lovely book is based on the life, learning and developing philosophy of Clare Cameron, one of the early members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and an acquaintance of Aleister Crowley. She was also, for ten years, the editor of the Buddhist magazine, The Middle Way, and much of the work quoted here comes from her insightful editorials.

Clare Cameron was, as the book jacket says, “a gifted English mystic and nature poet”, who “challenged her readers with a fundamental question that is as vital and relevant now as it was in her own day. What is the true meaning of freedom?” The answers she gives to this question, discovered along the path of her own seeking after truth, are both deep and subtle, and as such difficult to put into words. She and her biographer manage this impressively well, and the quotations from her letters, poems and articles are beautiful in their direct simplicity.

Though organised along unconventional lines – the various parts document the development of threads of her history and philosophy, rather than following the course of her timeline – this is a wonderfully gentle book that will lift the spirits and the vibration of all who read it.

Review by Karen Tucker

Published by Changemakers Books

http://www.changemakers-books.com

http://www.hiddenbeautyoflife.com

ISBN: 978-1-78099-337-9

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Beyond Our Illusions

by Deborah Sless

Beyond Our Illusions

Despite following the advice of a wealth of bestselling self-help books, most of us are still no closer to understanding the fundamental laws and principles that govern the universe, our interactions within it and our ability to achieve success, health, wealth and happiness.  Have you ever wondered why the Law of Attraction isn’t working for you? There is a very rational reason why.

Quite simply, the Universal Laws CANNOT work in our favour until we identify and remove the psychological issues that are blocking our ability to manifest our goals and desires.

In her ground-breaking and easy-to-understand book, UKCP and BACP accredited psychotherapist, Deborah Sless, uses the concrete psychological theory of Transactional Analysis to uncover the secrets behind the Universal Laws and explain how they really work. By joining her on this journey of self-discovery, readers will begin to understand:

The Universal Laws and their significance in our daily lives.

Our own individual Life Story and the beliefs we formed in childhood that continue to impact us today.

How to achieve freedom from our illusions and move towards genuine self development.

The concept of Spirit as an energy force and how to tap into it.

I found this book contains a wealth of material with which to work.  It illustrates graphically how the belief systems we have – most of which we are not even conscious of – colour our thinking in so many subtle ways. Deborah Sless gives examples, and then provides the exercises to help us begin to bring a different view to how we perceive ourselves and change our interactions with the world around us. This is a book that needs to be studied rather than just read, but it is possible to ‘cherry pick’ those areas that catch the attention more than others. Because such clear examples and explanations are given, this book is somewhat easier to follow than more complex volumes in the same genre. A valuable tool for anyone wishing to either see how their own belief systems came into being, or to actually bring about change; I certainly found a couple of very relevant illustrations of how I have been influenced by my ‘story’ over the years!

Review by Joan Osborne

Published by Live It Publishing

www.liveitpublishing.com

www.wisdomtalk.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-906954-42-0

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Yes I Can!

by Robin Nixon

Yes I Can!

With a bright orange cover and book-title like Yes I Can! you know you will be reading about self- motivation, and that is exactly what Robin Nixon has given us. It’s full of easy practical ways to make us feel better about ourselves and our life-decisions; using positive affirmations and visualisation techniques. I particularly like the one that involves letting our negative thoughts turn into soap-bubbles and then allowing them to float off into the distance, bursting with a faint pop. He also urges us to simply smile more to lift our mood and help us to interact positively with others. He says “I crack a beaming smile and give myself a thumbs-up in the mirror every morning. It really works!” I also like the ‘If nothing else remember …’ snippet he puts at the end of each chapter. There are also uplifting quotes from the great and good, and stories about the entrepreneurial skills of legendary people such as Victor Kiam, who bought the Remington shaver company, and Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Airways.

His no-nonsense approach to everyday problems is inspirational and at the beginning of the book he tells us that “Instead of aiming for the stars, shoot first for the moon. That way your belief will be strengthened and the goals you seek will come quicker and easier. You can always choose the stars for another goal when you are ready!”

Robin really knows what he is talking about as he has been a writer for thirty years and has fifteen books to his name. He started off in magazine publishing and went on to become a programmer, consultant and technical author, creator of the first licensed Internet radio-station, and then developed the first known pop-windows because he wanted his listeners to continuing surfing while listening to his station. More recently he has focused on teaching motivation and personal improvement.

If you are feeling a bit low and uninspired, or if you already use similar techniques but just need a bit of a boost, I highly recommend Robin’s easy to read, and digest book. Yes I Can!  could well become a lifelong companion on the bookshelf.

Review by Jane Stewart Adams

Published by Capstone Publishing Ltd. (A Wiley Company)  www.wiley.com

http://www.robinnixon.com

ISBN: 978-0857-08310-4

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Going Nowhere – Journey into the Tao

A beginner’s guide to Eastern Spirituality. 5 DVD set.

Going Nowhere

by Dr. Lorenzo da Costa

This is a series of 5 DVDs, four lectures in the old fashioned sense of the word – as they are non interactive, you are a passive listener/viewer; and one account of Dr da Costa’s experiences and personal journey.

The first lecture (45 minutes) is on meditation and the various slides give visual backing to the background soundtrack which discusses consciousness, awareness and meditation with comparison and contrast between East and West. Being ‘Here and Now’ is seen as a central theme and the explanation for practising meditation is that it keeps us in the Here and Now and lessens chronic anxiety in this way. Dr. da Costa does not explain how to meditate, he suggests Internet links for this, but he does discuss in brief the various ways to practice meditation. He also cautions that it really takes about 10 years to get anywhere in the practice of meditation.

The second lecture (55 minutes) is a comparison and contrast between mysticism in the East and West and he particularly contrasts theology and mysticism, through the traditions of the Judeo/Christian versus the Vedic traditions. He details the Path of Yoga and defines Karma and Reincarnation.

The third lecture (40 minutes) looks at orthodox and complementary medicine. He considers transpersonal approaches to therapy in some detail, describing the theories from Freud, Jung and Rogers to Assaglioli, Weiss and Seigman.

The fourth lecture (30 minutes) introduces a selection of books/authors that Dr. da Costa believes are important for those who are interested in these issues to read.

In his journey DVD, Dr. da Costa describes who he is and where he comes from. He was a doctor in London, but he now works alongside general medicinal practice. He has turned to being a scholar of epistemology and it is this viewpoint that guides the lectures.

This set of DVD’s is designed for beginners to the field of Eastern Spirituality as compared to Western Spirituality. It gives definitions of a range of topics covered in this field and ideas of where to look further for information – it is more of a map through the field than an exploration of the field itself. It would appeal to someone who needs pointers as to the best sources of knowledge of meditation techniques, mysticism and transpersonal approaches to therapy. It is an overview of the best places to look for further knowledge of these topics.

Review by Ros Ogden

Published by Watkins Books

www.watkinsbooks.com

http://www.soulace.co.uk

ISBN: TAO001

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Herbie and the Tune

by Bradley Kyle

Herbie and the Tune

Set in a heavenly airport, this lovely allegory finds Herbie preparing for his flight to earth. What follows is a wonderful discovery that the tune (pure joy) can still be heard in the physical world. With thanks to the gentle guidance of the pilot, Herbie learns how to listen out for the tune.

This is one of a series of books aimed specifically at children from ages 3 to 11, with Herbie and the Tune recommended for the ages 4 to 9. In clear print, with beautiful illustrations by Gabriel Evans, it is an easy to understand explanation of incarnation, but also of how to hear the Tune of pure joy even when on earth. An activity section at the back includes a ‘Share With Me’ page which can be used to involve a child even more in the story, such as what would they ask the pilot before visiting earth, and what do they imagine the Tune sounds like. There is even a simple ‘Spot the Difference’ exercise and an illustration which can be copied and coloured in.

This book ticks the boxes in so many ways, and I am sure others in the series do too. As the publishers say, “Each Pick-a-Woo Children’s Book is designed to: Embrace Love, Touch the Heart, Kindle the Spirit and Enlighten the Mind”. Their series of books lovingly explore stories of angels, spirits, love, meditation, emotion, feelings, souls, chakras, auras, crystals, prayer, fairies, healing, listening, universal laws and more so there can be no area which is left untouched!

Review by Joan Osborne

Published by Pick-a-Woo Woo Publishers

www.pickawoowoo.com

ISBN: 978-1-921883026

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