New
and Noteworthy
Friendship
with God
Neale Donald Walsch
Once again,
we strongly recommend Neale's books to you... all of them. They
speak directly to me, and we think that you will find them equally
inspiring and uplifting.
Friendship
with God is a
continuation of the messages contained in the three books of the
Conversations with God series...
and there are more to come. We
can't wait for the next - Communion with God.
Consider
adding this book to your spiritual library, and you may just find yourself
reading it over and over again as we have.
Amazon.com
Neale Donald Walsch grew up fearing God, especially after his mother, a
neighborhood
mystic, was caught reading cards for a friend. His mother was
"trafficking with the devil," according to Walsch's deeply
religious aunt, and as a result, "God will send her straight to
hell."
That was the start of a
relationship born of "fearship," as Walsch calls it. In Friendship
with God, Walsh speaks to the struggles he's had learning to see God as
a true friend rather than a punishing judge. Like his immensely popular Conversations
with God series, Friendship with God is written mostly in
dialogue format, modeling how anyone can converse with God. What makes the
book especially accessible is Walsh's humble voice that gently addresses
most people's confusion and doubts. For example, Walsh talks about feeling
squeamish that God knows the shameful secrets of his life. In response, God
points out that Walsh has shared his dark secrets with friends and lovers.
So why not share these truths with God, who has never judged or punished
him, and never will? These types of tender and reassuring conversations give
readers the courage to begin their own private dialogues with the divine. --Gail
Hudson
Questions
and Answers on
Conversations with God
Neale Donald Walsch
Many people
have questions they feel can only be answered through a conversation with
God. Now, questions from readers of the best-selling Conversations with
God receive attention from author Neale Donald Walsch. Questions and
answers are organized into a sequence that allows listeners to engage with
the Conversations with God issues in a new way. By hearing how others have
responded, listeners are invited to bring their own insights and thoughts
to this material. Subjects covered range from the universal to the
everyday, including relationships, health, sexuality, parenting, and
spiritual growth.
How to Know God- The Soul's Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries
Deepak Chopra
This is
another book that I highly recommend to any of you. I finished the
book over a two night period, but will return to it again, and again, and
again.
If I were
compiling a list of books that should be included in the future "New
New Testament", this would be one of them...
Here is
what the editors at Amazon had to say about it:
Amazon.com
God is not a person or a thing but rather a process,
according to
world-renowned author and spiritual leader Deepak Chopra. The purpose of
this ambitious book is to assure readers that anyone can engage in this
process--"it isn't a matter of faith, religious teaching, innate
goodness, luck or some other mysterious factor," Chopra explains.
"Our brains are hardwired to find God." This hardwiring is deftly
explored as Chopra lists the seven ways humans know God and how they
correspond to the anatomy of our human brains. He devotes a chapter to each
of the seven visions of God: "Protector," "Almighty,"
"God of Peace," "Redeemer," "Creator,"
"God of Miracles," and "Pure Being--I am." In every
chapter he asks and answers the same questions for the readers: "Who am
I?" "How do I fit in?" "How do I find God?" The
format works well, helping to tame this broad discussion while also
illuminating the different personality types that are attracted to these
seven different visions.
Fortunately, Chopra is a
gifted narrator, able to make human anatomy and quantum physics
understandable while also keeping spiritual and metaphysical discussions
grounded. As he drifts through the cloudy realms of ESP, telepathy,
clairvoyance, miracles, obedience, loyalty, evil, ego, addictions, and
mentors, readers can trust that there is a competent pilot at the helm,
deftly guiding this excellent book. Plan to take some time with this one. It
is perhaps his best yet and as such deserves a slow and steady commitment.
--Gail Hudson
The
Secret of Shambhala :
In Search of the Eleventh Insight
James Redfield
Amazon.com
Author James Redfield takes readers to the mountains of Tibet in search of
the mythical place called Shambhala, otherwise known as Shangri-La. Like his
previous best-selling books, Redfield holds the tension between an adventure
travel story (in this book, armed Chinese soldiers doggedly pursue him) and
divine encounters. Rather than preach his spiritual beliefs, Redfield likes
to portray himself as a naive pilgrim, receiving wisdom and insights from
the various guides and teachers he meets on his metaphysical journeys.
Shambhala is indeed a
paradise, just as it was lovingly portrayed in the famous James Hilton novel
Lost Horizon. It is also a spiritual utopia,
and Redfield takes great
pleasure in pondering the possibilities of living in a culture that is
entirely "focused on the life process." Residents explain their
lifestyle, which has emerged from a completely spiritual culture, including
some rather sensible opinions about technology, parenting, and even genetic
testing. Meanwhile, Redfield remains the wide-eyed observer. Those who loved
the characters, writing style, and epiphanies in The Celestine Prophecy will
not be disappointed with Redfield's latest inspirational portrait of a new
world order. --Gail Hudson
The Direct Path
Andrew
Harvey
Amazon.com
Andrew Harvey is a renowned spiritual scholar and a master of the world's
mystical traditions. He's the author and editor of more than 30 books, but
The Direct Path can be viewed as the benchmark of his spiritual philosophy.
"I feel I have been
waiting all my life to write this book," he
states, and at the core of The Direct Path are his clearly defined beliefs:
organized religions and guru systems have largely failed to serve the
spiritual needs of humanity. We are all children of God since we each
contain a spark of God's divinity--i.e., we each have a soul, and as such,
we do not require middlemen to mediate our way to God. What is required is
the Direct Path, sacred practices of mind, body, and spirit through which we
can each attain a personal union with the divine. The fruit of this union is
the "birth" of energy, which is transformative and boundless and
which must be shared with our fellows through active humanitarian work so
that we each become "servant-warriors for peace and justice." And
on this birth depends the future of humanity.
"This is a radical
vision, of course," Andrew Harvey explains, "but it is not a new
one." The prophets across all native and religious traditions have
espoused the same essential teachings, that the divine dwells within each of
us and that by accessing our divinity we will attain union and so comprehend
the true meaning of human fellowship. Judeo-Christian, Hindu, Buddhist,
Taoist, Islamic and native, Andrew Harvey draws on mysticism rather than
dogma from across the spiritual spectrum. He gives us an eloquent and
wholehearted explanation of the Direct Path and its necessary
practices--such as breathing, meditation, and focused exercise--and he
conveys a compelling vision of why the birth of transformative energy within
each of us is so essential to the future of humankind. --Lucas LoBlack.
A
Woman's Journey to God
Joan Borysenko
Amazon.com
"God as a jealous, punitive white Anglo-Saxon male with a long beard
and a longer arm lacks appeal for many contemporary women," writes
Joan Borysenko. In an attempt to address and mend the rift between women's
experience of God and how God is presented through male-dominated
religions,
Borysenko offers this book of feminine exploration. Initially, Borysenko
speaks to healing one's relationship with a seemingly judgmental or
exclusive God. She then moves beyond how religion may or may not have
failed individual women, into how the feminine collective tends to know
and touch God.
Not surprisingly, Borysenko
speaks to women's intuition and creativity as surefire lifelines to God.
Women rely on relationships as a means to spiritual growth, explains
Borysenko, whether it be with lovers, friends, or children. She also
examines women's icons--from the gentle and nurturing "Our Lady of
Guadeloupe" to the fiery goddess Kali who births and then devours her
children, just like Mother Nature does. On an organizational level, this
ambitious book can seem a bit scattered--an easy fault to ignore. As more
and more women join together from all religions and orientations to tell
their spiritual stories and claim their paths to God, books such as these
make excellent guides and companions. -- Gail Hudson
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