It was one of those books that "flew" off the shelf into my hands in the bookstore. A wealth of information written in the easy yet detailed style of Ashcroft-Norwicki. I feel that this book is truely written for the dying, and could help them to complete the life cycle in a manner in which they retain their dignity and gain a greater understanding of their "after world." A must read for anyone concerned with or working with dying folk and the preservation of their spirituality and dignity. I bought this book two months before my Father died. I was at his side helping him to cope with the physical and mental changes occurring and guiding him into death. All this among the background of the chaotic ICU room. Highly, highly recommended. CRD

This book addresses reasons for kids who cant make friends because they are unaware of non verbal 'rules' between kids. They just dont catch on. The authors list about 6 clear areas to address that can be gone over with children to help remedy that. Each section has about 2 pages of suggested activities to try . I liked that while many other books offer psychobabble, this book goes into another dimension -of body language and actual body presentation. Real and practical stuff. I didnt like that the book felt as though the important information wasnt quite long enough for a book so it was padded to make it thick enough to be commercially viable. I'd bet this and their other book could be combined into one really worthwhile book.

Gives understanding of the problems faced when someone does not have the ability to "get" non-verbal communication. Most of us know instinctively, by body language, what others are trying to convey. Not so with children and adults on the autistic spectrum. This book explains it all and better yet - gives concrete examples and exercises that you can do with your child at home or suggestions for the professionals to use in a school setting.

The book is about non-verbal behavior, very important part of communication, since it involves about 70% of communication, the other 30% being verbal communication. I definately agree with both of the authors that most of the people don't use it to their advantage, in in the end, feel that they are not effective, yet, they can't quite put the finger on the problem as to why they are not respected, or listened to. Non-verbal communication consists of touch, facial expressions, fashion, rhythms, timing and so on.
The book is logical, and really, just common sense. My problem with the book is that it has so little to say about each topic. This book is filled with stories, case studies. When in reality, this book could have been condensed to no more than 1 page. Instead, the authors try to fill the space with endless redundunt shallow stories. They try so hard to sound self-important, they boast that they had invented a term for it -"dissimic", which simply means someone who does not communicate well non-verbally. In reality the book is about 10% good stuff, and 90% padding and stuffing.
It will make you aware of the subject, but this book is nothing new. I am sure, any communication 101 book will do a better job, with less reading.
How does one help him/herself to better communicate non-verbally? Well, according to the authors, you should find an older gentleman at work, who will constantly watch you interact with others, and after work, authors suggest, you will meet with your teacher, and go over your behavior.. Hmmm.. I am not sure about this advice..a better choice for me was Body Language by Gordon Wainwright.

Before I read this book, I felt lonely and misunderstood.After reading only a few pages, I realized that I was dyssemic.Dr Duke and Dr. Nowicki gave me alot of practical advice, which I followed. As a result,for the first time in my life I now have friends, go out on dates, and have gotten two promotions on my job. These brilliant professors have done a great service to people like me, and I think that they should be commended for it.

This book is a tremendous resource for anyone who sees the incongruence between their own self-perception and the perception of others, or their perception of others, and would like to correct it. It breaks down the elements of non-verbal communication with descriptions that are in plain English, with plenty of practical self-evaluation tests that require the reader to engage with the book. I've never found self-books very helpful, as the authors often diverge from a psychology discussion into philosophy, but this book stays true to its promise. I highly recommend it.

I would have to disagree with the review by the Library Journal; a "mentor" should not be a family member or close friend, but should be someone who can remain objective and provide valuable, non-biased feedback. I certainly wouldn't ask someone too close to me to give me this kind of intense, constructive criticism. I tried to do the peer evaluation with a close friend, and realized how awkward it was for him to answer the difficult questions about me. I, however, found a opportunity with a empathetic manager after a recent performance review to provide this sort of mentoring.

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki is obviously a skilled and knowledgeable master of her craft. Her teachings are useful and comprehensive and I am sure many readers will find this book most inspiring.

However, I did not find what I was looking for when I bought the book mainly because of it's title. It describes rituals for the classic post Golden Dawn way only. Witchcraft of the more domestic sort could also be ritualized using this book, but that's pretty much it. Followers of all other magical paths, such as Thelema, Chaos Magic, Grimoiric Magic and wilder sorts of witchcraft will find this book restrictive and conservative to the point of being hardly usable. According to it, their magic can't possibly work anyway, though it most definitely does.

Another grudge I have with this book is that it does not clearly distinguish between more and less important lessons. Endless pages are spent detailing mundane topics such as how to physically clean a ritual room and giving very specific instructions on the construction of less important ritual tools such as candleholders. I missed a lot of "This is but a suggestion and being stuck here shouldn't stop you from going on with the important part." sentences.

Rituals are rather shallow and never go beyond the intensity of an average Holy Mass - which is understandable as this book is an introduction. They are also lengthy and invocations use to be so long they can hardly be learned by heart and spoken "deep from the heart". It seems the rituals in this book do not aim to cause much of the change Ashcroft-Nowicki knows magic is, but rather form a ritual base for the spiritualist quasi-religion she teaches. Which is not everything ritual magic can be - not at all, folks.

If I was as bound to my path as Ashcroft-Nowicki is to hers, I'd have given this book one star. If I followed the same path she does, I'd have given it four.

I recommend that any prospective magician purchase both this volume and Kraig's 'Modern Magick,' since both are priced very reasonably, then decide which author best serves their needs. I've found Kraig's book to be more inclusive, practical and articulate, while Nowicki takes a more mystical, guarded but ultimately more encompassing approach towards developing the minds of potential initiates. Both involve extensive auxiliary reading, although I've found Kraig to be more flexible concerning the scope and choice of matter, Nowicki more pointed and disciplinary. It really depends upon under what situation you tend to learn best.

this book is the book that you should get if you are just starting out or want to know what exactly witchcraft is about it talks about how you need patience and it says that it would take a year to do all of the stuff in it so you need at least 5 minutes a day ith it and within the first chapter you will feel as though you have really accomplished something.

This book is most definitely not "advanced". It combines the most simple elements of gone-west tantra with an extremely naive "understanding" of the Qabalah. All information relevant for practice could have been compressed to two or three pages. (It has, in other books.)
At least the "Tree of Ecstasy" could be of use for a well-protected introduction into the "infamous" topic of sexual magic.

Nowicki has done it again. This time taking on sex as an esoteric form. The book covers sexual excercies for working partners.

The author is a leading occult writer and practitioner, from the esoteric group The Servants of the Light.Part 1 of this book looks at how sex was inseparable from religion in the ancient world and generally seen in a positive light.Then Christianity put a curse on the flesh and perverted the expression of the sex instinct.Part 2 outlines practices and advice for the rituals to come.Dolores emphasises that the book is for committed partners,not for those who just want to fool around.Part 3: the rituals are based on the Tree of Life from the qabalah.Each sephiroth or sphere/realm has its particular ritual and pathworking.In Malkuth or the Earth realm the man becomes Pan and the woman Syrinxe his priestess.In Netzach or Venus the man is Merlin and the woman is Nimue.This is advanced magic and not for the beginner.

I have to admit that I wasn't expecting anything like what the book was, so in a way it isn't that the book is bad, but rather just definately something not for me and I can't imagine suggesting it either. I have read another book by the auther and was extremely happy with it, but this book is very specificly for a certain purpose. That purpose is a very particular way to do pathworking.
First I have to say that I had an idea of what pathworking was, because I am very familiar with the occult. That is a guided meditation.
This book though reads very much unlike the guided meditations I am used to. The pathworkings in this book are written like stories except the main character is in first person. And in every pathworking the main character is doing some sort of ritual that is akin to a particular culture.
I do not have the book with me and I am going off memory but for an example, one pathworking would be an Egytian neophyte which you take the role in this first person experience and go through his/her initiation as them step by step.
The beginnings of the chapters are wonderfully written to give a short explanation of what type of pathworking the chapter will go into, it was the actual pathworking that I got caught on and couldn't get "into". It was the lack of detail, the lack of allowance to experience more then the limited guided meditation offers, and mostly it was the not so easy role that I had no affinity towards that it thrusts you in with out any emotional appeal. If you already do pathworkings then this book could be of great interest to you. If you want an idea towards how you can mentally create a good guided meditation then this might give you some creative idea. Otherwise I would recommend you purchase this book after you have had the oppertunity to look at it because I can only imagine its appeal to particular readers. I do like the author, and I do like the basis of the book, but the actual pathworkings did not fulfill my expectations.
There are many books out there with a lot of easier to use pathworkings that I would suggest to the general reader. Though I don't think there is a general reader for the new age world.

This is a nice text, some nice images but it was going over old ground so I never actually finished it.

This book gives detailed help on the how and why of pathworking. It gives progressive information and basically takes you by the hand and leads you down the right path. A 'must have' for those just starting out. Not bad for those who have been on the path for a while either though it does cover some very elementary ground. Pathworking is something that is a cornerstone to our faith and sadly is neglected too much. Hopefully this book will help to change that.

I have no idea what these authors are trying to put across. They do spend a lot of time trying to put a scientific explanation to what an imagination is and giving the reader thier "occult expertise". The fact that one of the authors claims that astral projection is impossible to achieve at will implies that they are most likely one of Israel Regardies' "Cosmic Foo-Goos". The reader, if they take this work to heart, may come from the experience a less effectual person. It is sad that [garbage] like this gets sold and marketed when there is so much more valuable stuff out there.

I'm a fan of both of these authors, but this book just takes too long to get to the point. The authors seem to feel a need to set up a detailed intellectual rationale for the existence of the 'astral' plane, and for human ability to work with it. They take up what amounts to the first half of the book with essays and examples, and only in the second half do they even begin to address actual techniques. All in all still interesting, but I'd expect more meat from these writers.

Truly magical. This book comes under the heading of "I wish I had read this years ago". These two authors write seamlessly, you can hardly tell where one leaves off and another begins. They interact very well. On the theoretical side there is a wealth of knowledge to delve into and thimk about. This part alone kept me alternately reading and thinking for almost a week. I did not want to miss a word. Then I got to the practical side and had to keep re-reading paragraphs because I kept getting new insights.

All in all a remarkable book . I hope they write more. The combination of scientific and practical information is stunning, and so down to earth, unlike the airy fairy stuff that is published nowadays.

This was a terrible book, but that came as no suprise to me because Ed Nowicki was just a part-time cop with almost no real street experience. This silly manual doesn't deserve any stars, but that option wasn't available. Let's hear from some real cops, with real experience.

This book is a must for anyone who wants to build homemade weapons from pistols to submachine guns.It is very usefull book if you want to disguise your gun for personal protection.It shows you many different kinds of weapons.This book is good for anyone who owns a personal gun.