Alex Grey is quite probably the greatest artist alive today.

With that said, back to the book at hand. Sacred Mirrors is probably the book most people who want to get an idea of Grey's art should buy first. I find it slightly more accessible than Transfigurations, and it does not demand any knowledge of Grey's previous work. For those unfamiliar with his work, he paints almost all of the systems of the body in a transparent fashion, layered on top of each other. In his paintings you will see bones, nerves, blood vessels, chakras, and auras all at once. It can be overwhelming, but careful study of the paintings can make you see ordinary processes like kissing in a whole new way. And if you keep looking deeply at his paintings, things will keep revealing themselves. He also paints deities, from Avalokiteshvara to Jesus, with loving detail. This is definitely a great coffee-table book (and so much more!) for anyone interested in how transcendental theories of energy would manifest themselves visually. Grey's book also makes delightful entertainment for any kind of trip. Overall a sound buy for almost anyone who gets that feeling, sometimes, that there may be things going on in our physical reality that we just can't percieve. Grey can see them, and he has shared them with us.

I like many people, became intrested in this artist after the release of Tool's latest album Lateralus, i am very glad that i did, the art that i discovered is some of the most thought provoking art that i have ever seen, He truly brings new beauty to the human body in all of its forms. The book is also filled a detailed Bio and descriptons and the stories behind the sacred mirrors as well as several other paintings by Alex in the same vein. For those looking to broaden their horizons in art, this book is an excellent choice..........

This is the most amazing art book. In the central part of the book, Alex Grey presents the human being layer by layer. Starting with the skeleton, he adds the nervous & circulatory systems, the viscera, the musculature, and finally the skin. Materialist would stop there. But Alex Grey has the eyes of a mystic, and continues to depict the etheric & energetic components of humanity, right up to the Void of pure consciousness. He also includes deities from east & west, showing that they too "mirror" what we are in our depths. Many of the later frames are suitable as objects of meditation. The most talented energy-healer I know seems to know everything about people just by looking at them, and she says what she sees is what Alex Grey paints. This book contains art that can put a person in touch with her deepest and noblest possibilities. This book is nothing less than a gift to the human race!

What a lovely book. My friend's little girl,who is 3, just loves this book. Her mum raves that she can't go to sleep without hearing it. They gave it to my 2 year old as a birthday gift. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is charming. It's fastly becoming my child's favorite book. It must be...I read it to him at least 3 times a day. Enjoy! I'm going to buy more of her books.

We received this book as a gift from the authoress' father-in-law. Our three-year-old just loves it. When we carved the Jack-o-Lantern the other day, we saved the scraps and made some pumpkin soup. The story explores feelings about change and how it can make everyone feel uncomfortable. The story resolves with everyone agreeing that things can change, but only so much at one time! Another favorite of Emma's is Billy Goats Gruff as told by Ted Dewan, husband of the authoress.

My youngest daughter checked out this book from our local library last year and fell in love with it. I borrowed it from her and read it to my students because my daughter insisted I share this story with her friends. My students fell in love with this story, too, and it was so much fun to read aloud to a group and get interaction from them about it. This year I ordered my own copy and a copy for the school where I teach. The story is wonderfully told because it is sweet and caring. The young listener fully understands the story and I think the author did a splendid job of presenting it. Many of my students identified with the little duck and they were so happy when the duck returned (and got things his way for a change). The illustrations are beautiful. The "scary" parts of the story are told gently, in wording and phrasing exactly right for the age group it is intended to reach. The little duck's rebellion is charming and the message stays with the children. This book is more than wonderful. It is tasteful, and appeals in a big way to the best critics and the only critics who really matter when it comes to children's books -- young children. Thank you Helen Cooper for a marvelous book.

Having been a native Vermonter and New Englander, I had not realized the ghostlore involved with this section of the country. Many of the stories occur within minutes of my own location. This book points out the origins and as much fact as can be researched. The end result is left with the reader as to which can be explained and that that which can not. Read this book alone at night and you will hear sounds that you used to take for granted, or did you?......

Generally, I'm don't get scared by things I read or see on television. This book, however, was quite frightening. I definitely did its job. Many of the stories in this book occurred near where I live, and I never would have imagined these stories had even existed previously. I always knew that New England had a rather strange past, what with all the Salem Witch trials and all, but these stories actually dug deeper than all of that. For instance, could you imagine strange monsters inhabiting Bridgewater, or a strange spirit force on top of Mount Washington? Naturally, these stories are merely legends, but they really make you stop and think. The documentation for this book is also quite good, as first hand accounts are recorded. When people in the law enforcement agency see things, as in this book, you know that there's probably something going on. This book only took me two nights to read. That should give you some indication as to how addictive and gripping it is.

The book is well written, organized, and indexed, with plenty of interesting stories of today and years gone by, and I highly recommend the book. The only negative thing I can say about the book is that very little skeptical research is indicated. However, the author does provide a list of his sources, so that any skeptically-minded readers may check things out for themselves.

This book left a strong imprint in my being. I was very moved by its true stories about the magic of living by faith and total self-giving. The author lays his life on the line again and again, and his example draws us to do the same, for the sake of a humanity and a planet glorified by the Love of God.

Not every theory and spiritual exercise in this book resonated fully for me. But there was much food for thought in the author's ideas, and much usefulness in his exercises. Most important for me however, was the living example of people making a real difference in the state of the world, by being true to their deepest convictions, and being a Light of Godly service.

The life of Herr Muller is truly an exceptional example of esoteric spirituality, combined with very practical, energetic service. Hopefully, his example will become less exceptional, as more people catch the fire of transformation that this book serves.

Review: The Prophet's Way

Thom Hartmann is an individual who has changed the world by providing exciting new paradigms for understanding the psychological, neurological, and (in Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight) ecological domains of human experience. He rides the conceptual bow wave and loves to play with ideas and make his creative contribution from that place.

In Prophet's Way, he moves from his work as a conceptual iconoclastic to share his love for his spiritual guru--a German mystic named Herr Muller--and to describe the miraculous experience of being around him in their travels.

The journey Hartmann takes us on is not done to glorify his guru or promote his teachings. It is a journey that stays true to Hartmann's lifelong interest in the power of the human mind and spirit to shape reality in extraordinary ways. In Prophet's Way, the author describes how the power of love can be focused to change physical reality so as to bring things into being that were thought to be impossible.

This book took was written with heart and obvious courage. Hartmann didn't have to write about his relationship with his guru. He risked getting a lot of criticism for talking about the joy of giving up his free will in this way. But he pulls it off marvelously!

One of Hartmann's jobs for Herr Muller was to travel internationally setting up children's homes along the line of the establishment he ran in Salem, New Hampshire twenty years ago. Hartmann would often get on the plane, not sure how he would be received on the other end, because often all the details had been left to chance. But chance always seemed to come through when Herr Muller put his mind on getting a project in place for homeless kids.

Prophet's Way, gives you a sense of what it's like to live deep in the faith that if you're on the right path you don't really need to know where the path is going. You'll be taken care of. I have always found this kind of "cosmic innocence" (to quote William Blake) difficult to live. I enjoyed reading about how Thom Hartmann not only lives this philosophy but leaves the world better for it.

Thom's book cracked my heart wide-open. It' clearly the definitive journey of our time: waking up to the possibility, certainly the responsibility, of reaching toward a maturity of Soul. This journey takes you into the Suffering of the World. From the Hunt Clubs in Bogota, Columbia: those who hunt children for sport. To the poverty of Africa, India, and the diminishment of the integrity of the Earth itself.

This is a book that you FEEL to the Depths of your Soul. It shakes you and changes you.

After reading the book several years ago, it was my honor and privledge to visit with Thom and his mentor Herr Muller in Germany, and walk the Prophets Way Path. It was a moving and life affirming moment. It launched me to embrace a suffering world.

I now work with At-Risk kids taking them into the wilderness. I listen to their stories. Hold their pain by affirming and mirroring the best in each one of them. We are all linked in a common humanity and that is the message of Thom's book. It affirms the best in each of us and asks us to CHANGE.

I may never be pierced in a Sioux Sun Dance Ceremony, but I would like to be cleansed by a Sweat Lodge Ceremony. If nothing else I will look for my Wotai stone, and hold it up to the rising dawn. Perhaps I will beseech the four directions and Mother Earth, Father Sky, and Wakan Tanka. This book can give anyone a greater appreciation of the stewardship of the Oglala Sioux, and greater respect for Mother Earth.

This book provides information on Indian ceremonies and the contribution of Indians to this democracy. There are highly personal and remarkable accounts of Eagle Man's own quest; such as the Yuwipi Spirit-calling ceremony to find a downed airplane, and the finding of his personal tipi canyon agate.

Mother Earth Spirituality is a necessary addition to the shelves of anyone who wants to learn how to live in harmony with Mother Earth and all Her inhabitants. It is a beautifully written, clearly defined book that explains some of the major concepts of Lakota spirituality and how they can be applied in our world today. It will also increase your awareness of the struggle the Indians endure to hold on to their traditional ways. The author's account of his Sun Dance experiences illustrate a part of this struggle. This book will increase your awareness and strengthen your bond with Mother Earth and all her creatures, including humans. Its wonderful!

I commend Eagle Man for this sensitive and indepth commentary on Native American spirituality and our responsibiity to Mother Earth. In this hustle, bustle world today, we too often lose sight of the environment that we were given. At one point, it was clean and pure and bountiful. Now, we have polluted our water, descecrated our land, and exterminated animal species. Not much of a commentary on how we take responsibility for and care of these gifts we have evolved into taking for granted. Eagle Man opens our eyes to the simple facts that his forefathers knew and that we have allowed to fall by the wayside. It is works like this that should be required reading in our schools. It is a wake up call that unless we do something to change our world, we may not leave much for our descendents. I highly recommend this book not only for its enviromental impact but also to provide knowledge of the spirituality and philosophy of the Native American people.

In general, Out Of The Shadows is well written and well-presented. However, I found the author's ideas on the topic to be rather shallow. I must say thatI found the whole issue of the 'gothic' subculture to be as irrelevant to the theology of Paganism as, say tie-die and flowers might be. Personal aesthetic choice does not, in my opinion, have much to do with spirituality, and the book spends far too much time defining and defending goth culture (to which I have no objections)for my taste. On the other hand, when it comes up against actual theological issues, such as the presence of pain and death in the world, the book seems to fall short of deep thought on these interesting matters.
All in all, an interesting first effort on a topic that deserves more thought - maybe, in the end, we can simply discard the ideas of 'light' and 'dark' as useful spiritual metaphors...

Dark paganism and spirituality aside, this book is a fantastic modern adaptation of Jungian theory (esp. "the shadow"), which can be very therapeutic for those who find themselves stuck between the "goodie-goodies" and the gung-ho Satanists. While this book definitely appeals to those who veer towards the "darker" path, it is in no way extreme to that end. I found it to be much more about the theories behind darkness and paganism (or whichever alternative lifestyles), rather than about the nuts and bolts of practical paganism. It is very refreshing to see someone else who is paying attention to the concept of achieving **balance** for personal growth, rather than adopting a brand of spirituality as some crutch or political statement. I was on Mr. Coughlin's mailing list for a long time awaiting this book's release, upon which it greatly exceeded all my expectations. If you like dark spirituality and/or paganism, but can't stand the "fluffies" and don't agree with the Satanists, this is your book.

I learned about the existence of this book just as I was desparing that there were no good intermediate or advanced pagan books out there. "Out of the Shadows" was everything I was looking for and more. As someone who has long been attracted to dieties with darker, less nurturing aspects like Sekhmet, Kali, and Coyote, I agree that this book was much needed in presenting paganism without the "good vs. bad" dualism. The left hand path is often misunderstood, and I think this book is a wonderful introduction to it. It is a very psychological, thought provoking view. One will find no pre-made spells or rituals here; Coughlin explores the philosophy and mechanics of magic to help you understand why they work. -Quite a liberating thing!
It is also a joy to read; I really enjoyed the conversational style of writing that Coughlin used. He defines and clarifies several aspects of dark spirituality/goth subculture that I would not normally have read about, such as Vampirism and Satanism. He also goes into depth about subjects that would never see the light of day in other books: blood, pain, insanity, sex magic, curses, and drugs. Always there, though, is a reminder of the need for balance and responsibility. The final chapter on haunting was superb; it made sense of the hauntings that I have experienced and caused me to see them in a new way. This book tops my list of favorite pagan books; I reccomend it to everyone who can handle the subject matter and wants a full course meal in magic.

Owls in the Family is a good book. This book is good because it has action and adventure. Owl lovers should read this book. It takes place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is all the way in Canada. A boy named Billy wanted an owl and his dream came true. He got an owl. You should get this book now. You should get this book at your nearest bookstore!!

This warm, poignant, funny book is a wonderful demonstration of how even ONE person can help wildlife in trouble. Even better to think that little boy grew up to be a world-class advocate of animal and eskimo rights. Farley Mowat is a treasure. Thank heaven the grade school teacher at a school in Temple, Texas assigned Owls as a class project. Thank heaven the only book left in the library was "Owls in the Family." Farley Mowat has brought great laughter and poignancy to my family and is spoken of as a friend. We always say -- "Want to read a wonderful book (author) read "Owls in the Family" (Farley Mowat) !!

Owls in the Family is wonderfully funny nonfiction book about A boy and his two owls. Many times I laughed out loud. A wonderful read !

Vivekananda's book, Raja-Yoga, is one of the best books on the subject; beautifully written in a clear and concise manner. Although, like most books on Raja-yoga which discuss philosophies as well as practices, what is most beneficial about Vivekanada's book is his emphasis upon the effects of Raja-Ygoa. According to Vivekananda, when one masters the powers of concentration, then reads the experiences of the enlightened, then one will then take on that same state. When one knows in which direction to go, and can predict the state one is about to enter, then one has mastered concentration.

I read this book about 2 years ago. it was my first introduction to any aspect of this religion or any yoga.. I read this in a time of my life where I was confused, I had experienced things that would be considered "religious experiences" but I had no path to follow, no light in my road. I was a confused young man. I picked up this book in my school library for no reason whatsoever really.. I think the reason today was destiny/fate/ whatever you want to call it. this book gave me direction. I can't ever say how much I love Swami Vivekananda, his writing style appeals to the open minded scientist. And puts Science into religion and as Einstein said, "Religion without science is blind." and that it is. this is about as scientific as religion will ever be presented. I don't know what this book can do for you, all I can say again what it did for me. The teachings gave purpose to a my life they helped make me a man. My goal in life now is to follow the path to enlightenment. Thus, this books teachings helped show me the only thing I could be truly happy and satisified with myself doing.

This book is very well written. This book might be little difficult for people who are not too familiar with Dharma and Vedic teachings. Over all the book is very well written and very informative. This book shows you what a human can achieve if he/she sets their mind to it. The book doesnt tell you to follow blindly but actually tells you to expierence it out yourself.

This is definately a highly recommended book

This book is very good, I read most of Lurlene McDaniel's book and I like all of them, every book has a different story and they're really good, they're really touching and some sad, some of her stories even made me cry. Its Really good, I would recomman this and all of her books to everyone who enjoys reading books.

This is a GREAT book, possibly one of the best I've read by Lurlene McDaniel. This was perhaps the first One Last Wish novel I've read by her, and my favorite. It's sweet, touching, romantic (though not as much as some of her other books) and of course, knowing Lurlene McDaniel's books, amazingly sad. Still all around great!

The book begins with three best friends reuniting at a summer camp that they all formally attended together the year before. This year, Chelsea, Katie, and Lacey are returning to be counselors. The story is mainly told from Katie's point of view so it makes it easier to understand, (but it also tells the story from Laceys and Chelseas 2). At first Katie is struggling with making a decision to either go to a college to run track in Arizona, which is something that she always wanted, or to go to Michigan State to run there, and marry Josh; who is pressuring her to stay. It's a tough decision but what makes it even harder is the fact that Aarons(Josh's brother) heart is beating in her chest. She goes to the camp to get away from him so she can do some thinking, but when he invites himself to stay at the Jenny House. She isnt to happy about that.The three friends run into their problems and they all get solved. Meanwhile, Chelsea tries to get DJ (Jillians twin bro) to notice shes alive, and Lacey wants nothing but Jeff. But when disaster strikes the Jenny House, what do the friends do, read the book to find out.

This book is huge at 560 pgs; of course, i guess that's nothing compared to these past couple Harry Potters so perhaps i should just say, "substantial." It covers literally Woodhull's entire life (and a good deal of her sister's, Tennessee Claflin), as well as offering am in-depth view of the political and social climate at the time. It devotes a particular amount of time to the changing nuances of her "free love" doctrine and other participants in that movement (one which was, most certainly, ahead of its time--we don't generally think of Victorian times and Free Love in the same boat these days), and the Beecher-Tilton adultery trial.

I found the book to be facinating from a suffrage-history POV, contrasting events depicted/documented within with my memories of the "women's movement" from history classes. Goldsmith isn't afraid to throw stones (mostly by quoting their own less than tolerant words) at suffrage icons Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B Anthony, and others, in the course of depicting an unbiased view of the debate that raged for both women's and black men's suffrage at the time. She is both sympathetic to Victoria and Tennessee (she does a very good job in depicting the bizarre, abusive, nomadic carnival-like nature of their childhoods and family life while growing up), and willing to point out their flaws and transgressions (both women engaged in prostitution, blackmail, and other acts of "questionable ethics").

There's not as much focus on the Spiritualism movement, though the overview is thorough and the author depicts in great detail the ways in which Victoria and Tennessee were involved in it as trance speakers and predictors of the future, both from a very young age. She presents the oracles and visions and claims of spiritualists without passing judgement on them, though it's hard not to do so onesself as a modern skeptic reader--the descriptions of Victoria's frequent "possession" by spirit guides, particularly when speaking in public and in other stressful situations, coupled with her traumatic childhood, are reminiscent of depictions of modern dissociative identity disorders.

To read the book as a modern woman is somewhat horrific; one can't help but think along the lines of "what would I have done back then," when Anthony Comstock was arresting people for even discussing contraception and women were considered the property of their husbands. Goldsmith investigates a lot of related issues, giving brief synopses of cases of abortionists, midwives, spinsters-by-choice, servant-class mothers of illegitimate children who were imprisoned for "infanticide" when their babies died in childbirth...ugh. Horrible reading, but important.

All in all a facinating overview of activism, alternative spirituality, and the tumultuous political climate of post-civil-war America, centered around the life story of the country's first female Presidential candidate.

Goldsmith has done a real service with this book. It is more or less the history of the 19th-century women's suffrage movement, with special emphasis on the influence of Spiritualism and on the life of Victoria Woodhull (of whom I had never before heard, even though I regard myself as fairly well-versed in American history).

The book is full of fascinating characters and events, most of which are given unconscionably short shrift in our educational system. Goldsmith fleshes out the stories and personalities of many people who were previously just vague images in my mind, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Henry Ward Beecher. It seems from this book that female suffrage could have occurred as much as 50 years earlier than it did, if it hadn't been for a couple of missteps on the part of the supporters of suffrage. For one thing, there was a bitter division among the suffragettes about whether the female right to vote should be part of the movement for enfranchising the recently freed slaves. Sadly, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, despite her many wonderful and even heroic contributions to the movement, comes across as an out-and-out racist on this issue, and probably damaged the very cause to which she devoted her life. Secondly, some of the foremost spokespeople for female suffrage got caught up in unrelated, controversial issues, and even in personal sexual scandals.

If you have an interest in American history, you may very well have the same reaction I did while reading this book. Almost every other page, I found myself exclaiming, "Hey, I didn't know that! How come that's not in any of the history books?"

The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is that I think the organization and focus could be a little better. The book isn't organized strictly chronologically, and it jumps from one character to another without apparent reason.

But there's just too much really good stuff here to give anything less than four stars, and I have no quarrel with those who have given it five. You won't often pick up a book written for a general audience and learn so many interesting facts that you probably didn't know.

What an absolute joy of a book. Goldsmith seems to have found the perfect centerof the femininist storm in Victoria Woodhull, an outspoken advocate of women's rights, free love, and spiritualism. The telling of her tale (and this book reads like a plotted novel) involves the inclusion of tales and talk from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Henry Ward Beecher, President Ulysses S. Grant, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, and cameo appearances from a host of others (including the prudish New York City "in"fighter, Anthony Comstock). Much of the telling involves the infamous Tilton-Beecher scandal, a story whose recitation touches on much of the post-Civil War atmosphere of spiritualism,financial skullduggery, the new religious practices of revised Calvinism, and, of course, equal rights for women. This is a fascinating read and wonderfully written. You don't need to be a history buff to pick this up.