Alternative Books

I love this book! and am grateful for its reintroduction into the marketplace. With its new look and updated content I can now use the Wellness Workbook in my college health classes without fear of being labeled out of date. The Wellness Workbook was one of the original shapers of the Wellness Movement in the early 1980s, and promoted the idea that health was more than the absence of disease. Authors Travis and Ryan encouraged, and still encourage, readers to think, "Why settle for getting by, when your one precious life could be so much more?" They present Wellness as a jouney, a way of living and thinking, rather than a destination. The Wellness Workbook gracefully suggests that we take a mindful look at our lifestyles, and consider the impact our lifestyles have, in every fine detail, on ourselves, our families, our communities, and our world.
When most people hear the word "Wellness," they think healthful diet, exercise, and maybe a little stress management. This book goes far beyond the standard superficial health advice found in most books with Wellness in their title. The Wellness Workbook presents the most holistic and integrated view of wellness I have ever found in my twenty plus years as a health educator. As an example of this, take a look at the chapter on Wellness and Eating, where Travis and Ryan encourage you to consider the many meanings of hunger and nourishment. Along with a discussion of Eating for High-Level Wellness you will also find sections on Food as a Pain Reliever, Filling Up the Emptiness, and Food as Emotional Insulation. Although these sections may sound somewhat gloomy, the thoughtful writing is nonjudgmental and interesting, and the humor found throughout the book allows the book to "walk its talk" and consider the many sides of every issue, and understand how the many facets of Wellness are related one to another.

This book was recommended to my coworker for an adjunt book for teaching a mental health recovery class. We had an older copy. The new revised edition is even better than before. Many of the participants have liked it so much I have purchased additional copies for their own use. It is a great holistic approach towards wellness and can apply to a lot of differant populations.

The New Wellness Workbook, which was new to me with this 3rd edition, is the most comprehensive book that I have ever seen on wellness. Going far beyond cultural and medical ideas of health, the authors inspire us to look at our own wellbeing from the widest perspective, including emotional, social, and spiritual perspectives. As a holistic GP (family MD) I know that this book will be at the top of my recommended reading list.

Here is the revised and updated version of the book that started the wellness movement, and nearly 30 years later it's still the best! While other wellness books look primarily at diet and exercise, this book looks at the multi-dimensionality of wellness. It's a rich, well documented source of information, perspectives and questions that will, with a little self-responsible commitment on your part, change your life -- I promise. Jack Travis created the models you will find here. I see them in a lot of other books, usually without proper attribution. He is a visionary extraordinaire and he just keeps doing it -- looking to the possible and insisting it can be done. And sure enough, when you give it a try, it can be done and your life will never be the same.

With Regina Ryan's wealth of experience, knowledge and extraordinary clarity, you have a resource that should be in every personal or public library. Put it in yours -- better yet, put it on your bedside table -- read it, use it until it is dog-eared and part of your life. Allow it to help you ask questions, find answers and experiment. Use it to find what works for you. It's not a Bible. It's more like a laboratory. It doesn't say, "This is the only way." It says, "Here are some questions. Here is the research, the information, some possibilities. Try them. See what you think."

It's such a wealth of information and perspectives that from the first edition of The Wellness Workbook in the late `70's (in a 3-ring binder) to this new, classy edition, it's still on my bedside table, keeping me focused on my wellness process.

I am a Certified HypnoBirthing® Childbirth Educator and I am sharing this with every person I know personally and every couple I come into contact professionally. I look forward to sharing it with my young daughter someday 10 years from now [hopefully Dr. Travis & Ms. Ryan will write future editions too]! I ate up each and every page, looking forward to the next. Plus it was easy to read and the index was so detailed that I could locate specific concerns quickly as if Dr. Travis was personally answering my inquiry. I loved the personal pictures from the authors' childhood and the last page [Grand Certificate] deserves to be on everyone's wall. If more parents followed the information in this book, the result would be lots of happier children, better balanced and less angry teenagers and less violent and money/status starved adults in our world. I know I will be referring to my copy for years to come ...or until the cover falls off! Perhaps by then the 4th edition will be birthed. I'm also planning to give copies as gifts since what it better but the gift of health!

The uniqueness of Todd Gate's book, "Why Do We Have To Work", lies in the fact that it addresses a question on the mind of every student: What can I do to bring meaning to my life? Students who may be bombarded with messages from family and and friends about the need to make as much money as possible, will enjoy Gate's presentation of another view- a need to strive for a balance in life. Todd Gate's book should attract a wide range of readers who are in need of thinking things through and coming to their own determination about Why We Have to Work.

While this is a practical treatise, there is an underlying current of organization that carries with it an attitude of profound respect for and committment to child development. In this book Gates presents a balance in living, advancing a value of self and sensitivity to the needs of his children, providing them with the necessary tools to be able to cope with the realities they are having and will have to face in order to thrive in the adult world. It is by no means an easy task to be satisfied with one's self as an adult. Gates gives some important hints about loving one's self, accepting reality, dealing with it, and making use of that achievement in accepting the responsibility for teaching his children how to get a jump-start on their own development. It looks like he intends to have his children thinking independently by their teens. So this book is helpful in its practical scope but beyond that has a coherent inner structure that contains its own subliminal guide.

Like a good parent, Mr.Gates is both firm and understanding in introducing the young reader to the realities of the workplace. From a history of labor, to the meaning of modern employment, the author provides fresh answers to old questions, without ever becoming pedantic.

As a psychotherapist, I appreciate the psychologically sound principles Gates put in this primer for adolescents on the nature and necessity of"work." For example, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Erikson's stages of identity formation are evident in his elegantly simple and logical communications to his sons about the fundamentals of money, career and balance in one's life. The cost and format are not ideal; it would be great to see this packaged as an affordable paperback for teenagers.

I liked Chapter 6 ("Measuring Success") the best. It helped remind me that what you happen to DO for a living is not necessarily what you ARE. And that while it MAY be time-efficient to combine your deepest interests with your paycheck, sometimes it's better to keep the two separate!

I liked a lot of the points brought up in Chapter 1 ("Hunting, Gathering, & Video Games"), like the origin of the double meaning of the word "trade" - how your job, or your `trade', is really just about what you use to `trade' with food, clothes, and shelter specialists. And I never thought about why we have to use money before, but after reading Chapter 2 ("Surgery & Dental Floss"), it suddenly made so much sense. Could a surgeon and floss-maker reliably make much use out of each other's specialties if they had to rely on straight barter?

Where were YOU on the morning of September 11th, 2001? I was at work when Howard Stern reported that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers. Having been born and raised in The Bronx before moving to Rochester, N.Y., my workday immediately ended as I focused my full attention on Howard's show; He became my only link to the city I loved and would always call home. Later on came the TV reports and the images that will never leave my mind, but for those first few hours, I sat listening in shock as the man who makes me laugh every workday became my only connection to family, friends, and loved ones who were suddenly living in a war-zone.

9-11: Emergency Relief is a benefit book that is filled with true stories from September 11th. They range from touching, to infuriating, to thought-provoking, and the list of creators reads like a who's who of Indy Comics: James Kochalka, Will Eisner, Tony Millionaire, Harvey Pekar, Tom Hart, Joyce Brabner, Ted Rall, and literally DOZENS of others. Besides being entertaining, and raising money for the Red Cross, the book fulfills another important purpose: It stands as a reminder of a day we must NEVER forget. God Bless America!

9-11: Emergency Relief puts a unique perspective on a shared tragedy. Taking the events out of the cold realism of news photography and video and into the pen and ink world of the comix artist lets the reader share the emotions of another individual on a highly personalized level.

Do not let the genre keep you from reading this book! Even if you are not a comix afficionado, the images and storytelling technique of each artist/author are fascinating and deeply moving.

Like any good book, it is well structured. Stories lead up to the event, there are on-site accounts, the aftermath, and the realization that we're living in a changed world. For people having trouble coming to terms with the events of 9-11 -- regardless of their age -- this book provides comfort and insight. We all have stories to tell about 9-11 and most readers have probably wished they could express their own feelings so well. Fortuntely, this group of artists says it for us.

Easily the best of the comics industry's myriad responses to the tragedy of September 11th, this book gets down into the nitty-gritty of human experiences and reactions to tragedy. No superheroes. No larger-than-life expostulation. Just real people - talented artists - telling amazing stories. Higlights include Gregory Benton's "Treasure," an untitled Hutch Owen story by Tom Hart that manages to toe the fine line between rage and sentiment and "Citadel Of The Night" by K. Thor Jensen and Chris Knowle. Honestly, though, the book is so full of great material that nobody should be without it.

After the September 11th terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and in the skies over Pennsylvania, some 50 graphic novelists and cartoonist ranging from such legendary names as Will Eisner and Harvey Pekar, to newer talents such as Frank Cho and James Kochalka, came together in a very special project as a way of expressing their grief, patriotism, and support of the American people in the face of naked, lethal, ideologically driven aggression. The result is 9-11: Emergency Relief, a powerful graphic novel. The proceeds will go to benefit the American Red Cross. Simply put, every school and every community library in the country should acquire a copy of 9-11: Emergency Relief for the edification of their students and their patrons.

Everyone has a dark side--it's that frightening part of our personalities that drives
you to root for something to blow up and hurt James Bond. It's what makes us "root
for the bad guy" at Mel Gibson films. It's what drove us to watch with rapt attention
on September 11, as the Civilized World crumbled before our eyes.

This, happily, is not the part of us that forces us onward through "9-11," a graphic
novel that tells nearly fifty stories by respected creators from the comic-book industry
about the terrorist attacks and their implications. "9-11" is, with rare exception
like Ashley Wood's obscenity-laden two page monologue, a labor of profound love.

Here, comics legend Will Eisner--who literally invented the concept of "sequential
art," the name by which the academic community now refers to comics--joins virtually
ever major creator in the comics industry in donating his time, money, energy and
artwork to charities benefiting the victims of the September 11 terror attacks.

Marvel Comics lead the pack, their magazine-format "Heroes" book being the first
released (in late October) and best-promoted of all benefit books. The first week
in January, they followed up with "Moment of Silence," another comics-for-charity
project to which Hollywood director and comics guru Kevin Smith contributed a story.
"9-11" was released on January 9 by Alternative Comics, a small, independent publisher.
It contains mostly works done by small-press of self-published comics creators who
are not under contract to a major publisher. Contributors include Phil Hester of
DC Comics' best-selling "Green Arrow," Michael Avon Oeming of "Powers" and "Bluntman
and Chronic" fame, Eisner and "Bone" scribe Jeff Smith. Sixty-two stories featuring
more than 75 creators are collected in the 200-page book, which costs [price]. All
profits from the sale of "9-11" go to the American Red Cross.

Especially notable in the "9-11" tribute book are several pieces by non-legends,
who have been largely overlooked even in the comics press due to names like Harvey
Pekar, Will Eisner and Tony Millionaire being attached to the project. A. David Lewis'
11-page "Alabaster Cities" details his exploits on the morning of September 11, which
are refreshingly non-dynamic. Rather than depicting himself running out the door
to help, as is the temptation when writing a story about your personal reaction to
great tragedy, Lewis and many other creators in the book simply paint a picture of
desperate phone calls, frantic e-mails and great personal reflection and fear. Despite
a medical condition that precludes him from Armed Services duty, Lewis confesses
to ever-so-briefly worrying about being drafted on September 11--a thought that surely
crossed the mind of every young male in the country in the hours following the attacks
on America.

John "Bean" Hastings has a short but poignant story about the importance of art and
popular culture in troubled times--it's clear that he put a lot of himself in a small
amount of pages, and the result is stellar. Keith Knight's indictment of middle America's
closedminded attacks against Arab-Americans and Danny Donovan's disappointment that
the heroes of comic books and movies weren't there to save us when it was truly needed,
hit home in witty and well-thought-out stories designed to make readers take a break
from the seemingly endless pages of grieving and think about their own attitudes.

All in all, "9-11" is a beautiful book, put together by truly talented people and
well-executed; it can do no person harm to buy a copy. Or two--the money, after all,
is going to charity.

Advanced Pranic Healing: Practical Handbook For Healing With Color Energies presents basic instructions for beginners who want to learn the technique of Pranic Healing. Master Choa Kok Sui is a Filipino-Chinese who has spent more than 20 years researching and experimenting with the wise use of subtle energy. He is also the founder of the Institute of Inner Studies and the World Pranic Foundation. In Advanced Pranic Healing, Master Choa clearly and concise explains his use of the eleven basic chakras, color prana, and preventive healing techniques. He also shares information about advanced Pranic treatments, including specific treatments for various ailments including gastrointestinal, urinary, reproductive, endocrine, skeletal, muscular, tumor, cancer, and blood disorders. Advanced Pranic Healing is a very highly recommended and accessible reference for students of alternative medicine, metaphysics, and Pranic Healing.

In the six years that I have been a professional pranic healer and certified psychotherapist, I have found myself almost always coming back to this book no matter how much I have learnt along the way. Theres always something there that can better a healing session, and the author's absolutely stunning command of the healing world is certainly awe-inspiring.

When I first attended the healing sessions conducted by Choa Kok Sui in Southern India, I had no idea it was to be one of the core foundations for the rest of my life. Admittedly, the basic healing practices can be learnt by anyone willing to open up to the novelty of the system, but I have found that the advanced healing systems, all mentioned in this book, are mastered only though repeated practice. The key word to being a successful healer is practice, practice and more practice. I often find myself self-healing through the day if theres no one to practice on, and believe me, it is the best way to develop the powers of visualization and intent, which are crucial to being a good pranic healer.

I am glad that America is slowly awaking to the wonder of pranic healing. While reiki healing has been here for a while, from my own learning I have found it to be a somewhat poor cousin to pranic healing simply because the cleaning process in pranic healing is much more elaborate and thorough. At the moment, my current patient suffers from a spinal problem that he has had since birth, and I was rather apprehensive about the number of healings I would have to perform before results showed themselves. In general, I find that the Western patients I have treated are more desirous of fast results than my Eastern counterparts, and in this case it was a stroke of good fortune all around when the patient seemed especially sensitive and open to the healing session. The wonder of pranic healing is when the patient sometimes expresses a physical reaction to the invisible process within minutes, making me believe that this system is not 'spiritual' as many insist, but rather a very down to earth and practical form of healing that human beings all around the world should show more interest in.

The great thing about this book is how it has been divided into parts exactly like an Occidental medical manual. This makes it so easy for a healer to pinpoint the ailment he wishes to treat, and for him to master the treatment beforehand. I have healed persons with kidney stones, my mother's chronic headache problems, my dad's bad back, and a whole bunch of friends and acquaintances. Very vital to pranic healing, and the books will also confirm this, is the necessity of meditation. I cannot stress enough how much this affects one's healing capabilities. Being a student of raja yoga, I find that any sort of meditation based on the Eastern systems (be it raja, kriya, or hatha, though I would highly recommend an inert form of meditation over active processes such as hatha yoga) helps immensely. Choa Kok Sui, who wrote this book, says that the meditation on twin hearts is the most beneficial, and it is well worth sticking to his advice.

For anyone who is remotely interested in pranic healing, I highly recommend this manual. If you are already a basic pranic healer, you HAVE to get this one! The next step after this level of pranic healing, is the healing with crystals, and I hope that ... soon carries that one as well. All these books are indispensable. Spread the word.

Master Choa's book, ADVANCED PRANIC HEALING, is a first-rate reference source for any healer doing highly specific color energy healing work. This book is ideal for advanced healers who are comfortable and experienced with doing healings and discerning a wide variety of energy conditions in people. While basic healing techniques are clearly described in the beginning, the majority of this book presumes a fair amount of experience and proficiency with color healings on the part of the reader. Those just starting out with color healing may still find this book useful, as it clearly describes what healers see and feel as they are doing pranic healings.

I am impressed with the breadth and depth of conditions described in this book along with their associated treatments. Everything from migraine headaches, inner ear infections, torn tendons, dislocations, to internal wounds, cataracts, kidney stones and deafness are discussed in detail. Recommendations on color density (lightness or darkness) as well as energization are given with explanations which I found illuminating and intriguing. Master Choa's experience with prana is evident throughout this beautifully written and illustrated book, leaving readers feeling inspired and well-informed. This book's index is clearly organized, so the healer can look up recommended treatments until such time as the underlying logic of it all sinks in (such as avoiding use of orange healing energies around peoples' heads, and paying attention to which way one's fingers are pointing).

Even though I mostly utilize universal healing energies, such as Reiki, I still find ADVANCED PRANIC HEALING immensely useful for its insights into what kinds of frequencies are best suited for various ailments. I recommend this book for anyone doing color healings, as well as those wishing to catch an intimate and revealing glimpse of the healer's world.

This book is a must for any healer and for anyone interested in laws of energy, health and improving the quality of one's or another's life. It gives clear,simple and precise guidelines for healing numerous ailments affecting the different systems of the body ( eg. respiratory, musculoskeletal etc). The technique can also be applied for the prevention of illness. I also recommend Pranic Healing and Pranic Psychotherapy by the same author, both equally brilliant. A true and priceless gift to humanity.

In this book you will learn alot about your ability as a healer and about yourself in general. Master Chau Kok Sui teaches you how to proform pranic healing...this is a cook book for pranic healing, no frills and very easy to read. After reading just the basics of getting started, I was able to heal my wife of her neck and shoulder pain and her head aches. For years I have been trying to find what I wanted to do with my life. Now that I have read this book I know exactly what I want to do... Thank you so much Master Chao Kok Sui!

This book was used as the underlying basis to understanding the policy process in my graduate level class that I took recently.

Overall I would give this book 5 stars because it is relatively thorough and it encompasses a great deal in a concise model that is easy to understand.

Kingdon discusses that his model is set within three streams, problem, policy and political. Each of these streams have their own unique characteristics that work to help merge with the others. When these streams, ideally all three, a policy window opens where action on policy can occur by a decision-making body such as Congress. With the help of policy entrepreneuers, national mood, policy communities, and much more as agents amongst these streams, each work to produce change on the agenda.

As this class was titled the policy process that I took, it explained how it began but this book does not cover how the process moves once something has been acted upon on the agenda.

If you are looking for understanding more about activity leading up to action, this is a great book. If you are looking to understand the process afterwards, this may not be the right book, but it will help you understand the forces leading up to a process of change.

Definitely, I would recommend this for any political science class at the undergraduate level. I am glad that I was fortunate enough to have it assigned in my grad level policy process class.

Kingdon has produced an innovative and useful theory of the policy process. This book is clearly not intended for the lay reader, but for political scientists and policy specialists interested in theorizing about policy formation.

Kingdon's writing style is somewhat formal, and at times stiff, but the book is easy to get through. Kingdon provides many concrete examples of the ideas he discusses, making the abstract principles easier to understand.

Recommended for classes on the policy process, especially in conjunction with Baumgarter and Jones' Agendas and Instability in American Politics.

I am in the graduate program at American University's School of Public Affairs. This book was required for one of the core classes. The theory--the dynamic, fluid model that Kingdon builds in this book has been practically adopted as THE mantra within policy formation/agenda setting research.
The book is well organized and easy to follow. It is not a challenging read but I found sections of the book to be a bit dry. Also, be ready to contend with literally hundreds of fluid metaphors that Kingdon employs throughout the book.

John Kingdon attempts to answer very difficult questions in his work "Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies." What makes an idea's time come? What makes people in and around government attend to some subjects and not to others? In short, Kingdon explores how ideas become policy in his 1994 award-winning book.

The book makes many interesting conclusions, as Kingdon uses scientific research methods to discuss how ideas become policy. It is amazing that Kingdon is able to quantify how influential certain groups are to policy formulation and implementation. In doing this, he looks at the influence of groups in and outside of government. Kingdon then goes onto his major two concepts of the policy primeval soup and the political stream. Both of these are wonderful illustrations of how policymaking happens.

In the end, this is a great book for public policy students. My only complaint is that Kingdon is oftentimes too wordy. It seems that he could have written a much more effective piece by summing it up in a 40-page journal article. In any event, the book is worth the read, even if some chapters are only skimmed.

Agenda setting, in the world of politics, is when a problem becomes identified as an issue that calls for government attention, discussion, and--possibly--decision making. This book is one of the most important works on agenda-setting.

John Kingdon has stated that:

Political events flow along according to their own dynamics and their own rules. Participants perceive swings in national mood, elections bring new administrations to power and new partisan or ideological distributions to Congress, and interest groups of various descriptions press (or fail to press) their demands on government.

The author sees three streams that must come together for an issue to be placed on the agenda--a political stream (just noted above), a policy stream (in which some policy proposal emerges as "best"), and a problem stream (a problem develops that people label as important). If they come together and if the window of opportunity for success is there, then the issue can become an agenda item. If the streams do not come together, agenda placement is unsuccessful--as with President Clinton's health care plan. That plan had two of three requirements in place. One, the political stream was supportive. A new President had been elected with his party having a majority in both houses of Congress; furthermore, Clinton outlined as a campaign issue support for a more ambitious health care program for Americans. The confluence of these two factors produced something like a "mandate" for change. Two, the problem stream saw health care bubbling up toward the top. That is, increasingly, people seemed to define health care as a serious problem about which something had to be done.

Nonetheless, no major initiative emerged to be fully considered. Clinton's plan was very nearly DOA (dead on arrival) once serious discussion began. Why? No single policy proposal garnered enough support. Democrats supported several different plans--such as a single payer system (in which government becomes the insurer), "pay or play" (in which businesses would largely fund health care insurance), and the Clinton plan itself (which focused on managed care). Thus, the policy stream never did "come together" around any single proposal. As a result, the initiative died and no substantial changes were forthcoming in the health care system.

What emerges in each stream is, to a large extent, "contingent," depending upon many factors--including chance. The result is unpredictability.

It may be that this work overemphasizes chance and contingency and underplays the role of human agency (for instance, the role of policy entrepreneurs who labot to get issues placed on the agenda and acted upon). Nonetheless, this is an exemplary work and well worth attending to if one is interested in setting the political agenda.

When I started reading the other reviews, I started sobbing. I was brought to the moment I first saw Sri Adi Da Samraj in person in 1986. He will also always remain for me Love-Ananda, and I started sobbing uncontrollably heart-broken just seeing him, and I was not until that point inclined that way. As the other reader said: I will always be his student/devotee. His Sacrifice is the first sacrifice and His Teaching, if any real history is told, will be known to be the geatest Dharma to have ever entered the world. It is overwhelming in it's breadth and depth alone, let alone the content, which is without peer. Why so many people fail to see what for me is obvious . . . i have only my own failure to respond in appropriate, deserving, and serious practice to look at.
All His critics are petty dharma bums, but as He has said: "You do well to be offended by Me"

I had been searching for God and the meaning of life for as long as I can remember. All that changed the moment I read Aham Da Asmi: Beloved, I Am Da; I knew in my heart that God had found me, at last -- the Living God is here for the sake of all beings! Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj's love and compassion is revealed in this amazing book. Never has such a proclamation so profound and moving ever been uttered. It has changed the course of my life, and I am eternally His devotee.

When I first got Aham Da Asmi, I hoped for a lot-- but there is so much more than I even dared hope for. Every time I read it, I find I am changed in some way-- a new understanding of myself, of the world and of God. Adi Da's elegant writing moves me through my confusions, and challenges me to live from a greater depth. For me, the wonderful mystery is: Who can write such transforming words? Who knows my heart so perfectly?

It is no longer necessary to wonder "where" God is, "what" God is or "who" God is. The great philosophical questions from time immemorial have all been answered by the Avataric Revelation of Adi Da Samraj, as communicated in Aham Da Asmi. Read this book, and you will surely see this is so-- and you will marvel at the glory and the beauty of this Divine Revelation.

There are several reasons why every person should read Aham Da Asmi. I have read it, and my life has been changed. That's an extreme statement to make about a book, but you will understand how I could say such a thing when you read Aham Da Asmi.

In Aham Da Asmi, Avatar Adi Da speaks in plain, straightforward language. What I appreciate the most is being addressed so directly-- for in this book, Adi Da speaks directly to the heart, and the more He spoke to my heart, the more He brought my heart to the fore as the one receiving His Revelation. I soon found myself in a "conversation" in which all my real questions were being answered. And the answers were plain Truth, spoken with the clarity and authority of one who knows. This book reveals Adi Da's utter commitment to engaging the heart of every being in a sacred dialogue. I have always looked for people who are interested in the great matters of life and spirituality, and if you are such a person, I am happy to introduce this book to you.

Essential contributions to the study of Western Esotericism. Alexandria issue #5 covers:
Dante and the Comic Way -- Joseph Meeker
An Ecology of Mind -- Doug Man
Science's Missing Half: Epistemological Pluralism and the Search for an Inclusive Cosmology -- David Fideler
Negotiating the Highwire of Heaven: The Milky Way and the Itinerary of the Soul -- E. C. Krupp
Nature and Nature's God: Modern Cosmology and the Rebirth of Natural Philosophy -- Theodore Roszak
Creativity: The Meeting of Apollo and Dionysus -- F. David Peat
Mithras, the Hypercosmic Sun, and the Rockbirth -- David Ulansey
Musical Emblems in the Renaissance: A Survey -- Christina Linsenmeyer-van Schalkwyk
Jung and the Alchemical Imagination -- Jeffrey Raff
Two Platonic Voices in America: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas M. Johnson -- David Fideler
Alcott's Transcendental Neoplatonism and the Concord Summer School -- Jay Bregman
Chaos and the Millennium -- Ralph Abraham
Is Anything the Matter? -- Roger S. Jones
Magnificent Desolation -- Dana Wilde
Soul Loss and Soul Making -- Kabir Helminski
Ideal Beauty and Sensual Beauty in Works of Art -- Aphrodite Alexandrakis
Socrates and the Art of Dialogue -- Robert Apatow
Footprints on the Threshold -- Christine Rhone
Science: Method, Myth, Metaphor? -- Amy Ione
Teaching Archaeoastronomy -- Greg Whitlock
Oneiriconographia: Entering Poliphilo's Utopian Dreamscape - A Review Essay -- Peter Lamborn Wilson
Memorial of A. H. Armstrong -- Jay Bregman

Memorial of Marie-Louise von Franz -- Jeffrey Raff
About the Contributors

Essential contributions to the study of Western Esotericism. Alexandria issue #5 covers:
Dante and the Comic Way -- Joseph Meeker
An Ecology of Mind -- Doug Man
Science's Missing Half: Epistemological Pluralism and the Search for an Inclusive Cosmology -- David Fideler
Negotiating the Highwire of Heaven: The Milky Way and the Itinerary of the Soul -- E. C. Krupp
Nature and Nature's God: Modern Cosmology and the Rebirth of Natural Philosophy -- Theodore Roszak
Creativity: The Meeting of Apollo and Dionysus -- F. David Peat
Mithras, the Hypercosmic Sun, and the Rockbirth -- David Ulansey
Musical Emblems in the Renaissance: A Survey -- Christina Linsenmeyer-van Schalkwyk
Jung and the Alchemical Imagination -- Jeffrey Raff
Two Platonic Voices in America: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas M. Johnson -- David Fideler
Alcott's Transcendental Neoplatonism and the Concord Summer School -- Jay Bregman
Chaos and the Millennium -- Ralph Abraham
Is Anything the Matter? -- Roger S. Jones
Magnificent Desolation -- Dana Wilde
Soul Loss and Soul Making -- Kabir Helminski
Ideal Beauty and Sensual Beauty in Works of Art -- Aphrodite Alexandrakis
Socrates and the Art of Dialogue -- Robert Apatow
Footprints on the Threshold -- Christine Rhone
Science: Method, Myth, Metaphor? -- Amy Ione
Teaching Archaeoastronomy -- Greg Whitlock
Oneiriconographia: Entering Poliphilo's Utopian Dreamscape - A Review Essay -- Peter Lamborn Wilson
Memorial of A. H. Armstrong -- Jay Bregman

Memorial of Marie-Louise von Franz -- Jeffrey Raff
About the Contributors

Essential contributions to the study of Western Esotericism. Alexandria issue #5 covers:
Dante and the Comic Way -- Joseph Meeker
An Ecology of Mind -- Doug Man
Science's Missing Half: Epistemological Pluralism and the Search for an Inclusive Cosmology -- David Fideler
Negotiating the Highwire of Heaven: The Milky Way and the Itinerary of the Soul -- E. C. Krupp
Nature and Nature's God: Modern Cosmology and the Rebirth of Natural Philosophy -- Theodore Roszak
Creativity: The Meeting of Apollo and Dionysus -- F. David Peat
Mithras, the Hypercosmic Sun, and the Rockbirth -- David Ulansey
Musical Emblems in the Renaissance: A Survey -- Christina Linsenmeyer-van Schalkwyk
Jung and the Alchemical Imagination -- Jeffrey Raff
Two Platonic Voices in America: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas M. Johnson -- David Fideler
Alcott's Transcendental Neoplatonism and the Concord Summer School -- Jay Bregman
Chaos and the Millennium -- Ralph Abraham
Is Anything the Matter? -- Roger S. Jones
Magnificent Desolation -- Dana Wilde
Soul Loss and Soul Making -- Kabir Helminski
Ideal Beauty and Sensual Beauty in Works of Art -- Aphrodite Alexandrakis
Socrates and the Art of Dialogue -- Robert Apatow
Footprints on the Threshold -- Christine Rhone
Science: Method, Myth, Metaphor? -- Amy Ione
Teaching Archaeoastronomy -- Greg Whitlock
Oneiriconographia: Entering Poliphilo's Utopian Dreamscape - A Review Essay -- Peter Lamborn Wilson
Memorial of A. H. Armstrong -- Jay Bregman

Memorial of Marie-Louise von Franz -- Jeffrey Raff
About the Contributors

Essential contributions to the study of Western Esotericism. Alexandria issue #5 covers:
Dante and the Comic Way -- Joseph Meeker
An Ecology of Mind -- Doug Man
Science's Missing Half: Epistemological Pluralism and the Search for an Inclusive Cosmology -- David Fideler
Negotiating the Highwire of Heaven: The Milky Way and the Itinerary of the Soul -- E. C. Krupp
Nature and Nature's God: Modern Cosmology and the Rebirth of Natural Philosophy -- Theodore Roszak
Creativity: The Meeting of Apollo and Dionysus -- F. David Peat
Mithras, the Hypercosmic Sun, and the Rockbirth -- David Ulansey
Musical Emblems in the Renaissance: A Survey -- Christina Linsenmeyer-van Schalkwyk
Jung and the Alchemical Imagination -- Jeffrey Raff
Two Platonic Voices in America: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas M. Johnson -- David Fideler
Alcott's Transcendental Neoplatonism and the Concord Summer School -- Jay Bregman
Chaos and the Millennium -- Ralph Abraham
Is Anything the Matter? -- Roger S. Jones
Magnificent Desolation -- Dana Wilde
Soul Loss and Soul Making -- Kabir Helminski
Ideal Beauty and Sensual Beauty in Works of Art -- Aphrodite Alexandrakis
Socrates and the Art of Dialogue -- Robert Apatow
Footprints on the Threshold -- Christine Rhone
Science: Method, Myth, Metaphor? -- Amy Ione
Teaching Archaeoastronomy -- Greg Whitlock
Oneiriconographia: Entering Poliphilo's Utopian Dreamscape - A Review Essay -- Peter Lamborn Wilson
Memorial of A. H. Armstrong -- Jay Bregman

Memorial of Marie-Louise von Franz -- Jeffrey Raff
About the Contributors

Essential contributions to the study of Western Esotericism. Alexandria issue #5 covers:
Dante and the Comic Way -- Joseph Meeker
An Ecology of Mind -- Doug Man
Science's Missing Half: Epistemological Pluralism and the Search for an Inclusive Cosmology -- David Fideler
Negotiating the Highwire of Heaven: The Milky Way and the Itinerary of the Soul -- E. C. Krupp
Nature and Nature's God: Modern Cosmology and the Rebirth of Natural Philosophy -- Theodore Roszak
Creativity: The Meeting of Apollo and Dionysus -- F. David Peat
Mithras, the Hypercosmic Sun, and the Rockbirth -- David Ulansey
Musical Emblems in the Renaissance: A Survey -- Christina Linsenmeyer-van Schalkwyk
Jung and the Alchemical Imagination -- Jeffrey Raff
Two Platonic Voices in America: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas M. Johnson -- David Fideler
Alcott's Transcendental Neoplatonism and the Concord Summer School -- Jay Bregman
Chaos and the Millennium -- Ralph Abraham
Is Anything the Matter? -- Roger S. Jones
Magnificent Desolation -- Dana Wilde
Soul Loss and Soul Making -- Kabir Helminski
Ideal Beauty and Sensual Beauty in Works of Art -- Aphrodite Alexandrakis
Socrates and the Art of Dialogue -- Robert Apatow
Footprints on the Threshold -- Christine Rhone
Science: Method, Myth, Metaphor? -- Amy Ione
Teaching Archaeoastronomy -- Greg Whitlock
Oneiriconographia: Entering Poliphilo's Utopian Dreamscape - A Review Essay -- Peter Lamborn Wilson
Memorial of A. H. Armstrong -- Jay Bregman

Memorial of Marie-Louise von Franz -- Jeffrey Raff
About the Contributors

The scope of this book was amazing! the entire content and lay out was easy to use. the ammount of information contained within is amazing. It is without a doubt the most complete and comprehensive book of it's kind. I would recommend this book to any one who wants a more complete understanding of herbs, vitamins, diet..etc. I have had the pleasure of meeting and discussing this book with the author Joseph Marion he is a very knowledgeable person in this field and should be commended on his hard work in putting this manual together, it's long over due coming.

Joseph Barlow, M.H.

This guide provides a wealth of information
on virtually everything concerning health, nutrition,
food analysis, treatment of ailments, herbology etc.
I strongly recommend this book.

This is good attack on modern medicines use of drugs and how they could be avoided.. Since plants can't be patented like drugs so little research is done on thier powers.. But if you buy this book you'll be able to do quite a bit of research on herbs, vitamins, amino acids and power foods.. I could share things that aren't in this book that work but who knows I might want to sell a remedy myself someday..

The book can be sometimes confusing where the information is so thick it becomes confusing.. It doesn't have every rememdy in the world here but is without a doubt the best attempt to do so..

You can find maximium dossages for various vitamins in this book... It is well organized and has a little bit of everything.. If your suffering you might be able to do some deductive resoning to cure yourself of your ailment.. good luck..

THIS IS A JEWEL PEOPLE. I OWN ABOUT 25 BOOKS ON HERBS, VITAMINS, AND NATURAL HEALING. THIS BOOK IS BY FAR THE MOST USEFUL OUT OF MY ENTIRE LIBRARY. WHEN I NEED TO KNOW SOMETHING, I GRAB THIS BOOK FIRST, AND RARELY DO I NEED TO GO FURTHER TO ANOTHER BOOK.

THE AUTHOR WROTE THIS COMPENDIUM WITH "INFORMATION" IN MIND. IT ISN'T WELL WRITTEN. IT'S MORE LIKE A BRAIN DRAIN OF DATA ON JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU CAN EVER WANT TO LOOK UP. THE GOOD THING IS THAT YOU'LL LEARN AMAZING THINGS THAT YOU WON'T FIND IN ANY OTHER BOOK IN EXISTENCE. THE BAD THING IS THAT SOMETIMES YOU MAY GET ANNOYED WITH THE SEARCH FOR SOMETHING. IT IS CLUTTERED AND AT TIMES LABORIOUS WHEN TRYING TO LOCATE SOMETHING.

I HOPE THE AUTHOR WILL INCLUDE BETTER HEADINGS AND BETTER ORGANIZATION OF MATERIAL UNDER EACH HEADING IN A NEWER EDITION...

BUY THIS BOOK.

I have 3 words for you: BUY THIS BOOK!!

THis is the most informative, thorough, interesting book on natural health I have ever read!

If you hate to read, this book is probably not for you. It's also not for people who have trouble comprehending what they read. People who love to read, who have a intense interest in nutrition, natural health, science, or healing will absolutely adore this book. I guard mine with my life! Especially now that I see it is out of print. If I had the cash, I would buy another copy while I still can. The book is truly incredible! It contains a phenomenol amount of information. Very in-depth details, everything you need to know about specific vitamins, herbs, minerals, amino acids, etc. And also enlightening information regarding some unorthodox healing methods. In depth information about energy, electricity, auras, and so forth. It is absolutely amazing how much information this book contains. The format and organization is unique, and in some ways difficult to follow at first. BUt that's because it contains SO MUCH information! And the quality of the information it contains is worth taking the time to re-read it. The author did an incredible job with this book, and you can tell he put a great deal of time, effort, and research into it! It's worth it's weight in gold!! (And this is one heavy book! :)

An introduction to the philosophy and the practice of the Bach Flower Remedies. Dr. Edward Bach (a homeopathic physician) developed his own theory about the causes of disease.

It lists the appropriate remedy for each symptom.

Good as a starting point.

Have you ever noticed how your mood is instantly elevated when you inhale the scent of a rose deeply and with purpose. The world seems like a better place instantly. Rose oil has a frequency of around 320 MHz. Flowers are beautiful on their own and can lift your mood with their fragrance or with their petals blowing in the breeze in nature.

So, what other secrets do flowers conceal? Apparently, they can help us to change our emotional state. The scent of roses is said to dispel anger, or so I have read! In this book, flowers are celebrated as natural healers which can help us return to a healthful state.

Our emotions can at times manifest themselves as a health issue and greatly affect our bodies. Dr. Edward Bach (1897-1936) believed that physical illness was a manifestation of emotional imbalance. He believed we can heal and balance the body with nontoxic methods.

Some of the remedies include:

ASPEN - For fear or anxiety IMPATIENS - For impatience, irritability and nervousness. MUSTARD - Severe depression WILLOW - For neutralizing resentment and bitterness VERVIAN - For tension and hyperactivity or overachieving STAR OF BETHLEHEM - For mental shock

There are also remedies you can take for sensitivity, disappointment, muscular cramps, skin rashes, recurrent ailments, critical attitudes and bad dreams.

Look into other health remedies like Arnica for injuries, Pulsatilla for nasal problems, Cantharis for cystitis, Chamomile tea for a restful sleep and Gelsemium for flu symptoms. Look for a homeopathic brand called: Oscillococcinum for symptoms of the flu in the winter. The theory is that a infinitesimal amount of a plant substance can stimulate the body's healing defenses.

The closer you can match your symptom to the remedy, the more effective it will be for you. I suggest reading other homeopathy books along with this one. I also recommend "Reference Guide for Essential Oils by Connie and Alan Higley" from abundant-health4u.com as they have the best products I have found so far.

~The Rebecca Review

This book is a wonderful introduction to both the philosophy and the practice of the Bach Flower Remedies. It provides a lot of information without overwhelming the reader. The book is arranged in three sections. The first is Dr. Bach's essay entitled "Heal Thyself" which is about how each one of us has the power and is capable of healing ourself, the second section gives a short, useful description of each essence. The third section is a wonderful list of numerous emotional states and the appropriate essence to use for each one.

If you're at all interested in learning how to treat yourself using these remedies, this is the book for you. I've had this book for approximately 6 months and it is well worn already!

Dr. Edward Bach, a skilled homeopathic physician, developed his own theory about the cause of disease. Dr. Bach believed that physical diseases begin as an imbalance in the patient's emotional well-being. By attending to emotions and weeding out harmful emotions from the patient's psyche, a healing trend can be initiated that assists the patient in avoiding future physical diseases. Treating emotional states addresses diseases while they are still at the energy level. Dr. Bach believed that the flower essences could even be helpful once disease had progressed to a physical manifestation. The flower essences do not replace other treatments such as homeopathy, but they can assist other treatments by soothing the patient's mental condition and initiating preliminary steps towards healing the imbalance that led to the disease in the first place.

This book is filled with wonderful information that the beginner can use to learn to use the flower essences to heal themselves and others. It is the basic text and everyone who is interested in flower essences should have this text regardless of what other texts they own as well. Bach thoroughly explains his theory on the source of disease and then each flower essence is examined, one by one, showing the emotional profile of the patient who would most benefit from each remedy.

The system is very simple and can be learned easily by the layman but it is very effective -- only 38 remedies cover the entirety of negative human emotions! Dr. Bach insisted that the flower essences be kept simple because he believed that their simplicity was a key factor of their effectiveness. Treating one's self and others with flower essences is simple to learn but it is also an art that one will spend the rest of their lifetime developing and perfecting.

Wonderful basic Bach Flower Remedies book. It also contains Dr. Bach's 'Heal Thyself', an amazing writing on illness, its character, origin, & healing. It gives a spiritual basis for illness, a much needed perspective in our modern world of medical materialism.

Amazingly easy REAL common sense solutions to help yourself to better health effectively and efficiently in as little as 60-90 days. Dr. D. is WAY ahead of his time in providing the tools you need to finally FEEL GREAT. Beyond Medicine is for anyone interested in improving the quality of their life or know someone else who is...
I wish I had known about this years ago!
Sheryl M.

Dr. DiCenso has a miraculous proven technique that gives hope and help to many suffering from physical and emotional pain. The book explains constant negative thinking patterns need to drastically and immediately change and physical symptoms will change as well. These negative thought patterns are the Vicious Cycle Disorder where your own thoughts continually keep your physical symptoms alive and well. Dr. DiCenso gives a unique and successful way of changing this merry-go-round of negativity and suffering. This amazing process begins with the Matrix Assessment Profile and it offers a way to rid the constant pain and find a new positive lifestyle. He combines basic healthy everyday elements with a way to change the aggravating, twirling, self-defeating thoughts. This book is a necessity for everyone to understand the concept that we can improve and grow in a positive direction and release all of our pain into the past.

Dr. Richard Dicenso has written a very thought provoking book that explores healing and illness from a truly holistic model. His perspective encompasses not only the physical manifestations of imbalance, but also the too often ignored realms of emotion, consciousness and spirit. This is a book that you will want to read more than once because it is filled with wisdom and insight. I found this book very inspiring and a source of hope as well as practical guidance for all those seeking to achieve balance and wellness in their lives. Dr. Dicenso's book is one of the best books on healing that I have ever read.

Ever more clinicians are recognizing the limitations of the biomedical model of illness and the importance of considering not only the psychological, social, subtle and spiritual components of the human organism, but also how they each change over time.

This time factor is critically important. Time runs at different speeds and even in different directions in each of these five domains. It is also important because a good healer soon learns that time management is considerably less important than energy management: time provides the structure but energy provides the dynamic power that enables our lives and the lives of our patients to flourish. While time is limited, energy is not. Or rather it should not be. But sometimes we do our best to sabotage it. Instead of relying upon contacting and using our inner energy, we steal it from other people or rely on the quick fixes of caffeine, sugar or a hundred other suboptimal solutions that leave their tracks in each of the five domains.

But underlying time and the five domains, there is a timeless, dynamic, intelligent blueprint - often called the Informational Matrix - that constantly generates the plans and strategies that keep us alive. When we lose touch with that Source we either become sick or die. Physical medicine, herbs, nutrition, postural work and energy medicine are all essential components of treatment and health maintenance, but over the last three decades, ever more therapists have been interested in doing more than treating people who have already "fallen off the cliff:" Nobody wants to move the deckchairs on the Titanic! So in addition to physical and energy medicine, there has, since the early 1980s been growing interest in "Information Medicine."

If it is indeed possible to influence the Informational Matrix, then we might be getting at the root of the problem. And that should in turn direct the subtle systems of the body. That does not mean a "get out of jail free card!" Our efforts could yet be thwarted by poor lifestyle choices, though those choices become less common as we work with people's information systems.

There is a second observation that has been known by specialists for many years, and that is the concept of the pain cycle. Many people with chronic headache or intractable back pain may no longer have any obvert physical pathology, yet the pain will not budge: they have entered a chronic pain cycle, that is probably mediated by some precise circuits in the thalamus of the brain. But you can be sure that these chronic problems have also left their imprint in the other systems of the body. The pain is not solely psychological or psychosomatic. It is as real as having a pin inserted into your forearm. It is surprising to find how few therapists have been taught about or discovered these pain cycles. And it is not just pain: many pathological patterns can establish vicious circles in the body or mind that are similar to obsessive ruminations, obsessive-compulsive thoughts or an ohrwurm that has occupied someone's mind.

The trouble is that these vicious circles can sometimes be very hard to break.

This book by Richard DiCenso is an extremely important contribution and propels the whole field of information medicine forward, with what he calls "Vicious Cycle Disorders," and his novel approaches to treating them.

Richard starts by speaking of his initial frustration about trying to treat the 20% of the population who have chronic symptoms for which there is no readily apparent cause. Sometimes these people are given an array of diagnoses or interpretations of their symptoms such as "chronic fatigue syndrome," "sub-clinical hypothyroidism," "adrenal fatigue" or "Candida infections," all of which may be present, but the underlying problem is of a life out of balance. The cutting edge of medicine is not molecular biology or brain science. They are important and knowledge about them essential. But the real progress is being made in a new science: the science of re-integration. The reintegration of mind, body and spirit.

Richard has an ambitious goal: "to develop a working mode for behaviors that lead to a life of conscious co-creation and fulfillment."

Yet his novel approaches have made these goals attainable in a unique way. First the book contains a great many useful techniques for dealing with problems like repetitive thoughts and nutritional deficiencies. Second he has devised something called a "Matrix Assessment Profile" that helps pinpoint some of the precise disturbances in the body that are causing symptoms. He has created a very informative website containing a lot of information about the evaluation and how to get it done.

Richard DiCenso has created a wonderful healing system based on the essential truth that the future of the healing arts lies in whole person therapy.

Highly recommended.


Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life

Beyond Medicine is THE BOOK for our times and especially for the doctors and patients of the USA who have been brought up to believe that fixing illness is no more sophisticated than treating symptoms much as "Click and Clack the Tapet Brothers" might listen to the symptoms of a dysfunctional car and come up with a diagnosis on their National Public Radio program. It is vindication for all of those suffering from symptoms for which there seems to be no overt cause. It affirms the incredible complexity and mystery that is the human experience and gives hope to sufferers by outlining a matrix of considerations and activities that may treat the causes of disease instead of merely addressing the complaints. If you are interested in health, either yours or others, this book is a must read.