RE V I EWS


THE POWER OF SYMBOLS Peter Dean Paperback 134 pages


Don’t be fooled by this modest looking tome; it is packed from cover to cover with fascinating insight. The Power of Symbols explores some of the world’s most powerful symbols, bringing them together in one handy and unique book.


More than just a reference guide, The Power of Symbols also acts as a useful resource for those interested in meditation, dream analysis, divination and art; it discusses the origins and interpretations of symbols within the historical context of their original cultures, followed by a comprehensive interpretation of that symbol’s relevance to the modern era.


Starting with pre-historic and pagan eras, the book goes on to cover key symbols from some of the major historical civilisations, with symbols from Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Celtic, Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures. Well-known icons like the Chinese yin/yang symbol feature alongside lesser-known symbols like the Greek symbol caduceus. While that name probably draws a blank you’d no doubt recognise the symbol itself – a rod with wings surrounded by two entwined snakes – a medical symbol still widely used today.


What makes this book so unique is that it is also functions as a self-development tool, and the author discusses the ways in which symbols have personal meaning on an individual level. One way of using the book is to take note of any symbols that seem to grab your attention or resonate with you for some reason; read the description to see how it relates to your current life or state of development and to learn what wisdom the symbol wishes to impart.


Melissa Sorini


LOVE IT FORWARD Jeff Brown Paperback 180 pages


The thing I loved most about “Love It Forward” was that it felt like the spiritual equivalent of hanging out at the pub and having a heart-to-heart with a really wise friend; someone who has survived many challenging life experiences with positivity and wit still intact. Jeff Brown seems like the kind of guy who can drop all of this awesome life wisdom on you before casually strolling over to the pool table and beating you at every game.


“Love it Forward” is a brilliant book full of incredibly beautiful quotes and sublime wisdom. As you start to read, the author drops several subtle hints that his life growing up was not an easy one, and when he finally states the truth of his past it hits with force: “Poverty, a hateful mother, a violent father, left me feeling so hopeless it was hard to go on”.


That a man with such light-filled perspective on life could ever have lived in such darkness is a revelation. He talks of standing down your abuser and asserting boundaries with those who have violated ours. He talks about disappointment in relationships and urges us to stay true to our destinies by being authentic and original. Another recurring theme is his musing on external distractions, consumerism and the dubious way we have come to define success.


One of the most refreshing aspects of this book is his refusal to blame the victim, acknowledging that, “Sometimes there are people in such horrifyingly difficult situations that positivity is not enough to save them. And sometimes people need to express their victimhood as part of their healing.” Compassion, thy name is Jeff Brown.


Melissa Sorini


INNER GUIDANCE: OUR DIVINE BIRTHRIGHT


Anne Archer Butcher Paperback 270 pages


Inner Guidance is a book dedicated to shining a light on the phenomenon of inner guidance as the voice of God, seeking to illustrate how we can connect with divine wisdom and fulfill our destiny. Butcher is a member of the Eckankar clergy, Eckankar being a religious movement which believe the teachings of their organisation provide an individual pathway to higher states of consciousness and the understanding of the self as eternal soul.


Anne Archer Butcher is a one-woman case study for this book, and she uses her personal life journey to map out and illustrate the spiritual principles of Eckankar and inner guidance. The author’s passion and enthusiasm for the topic leaps off the page, and the dynamic pacing of each chapter makes it a page-turning read.


Each chapter is dedicated to a new lesson, covering a range of topics that start with the basics like learning to listen, before moving to comprehensive topics like inner guidance as prophecy and the role of inner guidance in out-of-body experiences and resolving karmic connections from the past. As the book progresses, the author introduces esoteric spiritual concepts such as Mahanta (our inner guide) and the art of using “HU” prayer.


The book takes us on a mystical ride through the extraordinary events of Anne’s life; her bizarre and entertaining encounters with sharks, dolphins and escaped circus elephants; and sombre events like her near-death experience in a motor vehicle accident, and in a life-saving intervention, she diagnoses her sister with an aneurysm while she is on her death bed. Anne attributes her amazing life to her willingness to listen to her inner guidance, and urges us to do the same.


Melissa Sorini july 2014 41


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48