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Far Journeys - Robert Monroe Robert Monroe was one of the pioneers of out-of-body travels, bursting onto the scene with his first of three books in the 70's. This is the second of those three and, in a lot of ways, it's my favorite. While his first, Journeys Out of the Body, documents all of his earliest experiments with the OOBE (Out of body experience), Far Journeys, which was released in '85, takes you on a much denser ride through many of the more infinitely complex experiences he had since his first book. And believe me, if you think Monroe is some kind of new age fruit cake, writing these lofty memoirs about "sacred encounters" with aliens, please dispel that thought from your mind. This is one of the most thorough, non-biased works on the phenomenon available. It's downright scientific, actually. And yet, in it's microscopic dryness, there is a credibility and authenticity in his work that enables you to ponder its staggering implications more faithfully. One of the most valuable aspects of this book is its meticulous exploration of the para-psychological terrain that is referred to so often in the life after death or near-death experience books. Contemplating this stuff makes you realize how much is really going on around us that we can't experience with our five senses and brings you to a deeper understanding of what we're doing here in these physical bodies. Heavy stuff...
Quantum Reality - Nick Herbert Here is another one that is definitely NOT in the "light reading" category. But, stumbling through its profound density has a big pay-off...and a lot of validation. As I have personally written in my own work, we are at an exciting time in coming to understand the big picture of our existence because - finally - science is putting a face on what so many spiritual paths have been saying for years. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we do create our own reality, and this is one of the more eloquently written books about the how, what and why, scientifically speaking, that this is the case.
Smile, You're Traveling - Henry Rollins Since coming into international renown as the lead singer for Black Flag in the 80's, Rollins has consistently hovered just under the radar of household name-dom as the front man for The Rollins Band, an acclaimed spoken word performer, an actor and the author of over a dozen very engaging books. I've been a fan for years. His speaking shows are riveting, as is much of his writing. Smile, You're Traveling is probably as good a representation of Rollins' writing as anything. With a travel theme throughout, much of the work is based on his journal entries from the late 90's, which detail everything from hangin' out in England during a Black Sabbath reunion, to a little downtime in Africa for some R & R. This is definitely the world according to Rolllins, but that's what's so engaging about his work. He tells it like it is with searing authenticity.
Good to Great - Jim Collins Management research guru/author Jim Collins wrote this book around the following question: How does a company go from being good to being great and sustain their results for a significant amount of time? To fully find the answer, Collins and his 21-person research team embarked on a 5-year journey where they meticulously analyzed over 1400 publicly traded companies, looking for those that made - and sustained - quantifiable improvements. This mammoth list was whittled down to just 28, 11 of which were deemed as the "elite" examples of a good-to-great company. (Some of these included Gillette, Wells Fargo, Walgreens and William Morris.) And all of this hyper-analysis, by the way, was brought about through the study and scrutiny of over 6000 articles and over 2000 pages of interviews. The point of it all was to see if there were some common threads and key concepts shared by any or all of these good to great companies. There were actually many (as I'm sure Collins was happy to learn!)...in ways that would even prove predictable, yet often unexpected. And in this highly-organized, thoroughly researched and exceptionally well-written book, Collins and co. present these ideas as universal themes that can easily be applied to anyone looking to maximize their efforts in whatever career path they're on. (And no, you don't have to own a publicly traded or even large company to benefit from this book.) If this book hits you like it hit me, you will be refining, reinventing and reevaluating many of your career strategies and practices. This is definitely an enlightening read, especially for us artistic types who woefully neglect or severely mismanage the business/strategic side of our art.
Ask And It Is Given - Esther and Jerry Hicks Since the late 80's, the teachings of Abraham have been clearly and eloquently conveyed through the efforts of Esther and Jerry Hicks, primarily in the form of live lectures and their subsequent audio programs. To me, this material is among the most profound on the planet, and this book is an excellent encapsulation of their very dense, yet practical, teachings. The overall premise of the Abraham material is essentially this: we are eternal beings, extentions of Source Energy, here to actualize our desires and create our own reality. To this end, the book takes you through many of the classic Abraham concepts like the Law of Attraction, the Art of Allowing, Deliberate Creation, and the Emotional Scale, where they define the vibrational "ladder" of emotions so you can more easily make vertical progress toward higher consciousness. Great stuff. I'm still partial to the Abraham audios, only because Esther's delivery as a speaker is so utterly compelling. But - this book is a must-have, just the same. Don't miss this one.
News From True Cultivators - Rev. Heng Sure Back in the 70's, a young buddhist monk named Heng Sure decided to put his proverbial money where his mouth was and make an unprecedented statement for world peace. Starting off from Los Angeles, Heng Sure embarked on a pilgrimage where he would take two complete steps forward, then go into a full bow; a nose-to-the-ground kneeling prostration. He would then stand up and repeat. Two steps, full bow. Two steps, full bow. He did this for two-and-a-half years, covering a total of 800 miles up the west coast along the winding Highway 101. He also maintained his vow of silence the entire time (which was part of a six-year vow). Accompanied by a fellow monk named Heng Chau who looked after things along the way, the two slept in their car at night, ate wild greens and donated food and wrote letters to their master in the bay area, describing the good, bad and ugly that they encountered along the way. This book is a collection of those writings. I have since had the pleasure of meeting and corresponding with Reverend Sure on several occasions and, let me assure you, he is the real deal. A fascinating read.
Besides being a brilliant actress, Angelina is a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR, an organization that assists refugees from around the world. This book is a collection of the rather detailed journal entries she compiled while traveling through Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador. Her writing is simple, understated and completely free of pretense, emanating an emotional charge that draws you into her surroundings. These were obviously life-changing experiences for her, and the honesty of her writing, by extension, makes this book a potentially life-changing experience for the reader. It's never pleasant to have a front row seat to the unspeakable atrocities that our fellow humans are capable of inflicting on one another. And it is no doubt disheartening to be reminded of the seemingly unbearable struggles that continue for the untold millions of refugees around the world who remain faceless to most of us. Nevertheless, with "Notes From My Travels," Angelina provides a number of poignant snapshots...many of which you will not be getting out of your head anytime soon. It's important that we know the truth, and this book is nothing but the truth. I bet you will see your world differently once you start reading this...
The Playboy Interviews - Alex Haley The world, of course, knows Alex Haley as the prolific author of Roots and co-author of the Malcolm X autobiography. But he was also the original interviewer/writer for Playboy's highly-revered monthly feature interview segment. This book is, primarily, the complete collection of all of Haley's interviews for them. From the magazine's inaugural interview with jazz great Miles Davis in September of '62, through the last one he conducted with legendary producer Quincy Jones in July of '90, Haley not only displays his eloquent writing style, but also his prowess as a master of the art of the interview. And with interviews featuring the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Carson, Jim Brown, and others, one would be hard-pressed to find a clearer snapshot of our turbulent 60's. Most compelling to me, however, are two additional pieces in this book: One - a Playboy interview of Alex himself (conducted by longtime friend and editor Murray Fisher) from January '77, just as Roots was becoming a national phenomenon as both a best-selling book and a record-breaking TV mini-series, and; Two - an article Haley wrote for Playboy called "There Are Days When I Wish It Hadn't Happened," which details Haley's roller coaster ride from a struggling writer dodging bill collectors to an American icon. Inspiring and insightful stuff. And again, we're talking great writing throughout. Haley was notoriously meticulous and reverent about his craft, and this book, on a variety of levels, reveals that he was first and foremost a master craftsman who placed writing above all else...even as the rest of the world aspired to corner him into pop culture immortality. This book might be difficult to find. But if you happen across a copy somewhere, grab it immediately!
This book just absolutely, positively blows my head off every time I read it. The material is extremely dense, profound and thought provoking, and yet it's delivered in a way that's very "reader-friendly," with a tone that's light and warm. The net result has been - at least in my experience - a work that resonates with me so profoundly that it remains somewhat of the definitive spiritual text for me. This is actually the third book of the Conversations with God trilogy, an unlikely series to spend the unbelievable number of weeks that it has on the New York Times bestseller list. But Truth is Truth and, as farfetched as the premise behind these books might be to some, there is a searing honesty and a soul-shaking authenticity in this material that is simply undeniable. All three books are built around these very in depth...well, conversations with God! Walsch describes how, at a critical time of deep frustration in his personal life, a therapeutic attempt at writing an angry "Dear God" letter strangely, and almost indescribably, segued into a powerful internal dialogue that has endured for these three volumes. But again, how it all came about quickly takes a back seat to the information and insights in these books. Virtually all key subjects are covered as Walsch asks the questions you or I would likely ask and lengthy discussions ensue. With a casual student/teacher kind of rapport throughout, the light bulbs keep poppin', almost as if you're rediscovering Truths that you once seemed to know but have forgotten. No matter what spiritual path you're on, this is highly recommended.
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