Resources: Books that have had a significant impact on my life, practice, and self-development.
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind by Deepak Chopra
I listened to this book every morning for months over and over again as I dressed to go to work. It is very deep, and Deepak’s statements led me to dwell on them before I could decide what I needed to do with the information. In amazement, I tried to understand that the experience of time can actually influence your biological clock. He states, “In moments of transcendence, when time stands still, your biological clock will stop.” How he combines biology, philosophy and quantum science with the ancient wisdom of those that have gone before him is fascinating. Again, I love pulling in anything I read that would be helpful in working with clients and for my own self-growth. His “silencing of the mind” led me deeper into my meditation practices where my musings began taking shape.
Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss
When this book came out in 1988, I was one of the first to read it. Since I had a prior interest in reincarnation and now practiced as a therapist, I read the book in two hours. It is a fascinating account of Dr. Weiss hypnotizing his client to early childhood memories and then she jumped back to past lives. Because Dr. Weiss came from such a traditional training ground at Columbia University and Yale Medical School, it was captivating to read how he slowly became a believer in past lives. I sat on this book for two years debating what to do with this information. Even though I was traditionally trained at the University of Virginia, I could no longer sit on the sidelines. Determined, I went to Miami in 1991 and received past-life regression training by Dr. Weiss. It has been a fascinating journey ever since and a major influence on my life. It gave me courage to write Stepping Into my Happiest Lifetime.
Through Time into Healing by Dr. Brian Weiss
In this book, Dr. Weiss puts his scientific protocols into place. He uses many past life case histories to show how regression therapy can heal grief, relationships, and phobias and act as the breakthrough to heal mind, body, and soul. If you have a particular issue in your life, you will probably find an example of it in this book. Another fascinating read.
Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung
This book is much less complicated than Jung’s prior works. It explains just who Carl Jung, the man, is and unlocks the key to his work. One can see the connection to what is beyond us. Understanding our unconscious thoughts as we do in hypnotherapy brings the awareness we’ve been looking for in life. He speaks of the collective unconscious that I refer to in my web site. It references those people who do not believe in past lives but still benefit from past-life regression. I feel that I pulled my book Musings to Help the Soul Remember from a universal collective unconscious.
Manifest Your Destiny: The Nine Spiritual Principles for Getting Everything You Want by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
This is a wonderful book for clarifying and cementing your goals in life. It was one of the first books I read and listened to on tape ten years ago that started me on the road to daily meditation. Dr. Dyer has described techniques that are easy to follow for the person desiring to begin a daily practice of meditation. It assisted me in identifying and building on the meditation techniques that have allowed me to manifest my destiny!
Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon-Survival of Bodily Death by Raymond Moody
I read this book about 20 years ago. It is a survey by Raymond Moody of people that had near death experiences. The commonality in the survey is that everyone experienced God’s unconditional love. Interesting, easy to read, unbiased and a “just the facts” approach to make you ponder what does happen when you or a loved one dies.
The Search for Bridey Murphy by Morey Bernstein
This is one of the very first books I read on reincarnation. I was 10 years old. It started me thinking in a direction that ended up coming full circle in my life. In this book, Morey Bernstein hypnotizes a patient, Ruth Simmons, who goes back to childhood events. It is a transcript of their sessions in 1952. In the session, she began talking about past lives, much like what happened when Dr. Brian Weiss took Catherine back to her childhood in Many Lives, Many Masters. Even if you don’t believe in reincarnation, you will still love this story; and for those that believe, it is a must-read! It was interesting reading for a 10-year-old that grew up to write her own book on past-life regression, Stepping Into my Happiest Lifetime.
Meditation-Gateway to Light by Elsie Sechrist
This is a very simple book that serves those who are more spiritually based and want to learn how to meditate. The author puts it very well when she writes, “Prayer is a mental activity on our part addressed to God. Meditation is a listening state so that we may hear God speak to us.” This book was authored from one who knew Edgar Cayce very well. She experienced psychic readings from him. Was it a coincidence that I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA, a few miles from the Edgar Cayce Institute? A coincidence that my mother took me to its meditation room that faced the ocean and had windows engulfed with billowing material of different hues to sit and meditate with her? I think not!
I will be reviewing more favorite books of mine as we move through the year. Enjoy!
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