Staff Reviews & Reader’s Guides
Recent Reviews:
Message form an Unknown Chinese Mother
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The Book of Lies: A Novel (P.S.) by Mary Horlock
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The Magician's Elephant
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The Tiger's Wife
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Enduring Love
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Plant Spirit Shamanism: Traditional Techniques for Healing the Soul
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Alternative medicinal techniques...
Plant Spirit Shamanism: Traditional Techniques for Healing the Soul by Ross Heaven and Howard Charing, forward by Pablo Amaringo This book explores the world of nature, and presents the idea that rather than being caretakers, humans are more accurately simply part of the huge web of life we call Nature. Though not particularly well written, the book presents many important concepts. Plants that instill in us a sense of awe, majesty and a visceral sense of the sacred have been labeled illegal by government, though they have been used for centuries to connect one on a deep cellular level to the Divine in the guise of Nature. How has this happened? Perhaps, as the authors suggest, it is this resulting sense of interconnectedness that engenders the idea of peace and harmony, making war irrelevant. Besides connecting one to the spiritual, plants have of course been used for healing since humans evolved on earth. Unfortunately, many indigenous people are being killed or dying off just as the rainforest and other ecosystems are being plundered and destroyed. This affects all of us. As the authors write "As science wins the war against tradition, the old ways die out, leaving fewer folk healers and plant experts whose old knowledge our scientists can raid to develop their new medicines."
