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It is my pleasure to recommend The Extra-Ordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things, by Larry Dossey, M.D. This is one of those very rare books that I think everyone should read, and that everyone would enjoy. In fact, I liked this book so much I bought 10 extra copies and sent them to friends and family.

When I travel, and read in airports and on airplanes I usually read fiction, because I want something light, that keeps me engrossed, and “makes the time fly”. On my last trip I had both this book and a decent and entertaining work of fiction with me, and I found that this was the book that I enjoyed and could not put down and made the trip very enjoyable. So, it clearly passed the test of “readability and enjoyment”.

Dossey’s book is full of down home common sense wisdom that in this day and age seems to be very scarce. This is truly a great book that can help each and every one of us to become more whole, to elevate our consciousness, and to align ourselves better with Nature.

Every male should read the chapter “Tears”. The chapters on “Dirt”, “Music”, “Risk”, and “Miracles”, are each spectacular and are really likely to help each and everyone of us to have a better understanding of some very important little things and to help us live a richer, fuller, and happier life. What more could one ask of a little book that is fun to read?

You don’t have to trust me on this one. Buy it from our store, and if you don’t like it, return it for a full refund. If you like it, please continue to patronize our store.

I learned about Dr. Dossey’s book from a review in Venture Inward, the monthly magazine published by the Association for Research and Enlightenment, affiliated with the Edgar Cayce Foundation. This is a wonderful magazine and I would highly recommend it to everyone. Information can be obtained from their website: www.edgarcayce.org .

For those of who do not know about Edgar Cayce you have a real treat in store. I would highly recommend There is a River, by Thomas Sugrue. This is a book that helped to change my life. It is reviewed on this website, and you can access it by title or author.

Another magazine I most highly recommend is Liberty, a libertarian publication that is far and away the one publication I look forward to receiving every month. You don’t have to be a Libertarian to enjoy this magazine. If you want to read thoughtful, informative, and often hilariously funny articles and/or anecdotes about our society, our politics, our social problems etc. this is a great magazine. And don’t worry about whether or not you are a Democrat, Republican, or even Libertarian, because in every magazine you will find something that will make you think, enjoy, and/or laugh. You pay only $29.50 for 12 issues, and this is a steal. Call 1-800-854-6991 to order it.

What made me think of recommending Liberty magazine this month is that I have just finished reading a section in the July issue in which a half dozen or so very interesting people put out their “summer reading list.” I have purchased three of their selections, have read one, and look forward to reading the other two.

The one I have read is The Blank Slate: the Modern Denial of Human Nature, by Steven Pinker. This is a New York Times Best Seller. It is a must read by anyone who has a serious interest in the Nature vs. Nurture debate.

The author, Pinker, is a leading cognitive scientist. He cites a mountain of compelling and persuasive evidence to buttress his case that nature plays a far larger role than nurture in determining the fate of an individual. That is not to say, it is 100% nature, but according to Pinker the nature part certainly is way too important to deny. This conclusion leads to all sorts of waves that affect the way one may think about society, politics, law, and many other subjects.

Pinker is a very skillful advocate of his positions, but I feel he is stuck in a rather narrow vision in the sense he tends to looks at life and science in a mechanistic way, and pretty much ignores all of the wonderful and exciting ramifications of the discoveries of modern physics and our quantum universe which makes life much more interesting, unfathomable, and mysterious than Pinker would allow it to be.

In sum, it is an interesting and enjoyable book to read, but it is not for everyone, and clearly it is not a “page-turner”, as it can be quite ponderous at times.

The following is taken from a review in Liberty:
“It is said that a man approached Somerset Maugham and said: ‘I would give ten thousand pounds not to have read Of Human Bondage.’ As Maugham bristled angrily, the man added: ‘So that I could have the pleasure of once again reading it for the first time.’ [The reviewer, Barbara Branden, says that she thinks readers of this and the other book she recommended, My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok, will feel the same way as the gentleman who made those comments to Maugham.]

I have read both of those books and couldn’t agree more with Ms. Branden. Of Human Bondage played an important role in my life. I read it when I was a junior in high school. The essay I wrote to include in my application to the school I most wanted to attend was based on the Oriental Carpet in this book. (I did not get into that school, but as it turned out that was probably the best thing that could have happened to me.) In any event I have purchased a copy of this Maugham classic and look forward to re-reading it. Chaim Potok’s books are just in a class by themselves, and perhaps My Name is Asher Lev is the best, but if one has never read Potok, I would highly recommend starting out with The Chosen.

Those are a lot of good ideas for summer reading. How about you readers of these newsletters, we would love to hear from you about your recommendations.

Len Oppenheim

One of our most requested items has been high quality spiritual photographs of Maharishi, Guru Dev and others… After much research we finally found a high quality lab that does justice to the originals. The images are printed by a professional photo lab using special semi-gloss paper with improved light stability, over 100 years without fading in the typical home display. Each print will be shipped in an acid free 4 ply mat with backing board all ready to go into a frame. Please go to our website and click on “Sacred Images”

www.21stbooks.com

Dr. Robert Schneider, M.D. director of the NIH-funded Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention and professor of physiology and health at Maharishi University of Management is the author of the recently published book, Total Heart Health: How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease with the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health.

More than twenty years of scientific research and clinical experience are documented in Total Heart Health. This important book will teach you how to slow or reverse heart disease, hypertension, stress and other risk factors.

“If you are one of the 150 million Americans who suffer from heart disease or one of its major risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, stress, this book is for you. Whether you want to prevent this debilitating and possibly deadly condition or reverse it in yourself or a loved one, this book will offer you a completely new understanding and practical approach that will create a major transformation in your health and total well-being.”

We have just received a beautiful gift book either for oneself or a loved one. The Ganges: Along Sacred Waters by Aldo Pavan is a bit pricey at $50, but well worth the investment. With beautiful and captivating color photographs as well as text, this book tells the story of the sacred Ganges River. If you have any interest in India this book will not disappoint.

A new import from the land of the Ganges has just arrived. Beloved Babaji is an account of that beloved immortal saint (made famous in Autobiography of a Yogi). The book is filled with many delightful stories of Babaji.

I thoroughly enjoy books written by Fairfielders writing about their experiences on their spiritual path... the latest being by Michael Murphy, Murphy’s Laws of the Inner Life: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Seeker. Michael taught writing at Maharishi University of Management.. his life story parallels and intimately resonates with many of our own personal stories. Michael’s honesty and sincerity make this a pleasure to read.

A new book by David Frawley combines his expert knowledge in two areas of interest to many of you: Ayurveda and Astrology. His book, Ayurvedic Astrology: Self-Healing Through the Stars, “explains how the different mind-body and planetary types of the two systems interrelate. It examines disease factors from an astrological perspective and goes into depth into astrological remedial measures, particularly gem therapy. It also contains many notable example charts.”

If you are looking for a place to relocate or to retire may I suggest considering Fairfield?

There is real beauty here

We may look for beauty in mountain tops, deep forests, sparkling lakes.. We may look to oceans or cities with their sensory pleasures, but there is also real beauty to be found right here in Fairfield. True, it is not beauty in a knock out unmistakable sense. Fairfield's true beauty is in its uniqueness and the people and artistry that make up its story.

The writers that abound...
The musicians
The restaurants (more per capita than San Francisco)
The unique and interesting retail stores
The artists and arts
The poets, the healers, the healed and the not so healed.

Within the last two months here is a sampling of the events that were enjoyed in Fairfield…

A weekend with Hollywood director David Lynch with special guest musician Donovan
Les Miserables
Titanic: The Musical
Krishna Das (world class Kirtan singer)
Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew
An Italian festival that was attended by over 2,500 people.

So what are you waiting for… sell your house on the coast buy 3 great homes in Fairfield... live in one and rent out the other 2.

Come visit us and fall in love.

See you soon
Tony