‘Transforming the Legacy’ by Cyndi Dale. Photo: Amazon
Books on New Age and spiritual healing offer readers a path to self-discovery, emotional well-being, and inner peace. By exploring themes like energy healing, meditation, mindfulness, and the power of positive thinking, they offer tools to help individuals navigate life’s challenges. Their appeal lies in their promise of personal transformation, empowerment, and deeper connection to the universe. In a world of increasing stress and uncertainty, these books provide a sense of comfort and hope, inviting readers to explore alternative ways of thinking and being. They encourage growth, balance, and healing, appealing to those seeking spiritual and emotional fulfillment.
“Transforming the Legacy: The Subtle Body Approach to Honor and Heal Your Inherited Lineage” by Cyndi Dale presents a unique and powerful subtle body approach to heal issues caused by ancestral lineage and inherited patterns. It will be released on February 11 and is available for pre-order. (Sounds True, 2024)
Cyndi Dale is an internationally renowned author, speaker, and intuitive healer. She offers private sessions and workshops through her company, which she has led worldwide. She has written several groundbreaking books on the chakras and subtle energy anatomy, including The Subtle Body series, “Energy Healing for Stress, Trauma & Chronic Illness,” and “Advanced Chakra Healing.” Her work has been published in twenty languages.
“Transforming the Legacy” – Many people feel stuck in the past from time to time, but what if your past is impacting your present in significant ways? In reality, the past has created your present. Your inherited traits—those acquired through biological means and your soul—determine much of who you are. Some of those patterns and programs might be supportive of your true self. But others? Not so much! The good news is that you can change your inheritance through an easy-to-access mechanism: the subtle body.
Cyndi Dale presents a unique and powerful approach for transforming soul-based and lineage-ancestry issues through the main structures of energetic anatomy—your chakras, meridians/nadis, and auric fields. Using accessible practices, you’ll learn to address your genealogical and soul history through these structures, shifting from stuck-ness to the freedom of “becoming your own best ancestor”—the self who can sort through history and establish future pathways of love and good health.
Here you’ll explore:
• How your personal and ancestral legacy can impede or help you • Reasons the cacophony of inherited traits and attitudes makes it difficult to be your true self in everyday life • Science and psychological research showing that you can assess and even change your inheritance • Various roles the subtle body’s structures play in working through legacy issues • Ways you can immediately empower yourself to alter complicated inheritances • Tools for meeting—and even conversing with—your own ancestors • Journeys into your own past, concurrent, and possible future lives
Sometimes, to move forward, we must first move back. Discover the underlying energy that’s inherent in you. Get grounded in your lineage, connect to your experiences across time, and access and heal your history. It’s time to alter what has been in order to stand entirely in the present, reconnect with your true self, and create your best path forward.
Music group performing onstage with empty audience seats. Photo: Manuel Nägeli on Unsplash.
When an artist records a classical album, especially when it’s not their first calling, there’s often a deeper story within the music itself. Mina Tulchinsky’s 2016 album of classical arias and original, classical-inspired compositions was an exploration of exactly this—healing through music. For her, the album became both a refuge and a connection to something timeless, which, despite the years since its release, resonates with listeners anew.
Music has long been a source of comfort and healing for people across the world. Scientists and therapists alike point to music’s power to reduce stress, soothe anxiety, and even aid in physical recovery. Rhythm, melody, and harmony have the unique ability to engage the brain and body simultaneously, creating an immersive experience that transports listeners away from their worries. This transformative quality goes beyond entertainment; it offers a form of solace and renewal, connecting individuals to something larger than themselves. It’s this intangible yet profound effect that makes music—especially the emotionally rich genre of classical—a powerful tool in the journey toward healing.
While classical music can feel out of reach to some, Tulchinsky’s album bridges that divide. Her personal experience, expressed through a mix of well-loved arias and fresh, relatable melodies, offers something that even those unversed in classical music can appreciate. Much like Agarita’s mobile concerts that bring Mozart or Bach to the community, Tulchinsky’s album seeks to bring the warmth of classical music into daily life. It’s this accessibility—classical sounds interpreted through a modern, approachable lens—that makes her album unique. She’s given listeners a glimpse of what healing can sound like, stripped of the formality and focused on the resonance of the experience.
The music, much like healing, is deeply personal yet universally accessible. By recording something so classical in style but infused with personal emotions, Tulchinsky has crafted a work that invites listeners from all walks of life. Classical music, for many, can carry a sense of ceremony, a distance. But this album, by a divorcee finding her way forward, takes that form and molds it into something that feels human and grounded. It’s music that meets listeners where they are, extending the sense that healing isn’t reserved for concert halls or grand stages but is accessible in one’s own space, at one’s own pace.
Photo: Facebook – Mina Joy Music
As listeners follow her journey—through heartbreak, resilience, and a renewed appreciation of self—they find a kindred spirit in music. Tulchinsky’s recent releases on Spotify bring these elements into even sharper focus, continuing to invite a wider audience into the classical fold without the need for pretension or exclusivity. Instead, her work represents healing that anyone can access, a simple melody away.
For anyone curious about classical music but hesitant to dive into a genre so steeped in tradition, Tulchinsky’s album is a reminder that music, in its essence, is for everyone. In opening this space for healing through her art, she’s reminded us all of music’s quiet, powerful ability to soothe and unite. Whether one finds solace by listening to her music or feels inspired to sing, play, or explore their own musical journey, her album stands as a testament to how music’s healing reach can be both deeply personal and universal. Through her melodies, Tulchinsky shows us that healing can start with just a single note, inviting us to embrace music’s transformative power in whatever way feels most meaningful.
‘Chilla Gorilla & Lanky Lemur Journey to the Heart’ is the new children’s book by Kimberly Snyder and Jon Bier. Photo: Amazon
Children’s books hold an enchanting power, transporting young minds to realms of imagination and wonder. With vibrant illustrations and captivating stories, they weave magical tales that ignite curiosity and nurture creativity, instilling a lifelong passions for reading. They teach valuable lessons about friendship, bravery, and kindness, fostering empathy and understanding. Whether exploring fantastical worlds or navigating everyday challenges, children’s books spark joy and inspire dreams, laying the foundation for a lifetime love affair with literature and the boundless realms of imagination.
In this enlightening and playful story by New York Times best-selling author Kimberly Snyder and Jon Bier, wise old Chilla Gorilla teaches his young friend Lanky Lemur how to use his heart’s wisdom to transcend intense emotions, such as frustration, anger, and fear, in order to experience harmony, tranquility, and joy.
The one simple saying that can help kids navigate big feelings
Simple tips to teach children to meditate
Meditation can be FUN: Six tips to help your kids be mindful but have fun while doing it
Heart-Based Living and Family Wellness:
What is heart-based living, and why is it so needed today?
The beauty in slowing down: tips for creating a sense of calm and relaxation for the whole family
Simple everyday ways to increase PEACE and JOY in your family
Starting Meditation for Kids:
At what age should kids start to meditate?
Why has meditation been so challenging, and how does Chilla teach differently and more effectively?
About the authors: Kimberly Snyder is a multiple-time New York Times bestselling author, spiritual and meditation teacher, international speaker, nutritionist, and holistic wellness expert. She has authored six books, which have been translated into several languages, including “Radical Beauty,” which she co-authored with Deepak Chopra, and “You Are More Than You Think You Are: Practical Enlightenment for Everyday Life.”
Jon Bier is a serial entrepreneur, strategist, angel investor, and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Jack Taylor, a full-service public relations and communications agency. Jon is a bar-admitted, non-practicing attorney who lives in California and Hawaii with his wife, Kimberly, and their two boys.
‘Your Heart Was Made for This’ is the upcoming new book by Oren Jay Sofer. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Oren Jay Soferteaches Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and communication internationally. He holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University, is a Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication, and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner for the healing of trauma. Born and raised in New Jersey, he is the author of several books, including the best-selling title “Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication” and the latest “Your Heart Was Made For This: Contemplative Practices for Meeting in a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love.” His teaching has reached people worldwide through online communication courses and guided meditations. Oren lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and son, where he enjoys cooking, spending time in nature, and home woodworking projects. “Your Heart Was Made For This: Contemplative Practices for Meeting in a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love” will be released November 21, 2023 and is available for pre-orderfrom Amazon.
“Your Heart Was Made For This: Contemplative Practices for Meeting in a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love”- from the bestselling author of “Say What You Mean” and meditation teacher comes a pragmatic guide to living a life of meaning and purpose in a time of great social, environmental, and spiritual upheaval. Through touching stories, insightful reflections, and concrete instructions, Sofer offers powerful tools to strengthen our hearts and nourish the qualities that can transform our world. Each chapter guides you to cultivate a quality essential to personal and social transformation like mindfulness, resolve, wonder, and empathy. You will learn ways to find more choice and freedom in life, strengthen focus, sustain energy, and accomplish goals, identify burnout and take steps to renew yourself, imbue your daily activities with clarity and vitality, and respond more effectively to collective challenges.
“Your heart was made for love: for connection, belonging, and meaningful relationship with other people, beings, and the earth. Your heart was made to give and receive; to know joy, purpose, and freedom. All of this is possible for you and for each of us. Yet painful emotions, ignorance, and oppressive conditions disconnect us from our hearts’ potential. The flow of this love has encountered obstacles from the beginning, but perhaps never more so than now. Our ancestors’ village was not the global village of the twenty-first century with its seemingly infinite complexities and pressures, nor did we evolve to engage with social media algorithms or constant alerts of tragedy. How do we reclaim our birthright to love while navigating a complex world in crisis? How do we make love our guide?
The Buddha long ago taught that we can shape our inner lives: “Whatever the mind frequently thinks upon and ponders, that will become its inclination.” Our thoughts, feelings, and intentions grow into habits and over time settle into our character. Contemplative practice roots itself in this power to mold the heart and thus renew ourselves. Today, we call this “neuroplasticity.” If we do not shape the heart, the world will do it for us, and the world does not have our highest welfare in mind.
The tide of modern society floods us with incessant pressures, demands, and desires. On a personal level, urgency, confusion, and fear spin us in a blur, grind us down, and sap our energy. On a global level, war, social unrest, and a growth-driven economy sweep through our communities, setting us on a course for violence and ecocide. It takes steady, continuous effort to swim against these currents, make choices based on our values, and turn the tide together.
We are living through a mass extinction of our own making. The climate crisis, the rise of fascism and the erosion of democracy, the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing trauma of injustice and oppression rooted in colonialism—these are our present reality. What will be our legacy? We are capable of beauty, but we destroy; we embody elegance, but are soaked in blood. Some days, it’s a lot just to get out of bed in the morning.
And, our actions matter, individually and collectively. Every action plants a seed. Some seeds bear fruit in this lifetime, while others lie dormant for generations. We harvest the fruit of our ancestors’ actions—for good and for ill— and our choices today shape the future.
How do we meet our challenges and choose wisely? To truly meet something is to encounter it with awareness, enter into relationship with it, and respond appropriately. How we respond when we contact pain, sorrow, and injustice? Do we become broken, embittered, lost, or frozen? Do we lash out in anger, fear, or hatred, adding fuel to the fire? Or are we able to find the balance and clarity to meet the suffering of our world with tenderness, wisdom, and skillful action?
Responding effectively depends on training the heart and developing inner resources. We may not recognize it, but we are always practicing something. Our thoughts, words, and actions shape us. Each one creates a trickle of water flowing downhill, carving a channel in the fertile soil of our heart and mind. If you practice feeling anxious, stressed, and agitated, you etch those grooves deeper. If you practice patience, kindness, and ease, with every moment you grow stronger. In fact, these heart qualities can become your default orientation so that, when hardships arise, you draw not on old reactions but on new strengths.
Like an ecosystem recovering its innate balance, when we stop adding pollutants and seed the proper species, the process of awakening begins to flower in our hearts. Nourishing the heart is joyful. Remembering our potential and aligning ourselves with our deepest vision for life can happen in any moment, and can be filled with lightness and beauty. This is contemplative practice.
Such practice cultivates reflective, critical awareness and explores meaning, value, and purpose. It includes the arts, ritual, storytelling, relationship, and meditation, and it can provide the strength and clarity necessary to engage skillfully with the immense problems of our times— to mourn what we have lost, heal what we can heal, and transform what calls for change. If we are to adapt and grow, if we are to survive and create a better world, we need inner resources to meet our challenges.”
Author Oren Jay Sofer. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
‘Words To Feel Less Alone’ is Brenna O’Neill’s new book that chronicles her journey through depression and ultimately healing. Photo: Brenna O’Neill.
Brenna O’Neill is a mental health advocate from Invercargill, New Zealand. A lover of writing, learning, and teaching, she created My Latibule, an online anti-depression community full of tools dedicated to helping people manage clinical depression, all based on her personal experience, professional therapy, and a BSC in Psychology. Latibule means a place of safety and comfort. My Latibule provides guided anti-depression journals, teaches i-Rest Yoga Nidra meditation, designs beautiful gifts with reminders to stay, and fosters community connections by sharing stories. Her book “Words To Feel Less Alone” chronicles her personal journey through depression and contains the exact words she wrote in her doctor prescribed journal when her brain was consumed by clinical depression. It is available through her website.
Journaling is often prescribed as part of therapy as a means to be honest with yourself and face the issues that are causing problems. For most people, this is the only way to be truly open and honest, since no one will see those journals. When Brenna shared her writings with a friend who was struggling with her own mental health, she found them helpful because it made her realize that she is not alone, that other people struggle as well. This was also how Brenna felt as she was struggling with depression, she did not know anyone else who was depressed and that made her feel so alone. It was then that she decided to share her story with others in the hopes that they would feel less alone.
“Words To Feel Less Alone” is a deeply personal account of the author’s battle with depression. She begins by emphasizing that it is meant to help those who are battling with depression, homophobia, or religious guilt or if even if they just know someone who is. If they need to talk to a professional, she directs readers to call their doctor or use any of the resources she lists in the back of the book. This book is divided into six chapters including Oh Sweet Denial and The Longest Day. She includes pictures of herself that highlight how she was feeling on that particular day versus how she looked, as well as snippets from her actual journal. What makes it feel more personal is that the font she uses is based on her real handwriting. At the end of each chapter, she includes notes written by her doctor and therapist to give a behind the scenes look at the healing process. Rest assured, she is doing much better now and living a fulfilling life and trying to help others who are battling depression. It contains adult language and themes of depression, suicidal ideations, and homophobia and is sometimes difficult to get through, but it is well worth it. Readers in similar situations will certainly relate to her struggle and will hopefully come out feeling more optimistic. It is a must read and recommended for readers who are on the same journey or just want to learn more about what it is like to struggle with mental illness.
*The author was contacted for an honest review of this book. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
‘Meditation For People Who Can’t Meditate’ is an informative guide on meditation by Dr. Samuel Steinberg. Photo: Amazon
Today’s topic is meditation. I have tried it before and I have to admit I have so much to learn. Are you new to meditation? Feeling overwhelmed by the chaotic world around you? Not sure how to focus? Then allow me to recommend “Meditation For People Who Can’t Meditate” by Dr. Samuel Steinberg. It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Books-A-Million, and other booksellers.
Dr. Samuel Steinberg is a highly accomplished professional with a diverse range of expertise. He holds a Doctorate in Metaphysics and one in Theology. He also graduated from the Plant Based Nutrition program at Cornell University. In addition, Dr. Steinberg is a qualified special education teacher, a Yoga Alliance certified 500 E-RYT yoga teacher and educator, and a highly regarded meditation consultant to mental health practitioners and pain support groups. He is the author of several notable works, including “Meditation For People Who Can’t Meditate,” “Free Bird,” and “Parents Guide to Helping a Child With Learning Disabilities.” He has also written extensively on topics such as veganism, vegetarianism, anxiety, depression, positive self-esteem in children, autism in the workplace, chakras, and weight loss and fitness. (Dr. Samuel Steinberg, 2023)
“Meditation For People Who Can’t Meditate”– In this beginner’s guide to meditation, Dr. Samuel Samtosha Steinberg presents meditation as an easy and effective approach to attaining peace, health, and a stress-free life. With basic techniques and a simple, uncomplicated approach, this book is perfect for those struggling to find the right time, place, position, group, or props to meditate.
Inside you will learn:
how to meditate correctly
the benefits of everyday practice
the diverse styles of meditation in a fun way.
And much, much more!
Get ready to overcome the challenges of meditation and find inner peace with this informative guidePrint length – 325 pages
Language – English Publication date – November 23, 2022 Dimensions – 6 x 0.74 x 9 inches ISBN-10 – 9692592014
‘Meditation for People Who Can’t Meditate’ is a beginner’s guide to meditation. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Dr. Samuel Samtosha Steinberg is a graduate of the Cornell University Plant Based Nutrition program and has a doctorate in Metaphysics. He is a special education teacher, a Yoga Alliance certified 500 E-RYT yoga teacher and educator and a meditation consultant to mental health practitioners and pain support groups as well as a relaxation teacher. Currently he is completing a doctorate in Naturopathic Psychology. He is the author of “Meditation For People Who Can’t Meditate” and “Free Bird,” a children’s book about freedom. He also authored “Parents Guide to Helping a Child With Learning Disabilities,” “Everything You Wanted to Know About Veganism,” “The Why’s and How’s of Vegetarianism,” “Anxiety, Depression & Panic Attacks,” “Promoting Positive Self Esteem In Children,” “A Guide to Autism in the Workplace,” “What Are Chakras and Why the Heck Should I Care?,” and “Weight Lost & Fitness.” His new book “Meditation For People Who Can’t Meditate”is an uncomplicated beginner’s guide to meditation. (Dr. Samuel Samtosha Steinberg, 2023)
New to meditation? Want a moment of peace from the chaotic world? Not sure how to focus? Discover how to meditate with this uncomplicated beginner guide. Dr. Samuel Steinberg presents meditation as an exquisite approach to attain peace, healthy, stress-free life by keeping it simple through basic techniques.
“Meditation For People Who Can’t Meditate” is a perfect guide for beginners tangled between the right time, place, position, group, and props to meditate with. Let this book walk you through the core of how to meditate correctly, the benefits of everyday practice, and the diverse styles of meditation in a fun way.
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