Hal Zina Bennett believes that becoming a good writer involves much more than mastering the techniques, although those skills have their place. He says writing is a way to "share our humanness," and that "being true to ourselves is what gives our writing fire." In the Revised Edition of Write From The Heart: Unleashing The Power of Your Creativity, he shares the insights he's gathered over a long career as a prolific writer and creativity coach.

He delves into the sources of creativity, noting that for many people, this requires a certain amount of solitude. He then discusses language itself, saying that "it is the marriage between language and the deep mysteries of the human mind that excites me." Writers write to tap into that connection, for themselves and for others. The creativity is within--we only need to learn to recognize and utilize it.

Some people don't have the resources to have a private place of their own for thinking and writing. Bennett explains how the perfect place can be created through guided imagery. Writing can help complete the imagery and the imagery helps to make the writing possible.

Early in his career, Bennett learned that having an "imaginary reader" brings life to writing, whether fiction or nonfiction. The imaginary reader is the one special individual to whom the writer directs his words. He explains how to create an imaginary reader and use it to bring humanness and sharing into the writing.

All of us have intensely joyous times in our lives, called peak experiences, and time of deep suffering, which Bennett describes as "essential wounds." Both are a source of personal growth and creativity. Dreams are another source of creativity--sometimes they lend themselves better to stories than to interpretations.

Writing has the ability to transform the writer and the reader. In Writing From The Heart, Bennett provides the advice, exercises, and guidance that beginners and experienced writers need "to overcome blocks, unleash their inborn creative voice, and channel their creativity toward becoming happily published."

Della Reese, currently well-known for her role on the TV series, Touched By An Angel, is also an ordained minister. "Her mission is to teach a practical Christianity, which brings love, abundance, strength, and personal growth to all people."

In line with her mission, she is writing twelve books of devotions, one for each month of the year. What Is This Thing Called Love? is one of the twelve. Like the others, it has a devotion for each day. It may be used for any month--the devotions are universal, rather than seasonal.

Each day begins with a quotation from the Bible, followed by a brief commentary from Reese. The facing page for each day includes a beautiful full-color photograph, and an affirmation. Reese says that each day we make a choice whether or not to fill our lives with love. Her devotions "are love seeds to plant in your mind and heart each day."

What Is This Thing Called Love? is designed to help readers choose love daily so that "you will be able to watch love grow in your life." It's an excellent choice with which to begin your collection of all twelve books. It's also a perfect gift.

Simple Numerology by Damian Sharp is an excellent book for newcomers to numerology. Sharp begins with an introductory explanation of numerology, saying that it "provides us with a means of understanding our own individual cyclical patterns and personal qualities."

He is concerned only with Western numerology in this book, which is based on the teachings of Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher who maintained that numbers were the basis of everything, including relationships.

Important numbers are the name number, which reveals outer nature; birthpath, which indicates destiny; persona, which tells how others perceive you; and soul number, which is inner destiny. He also discusses the personal year number, the pinnacles, and challenge numbers.

Each number is easy to determine.

Sharp devotes the bulk of the book to explaining the significance of each number and how individuals can use that information in decision making.

A final chapter describes compatibility between numbers, as an aid to successful personal and business relationships.

Simple Numerology is a part of Conari Press' Simple Wisdom Book series. Simple Numerology is Sharp's third book in that series; he's also won awards for other writing. Novices will find Simple Numerology easy to understand and enlightening. Within minutes they will have new insight into their personalities and lives.

Swami Rajarshi Muni is an advanced practicing yogi who has written numerous books. His latest, Yoga: The Ultimate Spiritual Path, is "a remarkable synthesis of yoga psychology and metaphysics."

In it, he traces the history of yogic philosophy and its development over time, emphasizing its role in spiritual unfolding. He does not include any yoga postures, leaving that up to individual instructors. "Yoga is neither a religion by itself nor part of any other religious system," he says, adding that "yoga is universal and a yogi is not necessarily bound to any particular religious faith." He defines it as "the union between the individual self and the universal self." Yoga is available to anyone who wishes to accept its discipline.

Muni discusses yoga practices relating to a variety of areas, such as rebirth, karma, the purpose of life, bliss, human consciousness, and suffering. Although yoga is an ancient practice, its underlying philosophy is timeless and still relevant to those wishing to transform their lives. Classical yoga focuses on spiritual development and the attainment of higher levels of consciousness, and this is what Muni concentrates on throughout his writing.

"Yoga: The Ultimate Spiritual Path provides a comprehensive overview of traditional yoga philosophy for the Western reader and at the same time creates a context that helps us place ourselves on the spiritual pathway, so that we may understand the deeper purpose for our existence." It's essential reading for all those interested in philosophy. It will also satisfy those who've practiced yoga as a physical or mental exercise, but sense that there's more to it than simple exercise.

Srivatsa Ramaswami studied for more than thirty years with a legendary yoga instructor and has taught yoga himself for more than twenty years. He's blended all that he's learned over the years into a program designed to be adaptable to individual needs, abilities, and ages while remaining true to the principles of traditional yoga.

Yoga for the Three Stages of Life: Developing Your Practice as an Art Form, A Physical Therapy, and a Guiding Philosophy is the result of his life's work.

He begins with personal information on how he began learning from the incomparable T. Krisnamacarya as a child, followed by descriptions of the various kinds of yoga and the philosophies underlying each. He says that his book "follows the thought progression of Patanjali, author of the Yogasutras, but it adds material gathered from my guru and from other authentic yoga texts."

Ramaswami includes the history of the development of yoga, and discusses the roles of chanting and scripture study in making yoga part of lifestyle, rather than just a routine. He also devotes large sections to the importance of proper breathing while performing the yoga postures. Correct breathing "helps one to reach and work on the deeper muscles and organs inside the body, which may not be possible otherwise." Additionally it aids in relaxation and concentration.

The remainder of the book describes the yoga postures. Each has detailed written instructions, as well as photographs. Ramaswami notes whether each posture can be safely done by those with physical ailments. He includes a chapter on yoga practices for pregnant women.

While he does include basic yoga postures and complete instructions, Ramaswami notes that his book is not for beginners, but rather for those who have been practicing for some time and/or have a knowledgeable teacher to guide them.

He says that "my goal is to portray the three aspects of yoga-as art, physical therapy, and philosophy-that are appropriate for the young, for the middle-aged, and for retirees, in that order." Readers will discover that he met this goal in Yoga for the Three Stages of Life.

Angelic intervention changed Nick Bunick's life forever in 1995. Since then he's been devoted to spiritual and humanitarian activities, including writing about his experiences. His latest endeavor, Transitions of the Soul, is a collection of true stories from people who've had contact with deceased loved ones.

All the stories reinforce the idea that the soul does not die, but lives on in peace and happiness. Bunick says that "perhaps the most important discovery I have made is that there is no such thing as death. Death is only a transition of our spirits and souls from the confinement of our physical bodies into the spiritual world."

Those who offer comfort from the other side do so in different ways. To reflect this, Bunick has divided the book into five parts: Visitations; Angels; Sights, Smells, and Sounds; Dreams; and Extraordinary Personal Stories. Each part includes a collection of stories told by ordinary people in their words of how they learned the soul continues on after the body dies.

Bunick "brings us a cure of the grieving heart and a balm for the universal fear of dying." Transitions of the Soul will provide comfort and inspiration to all who read it.

Psychoacoustics is the study of how sound affects the human nervous system. One of the pioneer researchers in this exciting new field is Joshua Leeds, a composer, writer, and consultant. He has analyzed and compiled the studies and known data in The Power of Sound, his latest book.

His work is based on the premise that sound is a nutrient for the nervous system. Thus different sounds have varying effects on listeners. Although music is sound, not all sound is music. He discusses exactly what sound is, what it does to us, and what it can do for us. He emphasizes that we need to develop "sonic responsibility," that is, an awareness of the sounds continually bombarding us and taking steps to protect ourselves from harmful noises.

Leeds says that "Sound, like other elements, can fuel or deplete us," adding that "increasing noise pollution affects the planet's citizenry physiologically and psychologically."

He explains vibration, resonance, and entrainment, and how those can have a negative or positive effect on people. He then discusses therapeutic uses of sound, and includes a section detailing how to select particular sounds to accomplish certain goals. For example, high sounds will "charge" the system and increase activity, while bass sounds can "discharge" the system and decrease activity.

He also includes information for health practitioners for use in correcting various conditions, such as learning disabilities, relaxation techniques, and reduction of medications.

Extensive appendices provide additional information on music, sound and music therapy, and resources. Leeds also includes a CD with specially orchestrated music designed for motivation, relaxation, learning, inspiration, productivity, and concentration.

Leeds says that "we have come to understand the extraordinary power of the ear. In addition to its critical functions of communication and balance, the ear's primary purpose is to recycle sound and so recharge our inner batteries." Readers will find that The Power of Sound gives them all the information and techniques they need to use their own marvelous ears and sound to enhance their lives.

What is consciousness? Where does it go when we die? Ronald Russell explores the answers to questions like this in his latest book, The Vast Enquiring Soul. A graduate of Oxford University, Russell has written thirteen other books. He describes this one as "a journey of exploration into the further reaches of consciousness." He says that consciousness is "our ability to know and understand, to be aware of ourselves and the world around us."

As part of his explorations, Russell delves into matters like psychokinesis (mind over matter), distant healing, remote viewing, and near-death and out-of-body experiences. His research has led him to the conclusion that consciousness "doesn't reside merely in the brain, but within our bodies, the earth, and the universe."

He relies not only on his own studies, but also those conducted by others from a variety of disciplines. He very neatly weaves all the available information into a tapestry of science, philosophy, theology, poetry, history, and the paranormal.

Russell says that consciousness is a part of everything that happens from before we're born until after we die. He asserts that consciousness isn't the same as soul--that our souls are the essential part of us that holds all our aspects, including mind, body, and consciousness, together. He urges the scientific world to consider the soul, and consciousness, when doing research; and advocates a new branch of study devoted to learning more about both the soul and consciousness and their roles in making us who and what we are.

"The more we can discover about our consciousness," Russell says, "the more of our potential as human beings we are likely to realize." The Vast Enquiring Soul is essential reading for all those interesting in exploring the most interesting frontier of all--their own consciousness.

Prayer may take many forms and be for an infinite variety of reasons. In The Way We Pray: Prayer Practices From Around the World, Maggie Oman Shannon provides a "compendium of prayer practices with enough context to acknowledge the cultural traditions behind them, while offering an invitation for further exploration."

Oman Shannon is a spiritual director, and founder of The New Story, an organization that helps people discover the deeper purpose to their lives. She's also a writer and editor, with a previous anthology of healing prayers to her credit.

Although many of us think of being on our knees with hands folded in front of us as the way to pray, practices as diverse as fasting, haiku, meditation, storytelling, and visual arts can all be a way of prayer. Oman Shannon quotes Catherine of Siena with the thought that "everything you do can be a prayer." What you physically do is of less importance than your sacred intentions. She says that prayer can become the "enfolding fabric in which we live our lives, and everything we do has the potential to be prayerful."

She describes over fifty ways of offering prayer. Each description details how that practice developed and how it has been used throughout time. Then Oman Shannon provides suggestions of how each method can be used in contemporary times, for contemporary difficulties. Each description is finished with a section containing several suggestions as to how individuals can explore that particular means of prayer to determine if it's something they can use.

An extensive resource section is provided to assist readers who want to investigate a particular practice in more depth.

Alan Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral, has this to say in the Foreword: "The Way We Pray offers us a treasury of integrating spiritual practices [and] they all have the power to open us up to a deeper and more generous reality." Readers will find the Oman Shannon has provided an invaluable resource for discovering the power of prayer in the way best suited to meet their needs.

Psychokinesis is when "the mind exerts a direct influence on distant physical systems, with no known mechanism of mediation," or more simply, mind over matter. However it is defined, Ted Owens possessed PK ability. Or perhaps it possessed him.

Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D. tells Owens' fascinating story in The PK Man. Respected as an authentic investigator of spirituality and parapsychology, Mishlove writes books, hosts a talk show on public television, and serves as a director of Intuition Network.

He established contact with Ted Owens in 1976 and began "an investigation into the supposed powers and life of this eccentric man." He witnessed and recorded demonstrations, interviewed other witnesses, and collected documentation. After years of observations and study, he concluded that "Ted Owens had the rare gift of mind-over-matter."

Mishlove analyzes everything that's known about Owens, including his often petty uses of his powers.

Owens took credit for causing earthquakes, hurricanes and other weather disturbances, and power blackouts. He wanted to be believed and have his powers accepted, but often chose the wrong way in his aggressive attempts to gain attention.

Because of his capricious nature, Owens was often dismissed as a crackpot. He also claimed to have received his powers from "Space Intelligences" and at times said his actions were directed by the Intelligences rather than himself. Some experts claimed that Owens had psychic abilities which allowed him to accurately forecast events, rather than to cause those events as he claimed to do.

Mishlove attempts to sort through all the conflicting claims and confusion surrounding Owens. He doesn't always agree with what Owens has to say, and at one time angered the self-styled PK Man to the point of retaliation. Mishlove fell victim to a physical ailment that Owens took credit for causing.

Was Owens "the world's greatest psychic" or "a prodigious liar and dangerous con-man"? Mishlove presents the known evidence in The PK Man so you can decide for yourself. But take warning--many intriguing questions remain unanswered. You may end up wondering about the PK Man for a long time to come.