Complementary-Therapy Books

I have been a magickal herbalist for years, and I collect books on Herbalism of all paths. This book is my latest addition to my collection and it is a wonderful book! The author's writting style is clear, easy to read and engaging. She weaves in folklore along with with magickal practice and really gives you a wonderful big picture view of why things are done in a certain way.

She has detailed information of Druidic use of herbs for all Sabbats, as well as life changes (such as Handfasting, Rites of death, etc). The book is well organized, and is a wonderful resource both for novices and for the advanced practitioners. Although I read this book cover to cover it is also a wonderful reference book to keep around in case you wish to look up specific practices or even specific herbs. All in all a wonderful addition to anyone's herbal library - and well worth the cost!

A friend picked this book up for me when she noticed it said druid and herbal. It was cheap so I thought I would give it a try, it has yet to disappoint me. I have slowly been reading it for a while and find that it has moved from a random book in my library to one of my top must haves. Easy to read and from a librarian's point- the layout is nicely organized. A wonderful reference book to learn about the sacred times of years and some insight into the history and herbs for each.

I was asked to place my review of this book as part of my own studies with the Henge of Keltria. This is one of the books you are given the option to study in their correspondence coursework which I am finding very personally satisfying.

I have owned this book, or a copy of it, since it was first published. What attracted me to this book initially was the fact it was on herbs. After having read it a few times, including this last read, I find it an invaluable a wonderful resource not only for herbal lore, but also for actual usage for healing. This makes it an excellent resource for both the herbalist as well as the Pagan/Druid. Allow me to summarize this lovely tome for you.
The book opens with a wonderful invocation to Brighid. I have used this invocation for a number of different reasons from ceremonial invocation to prayer. Truly a blessing. The book is organized by chapters with the first covering what a Druid is and isn't, how to's and definitions of various herbal preparations, moving on into seasonal celebrations (Pagan associated times of the year), a bit of astrology and plants connections and on into information on groves, circles, marriage, blessings and rites of passage.
I cannot say one chapter is more a favorite than another, but I am partial to the Samhain and Imbolc chapters myself merely because those are favorite times of year for me. This book is not laid out by herbs found at certain times of the year, but by the use of herbs ceremonially at certain times of year. This is not to say those herbs are used only at that time of year, but in the Druid path they are more typically associated with these seasonal celebrations. For instance we see mention of Yellow Cedar, Ash, Bay Laurel, Blessed Thistle, Chamomile, Frankincense, Holly, Juniper, Mistletoe and Pine all discussed at the Winter Solstice chapter. I did find it interesting that she uses Irish lore to teach and relate the tales of these festivals throughout the book. This makes it excellent for those who seek knowledge with a more Irish perspective.
After going through seasonal recognitions and herbal uses both medicinal as well as magical, she moves into Druidic uses for these herbs medicinally as well as continuing to mention the magical properties. Next she moves into the astrological and planetary alignments of the herbs presented. I did not see any new herbs presented here but she did use herbs that were mentioned before and now associated with the astrological correspondence. Her following chapters all involve rites of passage be they marriage, puberty, death or others. There are no new herbs presented but the ones already mentioned are reinforced in their uses for these various rites. I do love how she opens each chapter with a bit of history or lore as well as Bardic poetry.
The book ends with a lovely concise pronunciation guide, resource guide and excellent bibliography that will allow a reader to pursue further studies. All in all, Ellen has written a very nice introductory book to herbs of the Irish as well as their uses for various healing or ritual aspects. I have and will continue to recommend this text to students of herbalism as well those seeking to know about herbs of use in various types of rites of passage. This book is an invaluable resource for its many facets it presents and does so very clearly and concisely. There are many more herbs, but this book focuses on those that are useful to people on the Irish path as healer or pagan.

I like Druidry and i like Herbcraft. So, when i read this book ,it was a wonderful surprise.As expected ,it's a specialised reading,for those of us in the Craft.So,if you do not like druidism,yet enjoy studying about pagan use of herbs, you may be only half satisfied.Or if you enjoy Druid rituals,minus the natural herb aspect,you might be turned-off .I guess anyway.Yet,you may learn something about the complete Druid experience.The synergy of these two distinct subjects into one cohesive book,is an excellent united topic to explore.I gave this book the full five Druid stars.Enjoy!

This is a good primer and starting place for anyone interested in delving deeper into Druid lore and thought, as well as some of the larger pagan spiritual traditions that were active around that same time. Definitely a breath of fresh air from valentines day and labor day celebrations.

This book is incredibly useful for it's categories and cross references. You can find almost any symptom you're looking in this big book. You can self-diagnose psychological, physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual issues. Whatever you're going through, this book can help you pinpoint it. Each category goes through several essences, and how each one may or may not apply to you individually.

The last part of the book profiles each essences. They all list the positive qualities each essence is capable of, and the patterns of imbalance they're most likely of clearing. They're all cross referenced to the previous lists, and also makes you are aware of everything else they're capable of treating.

The beginning of the book is an overview of Bach flower therapy, how flower essences are used, and selecting and verifying the properties of each one. This part is informative, but the purpose of the book isn't to go into at length. This book is very comprehensive, but the focus book is on the last two sections. Hence my mentioning them first.

I have thought I could just read a bunch of books and then use flower essences artfully, at least on myself. You see, I have 2 books including this one, they seem to have a lot of info but at the end of the day I felt I needed more structured learning.Luckily I found it, it's a long distance class, 325 bucks for 5 lessons, I have a mentor, assignments etc. Now you're talking!
Bottomline, if you're new to flower essences don't even hope you're just going to read something and then go ahead and use them properly, no matter what book you're reading.

I've studied flower essences for over ten years. I am giving this book five stars. For anyone thinking of becoming a flower essence practitioner, this is a ~MUST HAVE~ book. This book would also benefit anyone informally giving flower essences to self, family, friends or animals. The authors work with flowers of northern California, USA (a definite plus), in addition to Bach's. A newer edition is in the works, and I'm waiting on the edge of my seat for it to come out.

BACKGROUND

These days, flower essences include flowers from Canada and USA in North America (Northern California, deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Florida); Scotland; Australia bush; New Zealand; South Africa; South America; Central America; much more than Bach's first 39. Bach died young in 1936, leaving his work unfinished, and many people in the last 70 years have taken up where he left off, expanding on the number and quality of essences (depending on where on the planet the flowers are indigenous).

Frankly, books on Bach's first 39 flower essences are so ubiquitous that I now avoid them in favor of books covering flower essences from other parts of the world besides England. Plants of England are not the only plants in existence! I am REAL tired of books getting published involving only Bach's original 39 essences. Even though Bach "bumped into" his first 39 essences, Bach's essences are not the holy grail of flower essences! Look further afield than Bach's.

I decided to buy a book on flower essences after seeing how much they helped me. I found that, beyond other books on the subject- and there are other good ones- this one was incredibly well written, laid out, informative, you name it. It allowed me, in the absence of a trained flower essence therapist, to make well informed choices as to which essence would most benefit at what time. The cross referencing, much like a thesaurus, helps to narrow down between similar essences. These authors have another tool that I found for free online that compliments this book. That tool lists each essence and a general paragraph of its effect along with a never to always scale for you to determine which essences are core ones for you. Even without that tool, this book lays out how to approach that process. I use it frequently and, like other reviers, expect to for a long time.

The whole notion of using flower essences not just for treatment, but to support wellness and even aid psychological and spiritual development may seem illogical.

Except that these flower essences work. The few controlled studies are not strong, but against that is a wealth of experience gained by thousands of patients and practitioners on every continent.

By a strange "coincidence" the publication of this book "coincided" with my final immigration into the United States. After nearly twenty years steeped in the use of the original Bach flower essences created in England and Wales, it seemed only right to see what the plants of the New World had provided for our ever-changing species. Much as I loved my Bach remedies, I felt sure that people on this side of the Atlantic might need something more. So I was interested to see what these New World essences had to offer and I bought my first copy of this book within weeks of my arrival.

I was astonished by what I learned and by the extraordinary work that had been done by Patricia Kaminski, Richard Katz and a small group of dedicated helpers. I soon obtained and started using many of these new remedies and I was - and remain - extremely impressed. I have seen some extraordinary results, despite being a big skeptic.

This is a classic textbook, now thirteen years old. It is beautifully produced and I would be hard pressed to come up with any major improvements.

Though the work is in no way dated, it might be nice to see a new edition, perhaps with plant photographs and more cross tables, to help introduce a new generation to these wondrous treatments.

If you have any interest in natural medicine or wellness, or if you are interested in finding out which essences were provided to help the spiritual practices unique to North America, this book should not just be on your bookshelf, but should quickly become dog-eared from use!

Highly recommended.

I think this book is a little pedestrian in its layout and overall look, but the contents are interesting and will be used when the situation arises. I think that coconut oil is wonderful for you, so this book is worth checking out.

I'm not finished reading this book and read it in chunks and have found it fascinating. It's amazing how little respect coconuts and coconut oil get. Frankly, coconut oil has been wrongly villified - if only more people knew! Thanks to Dr. Fife, people can know the truth of just how miraculously healing coconut water, coconut milk and especially coconut oil can be.

I don't think you'll find another book like this !

I am a true believer in the fact that you become what you think about...meaning that you move in the direction of your most dominant thoughts. For years I have been studying and practicing health alternatives and have felt like there was still something missing. I spent many hours thinking and meditating about how nice it would be to have one simple miracle product that was natural and totally beneficial to my overall health and well being.

Well in September 2008 a friend of mine had Amazon secretly drop ship Dr. Fife's book "Oil Pulling" to my home and being an avid reader, I immediately began reading and the more I read, the more intrigued I became and suddenly realized that my thoughts had manifested me to this point in my life and that I truly had discovered the simple miracle product that I was so wishing to discover.

After quickly reading "Oil Pulling" and discovering all the benefits, I ordered 3 more of Dr. Fife's books with "Coconut Cures" being one of them and have not been able to put the book down since. Everytime I open the book up I learn something new and amazing. All these years have passed and I'm just now discovering the amazing health benefits of coconuts. It is just incredible! I highly recommend these two books to everyone!!

This comprehensive book tells all about coconut oil. It will answer all your questions and then some. It will also explode all those outdated beliefs about oils and fats. I now know the properties of coocnut oil, specifically how it is beneficial to my health, and what to look for when buying it. A great book for my library.

The author is very thorough. Each point is well explained. A great "How To..." book. Coconut Cures: Preventing and Treating Common Health Problems with Coconut It has tons of preventative treatments as well as cures for all types of ailments. This book will assist the reader in making an informed choice. The only problem I had was finding enough fresh coconuts up here in the Northwest.

Coyote has always been a special animal to me, so the title jumped out at me. The two feathers and physician's symbol on the cover present a beautiful balance. The physician's symbol has the twin serpents and the two wings of the one. In the background is the four, the Mystery.

Lewis' experiences are related in an interwoven manner. He rushes through life in the quest for medical expertise and validation. In doing so, he trips himself into bouts with infinity as his beautiful plans fall through, day-by-day, year-by-year. However, his rapidly depleted physical/mental being is slowly but surely filling from the inside out. The book is a wonderful, candid sharing of one human's journey to clarify his purpose, his vocation, and to realize such.

He seems like a powerless pawn at times. Have you felt that way? I have. It takes courage to choose the walk toward balance with a fellow being. Lewis had to learn the way of the warrior to survive his path as a healer.

The sweat lodge accounts are beautifully done. I felt it better than any other accounts I have read. Although I have not participated in a lodge, I have experienced years of "spirit stuff". He is talking from experience. Lewis tells us without violating the trust of his friends, manifested or otherwise.

The visions he describes are direct accounts, rather than attempts to relay deep knowings into a form the reader may understand. Visions come in dreams, in rituals, in waking, everyday consciousness, you name it. If we need it and are open to input, we will receive guidance. A vision is experiential, so there is no way to relay the richness and life of such an experience.

Ya gotta walk the walk--it's the only way.

I laughed pretty good at his experience learning to talk with the desert. I too learned this while out alone walking in the desert. At first I thought my spirit friends were nuts--and said so--but I did it and learned a lot. You'll have to read the book to find out.

There were tears of joy and tears of sorrow while reading this book, and a lot of laughter. Thank-you for making the great leap and taking the risk of sharing, Lewis!

This book is a well written merging of two subjects. The first is a personal sharing of Lewis Mehl-Madrona's upbringing and life experience as a half N.A. Native, his pursuit of a medical degree and specialty and his increasing disillusionment with the "science" of medicine as it is now widely practiced. The second is about Lewis' discovery of N.A. Native spirituality and shamani sm. He leads us on a winding path of discovery that introduces us to the intriguing characters who use shamanism to heal others, often while their own lives are in disarray, to those who sought healing and perhaps most importantly, to the spirits who assisted in the ceremonies. While pursuing this path of curing the individual, rather than the symptom, it seems that Lewis will lose site of his original goal to obtain his medical speciality. But, as so often occurs, as he helps others to heal, the path circles around to encompass his own needs and he completes his original path, a more well-rounded and enlightened human. More capable of understanding. More capable of giving what is really required. I found the writing to be powerful, the personal drama riveting and the glimpse into the ceremonies, symbolism and spiritualism of the N.A. shaman both moving and educational. After all these years of hearing the stories shared by N.A. natives, but not really understanding, I finally "got it". This book slaked a thirst I didn't know I had. Lewis not only shared his story but acted as a teacher and I know that I've grown as a result. I highly recommend it and hope that we'll hear more from this writer.

This book blew me away. I have reread much of it so many times and bought multiple copies for friends. I have filled the margins of my copy with notes and filled notebooks with essays and thoughts inspired by Dr. Mehl-Madrona's book. It is nothing short of miraculous itself, in addition to describing medical miracles and how they are brought about by spiritual intervention and Native American healing.

A child prodigy, Lewis Mehl-Madrona hitchhiked to a local college while still in high school, read philosophy science voraciously and was the youngest peacetime graduate of Stanford Medical School. The more impressive since his childhood was at times difficult.

At medical school, Dr. Mehl-Madrona became interested in shamanic traditions and attended some sweat lodge and tipi ceremonies. Here he encountered otherwordly phenomena such as blue light, sparks, sensorial stimulation and miracle cures in cases that were deemed too far gone by western doctors. Most importantly, Dr. Mehl-Madrona learned how shamans talked to patients, asked questions about their families and lives and spent long periods of time with them. The author learned that shamans tap into the inner healer of the patient, and consider themselves only partially responsible for any cure.

At the same time, Dr. Mehl-Madrona was encountering negligent and dehumanizing healing practices in his western medical pursuits. A few spine-chilling tales display the callousness and arrogance that exists in some hospitals and clinics. One example: two obstetricians made a bet concerning the fastest C-Section birth and the winner, very triumphant at seventeen minutes, accidentally tied something shut in the woman's internal organs. It was fixed and the woman even wrote a letter of thanks to the hospital! Such is the blind and sometimes unjustified trust the public has in the medical establishment.

The book is wonderfully woven with many colorful strands of storytelling. On one level, it is a memoir of Dr. Mehl-Madrona's journey to reconcile his western medical training with holistic and in particular Native American healing. He is part Native American, so this pursuit poignantly reflects his mixed heritage. Poignant because Dr. Mehl-Madrona often felt like an outsider in all areas of his life, as a Native American man, as an American man, as a western doctor and as an aspiring and ultimately successful shaman.

Another strand of his story is the Native American tradition of healing itself, which we discover in almost the same timeframe that he does. We are introduced to the traditional practice of storytelling as a healing technique at the same time that he is. Early in the book, when the doctor is a resident, he is tending a man whose medical condition is exacerbated (and perhaps caused) by his intensely critical nature. A wonderful passage in recounts Dr. Mehl-Madrona's tentative attempt at telling a story to the cynical patient, himself a psychologist, who groans with sarcasm as the story begins. As it continued, he was intrigued, however, and even hazards a guess at the meaning, to which guess the doctor gives an ambiguous confirmation. The great part of this passage is how Dr. Mehl-Madrona successfully enacts the role of enigmatic shaman even though he himself is still unsure of the story's meaning.

Coyote Medicine also discusses the role of the supernatural in shamanic healing, and the perception of magic and nature. For anyone who ever sat in the woods or even on his aparment steps late at night and felt a mystical connection to something unseen and bigger than himself, Coyote Medicine is a kindred spirit.

At one point the author goes on his vision quest and meets his power animals and is given shamanic healing tools. We as readers are present at many important moments in his life, including personal and family struggles (his first wife, according to the book, seemed to wrestle his children away from him and resented his shamanic efforts), professional travails (Dr. Mehl-Madrona's questioning intelligence, sense of dignity for the patient and also his holistic beliefs created friction with several different western medical institutions). When, at the end of the book, the author finds an accepting partner and on a professional level, a venue where he could combine holistic healing with Western, we feel as thought a close friend has triumphed in the face of great odds.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in healing, either for herself or others, and also about finding one's own individual path, as difficult as and untraveled as it might be, but that is true to the traveler.

Many blessings on this book and thank you Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona.

Robert Murray Diefendorf, Author of Release the Butterfly

"Coyote Medicine" is a tremendous source of insight and experience within the path of shamanism and health. Dr. Mehl-Madrona's story-telling is magnificent and at times very suspenseful hitting directly on our sensitive health and spiritual issues we face culturally. But, he doesn't give you easy answers, because his path to becoming a healer was very complex. For me, this book opened up parts of my consciousness and answered questions I was asking and some of those I hadn't yet asked. This book was truly a God-send and I am savoring every word I read.

I enjoyed this book very much! It is full of truths ! I believe as does this man. I look forward to reading any book he writes.It was a easy read and on a level that I understood completely.I laughed and cried with his stories.I just loved it!

This is a terrific book for anyone interested in exploring the human body. It's good on the details and good on the big picture. It's a fascinating and revealing reference work on the workings of the human body.

For anyone interested in anatomy and physiology or alternatives to medicines alone this is a wonderful book to read and reference. It gives some excellent insights into healing by touch and bodywork a must for al types of therapists.

this work is an essential addition to any practitioner's library who wishes to markedly enhance their understanding and communication of care to their patients. Juhan uses brilliant, in-depth scientific notation in an easy-to-read format. brilliant.

If you are a doctor, physical therapist, massage or bodywork therapist of any kind with an appetite for in depth analysis and understanding of the human response to touch, this book is a MUST HAVE for you. It's technical and detailed, and it is also ground breaking, eye-opening and very exciting.

Juhan covers the topic of the human response to touch from the micro-cellular level through to system responses all the way to the origins of the body/mind split in western philosphy and the consequences of pharmaceutical dominance in health care on touch therapies. He introduces many new perspectives that bring a rich vitality to anatomy. He shows the interactivity - the interconnectedness - the interdependence of all aspects of the human body, mind and being. He presents some of the latest theories about how the body mind are integrated and communicate - Candace Pert's molecules of emotion.

Not only is Juhan's research fascinating and valuable to body workers, but also his method of inquiry, the questions he asks, and how he asks and seeks to answer them, are also very educational - modeling ways we can pursue the investigation ourselves.

Here are a few examples of the kind of insight that Juhan offers in the Third Edition:

Page 17

"This personal, sensory engagement with the self does not spring from a rebellion against scientific authority, but rather from a realization of the present inadequacy of that authority's conception of reality, a realization that is not contrived for the purpose of debate, but which is forced upon [us] by [our] own painful circumstances."

"When the conceptions of reality that we maintain do not square with the things we are experiencing, it is not because we are flawed or because our experiences are wrong, but because our conceptions cannot contain all of the facts as we perceive them. And there is no constructive way out of this crisis but to enlarge our sense of reality to include our actual experiences."

Page 142

"The goal of bodywork should not be to impose universalized standards of posture and movement upon an individual, but rather to help the individual to cultivate the mental awareness and the physical flexibility to continually adapt to the changing needs of the moment."

Page 184

"Muscles that have fallen into disuse and flaccidity just don't provide enough pumping action for these intercellular fluids to adequately feed and bathe the nerve cells, and so the general strength of their functions is diminished."

Page 412

"Subjective and objective are not two distinct ways I have of viewing reality; they are two sides of a continuous feedback loop which together make up that reality. How completely I sense my body and how I feel about it has everything to do with the particular course of events going on within it."

This book was required reading at the Brian Utting School of Massage when I attended in 1994. The ENTIRE book, and we were tested on it.

I still refer back to the chapter on muscle physiology frequently, especially when I am writing articles and teaching procedures.

Here is where you will find what you need to know about how actin and myosin overlap, how muscle cells respond only to the signals provided from the brain and spinal reflexes (which means your only hope of relaxing muscle is by appealing to the brain or reflexes, using indirect techniques!)

Here you will learn which spinal reflexes cause the "let go" reflex (golgi tendon organs) and which proprioceptors (annulospiral) communicate two-way with the brain for profound accuracy of movement and options for subtle therapy.

Here you learn what organ (cerebellum) controls whether the muscles will rest or guard.

I have not yet seen a book to replace this one as a required text, but I am reviewing one soon... I think a massage therapist could get away with reading only the muscle chapter though the skin, connective tissue, parasympathetic response vs sympathetic reaction, nerve chapters are interesting if you are interested (like I was). Remember, this information is about twenty years old now.

In addition, I recommend all massage students and practitioners read Laura Bruno's If I Only Had a Brain Injury that came out earlier this year, 2008. It is far easier to read than Job's Body. It is not intended to be a "med school" approach to healing. Instead, you'll learn a symbolic/intuitive approach to healing. In the 80s, intuition was woo-woo but now with human telepathy predicted to begin in less than a decade, you see that Laura's symbolic/intuitive approach to the brain is even more subtle and effective than the connective tissue, indirect nerve/reflex techniques that Deane Juhan was doing back then.

Bought this for our daughter-in-law as she finally earned her degree in Psychology and it offered helpful advice after all the long hours of studying to get her degree.

If you are a therapist in training or maybe even a seasoned veteran, this book offers thought-provoking tidbits and interesting stories. it's encouraging and educational and makes you think about yourself as a therapist and as a person.

This book was an excellent resource for me during my mental health internship. The author really knows her stuff.

In the field of mental health there are so many research-based, self-help, anectdotal, and other types of books to assist therapists in improving their skills. This book is different and delightfully so as it is written in a diary-form but with warm guidance. Pipher's understanding of the healing power of therapy and how connecting with clients is essential is well-written. This book is from Pipher's role as a mentor to a blossoming therapist, but even experienced therapists will enjoy the way she conceptualizes clients' concerns. Pipher clearly sees therapy as one way to make positive changes in the world and that is inspiring to all of us who do this work.

Mary Pipher again shows her ability (gift) to combine artful writing with important information and a bright ray of hope. The writing style is casual. This book is easy to read and the messages are wonderful. An excellent way to recuperate and re-find one's healing spirits. Don't miss out on this fabulous book!

I loved this book. It has made an excellent addition to my library of Native American spirituality and practices. There is much in it that is relevant and useful. The Cherokee have a beautiful way of looking at the world.

I have read several books by the Garretts and find them all to be wonderful sources of information and brings my Cherokee heritage home to rest in my heart. Thank You.

The Garretts pull from their experieces from the "real world," as well as their healings and practical experience with the Cherokee to give us excellent starting points in helping ourselves and others. For such a thin book, there is a lot of advice hidden in the stories and accounts, if you know what to look for.

I really enjoyed reading this material and consider it the best for Individuals of Indian ancestry who still believe in the Traditional Ways.

This is a must read book for first time people into the world of the Native americans. It will open a whole new door that you will bring out of it is the respect for all living things and for Morther Earth. The book helps you understand that certain things are sacred to the Native Americans and how it ties into their beliefs. Once you read this book you will begin to see things through the eyes of a different race, but from the point of a Native American. You will learn differemt ways of praying and saying thanks to mother nature. You will take things from the book and apllied to your everyday life. Wah Doh.

This book should be read by all Magi, Spiritual Mystic, Clergy, Body/Mind Therapist, and anyone seeking truth. Dr. Modi has brought to the Light those things that you find yourself asking, "Why is this happening to me?" Those Thoughts, Feelings, and Physical problems that come to us, starting not from ourselves but from (Eph 6:12) Principalities and Powers that are (to many) not seen.
Discover for yourself and those that you love, the many Unsuspected root causes of Mental and Physical Illnesses.
There is a Prayer of Protection in this book that I use everyday now that is worth 10x the amount you would pay for this book.

Several of Sun Tzu's Strategies come to mind for having this book read and studied by you.

* Laying Plans--- explores the five key elements that define competitive position (mission, climate, ground, leadership, and methods) and how to evaluate your competitive strengths against your competition.

* Maneuvering--- explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon you.

* Variation in Tactics focuses on the need for flexibility in your responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully.

Light and Love

Dr. Modi's book follows in the footsteps of Dr. Fiore, Dr. Baldwin, Dr. Ireland-Frey and others into the area of attachments and how they affect a person's life negatively, especially when it is mis-diagnosed as just a simple disease or sympton of an illness. She also writes about soul fragmentation, which according to her can happen from even too much compassion or happiness, not just a traumatic event. I found the majority of book very interesting, however I found that in many instances it was repetitive especially with the long summaries at the end of each chapter. Also it was extremely judeo-christian in perspective in regards to satan and demons, etc, even though she claims that she receives the same feedback from patients from different cultural backgrounds. Contrary to the findings of the earlier practioners mentioned before which rarely came across non-human entities, according to Dr. Modi they are just as numerous or even more so then human entities.

There is no other way to describe Remarkable Healings by Dr. S. Modi than to say it is completely extraordinary, and that it is a timely gift of great insight into the nature of the human mind and spirit. It is a book that should be read by, not just doctors or psychitrists or age-regression therapists, but by all human beings.

Dr. Modi is a woman of genuine pioneering spirit who, though having acquired all the conventional credentials as a psychiatrist, was dissatisfied with the meager results of traditional talk therapy and decided to employ hypnotherapy to gain more direct access to a patient's subconscious. In this process, she happened to discover that hypnotized patients would begin spontaneously describing what they believed to be their own "past lives," in which they had experienced various traumas that seemed to be causing the debilitating symptoms and illnesses the patients were trying to cope with in their present lives. By addressing these past-life traumas apparently surfacing from some part of the patient's subconscious mind, Dr. Modi discovered that she could effect remarkable, almost total cures for her patients within very brief periods.

Dr. Modi avers that she does not know if these past lives reported by patients are real and that she herself has no belief in reincarnation, but she does believe that the therapy is very important because it yields extraordinary cures that have lasted many years for many patients.

As she continued to work with hypnotherapy, she discovered that her patients started spontaneously describing that other deceased people were living inside them, that is, that spirits of other people (e.g., relatives, ancestors, friends, strangers, etc.) were somehow indwelling them. And this became perhaps the major focus of Dr. Modi's work--i.e., working with earthbound spirits who, for reasons of either obsessive affection or otherwise vengeful resentment and hatred, had become trapped/embedded within the patient's body, --and, further into this research, working with "demon" spirits who explained (through the patient) that they existed under the direct thrall of Satan and were assigned to carry out Satan's instructions, both directly and via other earthbound spirits, to make each patient as miserable as possible.

Consider the following paragraph from p. 196 of her book:

"My [hypnotized] patients describe having from one to as many as ten or even more--sometimes even hundreds--of earthbound entities in different parts of their bodies. One patient, as he looked inside himself, described seeing hundreds of human spirits. It looked like a "beehive" to him. Even when I work with so-called normal people, almost all of them find one or more human spirits inside them, even though they did not have any obvious physical or emotional problems."

What is further fascinating here is that Dr. Modi's patients describe, as the therapy progresses, that the liberation of the earthbound spirits is not that of being "cast out" into some nether darkness, but one where angels are summoned who escort these spirits out of the patient's body away into higher realms of the spirit world where they can undergo healing.

What is especially remarkable in all of these patient descriptions of indwelling earthbound spirits and angelic beings that could be summoned to deal with these fixated spirits is that the patient descriptions were basically identical, regardless of their diverse cultural, racial, religious, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds. Skeptics may criticize that these results are probably due to some sort of "confabulation" or other idiosyncratic artifact of hypnosis, but it is clear from Dr. Modi's writings that such criticisms do not apply at all.

Make no mistake--other noteworthy writers/practitioners have addressed similar realities regarding earthbound spirits, e.g., Emanuel Swedenborg in The Universal Human, Carl Wickland in Thirty Years Among the Dead, Edith Fiore in The Unquiet Dead, and, most recently, Unificationist shamanic healer Daemonim. But Dr. Modi has given us a remarkable, profound and stunning written record of research into the revolutionary healing possible through Spirit Releasement Therapy. Her book characterizes a critical aspect of the vision that will be required to usher in a new age of civilization in the 21st century.

Just finished reading Dr. Modi's Remarkable Healings, and it is right on the money. I have worked in the deliverance ministry and we also dealt with these entities that she describes, yet we were not using hypnotherapy to dig for deeper answers -- we just identified the entities and took them to the Light. It was interesting to learn more about what they can and can't do. I have no fear of them as their only weapons are fear and deception... if you bring the Light down on them, they surrender.

Which brings me to ask the question: Why do Catholic priests in their exorcisms mess around for days and weeks trying to expel these entities, when it can be done in 5 minutes -- in Jesus' name? I know because we did it.

Lastly, her info on soul fragments is very informative. A lot of good down to earth practical knowledge in the book.I'd also like to recommend the recent related book by Dr Lerma Into the Light -- it will surprise you to find out that the angels of Light and the angels of Darkness often work together. And the dark ones are subservient to the angels of Light.

And from what I saw on the references to Dr. Michael Newton's books, several people were upset with Dr. Modi's book, pooh-poohed it, and recommended Dr. Newton's instead. Forget it. He never protects his patients, and his questions lead the subject into conclusions... very unprofessional and thus not very trustworthy. Stay with Dr. Modi.

If I could only keep one book in my library on this subject, I would keep Remarkable Healings. Everone should read this book, because much of the information I feel pertains to all. I certainly can relate to so many things that Dr. Modi writes about, and have passed this information on to my psychiatrist. At one time in my therapy,my doctor called Dr. Modi, and she was very helpful. Because I am an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person)
I now can convince other people that I am not crazy, just psychic. Of course it doesn't matter to me anymore what other people think, because now I have the answers to all my questions. God Bless Dr. Modi.
Jeanie Laurence

I really enjoyed reading Matthew Wood's herbal book.He weaves a good amount of history with his scientific herbalism.After i read his book,i felt that he was another former modern christian rediscovering his connection with the good Earth.He may have been labeled as a former 'Quasi-Pagan',or seemingly pagan,now a 'true Pagan'.Nevertheless,he presents the global history of the herbs quite well,in relation to what these plants and herbs can do to benefit people.It's an engaging reading that will please any serious herbalist-ethnoscientist.The more you know,the more you will later reap.-Alma Hutchens wrote,'Indian Herbalogy of North America',which has more medical information about 'Native Medicines'.Ms.Hutchens' book does not have a good historical perspective,yet does have many good medicinal antidotes.The bottom line is that any modern ethno-herbalist will more likely enjoy reading Wood's text on the history and uses of homeopathic shamanic botany.

Matthew Wood's book is a must-have for your bedside table and/or bookshelf. It's a serious and studied approach to healing through plants. This book and its contents have made a difference in our lives. Don't hesitate to buy it right away and read it; you won't regret having done so, and will feel better. My health has improved rather quickly, thanks to some of the recommendations made by Wood in this wonderful manual for health.

The author is very knowledgeable and gives a thorough background of each herb that he describes. He includes a lot of scientific information, as well as more mystical/spiritual and historical uses of each herbs, giving the book a nice balance. It was recommended to me by a fabulous herbalist and naturopath, and I must say that I'm very glad I listened to her advice as it's one of the best herb books I've seen.

Matthew Wood is literally a wealth of information. He has done an excellent job of providing information on several different types of herbs with usages, and just good information to have as a ready reference book. The diagrams, while they are not in color, still are excellent. This is one of my useful reference books that I would recommend to anyone who is serious about using herbs in their life.

Matthew Wood brings a variety of his gifts together as writer, historian, herbalist and a man of prodigious memory and herbal storytelling. This book stands out as my favorite herbal reference because it treats each herb to a whole chapter. Any lover of plants knows that there is much more to describe an herb than the usual sort of important lists of information most commonly shared in herbal reference books. This book helps one to get to know these 41 herbs much as you would know a friend or relative in their habits and ways of helping.

I pick up this book over and over simply because it is such good reading and I don't remember everything. If you like to learn through story and beautiful prose, this just may be your book! It fills a very unique niche of herbal literature.

The 41 herbs are quite available in the Midwest habitat and many overlap into other areas.

My only disappointment is that there is not a second volume to cover the many other herbs that didn't fit into the first volume.

Product was delivered fast. Product was exactly what was promised, workbook, and 2 CDs. It provided exactly the information I was looking for, not only what is chakra but how to work with it.

I love this book so much. i wanted more info on chakras and i was going to take a course butthis book covered all of the details. i do the yoga exercises for each chakra and it works for physical and mental benefits. i am buying more books for my patients to have.

I bought this because I am a beginner in the realm of chakras. These 2 DVDs (in the kit) have given me a concrete basic off which to work.
The "workbook" gives me the opportunity to keep track of how I am doing/progressing.
Some people will find this far too basic but it is a perfect fit for a true rank beginner.

This is a good book for begginers. It shows how to balance your chakras, how they interact within them, how the non balanced chakra might manifest a specific condition..

This kit is wonderful and it forces you to do the work without skipping ahead, which is one of my tendencies. I have not yet finished all of the exercises, but the first exercise is incredible in helping you to get centered.