3 X 5's: Index Card Wisdom from Best of Books

MIRRORS OF THE EARTH Asia Suler (2022). Mirrors in the Earth:                                       Reflections on Self-Healing from the Living World. Suler is a herbalist, founder of One Willow Apothecaries , and teacher. She draws on stories throughout her life and wisdom both ancient (indigenous) and new (research) to describe and explain how the earth (the natural world) mirrors and reflects our own lives, providing practical advice for living. Each chapter ends with a practice, meditation, or reflection that i found valuable.  Some of the many insights/lessons: your life is garden...you get to decide what to plant, how to tend...you will also need to decide your hard and soft boundaries, what to prune and what to weed...identifying what is your life and what needs to be released. trauma is part of everyone's life, and learning to release and heal from trauma is ev...

TURN ON Timothy Leary (1965, 1999). Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out Leary was a University Professor at Harvard who is best know for his experiments with LSD. The book is part lectures, part interviews, and part essays. Given all the media hype about Leary, i was surprised at how much common sense i encountered, and how much he speaks to learning, hope, and love.  He begins with a chapter on how to start your own religion (to invoke the rights of the first amendment in US law) with family and friends, a tribe of people living together in community with their own laws...a place where sacrament is consumed (it need not be LSD, but anything that is spiritually meaningful to the community, something that binds the community together in ceremony)...a place preferably in nature where one feels protected and nurtured.  The BIG ADVICE is to drop out of society's robot world/mind, and turn on to God/Goddess (the Spirit), nature, and the body and mind, and tune in (dropping back into socie...

CAYCE Jess Stearn (1967). Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet. Stearn is a journalist, and through interviews and manuscripts presents a fascinating account of Edgar Cayce's life. Cayce grew up on a farm, reached 6th grade, raised Christian, and developed the unique ability to go to sleep (in a trance), answer questions based on a person's name and address, usually dealing with a health issue and treatment, and would remember nothing when he came out of the trance. His wife and secretary were faithful witnesses of these "readings" which started when he was 24 and continued into his 60's. Many of the readings are documented and housed at the Association for Research and Enlightenment's library in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Many of these readings include follow-ups which show that the treatment "worked" if followed. Several individuals have attempt to cull themes from the readings for different kinds of medical conditions and treatments...these are descri...

DIVINE HEALING HANDS  Zhi Gang Sha (2012). Divine Healing Hands:                                             Experience Divine Power to Heal yourself,                                             Animals, and Nature, and to Transform All Life. Master Sha is a healer in the Taoist lineage. This book is one of 9 in the "Soul Power Series." One should read the first book in the series, "Soul Wisdom" as the foundation (covers soul language, soul song, soul tapping, soul movement, and soul dance) before reading this or other books in the series. After reading the first part of this book, i realized the huge commitment involved in helping all people and the world that this practice of divine healing hands requires...there a...

HOLY MOMENTS Matthew Kelly (20220. Holy Moments:                                                 A Handbook for the Rest of Your Life. Kelly is a Catholic, international speaker, and business consultant...he defines holy moments as any positive action done for someone or something...it can be small, simple, and need not cost anything...the results ripple through the multiverse, sometimes changing the course of lives. to cultivate holy moments, first recognize them by looking back at the end of the day for holy moments that you created and that others did for you...create as many holy moments as you can every day--keep it simple, small, and free of cost...see what happens... i played a game with my brother last time we got together as a family (i from the east coast, he from the west coast, and my father and sister's family in Arkansas)...we sai...

ECSTASY Barbara Carrellas (2012). Ecstasy is Necessary: A Practical Guide Carrellas is a certified sexologist (American College of Sexologists), lectures at several universities, the author of 3 books, and is best known for her workshops. She writes with candor, sensitivity, and insight. One premise is that sexual energy is life force which impacts all of us every day. The first chapters begin with considering what we need, value, and desire. Creating good boundaries, the import of communication, and lots of ideas on positive sexuality are covered. Barbara is able to have an "energy orgasm" in an fmri machine which confirmed physiological brain correlates of an actual orgasm...amazing, yes, she describes how she does this. Make a list of your top 10 turn ons and have your partner do the same...rate each of them: yes, maybe (might consider under the right circumstances), and no...then have a chat about your ratings...some practices might include (for example) body painting, sh...

LIVE! Jack LaLanne (2009). Live Young Forever:                                               12 Steps to Optimum Health, Fitness,                                               and Longevity. LaLanne is one of the grandfathers of health fitness in America. He started out with poor health as a child and teen, was angry much of the time, got into fights, and didn't do well in school...as a teen of 15, he and his mom attended a health lecture by Paul Bragg and they turned their lives around and lived the health life together.  His philosophy of life is deceptively simple: exercise, nutrition, and a positive attitude. In his book he breaks down this philosophy by covering his personal secrets of: decreasing stre...