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East West Book Reviews
 ChallengeClear the Clutter from Your Home, Heart, and Mind ...and Discover the True Treasure of Your Soul Barry Dennis Clutter, for most of us, brings to mind an overflow of meaningless stuff filling our space. But what about the debris residing in our minds, hearts and lives that drains our energies—the judgments, distorted beliefs, self-doubts, toxic relationships, the hours spent plugged into technology, and so on? Barry Dennis offers mini-challenges to help us release these chotchkies, or meaningless trinkets, that squeeze our souls—starting with the unimportant junk we accumulate and moving on to negative body images, limiting words, neediness, and daily distractions, to name a few. He offers quizzes, “  deep thoughts” to ponder, and an invitation to jump onto his website for virtual explorations to help us free the space for our soul spirits to emerge. Barry Dennis is a motivational speaker and founder of Celebration Church in Portland, Oregon, as well as Coexist Celebration, an interfaith movement designed to “create peace of mind and peace of planet.” Hay House, $18.95 Dying to be MeMy Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing Anita Moorjani Growing up, Anita Moorjani tried to mold herself into what was expected of her by others and by her culture, causing emotional and psychological triggers that she believes contributed to a four-year battle with cancer that shut down her organs and nearly took her life. In a coma in the hospital, as doctors prepared Anita’s family for her imminent death, she left her body and experienced a life with no limits, a freedom from physical and emotional pain, an understanding of what caused her cancer, and a choice to return to the living. Dying to be Me, now a New York Times bestseller, chronicles her early years of suppressing her real self, her journey to death and back, and the miraculous healing that followed. In writing this inspirational memoir,  she hopes to help others benefit from what she learned about healing and living “as a reflection of who we really are,” and experience the unconditional love that is within and around us always. Hay House, $24.95 The Insulin Resistance FactorA Nutritionist’s Plan for Reversing the Effects of Syndrome X Anthony J. Haynes Insulin Resistance, also known as Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X, is a condition that occurs when the body produces too much insulin. This condition can happen for a variety of reasons: a diet that’s high in refined carbs, sugars or saturated fats; a sedentary lifestyle; being overweight; stress; high blood pressure; increased inflammation in the body; or genetic factors. To some degree it affects a whopping 80 percent of the population. To find out if you’re at risk, you might want to pick up a copy of this book and fill out the questionnaires. The answers will help you determine your degree of Insulin Resistance and the factors that contributed to it, and point you to a personalized plan for lasting health. Nutritionist Anthony Haynes, author of The Food Intolerance Bible, developed a program to reverse Syndrome X that includes diet, targeted supplements, and lifestyle changes. The benefits include safe and permanent weight loss, increased energy and alertness, improved memory, a younger-looking appearance, decreased risk of getting heart disease and cancer, lower blood pressure, and the author’s assurance that you’ll never get type II diabetes. Conari Press, $18.95 
The Five Keys to Mindful CommunicationUsing Deep Listening and Mindful Speech to Strengthen Relationships, Heal Conflicts and Accomplish Your Goals Susan Gillis Chapman Drawing on her background as a psychotherapist and a longtime Buddhist practitioner, Susan Chapman uses the principles of mindfulness to guide us from a “me-first” to “we-first” approach to building and maintaining relationships. To make this process conscious, she uses the metaphor of a traffic light: green as a symbol for interacting with an open heart and mind, red as a reminder to stop and not press on when the communication has shut down, and yellow to pause, become aware of our feelings, and choose our reactions wisely before a shutdown happens. The author offers five keys to mindful communication—being present and available, listening, encouraging, unconditional friendliness, and selfless help. Anyone who seeks meaningful, effective connections with others personally and professionally will find much to practice and reflect upon in this book. Shambhala, $15.95 CourageOvercoming Fear and Igniting Self-Confidence Debbie Ford Debilitated by the cancer that she tired to deny, Debbie Ford realized that the universe was sending her a powerful message to focus on her health and her life. In Courage, the successful spiritual teacher and bestselling author opens up about the many ways she has felt disempowered, and how her illness taught her to align with her true warrior self. She calls on us to embrace our flaws, weaknesses, fears and shame, to stand up for who we are and what we desire, and to “be willing to go face-to-face with that which has made us feel weak, impotent, and unable to change.” She discusses how fear and courage affect our emotions and thoughts and drive our behavior, and guides us through seven codes of “the courageous love warrior,” designed to activate self-confidence and inner power. In revealing her own battle with fear, Ford motivates the reader with a passionate message to listen to your own voice, follow your divine instincts, and “transcend your old self-image and step into courage, strength, and confidence.” HarperOne, $25.99 |
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