A NEW EARTH, AWAKENING TO YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE, by Eckhart Tolle

This book was tough. It was tough to keep reading. First, because Tolle has the propensity at times to get too abstract and second, because of the core message of the book which is --- EGO EGO EGO. Essentially this book is an exposition on the EGO. Tolle exposes the ego from all angles. What it's about, how it operates, how to spot it in others and in your own thinking or actions, how it works to keep us unhappy and how to try to take control to overcome the ego.

The actual prescription Tolle gives us to combat the Ego is "be conscious of your Breathing" and "Always Embrace the Present Moment," simple sounding but difficult to actually achieve. I doubt for most an immediate change will follow upon reading this book, but it does stay with you. What really registered for me, and still keeps coming to the forefront of my awareness a month after I have finished reading this work, is how to spot the ego in yourself. You know that ego is active whenever you identify with anything experiencing pride through it. Literally. When we think"I did this" or "I have that" or "I own this" and feel a sense of pride, this is temporary satisfaction that feeds the ego that is actually a false foundation for a sense of self. In the longterm such identification always robs us of joy. I don't want to go into much more detail beyond this and certainly there are other powerful lessons in the book. I don't particularly enjoy Tolle's writing but he is indeed at the forefront of our collective transformation of human consciousness.

SAVED BY THE LIGHT, by Dannion Brinkey

An easy to read first hand account from a man who was stuck by lightening, died, and then came back to tell us about it. It includes some information about about what Dannion experienced "After life" to be expected. Particularly fascinating is his description of his life review, where every life experienced is relived, but with emotions re-experienced not only for himself but all those impacted his actions. Profound!

In addition to coming back from death, Dannion also becomes highly psychic, able to thrust himself into the midst of another's life through mere physical contact. But what I enjoyed about this book more than anything, actually has nothing to do with the spiritual or the psychic realms; it is the fact that this book is also a book of incredible perseverance. Dannion's description of his physical state shortly following being struck by lightening is heart-wrenching. He talks of taking hours to move his body from one room to another. He talks about agonizing pain, as if being burnt from the inside. But he never gives up.

I found this book to be an easy read, never boring and at times profound and highly moving.

BLINK, by Malcom Gladwell

Lively and thought provoking. Not quite as seminal for me as his other well known work - "The Tipping Point" but still very engaging. Main topic of the book is that our so called 'Instant snap judgements" about things or people are not really random, that there is a whole unconscious intelligence behind our first impressions. Trusting our first impression, if we are truly expert at something - thus is often a good thing. But the first impression can also hold unconscious biases, as Gladwell demonstrates in his discussion of musical auditions. Until these started being conducted behind a screen, women were often eliminated from consideration simply because there was a perception that they could not perform with equal vigor to men. The lesson to be learned from this book is to both appreciate and double check what it is that drives our first impressions.

THE WAY BACK TO PARADISE, By Joseph M. Felser

I bought this book because it had an intriguing subtitle - "Restoring the Balance between Magic and Reason." I expected the book to talk about how we need to balance intuition with logic and give some insights. But, unfortunately I have little good to say about this work. It was tedious. It droned on. I can best describe it as a lengthy, self-absorbed rambling of a man who finds his own neurosis to be fascinating and finds symbolism and metaphor in every one of his own dreams, encounters and phobias. And all this talk about Snow and White and Rabbits. Give me a break Sorry, but it was just plain boring.

WAR ON THE MIDDLE CLASS. by Lou Dobbs

A very thorough and convincing work by an honest and rigorous mind. Lou, discusses, in this work the main policies of our government and our country that are steadily and consistently impoverishing the average working American. Specifically, the topics covered - the non-independence of our press, the negative economic fall-out from free trade agreements such as NAFTA and CAFTA and the lack of enforcement around illegal immigration, the low quality of our educational system, and lastly the high cost of our health-care. Reading Lou's book makes you virtually want to cry.

He systematically shows, with sound logic backed by statistics, that for a while now, the government of the United States has consistently, in its new policies and trade agreements, been catering to the dictates of large corporations at the expense of the welfare of the average citizen. It's depressing, it makes you angry, it makes you ask 'how could we have gotten to this state, how could we have sold out so much on our democratic ideals?'

To give Lou credit, in the final chapters of this book, he offers up some simple advice on what we, you and me, can do to 'take back the country.' Some of the advice is as simple as registering as an 'Independent' voter so that neither the Republicans nor Democrats can take your vote for granted. Lou also gives some examples of corporations, and local city and state governments that have taken enlightened action - such as American Apparel in choosing to pay decent wages and NOT to use cheaper overseas labor for the manufacture of its textiles. As a bonus, at the end of the book, Mr Dobbs includes all three for your reading pleasure - the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and all the Constitutional Amendments.

At times, I felt a little mired in data, reading this book but it stayed interesting and in the end, I was grateful for such an enlightening and thorough work. Thanks, Lou!!