In The Seat of the Soul prize-winning author Gary Zukav explained how the expansion of human perception beyond the five senses leads to a new understanding of "authentic power."

In Soul Stories, he showed how such concepts as harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life express themselves in other people's lives. Now, in The Heart of the Soul, prize-winning author Gary Zukav joins with his spiritual partner Linda Francis to show us the importance of emotional awareness in applying these concepts to our daily lives.

The Heart of the Soul shows us how to free ourselves from our compulsions, fixations, obsessions, and addictions — such as anger, workaholism, obsessive eating, alcohol and drug abuse, and sexual addiction — that prevent us from living a fulfilling and meaningful life. It also provides the reader with the necessary tools to replace the desire to avoid painful emotions with the desire to explore every aspect of consciousness, and to cultivate the parts of ourselves that contribute the most to Life.

Emotional awareness — becoming aware of everything we are feeling at every moment — is one of the most challenging tasks we can undertake. As Zukav relates in the audiobook, "The longest journey that you will make in your life is from your head to your heart." For all of us, that is the unending journey toward spiritual growth — toward wholeness, wisdom, and compassion — and the healing that will allow us to achieve our fullest potential.

Asserting that "our species is undergoing an unprecedented transformation," Zukav (The Seat of the Soul; Soul Stories) urges people to focus not on "external power" but on "authentic power," and to seek to align their personalities with their souls. People should learn to read emotional pain (manifested in physical symptoms) as energy being released in "fear and doubt" rather than "love and trust," Zukav says. He includes a diagram of "your energy system," which he doesn't acknowledge as the seven chakras common in ancient Eastern religions. In fact, while drawing on Hindu and Buddhist thought, Taoism, Christianity, psychology and many other sources, Zukav credits no previous study or tradition. Reincarnation, detachment, present-moment living and bringing unconscious emotions to the surface are not original concepts, but the author's lack of references implies that they are. Questionable claims "a new human species is being born," for example, or "energy continually flows into the top of your head" are also offered as indisputable facts. Zukav's abundance of vague metaphors and lack of specific personal stories leaves the reader wondering how (or if) the concepts he presents might be applied to everyday issues and events. This book could be another adequate tool in the pursuit of New Age spirituality, but it is hardly the complete and final word the author suggests. Still, with Zukav's track record and Oprah-readiness, expect hefty sales. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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    • Devotionals