Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?

Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?
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courageous souls-Do we plan our life challanges before birth?

Slow read

Karma is more than payback

So that's why . . .

not credible

Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?
Robert Schwartz
Manufacturer: Whispering Winds Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0977679454
Release Date: 2006-12-16

Book Description

Courageous Souls explores the premise that we are all eternal souls who plan our lives, including our greatest challenges, prior to birth for purposes of spiritual growth. The book contains ten true stories of people who planned physical illness, having handicapped children, deafness, blindness, drug addiction, alcoholism, losing a loved one, and severe accidents. Because very different life challenges are often planned for similar reasons, readers who have not faced these specific challenges will nevertheless see themselves - and their motivations as a soul - in these stories. As readers come to realize that they themselves planned their lives, suffering that once seemed purposeless becomes imbued with deep meaning. Wisdom may be acquired in a more conscious manner; feelings of anger, guilt, blame, and victimization are replaced by acceptance, forgiveness, peace, and gratitude.

Customer Reviews:

courageous souls-Do we plan our life challanges before birth?.......2007-10-15

This book is FANTASTIC!
Everyone has a story and has things going on in their life.This book makes everything that happens to you make sense. It allows you to understand why you have ended up where you are in life.Why you have chosen certain paths.And allows you to understand and be at peace with other peoples choices and the way they live their life.
I just loved it.Everyone should have a copy.It is well written, easy to understand and informative.But above all..it just makes sense.And things seem alot more clear to me than they did before I read the book.I loved it.For anyone who needs alittle hope or clarity in their lives..read this book.

Slow read.......2007-10-12

This book has some interesting ideas but it is a slow read. Not too sure if I would recommend.

Karma is more than payback.......2007-10-11

This book really changed my perspective on my current life situation. I was quite negative about the situation I'm dealing with, feeling it was just the result of past lives in which I had incurred very bad karma and I would just have to live through it. But, after reading this book, I believe I am living this life because of contracts I made in the pre-birth planning. That changes everything for me - if I agreed to the challenges I'm working with because I wanted to help one I love, there can be no resentment, just gratitude for being able to help, and love for the one I'm struggling with. Thank you, Robert Schwartz, what a gift!

So that's why . . ........2007-10-08

If you ever want to get into the backside of your pre-birth planning of your life challenges, read Courageous Souls by Robert Schwartz. Want to know why you attract illness, accidents, birth defects? Want to know why you chose a life of alcoholism or drug addiction, or are around someone who has? Read this book. The stories, while may start out slow at first, are powerful and insightful. Just stick with them. Robert uses mediums who are able to access multiple guides at one time, and your primary guide and listen in on conversations between you and your soul group.

not credible.......2007-09-30

I got to p. 300 and started reading another book. I found this book painstakingly slow to read, the information provided by the mediums: farfetched, and the conclusions drawn by the author, hard to swallow. Often, when mediums are tired, their accuracy rate diminishes. I never heard of any of the mediums used in this book. Robert Schwartz makes everything so complicated when the subject matter is really quite easy to understand. The book just doesn't flow easily and it's not a page turner in my opinion. I'm a believer, but this book really is a waste of time and money. Read Journey of the Soul by Michael Newton, PhD. Instead of using mediums, he enters the superconsciousness of his clients and elicits information from them directly about their experiences on The Other Side.

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A Complex Text, But Nevertheless Valuable
not for novices
Nonviolence, Wisdom, and Compassion
Infused his text with the intelligence, wit, & kindness

The Meaning of Life
The Dalai Lama , Jeffrey Hopkins , and Tenzin Gyatso
Manufacturer: Wisdom Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0861711734

Amazon.com

The Dalai Lama never shies away from the big questions. The Meaning of Life is a collection of lectures given in London in 1984 on the Buddhist worldview, before he had won the Nobel Peace Prize or become a bestselling author in English. Still, his message is essentially the same: practice nonviolence, cultivate altruism, and transform consciousness. In these lectures, the Dalai Lama begins with a painting of the wheel of cyclic existence, depicting the levels of karmic existence and symbols of the 12 links of dependent-arising. In other words, this painting, presented in seven color plates, is a visual summation of the basic tenets of Buddhism. The Dalai Lama draws on the painting to explain the 12 links of dependent-arising and then the path that leads to liberation from them. A nuts and bolts book, readers will enjoy it for its detail and for the broad range of questions elicited in listeners. --Brian Bruya

Book Description

In The Meaning of Life the Dalai Lama presents the basic worldview of Buddhism while answering some of life's most profound and challenging questions: Why are we in this situation? Where are we going? How should we live our lives? Do our lives have any meaning? Basing his explanation on the twelve links of dependent-arising as depicted in the Buddhist image of the Wheel of Life, His Holiness vividly describes how human beings become trapped in a counterproductive prison of selfishness and suffering, and shows how to reverse the process, changing the limiting prison into a source of help and happiness for others. Suffused with the Dalai Lama's intelligence, wit, and kindness, these teachings address such issues as how to deal with aggression from within and without; how to reconcile personal responsibility with the doctrine of selflessness; how to face a terminal illness; how to help someone who is dying; how to reconcile love for family with love for all beings; and how to integrate this practice into everyday life.

Customer Reviews:

A Complex Text, But Nevertheless Valuable.......2004-03-04

While I can sympathize with "a reader" on the fact that this book is in some instances somewhat esoteric, it is nonetheless a helpful text. The Dalai Lama has plenty of books out there that are less dense, I would suggest "An Open Heart" or "How To practice" for anyone who has problems absorbing the contents of this particular work. I will also make the point that Tibetan Buddhism is not ALL of Buddhism, and if you have trouble identifying with it I would suggest searching for other traditions you may more easily identify with. I practice Zen, but I can say also that I find a lot of value in the Dalai Lama's words in pretty much everything I`ve to date read by him. He's a magnificent spiritual mentor and friend to us all.

The Meaning of Life is a comprehensive, yet likewise somewhat confusing, glimpse into the amazing philosophical thought of Tenzin Gyatso. He deals a lot with the idea of metaphysics here and it's true, if you are not somewhat familiar with some basic Buddhist concepts, you may have a difficult time taking much in the realm of that which is beneficial from this book. He uses the Wheel of Life as a centerpiece for all that stems off in form of philosophy in this work, explaining how humans are often trapped by their own selfish thinking and desires. That part is hopefully not very hard for any of us to understand. It's sort of like 3 + 3 = 6. Simple math. I myself having practiced Korean Zen for quite some years now must admit, however, that I cannot fully grasp everything that is written here. But it nevertheless is an engaging work that one goes back to reading over and over again gaining new and fresh insights. So if you're a novice, yeah I might agree this is not the best of books as far as an introduction. But it's a great book to have hanging around to spiritually grow. So I recommend this book to everyone, but am aware that it's probably been designed for those more accustomed to this line of thought. Great book, though. I hope you enjoy it.

not for novices.......2002-04-30

I was hoping for an accessible, easily understood explanation of the Buddhist take on the meaning of life. Instead I first got a very complex analysis of Buddhism which did not adequately prepare me for the transcibed speeches of the Dalia Lama which followed. Maybe I'm not smart enough to grasp Buddhism. It certainly seems like this tape was not produced for the novice but for the more advanced student of Buddhism. If so, the tape cover did not warn me of that.

Nonviolence, Wisdom, and Compassion.......2001-11-17

As with the other books of the Dalai Lama I have read, this book combines difficult and obscure teachings with the simplicity of the everyday. The book consists of the text of a lecture series the Dalai Lama gave in London in 1984, before he received the Nobel Prize. The title of the book together with its subtitle "Buddhist perspectives on cause and effect" give some idea of its breadth.

The first two lectures in the book, together with Professor Jeffery Hopkins's introduction discuss the fundamental Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Origination. The discussion is based upon an exposition of a famous Tibetan painting of the Wheel of Existence which is beautifully reproduced, in whole and in a number of details following page 40. Turn to the painting before beginning to read the book and refer to it while reading both Hopkins and the Dalai Lama.

The Doctrine of Dependent Origination teaches the both the impernanence and interrelationship of things we take in our everyday lives as substantial. It talks about the pervasive effect of ignorance and its immediate consequences, lust and hatred, in poisoning our lives and attitudes. It offers an antidote twoards breaking the wheel of selfishness in the doctrine of non-self.

If this sounds obscure, it is. In a famous Sutra in the Pali canon, the Buddha rebukes his disciple Ananda when Ananda thinks he understands the teaching. The Dalai Lama presents the doctrine not as a dispositive treatment, which can't be done, but to stimulate reflection and meditation by the reader.

Following the discussion of Dependent Origination, there are almost equally difficult discussions of the Buddhist doctrine of Karma (causality and intentionality) and discussions of specifically Tibetan Tantric practices.

Interlaced with the specifically Buddhist doctrinal discussions are discussions of the goal of the doctrines which the Dalai Lama describes (page 34) as "to tame one's mental continuum-- to become nonviolent." This in turn is divided into two levels: altruism, or helping others, and, perhaps more broadly, doing no harm. According to the Dalai Lama (page 35) "The chief quality of a buddha is great compassion; this is why it is appropriate to take refuge in a buddha."

As always with the Dalai Lama, his goal is to teach and not to convert. He seems somewhat skeptical in this book with the rush of Westerners to adopt Tibetan Buddhism which, he points out, is a form of Buddhism adopted to the specific culture of Tibet rather than to Western culture. Although Tibetan Buddhism does not recognize a creator God, he urges those people comfortable with their own religions to adhere to them as proper sources of spiritual realization and inner peace. For those unable to adopt any religion, (those committed to Western secularism) he urges reflection and self-understanding as a means to end suffering.

Similarly, the Dalai Lama emphasizes that the Buddha taught different people in different ways depending on their background and their readiness for religious teachings. Many people, particularly those in the West, must find their path through life in the everyday workaday world rather than mediatating in a forest. The Dalai Lama recognizes and encourages people to work through to their salvation in a way appropriate to and consistent with their individual situation. Wise advice.

This is not one of the Dalai Lama's easier books to read. But it will stay with the careful reader. The painting of the Wheel of Dependent Origination is well reproduced, Professor Hopkins's introduction is valuable, and the book has a good bibliography for those wishing to pursue sources further. The teachings may not make the reader a Tibetan Buddhist; indeedmthat is not their intention. They may, however, bring some guidance and insight to the open reader.

Infused his text with the intelligence, wit, & kindness.......2001-03-06

Ably translated into English by Jeffrey Hopkins, The Meaning Of Life: Buddhist Perspectives On Cause And Effect was written by His Holiness, The Dali Lama for people seeking to develop a deeper understanding of Buddhist perspectives on existential questions of meaning, purpose, and responsibility. Basing his commentary on the Buddha's teachings of dependent arising, The Dali Lama reveals how every aspect of our suffering (unhappiness, pain, old age, death) is ultimately rooted in our misunderstanding of our own true nature. The Dali Lama infuses his text with the intelligence, wit, kindness and compassion he is so well known for within the Buddhist community world wide.

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Perfect positive actions
Wonderful Little Book
Gorgeous!

Instant Karma
Barbara Ann Kipfer
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0761128042

Book Description

Help others. Help yourself. Be a better person, and make the world a better place. Using the wisdom of the East to instruct and inspire, Instant Karma is a universe of things a reader can do, right now, to accumulate good karma. And, like pennies going into a piggy bank, each is a seemingly little thing-but feed the bank day after day and feel it grow richer and happier.

Created by Barbara Ann Kipfer, the author whose books-including 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, 8,789 Words of Wisdom, and The Wish List-have 1.2 million copies in print, Instant Karma is a compulsive, densely packed, chunky little book of 10,000 or so suggestions, wishes, thoughts, and the occasional heartening quotation.

Line after line, page after page, mesmerizing to read and filled with inspiration, it is the best kind of call to action-good for you and good for others.

Customer Reviews:

Perfect positive actions.......2007-01-27

A collection of the simplest possible ideas for adding positive influence to your life and the lives of those around you. With few exceptions, the suggested actions in this book transcend religion and culture; they should raise little controversy and are beyond debate. If you find one you are uncomfortable with, turn the page. Open the book anywhere and find a gem of universal wisdom--simple everyday direction on living well on planet earth. If you're christian, buddhist, muslim, jewish, hindu or atheist, buy this and draw inspiration from it daily. Make the world a better place. HIGHLY recommended.

Wonderful Little Book.......2004-11-12

This book is one that I actually carry around with me almost everywhere. It's fun to read, and many of the suggestions inside actually are a great pick-me-up during the day. I like it's small size, and I also like how you don't have to read the suggestions for good karma in order if you don't want to.

As far as to say if the book actually does bring good fortune is something that I can't really prove... but it really does make one feel good.

Gorgeous!.......2004-05-01

This is, by far, my favorite book. Inside, you will find 8,879 amazing pieces of inspiration and advice. It's great for bad moods, rainy days, boredom, or anytime.

Discovering Your Soul Mission: How to Use Karmic Astrology to Create the Life You Want

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Life Changing
Surprisingly simple and useful
Excellent, thorough, and easy to read
great book
Do-it-yourself soul search

Discovering Your Soul Mission: How to Use Karmic Astrology to Create the Life You Want
Linda Brady , and Evan St. Lifer
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0609803603
Release Date: 1998-11-24

Book Description

If you have a nagging feeling that somehow your life has gotten off track, Discovering Your Soul Mission can help you create the most fulfilling life possible. Karmic astrologer and holistic teacher Linda Brady, along with coauthor Evan St. Lifer, shows how the desires of our personalities--what we think we want--clash with the needs of our souls--what will make us truly happy.

In order to pinpoint your soul mission, Brady uses the technique of karmic astrology, which--unlike the more familiar sun-sign astrology--delves into areas known previously only to the cognoscenti. With this easy-to-use method, you do not have to get an astrological chart. All the required information is provided to instantly discover the sign ruling your soul mission. You will learn your Soul Pattern sign, which governs old habits you need to let go, and your Soul Potential sign, which indicates your latent qualities and hidden talents that must be developed to follow your true path. Virgo perfectionism, for instance, can give way to Pisces intuition, Sagittarian procrastination to Gemini creativity.

Brady then offers numerous meditation, journaling, dreamwork, and other exercises to explore and incorporate your soul mission into your current life. Other planetary influences also shape the particular flavor of your mission. For example, the book includes tables to find out what sign rules your style of communication and shows you how to use that personal style to further enhance your mission. This lively, interactive handbook will set you on your true path.

Customer Reviews:

Life Changing.......2007-01-11

This is a great book. It's like a cheesecake, so rich, so full of great information that it's probably best in small slices that you can digest slowly. In this way, it's also a great reference book. I find myself looking things up that I've read before when something in my life suddenly becomes relevant to or reminds me of the material.

Surprisingly simple and useful.......2006-06-22

Having read a bit on astrology, it wasn't until someone introduced the south & north nodes that I really began to get some practical and useful insights into my life journey.

From there I searched & found this work by Brady & St. Lifer on Karmic Astrology, essentially a lot more useful than just knowing the position of your Sun, Moon, and Ascendant. This book is simple, easy to read and follow, and is useful in that it provides a sense of more realistic and probable circumstances we may find ourselves along our life path that a more traditional astrological view.

A bit of a stretch to assert that you can "create the life you want" from using this book, because logically if re-incarnation and what the ancients say about the divine spark of intelligence being held in an earthly vessel (i.e. the human body), then we have already 'wanted' the planetary configuration we were born with. So I would suggest you can use this book to identify the patterns of behaviour that are 'unconscious' as a result of the influence karmically, of the planets on the EM field from the time of your birth. From there, use the exercises if they feel right, however this alone is unlikely to free you from karmic patterns, but will help if you combine this knowledge with other practice (such as Mantra based on softening your planetary alignments - once you know what they are!)

All said and done though, great value.

Daniel John Hancock
Centre for Wisdom & Knowledge Technology

Excellent, thorough, and easy to read.......2006-02-28

As a moderately advanced student of astrology, I found this to be an excellent overview of planetary and sign meanings on a deeper level, with very insightful discussion of the relation between astrology and the soul.

In my experience, it's often hit-or-miss when selecting astrology books, and I found this book to be a surprisingly quality read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in exploring the interconnection of astrology and soul mission.

great book.......2005-08-03

good book on karmic astrology and It definitely increased my knowledge of the stars and planets and what they represent. I started applying some of the principles and I must say that they work.

Do-it-yourself soul search.......2003-07-14

This is a wonderful book that explains how to discover your soul mission via karmic astrology, including all the necessary planet tables to do this. Perhaps this book was groundbreaking in astrology when it was first published in 1998, but no longer so. Many astrologers now include karmic astrology reports as one of the services they offer. However, this book provides exercises taking you one step further to clarifying your soul's mission; and these are not included in those reports you buy. If you enjoy doing step-by-step exercises, you'll enjoy this book and get a lot more out of it. It's really down to you to explore yourself and piece all the bits together to form the whole picture as it relates to you, your soul and your soul's mission.

Average customer rating:

Another Karma Wilson Winner
Delight
wonderful book
Sakes Alive!
Cattle & more

Sakes Alive! A Cattle Drive
Karma Wilson
Manufacturer: Little, Brown Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

akes Alive! When two cows steal the farmer's car keys to go for a joyride, hilarity ensues! Mabel and Molly drive off with Farmer's car, speed through a stop sign, narrowly miss hitting a sheriff's car, sideswipe the mayor's flowerbed, and end up in town where the townsfolk all gather to see the ridiculous sight. Written in breezy, rhyming verse by acclaimed author Karma Wilson, and illustrated with charming, hilarious detail by the talented up-and-comer Karla Firehammer, Sakes Alive! is sure to become an instant classic.

Customer Reviews:

Another Karma Wilson Winner.......2007-05-26

My nephew has several of the "Bear" books but for his 4th birthday I thought I would try something different. He loved this one! It got big laughs the first time through but I knew it was a hit when the next day after having it read to him many times he started pretending he was on a "Cattle Drive!"

Delight.......2007-01-12

Delightful experience for child and adult reader. The illustrations add to the fun.

wonderful book.......2006-08-21

Our family loves this book, about two crazy cows who steal farmer's keys and drive off to town. The illustrations are great, and we love the rhyming-it makes it so easy for my 3 year old daughter to "read" along with me when she sees the pictures. I bought extra copies to give to friends.

Sakes Alive!.......2006-05-16

My two-year old son and I love this book. I found it at the library and just had to buy my son his own copy. I even bought the book for my grandfather's 80th birthday gift. (He raises cattle in Idaho.) It's a book for everyone to enjoy. Read it and you'll soon find yourself saying "Sakes Alive" about everything silly.

Cattle & more.......2006-02-24

"Sakes Alive! A Cattle Drive" is the 3rd book I have purchased by Karma Wilson. We also have "Bear Wants More" and "A Frog in a Bog", which are both favorites of my 19 month old son. I have found all 3 of these books to be witty and fun (which makes reading them over and over a lot easier!). "Sakes Alive!" is about cows that steal the farmer's keys and drive into town (hence "A Cattle Drive"). It is amusing and the illustrations are colorful. My son and I recommend!

Past-Life & Karmic Tarot (Special Topics in Tarot)

Average customer rating:

Love The Idea, But Book Is For Advanced Users
Great book on a very esoteric topic
Totally deceiving!
dragonlady of Spokane
Answered a very important question I had

Past-Life & Karmic Tarot (Special Topics in Tarot)
Edain McCoy
Manufacturer: Llewellyn Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 073870508X

Book Description

The tarot, with its multisymbolic depictions, is an excellent tool for uncovering the progression of your soul throughout its incarnations. This book is the first to offer specific spreads that answer the karmic questions that follow you from one lifetime to another.

Discover your karmic bonds, both positive and negative; see how a current life relationship has progressed from the past; learn which past lives have the strongest pull in your current life; gain insight into how to make a decision today that will reverse past karma; and uncover karmic choices that will affect your future lives.

Customer Reviews:

Love The Idea, But Book Is For Advanced Users.......2006-09-26

I bought this book because I love studying past lives. I've had regressions and I've also explored using the tarot to gain information about past lives. So, when I saw this book in the bookstore, I was very excited and couldn't put the book down.

My issue with the book is that the spreads are complicated and some of them are REALLY long and convoluted (like the Lifetime Convergence Spread). Another example is The Constellation Past-Life Wheel which has a simpler layout, but the positions change based on the client's birthday and it involves astrological interpretations that would be difficult for anyone who is not an astrologer to understand.

From some of the reviews here, it appears that the book is even confusing for advanced users. Ultimately, I've created my own past life spread which is really simple and straightforward to use rather than using the ones in Past Life and Karmic Tarot. I do want to experiment with these spreads a bit more to see if I can get something out of them, but they are complicated and time consuming.

I also wish that they had changed the format of the illustrations of spreads so that you can see what the positions mean next to the numbers. It's annoying to have to flip back and forth (of course this would not work for the above spreads which have more than 10 cards, but it would make other spreads easier to understand).

If you are a beginner, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK! Buy something straightforward like Power Tarot (which covers lots of spreads that can be adapted to anything) or buy a book on desiging your own spreads. I've also seen some useful spreads on Tarot message boards. This book will frustrate you and you may end up more confused once you lay out the cards than you were before.

Great book on a very esoteric topic.......2005-08-19

Edain did a superb job here. I have used several of her spreads and let me tell you that they are dynamite. I have done them for clients who felt that they had been reborn with her insight and vision. Her Irish Cross, a variation on the Celtic Cross, was so insightful for myself, I kep the spread around for days just dwelling upon it.

She has everything in the book from a simple 4 card spread to a very involved 30-odd card spread. I use the 4 card and the 10 card Irish Cross the most.

Yes the book is rather poorly editted, but you would say that of all of Llewellyn schlock, if you can't get past that then you are missing some true gold that it's in this book. If you did not think that karma exists or affects you, do ONE just ONE spread from this book and discover how breaking free from karma is truly one's goal in life (isn't that what Buddha said) well McCoy gives you the tools to make that happen.

Thank you Ms McCoy, may the Goddess Bless All of Your Days, where ever you are.

Totally deceiving!.......2005-07-23

The book was a total deception. Confusing spreads, and not so good interpret of the same spreads. The author complicates, intricate and elaborate too much all the spreads...beginning with something and ending up in something else. If you can answer something with 8 cards, why use 15 cards? Past life's readings were not treated with the seriousness, mystic and reverence the theme requires.

I had designed better past life's spreads than hers. I have been reading and studying the tarot for 10 years, so I`m not a beginner. Sorry for Lewellyn, they should have taken more care in a book for past life's spreads. This is a very rich theme that can be treated in more creative and accesible ways.

The author is not a tarot specialist, she explores with spreads, with awful results. She is not convincing, and the book lets you with a salty taste,as you keep reading trying to find if it gets better at the end...but it fails to meet your expectations.

I bought the book because it was recommended by Mary Greer, but it was a total deception. It seems that Mary Greer writes the forwarding of tarot books to help in their selling's, but it is not a guarantee that the book is good. It is very SAD that this is happening...as I respect and admire Mary Greer, as an author. But from now on, I will not rely on her recomendations...as she recomends almost every tarot book from Lewellyn publications.

dragonlady of Spokane.......2005-03-13

I don't have alot to say about this book as I have not completed it as of yet. But I will say that I have done at least one to two spreads that have made the money paid for it wothwhile. The layout allowed me to see directly into karmic cause and effect, which was very helpful to my client. Very, very effective. I have recently started a tarot consulting business, and I am waiting for the right oppertunity to use this book.I am sure it will again prove its usefulness.Recommend to advanced intermediate, to the advanced student. Especially helpful if your strong intuitivly.

Answered a very important question I had.......2005-01-29

There is/was someone in my life who is very dear to me and always will be. Unfortunately, circumstances have parted us. I've always had the feeling that "we were meant to be." I've also always had the feeling that I've been her mother, because I feel so very maternal towards her.

I did the Lifetime Convergence spread and found out: 1. I've been both her mother AND her father. 2. It was Divine Fate that brought us together. 3. The nature of our Karmic Bond is to help each other grow and learn. 4. Also, as I've suspected she and I have never had any romantic bond between us. It's always been a blood bond, except for this lifetime.

This is just a suggestion about a way to get the most out of this book. In my opinion, using a non-traditional Tarot deck works better with these kinds of spreads. I use my Shapeshifters deck or my Arthurian Tarot for the spreads in this book. Those two decks really seem to lend themselves to past-life and karmic explorations.

So if you want to really explore you past lives using Tarot, this is a great book for doing it!

From Death to Birth: Understanding Karma and Reincarnation

Average customer rating:

Written Without Real Reason
The great drama of life and death explained
Beautifully informative, compassionate and illuminating
this It's about life after death

From Death to Birth: Understanding Karma and Reincarnation
Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
Manufacturer: Himalayan Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0893891479

Book Description

Lively stories are used to provide an explanation of what karma really is, how we create it and how it shapes our future.

Customer Reviews:

Written Without Real Reason.......2003-02-14

A few years ago I read "The Power of Mantra and the Mystery of Initiation" by the same author. It is a very interesting and useful book, which I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone and, as a matter of fact, I still follow some advice from that book.

Unlike that one, this book miscalled "From Death to Birth", completely misses the point. Only two pages deal with the subject indicated in the title. Those are pages 126 and 127 which actually say something abut what happens with us when we die. All the rest is one painfully long and boring introduction and one painfully long and boring conclusion, 250 pages saying practically nothing new or interesting or important, consisting mostly of stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Epics.

Some of those stories are misquoted. On page 108 you can read about Kunti that "Altogether she was blessed with five mighty and noble sons ..." But, Kunti was not the mother of five Pandava princes but of three of them, as also of Karna before her marriage. The mother of two youngest Pandava princes was Madri.

There is also a mistake connecting rudra granthi with the navel chakra: "And those who have penetrated rudra granthi (the knot at the navel center) are blessed with the light of the fire of the manipura chakra." says page 211. However, the knot at the navel center is brahma granthi not rudra granthi. Rudra granthi is the knot connected with the ajna chakra (third eye).

This is a book I wanted to read for a long time and I cannot say how disappointed I am. I expected to enjoy reading something like "Hindu book of the dead" but I was exposed to treatise about yamas and niyamas and karmas, which by itself, is not a bad thing, but you can read about these in numerous yoga primers. From this book I expected to deal more with the after-the-body experiences, not to be full of talk for the sake of mere talking. I managed to come to the end only with the help of the narrator (Dr. D.C.Rao) who was, as always, excellent in doing his job.

To summarize, it was a terrible waste of my time. I should have meditated instead, or chanted, or whatever else. Life is too short to spend it on books like this one.

The great drama of life and death explained.......2002-04-30

The term "karma" is almost ubiquitous these days, though it tends to be used in an entirely superficial way. Nevertheless, it seems odd that there is such a paucity of serious works available on the topic of karma, rebirth and reincarnation. Fortunately, this book fills the void most admirably.

While this is a serious book, it is readily accessible to the sincere inquirer. Thankfully, its accessibility is not acquired at price of condescension or superficiality. Best of all, it leaves one with a hunger for further spiritual nourishment.

Beautifully informative, compassionate and illuminating.......2001-07-23

The Good Doctor must have known we were both ready for and needing this book, which not only puts the central mysteries of Eastern philosophy and religion into a context for the Western mind to fully fathom, but makes seem just that much more beautiful and poetic than we are currently able to even imagine. For those of us who can't help but hear Narcississtic baby boomers in mid-life crisis playing jams from the Doors and the Beatles on out of tune guitars and talking about Woodstock whenever you hear the word "Karma" (and therefore would rather not hear anyone try to explain what it is) this book brings you back to the dignity and profundity of what it realy means--not to mention how important it was that the Baby Boomers embraced it when they did for generations after them!

Not only will you have no question as to what the central tenets of Hinduism and Buddhism refer to and build from after reading this, you will have a better understanding of what it is to be fully, truly human than practically most of the Western religious text we have today is capable of rendering, as well as the philosophy--which is ironcially based on much of this! This book sheds a light on life that is so bright it embraces the light of all others and absorbs it into its own, instead of attempting to extinguish it. It will answer more questions than you even knew you had. It will also put much of everything from the spiritual self-help/New Age/psychological movement of today's culture to the quantum physics/cutting edge philosophy movement of Western society today into the overarching context we all have been intuitively desperate for.

This book teaches your soul to dance.

this It's about life after death.......1999-03-18

This book is about the possibility of life after death and how some people can prove they have been alive in prievous life times.

Earthly Cycles : How Past Lives & Soul Patterns Shape Your Life

Average customer rating:

Interesting but Inconsistent
Very thought provoking.
Open your mind and say . . . ah!

Earthly Cycles : How Past Lives & Soul Patterns Shape Your Life

Manufacturer: Pepperwood Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Spirit Wisdom : Living Consciously in an Age of Turmoil and Transformation

ASIN: 0963941364

Book Description

Spirit teacher Alexander offers a richly detailed exploration of the cycles of life, death, and reincarnation, illuminating the hidden influences on your life: your soul qualities and higher self: sexual orientation; choosing your parents; the laws of karma and how to release it; angels and spirit guides; the death experience; how to live a karma-free life.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting but Inconsistent.......2002-09-03

As a fiend for books allegedly written by non-corporeal entities, I really loved Steven's latest Alexander book. Of the many "channeled" books I've read, this one is among the most complex yet readable works of its kind I've stumbled across. I especially found it invaluable in understanding the mechanisms of how modern western concepts of reincarnation work-particularly the nuts-and-bolts of how karma functions in time and space. Ramon Steven's incorporeal confidant Alexander lays it out in such precise, no nonsense terms that at times it reads like an assembly manual for a home-built ultralight.

Unfortunately, any book supposedly written by a channeled spirit must remain problematic at best, for it is difficult to determine how much of this work is the result of "outside" forces and how much of it originated in the obvious fertile imagination of the author himself. The reason I say this is because while I found much of the book consistent with the bulk of similar literature I've read on the subject-implying a central repository of ultimate truth that a few mediums may be tapping into-I found a great deal of it suspect as well. His explanation of how karma works-especially how karmic "braids" can be formed with others that keep two souls tied together in future incarnations-was especially difficult to swallow. How victimization in one lifetime can be offset by victimizing the current incarnation of one's former tormentor explains nothing and seems to me to only accentuate the problem. If the purpose of each incarnation is to grow spiritually by overcoming various obstacles one places in their path, karmic braids can only complicate matters and impede growth. It makes more sense that just as previous life memories are erased from the newborn's consciousness at birth, so too should past transgressions be forgotten, especially as those transgressions may prove to be major impediments to spiritual growth. I also found "Alexander" to be inconsistent in other ways as well. For example, he roundly condemns murder in every circumstance (even in self-defense and in the protection of the innocent) while correctly noting how it may be used as a tool for spiritual growth for its victims and their families. Apparently the spirit world doesn't understand that one can't have their cake and eat it too.

Alexander's dismissal of abortion as a potential act of murder is even more disturbing; he carefully sidesteps the issue by declaring that spirits planning their next incarnation simply avoid mothers who intend to abort (as though woman are incapable of changing their minds in later stages of pregnancy.) While Alexander talks a great deal about both "intent" and "action" being required to create "bad" karma, he conveniently ignores the fact that abortion is both an intent to destroy potential life and an action to do so. As such, if killing Nazis is a karmic crime, for the sake of consistency it seems only proper that killing the unborn constitute a karmic crime as well.

Overall, however, I found much in this book to admire. Stevens is an obviously gifted writer who can find his voice only through an imaginary teacher, but the imagination can be a useful vehicle for uncovering ancient truth if one can divorce their own predispositions and biases from the process.

Very thought provoking........2002-08-31

This book takes one to a different plane on thinking and analyzing ones present life. There is a very thorough and interesting review of the authors view on Karma and how it works. An outstanding book that one should read bit by bit to absorb the complete understanding. The grammatical flow of the book is a bit difficult to read at times, but worth working around.

Open your mind and say . . . ah!.......2001-10-01

I love this book. In my opinion there is more concentrated truth in this book than any other I have ever read. The writing is lucid, intelligent, compelling, even beautiful. If you have the slightest resonance with the truths of the New Age, this book should speak to you. Many Seth readers (of whom I am one) have found Alexander's works to be congenial, and this, in my view, is the best of Alexander's books.

There is one chapter I could do without, entitled "The Preacher and the Widow: A Case Study." But I freely admit that this could be because of my human limitations -- the chapter has to do with the rules of karma (which sometimes seem unfair to me).

Customer Reviews:

Humorous and Wise.......2003-01-07

One of the quickest ways to describe this book, the presentation is not heavy handed or didactic. The illustrations help make the messages clear without uneeded explanation. Fairly brilliant.

Outsmarting Your Karma.......2000-02-10

Very insightful. A quick reference book on life that can be read over and over.

Music in the Sky: The Life, Art and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karamapa, Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje

Average customer rating:

ONLY for true devotees---The Worst Book I have ever Read
Best of Buddhist Writing for 2004
Enlightened Reading
He risked his life for freedom
check for yourself

Music in the Sky: The Life, Art and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karamapa, Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje
Michele Martin
Manufacturer: Snow Lion Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Tibet | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1559391952

Book Description

Includes with brief biographies of all sixteen previous Karmapas, specially composed for this collection by the highly respected Seventh Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. Here, the reader discover the compelling histories of the first Tibetan masters to be recognized as reincarnate lamas.

Customer Reviews:

ONLY for true devotees---The Worst Book I have ever Read.......2007-06-28

I am not a Buddhist but interested in the controversy for a couple reasons and I wanted to get an objective look at how each side views their Karmapa. I bought this book with the hope that I would have a reasonably objective although understandably prejudiced look at this particular Karmapa. 143 pages out of 351 pages of the book deal with the life of the Karmpa and the rest are poems, and writings of the Karmpa. Everything she has to say is rosy, sugary, and unobjective making it difficult to read since every step or statement the "Karmapa" makes from early age to the end of her "story" is seen as the step and words of "god". Her interpretations of every event surrounding "her" Karmapa are seen by her as so "uplifting" with his clairvoyance, memory of past lives, poems and writings even at a young age that I just painfully continued reading. I have read enough elsewhere regarding this controversy to know that she has stretched the truth beyond belief even though I am not in favor of either Karmapa.

The first Karmapa was around 1110 AD in Eastern Tibet and he was also the only one who, before dying, wrote down every detail of his new rebirth, so other Lamas didn't have to find him, they read the letter he left and then they went out and found the child. Unfortunately, the 16th Karmapa didn't leave many clues and now they have this mess and that in light of the fact he knew full well he was dying and that's why he was in Chicago for treatment of his stomach cancer.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU ARE TOTALLY DEVOTED TO THIS KARMAPA---NO OBJECTIVITY AT ALL.

Best of Buddhist Writing for 2004.......2005-05-19

Underscoring the importance of the Karmapa and the quality of this book about him, excerpts from Music in the Sky were included in the Best of Buddhist Writing for 2004, edited by Melvin McLeod. He is also Editor-in-chief of the Shambhala Sun, which has the largest circulation of all Buddhist magazines. Ziji on-line said that Music in the Sky, "is destined to be a classic," and Richard Gere called it, "profoundly moving." People from other countries have agreed and the book has been translated into six different languages.

Enlightened Reading.......2004-04-15

Music in the Sky is a thoroughly engaging account of a young Tibetan leader's dangerous escape over the Himalayas to India. This recent, true-life adventure of the fourteen-year-old, Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, underscores the present day realities of the Chinese presence in Tibet. Not only does Michelle Martin's book contain the factual details of his escape, along with wonderful color photographs, but it also includes original teachings given by this extraordinary Tibetan monk. Anyone interested in Tibet and its form of Buddhism will want to include this book in their "must read" list.

He risked his life for freedom.......2004-04-02

Unbeknownst to his thousands of followers who gathered at centers throughout the world to welcome the new millennium by praying for peace at dawn on the morning of January 1, 2000, His Holiness Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, was at that very moment risking his life and the lives of those closest to him to escape from Tibet. His goal? Freedom in India, and the ability to meet with his primary tutors in order to receive necessary instruction-an opportunity denied him by the Chinese regime that now controls Tibet. Meticulously researched and entertainingly written by Michele Martin, a translator with impeccable credentials who trained with the esteemed teacher Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso, this book gives a fascinating account of His Holiness's early life, the political milieu-including an attempt on his life-that forced his decision to escape from the Chinese, as well as teachings, poetry, and art by a young man who seems destined to change lives around the globe, perhaps even the course of Asian history. Highly recommended!

check for yourself.......2004-01-21

This Karmapa is a Chinese puppet. To get to know the other version better read Tomek Lehnert's Rogues in Robes: An Inside Chronicle of a Recent Chinese-Tibetan Intrigue in the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Diamond Way Buddhism.

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