Review: Totem Animals, Orion Plain and Simple by Celia M. Gunn

4 stars for Totem Animals, Orion Plain and Simple by Celia M. Gunn.

An animal totem is an animal that we feel connected to. Getting to know our totem animal and working with it will allow us to be better connected to the Earth and live in harmony with the natural world and in turn, help us solve life's problems and live a happier life.

This book provides a rather comprehensive list of totem animals, listed alphabetically from A to Z. It is interesting to read on what each of them represents and their unique meaning.

I like the idea of having an animal or a bird as a personal spirit guide to call upon for guidance and security. After reading this book, I now have a pretty good idea which animal is my lifelong animal totem.

Review: Flower Essences, Orion Plain and Simple by Linda Perry

4 stars for Flower Essences, Orion Plain and Simple by Linda Perry.

This book provides a plain and simple introduction to what flower essences are, their vibrational healing qualities and how they can be used to naturally support and maintain our health in a holistic way.

It is a joy to read this book. It is filled with positive vibes and brings about a spiritual sense of purpose as it reminds me that nature is there to bring me peace and support me through life's events.

Flower Essences is all about energy signature; a plant's energy, its life force and its vibration. We learn how to harness what nature has in store for us while understanding our own subtle energies and discovering our own inner world.

The book is divided into three parts.

Part One is all about what we need to know on essences; what essences are, how to choose an essence that is right for us and how to make a bottle of essence. In fact, by using the suggested recommendations, we may find that more than one essence connects with our needs.

To better our understanding on how essences are used to affect our own vibrational energy signature otherwise known as life force, there is an entire chapter dedicated to concepts -
chakras and subtle bodies - necessary for us to understand about our own life force.

Part Two provides information on essences that have been made from flowers, trees and plants. Here the author chooses to share and tell the messages of selected flower essences due to her experience of making them herself.

Part Three provides a glossary of essences and their uses. There are also some case studies.

This book has certainly inspire me to begin my own journey on improving my health and well-being. I will love to step into the world of essences to explore my interest and further my research on the power of healing with flower essences.

Review: Psychic Ability, Orion Plain and Simple by Ann Caulfield

3 stars for Psychic Ability, Orion Plain and Simple by Ann Caulfield.

Do you believe that to be intuitive is to be psychic and therefore, everyone is psychic to some degree? Do you believe that our lives are mapped out for us before we are born, and that our time of death is preordained? Well, if your answer is yes and yes, just as I do, then this book is for you.

This practical guide teaches us to identify and expand our psychic abilities, to unlock our intuition and discover the power of perception, specifically extrasensory perception (ESP) which is also known as telepathy.

Topics covered range from emotional to mental mediumship:

- how to open and develop your psychic centers (chakras)

- how to reveal the history of an object by holding it (psychometry)

- how to read the past and present of the human aura (auric reading)

- how to use tarot as a psychic pathway

- how to perform astral travel

- how to perform psychic healing

- clairvoyance (seeing spirit)

- clairaudience (hearing spirit)

- clairsentience (feeling spirit)

Most interesting of all, I feel, is the chapter where the author explains her belief in fate and relates her insights from readings, sightings and dreams. In my opinion, this book will have been even better if the author chooses to share more of her personal experiences. I will love to read them.

Review: I Ching, Orion Plain and Simple by Kim Farnell

4 stars for i Ching, Orion Plain and Simple by Kim Farnell.

This book is a practical guide to the basics of the i Ching. It explains the divinatory system of the i Ching and provides clear and concise interpretations for each of the 64 hexagrams and the 8 trigrams.

So, what exactly is the i Ching? Plainly speaking, the words i Ching means "The Book of Changes". The philosophy behind the i Ching is that nothing is constant and everything changes over time. So, our task is to adjust to the ebb and flow of changing circumstances.

And what exactly is the purpose of the i Ching? The i Ching is designed to give an answer to a specific question, to help us make decisions that logic alone cannot handle; to enable us to manage relationships more successfully; to tap into our creative mind and intuitive power. One thing to note is that the i Ching is not meant for the telling of future though it does offer guidance about the future.

Here comes the interesting part. Piqued by the divination system in this book, I am keen to perform my own casting and see the results for myself. Following the advice in this book, I bought the ancient Chinese coins, three of them. I also assigned a decorative cloth and kept it with my coins. I did the casting by throwing my three coins gently onto my special cloth while thinking and focusing on my question. I noted down the outcomes of my castings and stopped when I have finished drawing my six lines. Finally, I consulted the table and its interpretations as provided in this book.

WoW! I am awed by the wisdom of the interpretations, but even more so by the mysterious forces that lead me to the outcome of my six lines (from my castings) which form my hexagram. The readings point me to the direction which I shoud be heading and, in doing so, answer my question. Plain and simple. It is unbelievable! If not for my first-hand experience, I will definitely not have believed it. Believe you me, the results from my castings is well worth the effort.

To put it simply, this introductory book on the i Ching informs, enlightens and entertains. At the end of the day, I think this book may very well be the one book on the i Ching that I will ever need.