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E W S L E T T E R FEBRUARY 2008
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More than A Third of a Million So Far Signed Up for Online Class with ECKHART TOLLE and OPRAH
A New Earth Is More Than Oprah's Oprah and Eckhart Tolle are to co-teach a ten-week online course based on the New York Times #1 bestseller A New Earth. Namaste Publishing is the original publisher of A New Earth and licensed the worldwide English language rights to Penguin, USA, in order to distribute the book as broadly and as quickly as possible. Constance Kellough founded Namaste Publishing to publish Eckhart’s first book, The Power of Now, in 1997. It too went on to become a multi-million bestseller. The online course, in which both Eckhart and Oprah will teach, and in which participants are invited to send in their questions, launches Monday evening, March 3, at 9 PM EST, 8 PM CST, 6 PM PST. To sign up, go to: http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webevent_registration.jsp More than 4.7 million copies of A New Earth are now in print in North America alone. It is the fastest selling of all of Oprah’s book club choices. In addition to A New Earth and The Power of Now, a third book is available by Eckhart, Stillness Speaks. Also, multiple CDs and DVDs from Eckhart’s worldwide retreats are featured at the Namaste Publishing iStore.
Readers who have enjoyed A New Earth or The Power of Now will also enjoy books by other Namaste authors, including:
Now at the printers, and soon to be shipped, is Michael Brown’s forthcoming Alchemy of the Heart. In many ways, this book goes beyond The Presence Process, while also serving as an easy-to-read introduction to the Process. A brand new edition of Conscious Health, with updated content in places and a newly designed cover and page size, is also at the printers. In the meantime, readers can obtain the original Conscious Health from the Namaste Publishing iStore at a 50% reduction in cost.
HOLD ONTO YOUR HAT!
MOVIE REVIEW "Atonement"
When we say or do something that has immense repercussions for another person, and we later realize our mistake but reconciliation is impossible because the individual is no longer around, how do we deal with the guilt we experience? It’s a nightmare many of us have endured. For example, we have a fight with someone we love—and they never return home because of an accident. How do we somehow put things right, so that we can go on and live fully in spite of what happened? This is the theme addressed in the movie “Atonement,” whose run is close to ending in cinemas. Confused by what she is seeing when she wanders into the garden of their stately home in England, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis falsely accuses her older sister’s lover, son of one of the workers on the estate, of a crime of which he is innocent. As a result, he is sent to jail. The mistake is caused partly by the younger girl’s precocity and ego, and partly by her jealousy, which is powered by a crush she herself has on her sister’s lover. Having taken a position, she is unwilling to back down, even though she knows she hasn’t told the truth. With the outbreak of World War II, the incarcerated young man is offered a chance to fight on the front in France, where British troops have invaded in an attempt to liberate the country from the Nazis. From early in her life, Briony has a passion for writing that evolves into a career. She becomes author of many novels. Later in life, in a television interview, she tells the real story of the novel she has written, to great acclaim, based on her real-life experience with her sister and the young man she sent to prison. In Briony’s book, her sister and her lover are reunited in London, where their romance blossoms. But in real life, both died in the war—he in France, and she in a bombing raid on London—and were never reunited. Briony, now well aware of the lie she told and the irreparable damage it did, has no way to be reconciled with those she harmed. How is she able to live with herself, given what she did? If reconciliation with the individuals isn’t an option, atonement is. The atonement Briony makes comes in the form of writing an ending to the story that is hopeful and positive, even though in real life the ending was tragic. She describes the way she would have liked to be reconciled—liked to have changed things and seen them work out for the better. There is a lesson in this. There are things we cannot change, actions we cannot do, words we cannot take back. Reconciliation with the individuals concerned may simply be impossible. But atonement is never impossible. No matter what we have said or done, it is always possible to write a new ending. Instead of rehashing over and over how we failed, we can take responsibility for our life from this point onwards and author experiences that are of real quality. In this way, something good comes out of the situation. Lessons are learned and put into action. There is redemption. We can only ever live in the present moment. Right now, in this moment, we either choose to dwell on what cannot be undone, or we create the very best life we can from the cards that are now in our hands. BOOK REVIEW The Leap—Are You Ready to Live a New Reality? Review Contributed by Chris Dube, Editor After a long journey of many millennia full of twists, turns, false starts, and cul-de-sacs, humanity lies at the cusp of a change that will catalyze what has always been true about us: we are fundamentally one—with God, with one another, with creation. The changes we need to make to embrace the consciousness of unity that now calls to us may appear insurmountable, but Constance Kellough, in her book The Leap, shows us that the changes are neither complex nor demanding. They are simple and fundamental. Like exercise or the taking up of a new habit or hobby, it is simple practice that transforms. A few years ago, most of us did not recycle, and yet now we cannot conceive of ourselves as people who would not recycle––so clear is our new sense of self. A similar transformation is underway within the consciousness of humanity. The Leap highlights some of the key issues that are informing the quiet undercurrent of the transformation that is taking place––our need to embrace ourselves as one global family, but something which can only begin with the inward embrace of yourself as none other than the Divine Source. The Leap combines this central theme with clear examples and a handy reference of spiritual practices that can bring the understanding into a livable, practicable form. Living the new awareness ceases to be a mental exercise and instead becomes an entrance into a transformed life—and in my view, as crucial and simple as the movement from not recycling to recycling. Constance Kellough makes it clear that it is possible, and that the supports for the new consciousness are already present and only awaiting our assent.
Daily Insight from Namaste Publishing THE COMPASSIONATE EYE Each day, receive insight into what’s happening in our world, as well as helpful information on how to live fully in the now in every aspect of your life. Each morning’s blog is short, timely, and to-the-point. Over a year of daily blogs can be found on the site. By signing up for our free RSS feed, it’s possible to have the daily blogs sent directly to your browser. Look for the symbol RSS on our website and follow the simple instructions. Or you can go to www.namastepublishing.com and click on The Compassionate Eye on the home page. Michael Brown Author of THE ALCHEMY OF THE HEART TOUR Hear Michael Teach in Person An Evening with Michael Brown in New Mexico A Weekend with Michael Brown in Arizona A Weekend with Michael Brown in Ohio For more details of events at each venue, including costs, and for additional venues: ON THE AIR with Namaste Publishing Authors
An Interview with Michael Brown An Interview with Constance Kellough An Interview with David Robert Ord When Cancer Comes Back: One Woman’s Journey By Ron Garner
One of the most terrifying, lonely, and painful experiences in our modern society is a medical diagnosis of cancer. It is most often interpreted as a death sentence—after much suffering, as the disease progresses. A few months ago I received an email from a woman with breast cancer who wanted to express her thanks to me for writing the book Conscious Health. Her story about what she went through in her search for healing answers really touched me and I wanted to share it with others who might benefit from reading it. As I began to write, I realized that only a person who goes through the actual experience can adequately write about it with the feeling, power, and authenticity that she did. So with her permission I will let her tell her own story as she related it to me:
In August 2002, I was 33 years old, married for 11 years, had two children, a son aged 6 and a daughter aged 3. I had just been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. I was scared. I was devastated. I was also naive. I thought that the “specialists” would be able to tell me why this cancer had occurred, and then with this information I would be able to know what to do to change it. Seeing the surgeon, I finally got to ask my long awaited question of “why.” The answer I was given was “bad luck.” Bad luck! Are you kidding me? What was I to do with “bad luck”? I don’t believe in luck, I have always believed in “cause and effect.” I was shocked when I found out that the doctors did not know the “why.” These were the “experts” after all, weren’t they? How can they be treating something when they have no idea why it exists? This just made no sense to me. I was distressed, confused, and felt at times like I was going crazy. I literally became lost. Nothing the doctors and oncologists told me made sense. My many, many questions were met with hostility and confusion, and it seemed that there were no answers—not from the doctors or anywhere else I searched. I was desperate and depressed. I went through the conventional medical route, neither believing in it nor thinking it was going to help me. In truth I did it for others—to appease the medical system, to make my family and friends believe I was doing all I could, and for my children. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew what I was doing was not the answer, nor even close to enough. Fear followed—deep, intense, unrelenting fear. I suppose this isn’t surprising when you do something you don’t believe is going to actually help you. I just could not shake the fear. I went organic, stopped eating red meat, bought a water system, followed a naturopathic program for metastatic breast cancer, exercised, got rid of toxic people, cleaned up relationships, led a clean life, and hoped against all odds that it would be enough. I kept searching. I read book after book after book. The books made me feel that there wasn’t much I could do. Cancer was difficult, hard to cure, tricky. Not a lot of hope for a desperate woman searching for truth and answers. I was willing to do whatever it took, but I just didn’t know what it took! My worst fears were realized in June of 2006. Now 37, I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer of the initial cancer—reoccurrence of that cancer and a new invasive cancer as well. What happened next is difficult to explain. Something from deep within me kicked in. I knew that if I did what the oncologist recommended, I was assured of a quick and painful death. I knew that somewhere there was an answer, someone knew what to do, and so I prayed to God to send those people who possessed the knowledge I so desperately needed to me. God was faithful and answered my prayers over and over again. Miracles began to happen. The first was learning of the Avena Originals supplement company, and through Avena learning about enzymes, raw food, etc. Many answers were given to me at that time. Many of my “whys” were answered. In July of 2006, while ordering my Avena supplements, I searched their book list and I saw your book. I loved the title. I think that is what drew me in—Conscious Health. This was what I wanted. What I was really seeking. Your book became the second miracle. It might seem dramatic or an exaggeration to call your book a miracle, but not to me. After my long search your book was a true gift. I began to get answers to questions I had given up on ever getting. I learned the why. I learned the how. I learned that the cure I wanted so badly could certainly happen. Hope chipped away at the fear. The more I read, the more hope filled me. I read your book as if my life depended on it and I guess it did! I was absorbed by it, captivated, and read it with an intensity I have never read anything else. I was getting answers. They were all there. It seemed every paragraph held something for me. My search for truth and answers was finally realized! The “oddest” thing was that as I was reading your book, it was as if I had known all this, on some level, deep inside me. I was hearing it all for the first time, and yet, at the same time it just made so much sense. It was like I had already known it. Something was being confirmed inside me. Like an intuitive truth. For me, and I’m sure it must be true for others, the most frustrating part of leaving the conventional medical world behind and following my own alternative healing path, is that it is difficult to sift through the masses of true and untrue information out there. It is difficult to find a clear voice amid all the noise of the various ways I could go. Your book was that clear voice for me. It was simple, concise, cut to the core of what really matters, what really works. Here I had all these answers and solutions, neat and tidy in one place. Your incredible ability to take all your research and this huge volume of material and knowledge, and condense it into these incredible paragraphs chock full of vital information that is easy to comprehend, is nothing short of amazing. You are a very gifted writer! An added blessing in your book is that it so beautifully covers all aspects of complete healing—body, mind, and spirit. I have profoundly discovered this for myself. As my body cleared out toxins, it was amazing how my spirit began to release even more toxic debris. All of the blessings I received from your book make my heart overflow with gratitude. Something else I never expected, nor really thought was possible, also happened. My belief system changed! I have learned a lot about belief systems this past year and a half; how powerful what we think and believe is in creating our lives. For four very long, very fear-filled years, I believed that if this cancer came back as a metastatic disease, then that would mean I would die. There was no question in my mind about this—a profound and terrifying “truth.” Reading and rereading your book changed all that. I cannot count how many times I have read Chapter 22, THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE! Out of your whole book, this is my favorite chapter. The reason is fairly simple. When I became afraid, which in the beginning was often, I would turn to this chapter. I would just read it again and again until I could put the book down and walk away in peace. For months I also read that chapter every night before I went to sleep. I did have peace, and I began to really know that I could do it. I knew that all the others were wrong. This cancer was not a death sentence. In fact, for me it has become the call to finally live the life I was created to live. It was my turning point! Considering the incredible fear I experienced for so long, this is truly another miracle. I now believe that I will be healed, and I will be cured. There is absolutely no doubt within me. I now know that ALL disease can be healed—if you are willing to persistently and CONSCIOUSLY do what is required. So as inadequate as these two words are, THANK YOU. Thank you for being a seeker of the truth. Thank you for all your research, your dedication, and the personal cost to you in various ways. Thank you for not keeping this knowledge to yourself. Thank you for the incredible amount of hard work and frustration of putting it all down on paper, all the hours you spent alone, writing. Thank you for “going before” all of us who so desperately needed direction—I the most desperate of them all. Intuitively I feel I am on the last leg of this cure, though I know the journey of healing will always continue in some way. To have been able to talk to you personally, to hear what you would do in my situation, is truly incredible and a great gift. So you can see why writing one sentence to sum up what your book has meant to me is impossible. But if I were to write just a few short sentences to give to a publisher, in the hope of encouraging others to read Conscious Health and change their life, this is what I would say: What a wonderful written work you have created for all of humanity. I thank you. This is a very long email, but one I just had to write! It comes from the bottom of my heart.
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I know I have told you on the phone that your book Conscious Health has meant so much to me. Whatever I have said seems so inadequate and I want, and need, to try and tell you in words what your book has done for me. It is a bit of a long story but I feel it is necessary to really get across why your book has played such a prominent role in my life this past year and a half.