BOOK REVIEW: HOW SOON IS NOW? BY DANIEL PINCHBECK - LA YOGA

BY BENJAMIN W. DECKER

Counter-cultural icon, Daniel Pinchbeck, known for his controversial views on the shamanic and medicinal use of psychedelics, brings us what appears to be a personal messianic manifesto, his new book How Soon is Now. With a preface by living musical and philanthropic legend, Sting, and an introduction by actor and Transcendental Meditation poster boy, Russell Brand, Pinchbeck’s latest book is poised to be a guaranteed commercial success.

Pinchbeck calls for a “planetary initiation,” in which all people of the world (or at least a critical mass), must come to a collective understanding of the immense proportions of the challenges we face. In a surprisingly thorough outline, we journey through what Pinchbeck believes to be the primary concerns of our time – including climate change, sex, religion, farming, money, and energy. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REVIEW IN LA YOGA MAGAZINE

BOOK REVIEW: YOU CAN HEAL YOUR HEART BY DAVID KESSLER & LOUISE HAY - LA YOGA

BY BENJAMIN W. DECKER

“A broken heart is also an open heart… our willingness is all it takes for healing to begin.” – David Kessler

I had the opportunity to study with David Kessler, who is the world’s leading grief expert, and I found his work to be revolutionary and insightful – simple and poignant. I bought a copy of every one of his books that day including You Can Heal Your Heart: Finding Peace After a Breakup, Divorce, or Death,which Kessler co-wrote with Louise Hay.

You Can Heal Your Heart includes people’s stories of loss and grief as well as insight into these stories gleaned from years of Kessler’s experience combined with Hay’s teachings on the power of thoughts and the use of affirmations. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REVIEW IN LA YOGA MAGAZINE.

Book Review: Tears to Triumph by Marianne Williamson - LA YOGA

BY BENJAMIN W. DECKER

"Depression can be a sacred initiation into the journey of enlightenment” reads the new book by Marianne Williamson, Tears to Triumph, The Spiritual Journey from Suffering to Enlightenment.

If you’ve ever heard her speak live, this book follows a familiar rhythm. Williamson teaches from personal experience and relevant mainstream knowledge, making her relatable and understandable. In Tears to Triumph, she processes the issue of emotional, spiritual, and psychological suffering through the wisdom of various religious traditions – including, but not limited to Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and A Course in Miracles. Rediscovering these universal spiritual themes, Williamson provides an intelligent, open, practical look at surviving and transcending our personal and collective suffering.

As we’ve come to expect from her, Marianne Williamson addresses the elephant in the room – a few of them, actually. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE IN LA YOGA MAGAZINE

Film Review: Paulo Coelho's Best Story - LA Yoga

BY BENJAMIN W. DECKER

What happens to a brilliant child who is entirely misunderstood by his parents? What changes inside of us when our dreams are disregarded and our potential underestimated?

These are some of the questions addressed in the new film about beloved author Paulo Coelho (who famously penned The Alchemist and a long list of other best-sellers). Paulo Coelho’s Best Story is a dramatized portrayal of personal story. From the author of The Alchemist, we might expect a mystical story of epic adventure, but this might be even better; this is the story of a new mind in an old world, and all that comes with it…including plenty of adventure.

Let’s get some of the obvious points out of the way. This is an autobiographical look at legendary author Paulo Coelho’s personal journey.  It is told using multiple timelines bringing together the constantly changing dynamics of the various stages of his life, including the stifling moments in his childhood and creatively blocked moments of his early adult life, and then juxtaposing them with moments of extreme success he experienced when the popularity of his words led to his celebrity. We see him unchanged by his success, exhibiting the same stoic depth along with a disinterest in pleasantries and a simultaneous innocence and sweetness. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW IN LA YOGA MAGAZINE

Book Review: Says Who? By Ora Nadrich - LA YOGA

BY BENJAMIN W. DECKER

At first glance, Ora Nadrich’s book Says Who? How One Simple Question Can Change the Way You Think Forever is a self-help title focused on positive psychology. While she definitely encourages remaining on a “positive track” with our thinking, and rerouting negative thinking in a productive direction, she explains that her Method isn’t all about thinking positively. It’s about mindfully identifying the source of our thoughts and beliefs and then objectively (using the Method’s set of seven questions) analyzing whether they are true and whether they support our well-being. 

Her decades of study in Buddhism, Jungian analysis, and Kabbalah, combined with motherhood and working in the entertainment industry, have mixed the perfect cocktail for a 21st century guide to thinking differently. As accessible and practical as it is, the questions the book encourage us to enter the transformative space of sincere self-confrontation — in the temple of our own mind. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW IN LA YOGA MAGAZINE