Voices of the Earth: The Path of Green Spirituality by Clea Danaan

Reviewed by Rebecca Laughlin, Moose Hill Farm

This book spoke deeply to me, a longtime follower of the green way. It’s uncommon to read gardening work that addresses the spiritual aspect of gardening so sweepingly; from communing with the cosmos, plant devas and power animals, to creating natural cleaning agents, Danaan covers the many ways to live in harmony with Nature from the mundane to the sublime. She teaches how to become a nature intuitive and to talk to plants, rocks, trees, rivers and wind. Each chapter begins with a personal vignette that helps to illuminate the steps on Danaan’s journey. The end of each chapter offers exercises such as mediation, journaling and art work to finely attune the seeker to a root connection with Nature. To those who find the talking to plants thing wacky, I offer the following.

I first heard plants talk to me while working in my first serious garden, in 1995. It was a memorial garden for my son Jesse who passed at 19. My mother stayed on after his service and we created his garden together. It was a place to grieve, heal and find comfort in the seasonal rhythms of Nature. It was there I heard the words in my head, “follow the plants.” Then I had a vision of myself walking down a grassy hillside to a shed, trailed by ducks. At the time I was a sales rep in New York City, living on a flat, urban tenth of an acre. Today I live on a remote country hilltop in Connecticut, trailed not by ducks but by chickens, the result of following the plants.

Susan Weed tells a similar story; the first time she heard the plants they were laughing at her for thinking they were in the right spot. She quickly moved them.

It was exciting to read a book devoted to people like me. Even though I’m living my dream, I sometimes get tired and a little lonely. Some people think I’m crazy. My husband is pushing for a hot dog cart and we miss the good money. That’s why it was so invigorating to read Voices of the Earth and get support for the path I’ve chosen and new ways to explore it. But you need not be a country dweller to appreciate this book. A vignette near the beginning describes a moment when the author is feeling slightly anxious while driving to a book signing. As she notes the trees lining the boulevard, at a stop light she takes the time to connect with those stalwarts and finds calm in their message. Nature is present in the heart of the city!

I especially enjoyed the ideas about sense of place, how one imprints on a certain geographical area, and even when uprooted from it, feels longing for that particular spot with all its flora and fauna. For Danaan, it was the evolution from her Pacific Northwest natal grounds to wife and mother of the Coloradian Rockies. For me it was traveling from my Midwestern birthplace to live my adult life in New England on Long Island Sound. After all these years, the ocean is still too vast for me and I ache for a Midwestern lake. Yet now I realize that this shift in landscape has important meaning and I’ll listen carefully to sense what it is.

The book drills down place even further; encourages you to discover where exactly you are in the vast world. For example beyond Long Island Sound, I live on a hilltop, on a ridge of a river valley, near the confluence of two rivers. I was instantly drawn to this property, three and a half secluded acres, from the moment I set foot on it. I parked, I saw, said this is it, all before I saw the house. We’re only the second owners of this house, built in 1962 to compound the very rightness of it all. Surely, this place of my vision as a grieving mother, has great significance to me now… well, because, here I am now. I’ll continue to investigate.

Finally, the last point I’d like to make is about the beauty of passing love of Nature along to future generations. The introduction of the book is all about immersing the author’s newborn daughter into the mysteries of the earth. Danaan goes on to talk about being a teacher of Nature to eager young students. I wish that I had such a simpatico childhood. Still, I’m inspired that I can continue to grow and learn in my cronehood. The education is never really over, just to let you know.

I thoroughly enjoyed Melba Goodwyn’s book, Ghost Worlds. It was an enjoyable read with easy to understand concepts presented by the author on the art of ghost hunting with a few of her ghost stories tossed in here and there for good measure.

The book’s full title is Ghost Worlds: A Guide to Poltergeists, Portals , Ecto-mist and Spirit Behavior, and the author delivered information on all of this and then some.

The book also includes Goodwyn’s thoughts and experiences with imaginary playmates, orbs, vortexes, energies and ghost hunting techniques and tools. It is a smorgasbord of Goodwyn’s experiences as a ghost hunter in the wild and woolly state of Texas. Based on the tales Goodwyn recounts for her readers, she’s had more than a few of those experiences that would simply make your head spin.

If you’re seriously interested in ghost hunting, then I think this book is a good and solid read for you. If you’d like to learn a little more and enjoy a few ghost stories in the process, this book is for you too. If you’re looking for scare the crap out me ghost stories, this isn’t the book for you because Goodwyn goes out of her way to help the reader to not be afraid of ghosts … except for the very last tale in her book … which is a be afraid, be very afraid type of ghostly experience we call possession. And oddly enough a topic that Goodwyn doesn’t address in this book save for recounting that one experience. That part kind of leaves the reader hanging at the end. But if you haven’t dealt with possession, you’re not going to be able to explain it too well.

Ghost Worlds has a chapter dealing with orbs and their existence. With regard to this chapter, I had some disagreements with the author. Goodwyn states, that it’s her own opinions with regard to orbs. Meaning that if you have a different opinion, more power to you.

Goodwyn sees all orbs as ghosts and that anything photographed that looks like an orb is an orb. Based on my own experiences, I’d have to disagree with her on this one. I’ve taken photos that appeared to be full of orbs, but in reality were in fact dust particles refracting light from the camera’s flash. That happened a lot at the last Goddess Gathering. I have photos that I’d taken in ritual space where women were stamping upon the dirt. I started getting dust particles that looked like orbs in my photos, so I climbed higher up and keep snapping photos … and whalla, the orbs were gone. But eventually, the dust rose higher into the air. So no, I don’t agree that everything that looks like an orb is an orb. Dust and flying bugs often appear to be orbs. I think a good ghost hunter has to discern the difference. Other than this small difference of opinion, I think the chapter on orbs is right on.

I really enjoyed the chapter dealing with poltergeists, which according to Goodwyn …  is not a ghost in any form of manifestation. Poltergeist activity usually appears when conflicts arise that cannot be resolved. These conflicts can be of a spiritual, emotional, physical or even psychic nature. Poltergeist activity is an awesome force generated in the subconscious mind of the agent and is a direct result of repressed emotions that conceal resentment, frustration, repressed anger or guilt, and even sexual stresses. Poltergeist activity is often misunderstood and it was blessed to have an author speak about it from a place of unknowledge and caring.

I did enjoy reading Ghost Worlds, and this book will remain in my personal library for good how-to books. Who knows maybe someday I’ll get to go ghost hunting with Melba Goodwyn and experience her otherworld ghost hunting talents in person. Until then, I’ll simply embrace her philospohies about death and the otherside. Get your own copy of Ghost Worlds: A Guide to Poltergeists, Portals , Ecto-mist and Spirit Behavior.

House of Spirits and Whispers

House of Spirits and Whispers

Well, how sweet is this recounting, as told by Annie Wilder, about the many ghosts who live in her 100 year old house in Minnesota. Annie Wilder has a real knack for writing an easy to read, well written and engaging ghost story. It’s nice to read a ghostly book that’s written by a professional writer, as it had that touch of elegance to the writing.

If you’re an aspiring ghost hunter, this book may or may not be for you. Annie didn’t spend too much time on detailed narratives with regard to the manifestations. What she did do, was share her family and her ghost family with the world.

Since I’m living in Z Budapest’s 100 year old house, I could totally relate to the bitter sweetness of these tales. Every now and again, you see a ghost and it’s no big deal. Like the spirits in Annie’s house, ours are also sort of guardians looking over us. It’s just a part of existence.

Sometimes the communications are gentle and sometimes they will cost you a few white hairs. Annie’s ghosts are no exception. Their spooky communications cost that family more than one good night’s sleep. And to top it off, Annie’s haunted abode is across the street from a funeral home. So, she gets her share of spirits just passing through.

What you get in this book is a solid story of a mother’s love for her children and in time, her respect and caring for the spirits that share her home. I like that Annie shares the course of her discoveries and resources as she grows and learns to develop her own psychic abilities. Sometimes, life sets us on a path to self-discovery that can be scary and joyous at the same time.

The House of Spirits and Whispers is a cautionary tale in the realm of the unknown that ends in the serenity of love. It’s a nice read. If you’d like to read it for yourself, then get your own copy of House of Spirits and Whispers here.

I saw the book’s title long before Llewellyn Publishing released it. The Uninvited. I instinctively knew I had to read this book. I emailed a friend of mine who works for this publishing house and asked for a review copy. She forwarded my request to the book’s publicist, and I thought good, that will be an interesting read for me. Then I forgot about it.

A few weeks ago, I ran into my friend at the PantheaCon convention. We exchanged hugs, caught up a little and then I asked, “Whatever happened to that book, The Uninvited? Did you guys publish it?”

“You didn’t get it?” She asked very surprised. When I said no I didn’t and that I was still very much interested in reviewing it, she promised she’d mail me a copy as soon as she get back to the office. Well, she kept her promise and a few days ago, I found myself starring at The Uninvited.

I knew as soon as I saw the book cover’s artwork that if the book were true to the artwork, the author, Steven LaChance, had indeed experienced something other worldly and profoundly evil. I knew this because I too have seen those glowing orange-yellow eyes that look like their molten lava from hell.

What is the chance that a man named LaChance, the chance, would chance to find himself in these circumstances of pure chance. It seems his life was cast for him at birth, which is anything but chance. LaChance talks about himself being an individual who’s life purpose is to raise three lovely children and work in the field of the paranormal; waging battle in the war between good and evil.

I would recommend The Uninvited to anyone who wanted to scare the bejesus out of themselves, anyone who wanted to understand that there’s more out there than just us, and to anyone who’s also had a similar experience with what some might call a spiritual crisis caused by demons. It’s simply written and because of it, this book can be read by teens and adults alike. Laura Long-Helbig, the English instructor who helped LaChance put this book together did a good job of organizing the author’s story.

In an odd way, I was please to read how many similar experiences I had in common with LaChance. For me, it made reading his tale all palatable. I could see where someone who hadn’t had this type of an experience might think he was just making this stuff up. You have to be your own critic, but as for me, I’m sure I’ll be writing La Chance a personal letter someday to thank him for telling his tale.

I felt very badly for LaChance in another way as well. This man has some huge woundings from the females in his life. I found myself feeling empathic towards him and wishing that his life had been easier. Sometimes I think we struggle with life when we’re not doing what we’re supposed to. I had my own set of struggles which ultimately lead me to the same conclusion as this author finally reached. There are some of us who will fight evil and that’s just how it is.

The right house, at the right price, for the right family.

LaChance’s personal nightmare begins when he moves into an atypical haunted house. There’s far more going on in the Union House than a ghostly haunting.

I have to say my favorite character in the whole tale is Mr. Winters, a personality right out of a macabre ghost story. Mr. Winter’s seems totally under the influences of the demons that occupy his land, as he intentionally seeks out families with children to occupy his otherworldly domain. The only thing that would make Mr. Winter’s more a character of doddering evil is if he also sold used cars for a living.

Like the author, I too rented a haunted house from my own version of Mr. Winters, minus the hair piece, and that should be a cautionary tale to all readers to be aware when you go into these other houses. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t rent it no matter how good the deal is. You get what you pay for!

I did find myself having lots of unanswered questions as I engaged with this book. I wanted more details on the actual investigations done in the Union House. I also would have liked the photos taken during the investigations to have been part of the book or made available online for us to go even deeper with the author’s tale. The author’s website is listed at the back of the book, and he really should take the time to provide more details now that he’s wetted our appetites for more. (www.stevenalachance.com)

What you get in this book is a solid story of a father’s love for his children and fellow spiritual warriors. It’s that love that ultimately conquers the evil influences in his life and brings him into his current life’s work.

The Uninvited is a cautionary tale in the realm of the unknown that ends in the serenity of love. It’s well worth the read. If you’d like to read it for yourself, then get your own copy of The Uninvited here.

The Goddess in the Office: A Personal Energy Guide for the Spiritual Warrior at Work

Book Description
Wise, whimsical, witty, and when it’s called for, deliciously wicked, America’s favorite witch stirs up an empowering brew for working women everywhere. www.ZBudapest.com

Great Goddess! Jeri Studebaker has hit a home run for women’s studies and the goddess beliefs community.