Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Education of the Soul

Guy Finley's got a great offer on his Education of the Soul audio course: $19.95 for the course -- usually more than $95 -- in CDs, tapes, or MP3s. Shipping for the physical items is just $2. Help Guy clean out his warehouse!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Last Day of Summer

Summer's coming to an end, and as fall approaches, we -- and the world -- are in a period of transitions. In her blog Morristown Green, Maureen Tillman, offers some ideas for ways to weather transitions. Among her tips: Prepare for change, relearn past lessons, and avoid negative self-talk.

Personally, I welcome the coming of Autumn. Already, the morning and evenings are taking a turn for the crisp and cool, and that brings a degree of clarity that the heavy heat of summer can muddle. How do you weather change? What do you plan to change with the coming of fall?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Power of Giving

Azim Jamal and Harvey McKinnon have extended their offer for their new book The Power of Giving: How Giving Back Enriches Us All. For another week, if you buy the book and share the order number with them, you can enter a drawing for some fantastic prizes, as well as access a host of freebies donated by their friends and peers.

Journey to the Infinite

To Robert Scheinfeld, the ultimate reality is that we are spiritual beings who have convinced themselves that they are mere human beings possessing all of the failings and foibles characteristic of humans. We are infinite beings who have taken on physical form to play the human game.

His Journey to the Infinite program purports to help us become fully aware of our potential as these infinite beings and live a better life because we cognizant of the human game we're playing. Scheinfeld offers a guided tour of his ideas and the project online, using technology developed by Articulate.

The introduction is a little stilted and slow moving, but his ideas have potential -- and his experiences in the human development world for the last few decades could have uncovered something really useful. His remarks on the "self-help industry" are pretty insightful.

For $500, what the course costs, you get a ton of material -- 15 DVDs (including four movies that resonate with his ideas), audio recordings of the DVD material, transcripts of the material, worksheets and toolkits, and additional material. That's a lot of moolah; has anyone checked out the course? Post your impressions here.

Our Ultimate Reality

Adrian Cooper, author of "Our Ultimate Reality: Life, the Universe, and the Destiny of Mankind," is offering the first seven chapters of his book for free as an ebook. Originally issued in 2005, the 155-chapter book addresses the nature of the universe, mentalism, polarity, ghosts, astral projection, pranic healing, and other topics.

According to the table of contents, the first seven chapters touch on the definition of God the major world religions. The book covers a wide range of subjects; it'll be interesting to see how everything connects.

Free Course on Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now

Bill Harris and Centerpointe Research are offering a free course Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and whether it resonates with an integral approach to life.

The class comprises seven talks over the course of as many weeks, and if you sign up now, it's still in the first week, so you won't have to catch up. Participants include Genpo Roshi, Ken Wilber, Diane Hamilton, Bill Harris, and others -- and looks like an excellent free opportunity to thoughtfully consider Tolle's work.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Outing an Ashram

In her book Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, Elizabeth Gilbert never quite identifies the ashram that provided the impetus for her transformation. A feature in today's Boston Globe identifies that ashram, Siddha Yoga Meditation Center of Greater Boston in Watertown, Mass.

Founded by Swami Muktananda, the centers are now led by Gurumayi Chidvilasananda -- and the group appears to concentrate on deep meditation and avoid publicity and attention.

What Deepak Chopra Knows

Today's Observer in the UK features a piece concentrating on ideas and lessons learned by Deepak Chopra. He addresses expectations, fulfillment, celebrities, desire, and the benefits of meditation. It's a quick bit, but it's worth checking out.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Teleseminars on Change

Distinctions for Life just announced a free series of teleseminars on change. The three free sessions feature NLP expert Steve Bauer, Net marketer Caroline Middlebrook, and a couple that's lived in five cities on two continents in one year. A mixed bag, but it'll be interesting to see where host Ron Davis goes!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Tools for the Life Coach

Paradigms Ltd. is holding a special offer on a bunch of tools for life coaches. For just more than $100, you can order more than 100 life coaching tools, relationship tools, and additional material. And the bonuses look well worth buying the bonus pack, which includes seven months of email and MP3 training and coaching, as well as a subscription to new tools as they're available.

I've yet to pick it up, so I can't speak to the quality of the material. Anyone who's checked it out? Leave your feedback here.

The School of Practical Philosophy

I'm fascinated by the Philosophy Works course offering at the School of Practical Philosophy. The 10-week course is designed to help people put great philosophical ideas into practice in their everyday lives -- practical philosophy. And at $175, it seems quite reasonable.

Has anyone ever taken one of their courses? Any insights or feedback you can share?

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The List: Free Entrainment Recordings

The folks at XtremeMind pointed me to these free entrainment recordings. Download 'em while they're still available, and report any results here!

Energy Through Gemstones?

Energy Muse Jewelry has been all over the place in recent days, with reported sightings of David Beckham and Olympic athletes wearing the company's Health, Prosperity, Strength, Transformation and Performance necklaces as they compete.

While I've never experienced augmented success through the use of crystals or gemstones, I'm intrigued by the notion. Can anyone share any first-hand accounts?

Book Summaries for the New Philosopher

Last week or so, I subscribed to a new book summary service that focuses on self-help and -development books. PhilosophersNotes offers "concentrated wisdom for your hero's journey."

You can request free PDF and MP3 samples, or you can subscribe for either $97 or $167. Titles summarized include books by Stephen Covey, Joseph Campbell, Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle, T. Harv Ecker, and others. Summaries run about six pages (MP3s are 20 minutes long), and the site's founder, Brian Johnson, also founded Zaadz, now Gaia.

It's a wonderful project -- a good way to digest some of the better self-help and -development books out there, and an interesting next step for this dotcom millionaire. I'm looking forward to see how it unfolds!

"Spa Musicians" Seek Respect

There's an interesting article in the Los Angeles Time about how spa-music makers struggle for legitimacy. Partly a profile of record label Gemini Sun, the piece takes a look at the role of spa music, which taps into New Age, Celtic, world, ambient, Native American and other music.

Intended to straddle the conscious and unconscious, spa music aims to provide a kind of white noise for the spa experience -- to provide a soundtrack for the self-repair and -healing that spas can bring. Made me wonder what music might aid self-development.

Post your recommendations here.

Integral Life Beta Launched

The new Integral Life site, influenced by the work of Ken Wilber, launched in beta today. I haven't had a chance to fully explore the new landscape, but it looks promising.

There's a free version of the site, as well as a relatively inexpensive ($15) premium version that grants access to more content. Might be worth exploring!

Anthony Robbins at Success Summit 2008

Anthony Robbins is speaking in Palm Desert, Calif., this week at the Success Summit 2008 event put on by Tom Ferry.

Through Aug. 15, the real estate-oriented conference will explore the changing marketplace and new success strategies. Anyone attending who can report on the proceedings?

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Practicing Spirituality with His Holiness the Dali Lama

I've taken a couple of e-courses now with Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat through their wonderful site Spirituality & Practice. Starting Aug. 15, they're offering a course called Practicing Spirituality with His Holiness the Dali Lama.

Running through Sept. 23, the e-course will blend readings from the writings of the Dali Lama with suggestions of daily practices participants can use to make the ideas real in their every-day lives. The e-course also features an online practice circle in which people can discussed their shared and individual experiences. That, to me, is always the most valuable part of the e-course.

I won't be participating in this particular e-course, but I highly recommend it. They're quite affordable, and it's an excellent experience.

New Blog from Success Magazine Publisher

Darren Hardy, publisher of Success magazine, which has recently relaunched after another not-too-long-ago redesign and relaunch, recently emailed subscribers about his new blog, Your Insider's Guide to Success. There's not a lot there yet -- Hardy's only posted five times since July 3, but it's a good trigger to check out the magazine, if you haven't recently.

I picked up the current issue on a recent trip to the Midwest and will post a full review upon completion. So far, I'm intrigued. It's a lot closer to the old Success Unlimited than previous incarnations have been, and the addition of the CD/DVD in every issue is a wonderful value-added tool -- and what got me to subscribe.

Check out the blog. Check out the magazine. And let me -- and other EmpowerMentor readers -- know what you think.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

New Eckhart Tolle Musical

Broadway and off-Broadway performer Freddie Weber has completed a musical based on Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and The New Earth -- and will be staging it in Boonton, Penn., and other locations over the next several months.

You can see a video of the workshop on YouTube, and Weber's written several books on meditation and her spiritual learning. The video struck me as a little hokey, but I'm glad to see people inspired to create something of their own resonating with Tolle's work.

Wayne Dyer Feature Film?

Word is that there's a feature film about Wayne Dyer being filmed in Monterey County, Calif., and that the production company is looking for extras for the next few weeks.

I don't see anything about this production in IMDB, but there are listings in Craigslist, Auditions.com, and Tribe, so it seems to be the real deal.

Does anyone know more about the project?

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Goal Setting 101

Dr. Ken Gee Ehrlich, a chiropractor, contributed a good article on goal setting to the Los Angeles Downtown News a couple of days ago. It addresses a lot of the usual goal-setting tips -- write them down, review them often -- but one part of his piece stood out for me.

"I like to have goals in different areas of my life such as spiritual, diet, financial, marriage, family, travel, business and fitness," he writes. That reminds me of the item I recently posted about points on your compass. Franklin Covey suggests that you do something every day that is physical, social, mental, and spiritual.

What's on your goal-setting checklist?

Human Potential Writing Contest

Canadian-based publisher InHousePress is holding its first human potential nonfiction contest. For the next two months, roughly, the press seeks 1,000-word essays and articles on human potential.

Entries could include cultural criticism, literary journalism, memoirs, nature writing, or personal essays. Winners will be announced in the December issue of the Human Potential Newsletter.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Anthony Robbins at TED

Also of interest is this video of Anthony Robbins at TED. TED is a conference founded by Richard Saul Wurman that looks at the intersection of technology, entertainment, and design.

For more context, you can also watch it on the TED site. Robbins comments on why Gore didn't win the election, how decisions shape destiny, and two invisible forces that drive us.

Passionate Success Strategies

Phil Bolsta, editor of Sixty Seconds: One Moment That Changes Everything, points us to this audio interview of Wayne Dyer by Mark Victor Hansen. The conversation is introduced by Janet Attwood, author of The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Destiny and editor of Healthy Wealthy nWise.

I haven't listened to the whole thing, but it's an interesting combination of thinkers and doers and is sure to be intriguing.

Inner Engineering in Tampa

If you live near Tampa, Florida, you might want to check out this talk Sunday by mystic and yoga practitioner Sadhguru Jaggi. Founder of the Isha Foundation, Jaggi is also author of the new book Midnights with the Mystic: A Little Guide to Freedom and Bliss.

Jaggi's personal growth program is called Inner Engineering. Using guided meditation and yoga, he teaches followers to understand the mechanics of life and use enhanced perception to solve problems, improve health, and unlock career and personal success. Additionally, he was a delegate to the United Nations Millenium World Peace Summit, and he's spoken at the World Economic Forum three years in a row -- the only speaker to do so.

Robert Masters, RIP

Robert Masters, husband of Jean Houston and cofounder and director of their Foundation of Mind Research, died Sunday morning in Ashland, Oregon.

As a developer and teacher of Human and Extended Human Capacities, Masters was a leading figure in the human potential movement. He wrote more than 30 books, including Mind Games: The Guide to Inner Space.

Rest in peace, Robert.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Essential Laws of Fearless Living

Having placed OK in terms of Amazon sales, the author of The Essential Laws of Fearless Living: Find the Power to Never Feel Powerless Again, Guy Finley, is offering a special offer if you buy his book via another bookseller.

The offer is this: If you buy Finley's book, via Barnes & Noble and enter your order number, you will receive more than 60 bonus gifts, including free DVDs, MP3s, Ebooks, audio programs, E-courses, excerpts, programs and other tools.

The specials are numerous and impressive: a free Power to Never Feel Powerless Again DVD, s free 365 Days to Let Go Ebook, a free 5 Simple Steps to Make Yourself Fearless MP3, a free Seven Powers MP3, and many, many additional items.

Holy cow.

The Radiance Retreat

Sarah McLean, one of the founding directors of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing and now director of the Sedona Meditation Training Company, has announced the Radiance Retreat, a meditation, yoga, hiking, and creative journaling event at the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in Arizona.

Limited to 15 participants, the retreat will cost as little as $595 per person (lodging costs extra). The deep meditation retreat will include sections on Deep Silent Group & Guided Meditations; Harmonizing with the Nature's Rhythms; Creating your Inner Glow; the Yoga of Breath, Pranayama; Gentle Yoga featuring Kundalini Practices; Listening to Your Heart's Desires, Journaling Practices; Mindfulness Practices, Meditation in Motion; and Communion & Reflecting in Nature.

Distinctions for Life

Ron Davis's relatively new series of personal development videos, Distinctions for Life, is a video podcast that addresses little changes that can make a big difference. In the few weeks it's been active, the series has touched on how to use your body to control your emotions, how focus can change how you feel, and how beliefs affect your emotions.

The host, Ron Davis, is also a professional photographer with a sideline business in glamour, goth, and pinup photography. He's been published in Gothic Beauty magazine and published the 2007 Gothic Swimsuit Calendar.

Ken Wilber's Next Book

In just more than a month, Ken Wilber's forthcoming book, Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening, will be released. You can pre-order it now, and it's due to hit shelves Sept. 9.

Co-authored with Terry Patten, Adam Leonard, and Marco Morelli, it's described as a "complete guide showing how to use Ken Wilber's acclaimed Integral Approach to design a personal program of transformational practice." Looks like a good companion to the Integral Life Practice Starter Kit.

Monday, July 28, 2008

(Pro)Motivation

I just came across an interesting little blog, Tivate. Subtitled, "Find your inspiration," it aims to cultivate, motivate, and activate readers. Proprietor Justin Hernandez, a "Professional Dreamer, optimist, closet geek, sit-down comedian, casual observer and and expert third person speaker," lives in Hawaii and offers brief inspirational quotes from people such as John Maxwell, Seneca, and Emila Zola; as well as inspirational photographs.

He also offers a series of interviews. Subjects to date have included Tim Brownson, a goal specialist, and simplicity blogger Zack Domes. Might be worth following for awhile!

Success and Joy Through Relationships

Just a couple of days ago, Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, launched a new online community for people interested in powering success and joy through their relationships.

The community features video segments by Ferrazzi focusing on how to be more outgoing or how to find a significant other, and there's a discussion forum, blog, polls, and other ways for participants to interact with each other, as well as Ferrazzi himself.

Much of the material is strictly business or work related, but there's a spiritual component as well. There are several interviews with Guru Singh about being a Sikh, authenticity, anger, and other topics.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Open Focus Neurofeedback Techniques

I'd like to learn more about the neurofeedback techniques used by Les Fehmi and his team at the Princeton Biofeedback Center. His Open Focus method uses neurofeedback to reduce stress-related symptoms and enhance well being.

While I'm interested in his book, The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body, I'm more interested in his CDs. One XtremeMind participant likened the program to "westernized scientific vipassana," and another suggested it might be a good alternative to Mind-Tek Research's technology.

John Maxwell and Maximum Impact

I've not really kept up with John Maxwell and his set since the old Life@Work magazine, which combined leadership development, business innovation, and Christianity.

Maximum Impact offers several free resources, including two free email newsletters and a podcast, which doesn't seem to have been updated since May. You can also access additional information about Maxwell's books, conferences, and events based on his leadership ideas.

The Maximum Impact Club, a monthly mentoring series, seems especially promising.

MP3 Motivators

I recently subscribed to MP3 Motivators's free weekly series of motivational MP3s, and this morning, I received my first installment. It's a seven minute-long piece by Bob Proctor entitled "Power of Persistence Part 1."

The best idea in the snippet is the idea of the 6 O'Clock Club. If you don't already get up early, get up early -- join the 6 O'Clock Club. Start your day early. Aim to be ready for a meeting (or work) by 9. It'll give you more time during the day, you'll feel more organized, and getting up early can be motivating.

A promising start to the series. Looking forward to the rest!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

What's on Your Compass?

I recently started using PlanPlus Online, Franklin Covey's online daily planner. I'm not sure it's better than Google Calendar and Ta-Da List, but I like the combination of calendar, to-do list, and note taking, even if it's not optimized for Firefox yet.

In any event, as part of the subscription, I receive occasional emails with tips and tricks, and the most recent edition contained this little nugget:

Sharpen the Saw each week. You should have one activity in each of the following 4 areas. Physical, social, mental and spiritual. Define the roles you play in your life. For example, Father, Husband, Manager, Community Leader.


It's an intriguing, quick exercise. Every day, do something physical (walked to the library), social (talked on the phone to a friend in LA), mental (worked on a new booklet), and spiritual (sat in meditation -- not yet, today!). And what four primary roles do you play? Father, partner, son, brother, co-worker, neighbor, etc.

Quick, but effective in terms of outlining areas you need to focus on.

Meditation Trilogy

I'm not sure how this CD hit my radar, but Carol Ann Cardella's Meditation Trilogy seems promising. The trio of guided meditations focus on deep relaxation and visualization; grounding, centering, and manifesting; and cleansing, clarifying, and manifesting.

Several samples are available, and the CD costs $20. Interestingly enough, Cardella appears to be a consultant in the real estate and building management industries who has authored a couple of now out-of-print books on merchandising. Makes me wonder how many other people in the human potential industry maintain their day jobs.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Instant Advanced Meditation

For a limited time, Steven Sashen is offering the first volume of his Instant Advanced Meditation Course for free. I just listened to the introduction, and the realization and recognition meditation technique appears to be an alternative to traditional sitting meditation.

The first full session, "All It Is," runs about 47 minutes. It's basically a guided meditation and talk on the presence of God in absolutely everything and the totality of experience being God's way of appearing to us. Interesting stuff!

Randy Pausch, RIP

Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon University professor well known for his battle with pancreatic cancer and his "last lecture," died today. He was 47.

While I've heard a lot about Pausch's last lecture -- which was later expanded into a book -- I've never listened to it in full before. Time I do so, I think. Rest in peace, Randy.

(Via Ken McArthur's The Impact Factor)

Attracting Genuine Love E-Course

Until midnight tomorrow, The Hendricks Institute Foundation for Conscious Living is offering a special cut rate on the Attracting Genuine Love E-Course taught by Drs, Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks.

In Attracting Genuine Love you’ll discover things about yourself and about love that you’ve never seen before. You’ll discover the one thing that blocks you from attracting genuine love into your life; you’ll experience the three inner shifts that change your entire approach to relationships; you’ll feel the power of the “Three Absolute Yes’s And No’s” to stop attracting the wrong kind of person and “beam in” the right kind of person for you; you’ll also get a big array of extra features and resources that make the journey easy and fun.


For $77 -- usually $97 -- you get access to the 21-session online course; the Attracting Genuine Love Journal, a workbook focusing on the course’s principles; a special report, "What Every Single Person Should Know About Relationships;" and "The Most Frequently-Asked Questions About Love And Relationships."

If you sign up by the end of tomorrow, you'll also get five bonuses: a 9-part video, "The Conscious Heart," which demonstrates the seven key skills of Conscious Relationships; "A Month of Relationship Appreciations," a report covering unique ways to share your appreciation for loved ones; "Why Men Have Difficulty Forming Close Love Relationships With Women;" a free meditation from IAM Course creator Steven Sashen; and a list of the "Best Relationship Movies of All Time."

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Reiki Master in Brooklyn

My neighbor, Marcelo Sturgeon, is a Reiki master. If you're in the area, you should contact him. Tell him Heath sent you!

Ken McArthur on Impact

In today's mail, I received a copy of Ken McArthur's new book, Impact: How to Get Noticed, Motivate Millions, and Make a Difference in a Noisy World.

Published earlier this year by Career Press, the text includes a free step-by-step guide with hundreds of hours of free audio and video. Score!

I recently signed up for McArthur's program The Impact Factor, and I look forward to learning more -- and reading the book.

Need a Boost for the Weekend?

The fine folks at Cotum Publishing recently released their HypnoRitual Series of brainwave programming and entrainment recordings.

For $67, you can take advantage of the basic series, which includes "two or three hours" (per a post to the XtremeMind discussion forums). That package includes four stages of recordings (including Morning Energy, Social Skills Booster, Charisma Enhancer, Ultimate Relaxation, Mind Mapper, Personal Power, Negative Thought Destroyer, Memory Healing, Astral Affirmations, Journey Into Greatness, Sex Magnet, Trance Inducer, and two exlusive bonus tracks -- Alpha Project X and Transmissions From Your Greater Self.

For a mere $30 more, you can add three additional recordings: Stop Smoking Entrainment, Natural Ecstasy, and Master Meditation.

To sweeten the deal, they're offering a free sample, The Weekend Boost, reportedly the "file that started it all."

While I've not listened to anything but the sample -- which runs about seven minutes in length -- I'm intrigued. Might be worth checking out.

Stuart Davis to Perform in New York City

Ken Wilber compatriot Stuart Davis will perform at the Living Room in New York City on Saturday, July 26. Tickets cost $10 and are available online.

Wilber has called Stuart the finest singer-songwriter of his generation, and he's editing his book, a fictionalized memoir entitled Sex, God, and Rock 'n' Roll. Check out his most recent album, Something Simple, and maybe I'll see you Saturday night!

The World Is... Free

Between July 26 and Aug. 4, 2008, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Macmillan Audio will offer the audio edition of Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century for free.

Listeners can download the audiobook in three sections. As a bonus, participants will also get an exclusive pre-publication audio excerpt of Friedman's forthcoming Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- and How It Can Renew America. The book will be published Sept. 8.

If you'd like to receive the audio downloads for free, sign up today.

(Thanks to Change This for the good word.)