We are all students in the "Earth school," according to authors Gary Zukav and Linda Francis in The Heart of the Soul. And the time has come to create a whole new lesson plan. For thousands of years we were outwardly focused, as we mastered the tasks of cultivating food and building shelter. Unfortunately, we are still outwardly fixated, obsessively accumulating more wealth, material objects, and power. "What enabled our species to survive so long is now bad medicine. In fact, it is poison," according to Zukav and Francis. What we need now is an inward focus, in which we cultivate the heart and live in alignment with our souls.

As it turns out, The Heart of the Soul is a timely guidebook, with a release date exactly three months after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. "The pursuit of external power produces physical violence and destruction between nations. You can see this in every newscast," the authors write: Billions of people live in poverty, are hungry, and suffer oppression, and brutality. Changing these circumstances requires our hearts. It requires the ability to feel the pain and joy of others, and to take their needs as seriously as we take our own. And here is where the heart lessons come in. "As long as there are parts of yourself that reach outward to make you feel safe, valuable, and loved, you need to identify them and heal them." The authors include numerous exercises and activities to help readers feel and understand their emotions in order to "empower the soul" and live a more rewarding and joyful life. The words and intentions are indeed poignant and worthwhile. The numerous boxes, diagrams, and passages in bold print create a self-help structure that some will find simplistic and others will find inviting. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly
Asserting that "our species is undergoing an unprecedented transformation," Zukav (The Seat of the Soul; Soul Stories) urges people to focus not on "external power" but on "authentic power," and to seek to align their personalities with their souls. People should learn to read emotional pain (manifested in physical symptoms) as energy being released in "fear and doubt" rather than "love and trust," Zukav says. He includes a diagram of "your energy system," which he doesn't acknowledge as the seven chakras common in ancient Eastern religions. In fact, while drawing on Hindu and Buddhist thought, Taoism, Christianity, psychology and many other sources, Zukav credits no previous study or tradition. Reincarnation, detachment, present-moment living and bringing unconscious emotions to the surface are not original concepts, but the author's lack of references implies that they are. Questionable claims "a new human species is being born," for example, or "energy continually flows into the top of your head" are also offered as indisputable facts. Zukav's abundance of vague metaphors and lack of specific personal stories leaves the reader wondering how (or if) the concepts he presents might be applied to everyday issues and events. This book could be another adequate tool in the pursuit of New Age spirituality, but it is hardly the complete and final word the author suggests. Still, with Zukav's track record and Oprah-readiness, expect hefty sales. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Zukav's fans will appreciate this effort to help people stay mindful of their feelings. His language and tone are poetic as he describes the defense mechanisms people use to avoid unacceptable feelings. With less gravitas and more practicality, Zukav's spiritual partner, Linda Francis, provides compact and prescriptive help on how to improve awareness. Listeners with hang-ups about anger, aggression, self-esteem, and sexual attraction will find these ideas particularly useful. This program is definitely for listeners on the timid, repressed, or over-controlled end of the spectrum, and especially for those who need help in experiencing emotion. A good lesson on how to look inward for peace instead of looking for solutions in the external world. T.W. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
The premise of this new book by the best-selling author of The Seat of the Soul (1999) and Soul Stories (2000) (now writing with coauthor Linda Francis) is that human society, the world over, is changing. "Old aspirations are being replaced by new," the authors aver. "Comfort and influence are no longer goals that inspire, even those who live in poverty. The new goal is spiritual development." To promote spiritual development, Zukav and Francis offer a program that teaches how to become aware, at all times, of what one is feeling. Learning to experience emotion, so the authors insist, creates "authentic power," which is defined here as "the alignment of your personality with your soul." To that end, Zukav and his collaborator offer a series of techniques--a full course, in other words--for achieving an emotional awareness that will lead to authentic power, which is different from external power (big jobs, lots of money, big houses, etc.). The authors warn that the creation and accumulation of authentic power require a lifetime of practice and pursuit, and their book is the first step in a long-term realization process. Readers will be arriving in droves to request this surefire best-seller. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
In The Seat of the Soul prize-winning author Gary Zukav explained how the expansion of human perception beyond the five senses leads to a new understanding of "authentic power." In Soul Stories, he showed how such concepts as harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life express themselves in other people's lives. Now, in The Heart of the Soul, prize-winning author Gary Zukav joins with his spiritual partner Linda Francis to show us the importance of emotional awareness in applying these concepts to our daily lives. The Heart of the Soul shows us how to free ourselves from our compulsions, fixations, obsessions, and addictions -- such as anger, workaholism, obsessive eating, alcohol and drug abuse, and sexual addiction -- that prevent us from living a fulfilling and meaningful life. It also provides the reader with the necessary tools to replace the desire to avoid painful emotions with the desire to explore every aspect of consciousness, and to cultivate the parts of ourselves that contribute the most to Life. Emotional awareness -- becoming aware of everything we are feeling at every moment -- is one of the most challenging tasks we can undertake. As Zukav relates in the audiobook, "The longest journey that you will make in your life is from your head to your heart." For all of us, that is the unending journey toward spiritual growth -- toward wholeness, wisdom, and compassion -- and the healing that will allow us to achieve our fullest potential.

Book Info
Authors include numerous exercises and activities to help readers feel and understand their emotions in order to 'empower the soul' and live a more rewarding and joyful life.

About the Author
Gary Zukav is the author of The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics, winner of the American Book Award for Science; The Seat of the Soul, the celebrated #1 bestseller in The New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, and others; and the New York Times bestseller Soul Stories. His books have sold millions of copies and are published in sixteen languages. He is a graduate of Harvard and a former U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret) officer with Vietnam service.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Oprah favorite Gary Zukav believes that our meaning is right here: "Becoming a spiritual person," he writes, "requires becoming aware of your emotions." According to this bestselling author, we must align our selves to our soul's call: "The goals of your soul are harmony, cooperation, sharing and reverence for Life. When those goals of your soul become your goals, your personality is aligned with your soul. That is authentic power." A quieting message for difficult times.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In The Seat of the Soul prize-winning author Gary Zukav explained how the expansion of human perception beyond the five senses leads to a new understanding of "authentic power."

In Soul Stories, he showed how such concepts as harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life express themselves in other people's lives. Now, in The Heart of the Soul, prize-winning author Gary Zukav joins with his spiritual partner Linda Francis to show us the importance of emotional awareness in applying these concepts to our daily lives.

The Heart of the Soul shows us how to free ourselves from our compulsions, fixations, obsessions, and addictions -- such as anger, workaholism, obsessive eating, alcohol and drug abuse, and sexual addiction -- that prevent us from living a fulfilling and meaningful life. It also provides the reader with the necessary tools to replace the desire to avoid painful emotions with the desire to explore every aspect of consciousness, and to cultivate the parts of ourselves that contribute the most to Life.

Emotional awareness -- becoming aware of everything we are feeling at every moment -- is one of the most challenging tasks we can undertake. As Zukav relates in the audiobook, "The longest journey that you will make in your life is from your head to your heart." For all of us, that is the unending journey toward spiritual growth -- toward wholeness, wisdom, and compassion -- and the healing that will allow us to achieve our fullest potential.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Asserting that "our species is undergoing an unprecedented transformation," Zukav (The Seat of the Soul; Soul Stories) urges people to focus not on "external power" but on "authentic power," and to seek to align their personalities with their souls. People should learn to read emotional pain (manifested in physical symptoms) as energy being released in "fear and doubt" rather than "love and trust," Zukav says. He includes a diagram of "your energy system," which he doesn't acknowledge as the seven chakras common in ancient Eastern religions. In fact, while drawing on Hindu and Buddhist thought, Taoism, Christianity, psychology and many other sources, Zukav credits no previous study or tradition. Reincarnation, detachment, present-moment living and bringing unconscious emotions to the surface are not original concepts, but the author's lack of references implies that they are. Questionable claims "a new human species is being born," for example, or "energy continually flows into the top of your head" are also offered as indisputable facts. Zukav's abundance of vague metaphors and lack of specific personal stories leaves the reader wondering how (or if) the concepts he presents might be applied to everyday issues and events. This book could be another adequate tool in the pursuit of New Age spirituality, but it is hardly the complete and final word the author suggests. Still, with Zukav's track record and Oprah-readiness, expect hefty sales. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile

Zukav's fans will appreciate this effort to help people stay mindful of their feelings. His language and tone are poetic as he describes the defense mechanisms people use to avoid unacceptable feelings. With less gravitas and more practicality, Zukav's spiritual partner, Linda Francis, provides compact and prescriptive help on how to improve awareness. Listeners with hang-ups about anger, aggression, self-esteem, and sexual attraction will find these ideas particularly useful. This program is definitely for listeners on the timid, repressed, or over-controlled end of the spectrum, and especially for those who need help in experiencing emotion. A good lesson on how to look inward for peace instead of looking for solutions in the external world. T.W. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

AUTHOR DESCRIPTION

Gary Zukav is the author of The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics, winner of the American Book Award for Science; The Seat of the Soul, the celebrated #1 bestseller in The New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, and others; and the New York Times bestseller Soul Stories. His books have sold millions of copies and are published in sixteen languages. He is a graduate of Harvard and a former U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret) officer with Vietnam service.