New Radiance Reviews
May 2003

Crappy to Happy:
Small Steps to Big Happiness NOW!
by Randy Peyser

Red Wheel/Weiser, 2002

Crappy to Happy is a snappy little self-help book that by and large does not take itself too seriously. That is not to say that there are no serious messages — there are — but most are expressed in a humorous, light-hearted manner. The book itself is divided into five sections and contains thirty-eight personal stories or reflections. Each story is followed by four steps to happiness NOW. It’s a very effective format as it makes the book both highly readable and easy to reference.

One of Peyser’s life lessons which she shares with us is the importance of letting go of what she refers to as “FUTURE -FEARING.” In one of her more serious stories she outlines an illness which she endured for a couple of years. In a following step to happiness she asserts: “I had to learn that healing wasn’t about failing or fixing. It was about being present and getting through each moment the best I could. I learned that I had to let go of all the other moments and let them take care of themselves.”

Each of us will take what we need from this book and that of course is its intention. Being a serious person who owns several sets of matching dishes (refer to Randy’s dish theory of personality discernment), I appreciated the stories that were written in a more serious vein. Others will appreciate its humorous approach.

Randy Peyser’s writing credentials are quite impressive and are outlined in the May 7, 2003 New Radiance Updates Newsletter. It was therefore surprising to note several proofreading errors in the text as well as a common grammatical error repeated throughout the book that I would not have expected in an otherwise well-written work. As I was writing this review I came across the following quote by Susan Sontag that seems applicable here: “Books are funny little portable pieces of thought.” Enjoy!

(Reviewed by Brenda Dupas)

Spiritual Enlightenment:
The Damnedest Thing
by Jed McKenna

Wisefool Press, 2002

Jed McKenna sets the stage as well as the tone for his book about enlightenment in the first chapter. In it, like most of the others throughout the book, he engages in a fictional conversation with one of the many students who has found her way to his home in Iowa. It’s in the middle of farm country and Jed refers to it as a “rural American ashram project.” Between fifteen to twenty people stay there at a time and any number drop in to visit and do work around the place. Overseeing it all is Sonaya, who is the “all-seeing all-knowing mistress of the manor.” Jed himself is “like a prince in his palace” who hasn’t “swung a hammer or emptied a wastebasket in years.” He proclaims “I never decided to be a prince, it just happened when I wasn’t looking and it’s not the sort of thing you can really bitch about.”

Jed uses the conversations with his cast of students as his vehicle for getting his points across and it’s highly effective as it makes the book very readable. Unfortunately, the persona that Jed has chosen to adopt in these exchanges as well as in the rest of the text, serves to detract from the insights he wishes to impart as he usually comes across as an arrogant wise-guy.

What, however, are some of his insights? And what is his definition of enlightenment? He calls it “truth-realization. Not only is truth simple, it’s that which cannot be simpler - cannot be further reduced.” As a way to arrive at our own truths, he recommends a process he calls Spiritual Autolysis, which is basically the art of writing down “what you know is true, or what you think is true, and keep writing until you come up with something that is true.” He himself claims to be fully-enlightened, fully truth-realized, and estimates that there would be only “a few dozen truth-realized beings alive on earth at any time.”

Jed offers us a fair bit of weighty content as he discusses such subjects as fear of non-being, and duality and unity. He also conjectures that the secret to happiness, if there were one, would be the “ability to relax into the moment and let the universe do the driving.” One of points he wants to get across is that “Allegiance to any spiritual teaching or teacher - any outside authority - is the most treacherous beast in the jungle.” I couldn’t agree more, but I find his frequent references to it are seriously weakened by the pervasive echoes throughout the entire book of the words of such teachers as Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.

He does acknowledge them in both the text and bibliography, but often much of what he says parallels what has already been written.

An interesting, very readable book that would have profited from more adequate proofreading and a less is more approach to his inclusion of endorsements at the front of the book.

(Reviewed by Brenda Dupas)

Sky Bounce
by Deanna Miller

Deanna Miller, 2003

"Sky Bounce" is a fantasy suitable for readers ages twelve and up. Its author is currently an associate editor for a weekly magazine and has already published another book for young people, a guide to overcoming peer pressure. Her current work has been field nominated for several American Library Association awards and is due for release in May 2003.

The novel’s main character is a fifteen year old Alula named Hesper who is a winged female who lives on a skymount. She has formed a secret friendship with a Boytaur named Tristan with whom she meets in order to go bounce-flying. Hesper is different from the other Alulas in that she possesses the ability to hear voices that sound like pleas “for hope sent by hopeless souls.” Her friend Tristan is different from the Mantaurs and Boytaurs who live on the land beneath the skymounts in that he possesses a glow and he lacks their violent nature. He has hence become an outcast.

Soon after we meet the two friends, Hesper is chosen by the council of Alulas to be Sent to live on the human plane. The council has been Sending its young for some time to help restore the imbalance that they have perceived has been developing among the parallel planes. They also fear that an intrusion of aliens will ultimately destroy all of the planes in their universe. Once a young Alula is Sent, however, she loses all memory of the life she leaves behind. After her Sending, Tristan goes on a quest to learn how to ride the interplane without losing his memory so that he can find Hesper. The two eventually do meet up again and Hesper is faced with many difficult decisions and their friendship is put to the test.

This is a well paced, well written fantasy with religious/spiritual overtones. It explores the nature of friendship, loyalty, trust and faith. The messages the author wishes to convey, however, appear incidental to the story and thus become a seamless part of the whole. In that sense, it is similar to Madeleine L’Engle’s works which offer her young readers much food for thought within a fantasy framework. This is a spiritually uplifting book for young readers with an interesting storyline.

(Reviewed by Brenda Dupas)

What Is Our Soul Seeking?
by Frank D. Smith

Creative Mind Publishers, 2002

Dr. Frank Smith has been a student and teacher of Biblical wisdom for six decades. In his book, "What Is Our Soul Seeking?" he employs both his learning and his faith to give spiritual seekers a guide for uncovering their own "celestial empowerment." 

He presents believable answers to some very interesting Biblical issues including reincarnation, the "virgin birth," the miracles and healings of Jesus, the function of "Satan," and what it means to be created in the likeness and image of God. Dr. Smith touches on the books of Genesis, Matthew and John, and the writings of St. Paul in Romans and Corinthians to shed light on the esoteric teachings of Jesus, and goes into some detail to explain the Sermon on the Mount and The Last Supper through a metaphysician's perspective.

The style of writing shows Dr. Smith's passion for the subject. He frequently emphasizes his hope that his readers begin to understand their own worth and position as children of an omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent creator. The author is both cheerleader and lecturer, explaining how the teachings of Jesus are meant to be used. He says, "Jesus was using his own life as an example to show you what you are and how your life can and does outwardly demonstrate your personal inner awareness and belief of yourself."

I enjoyed Dr. Smith's friendly approach and injections of humor. I took his frequent underlinings and exclamation points to represent enthusiasm for his subject, rather than an immature writing style. His choice of Biblical quotations served him well in emphasizing and explaining his ideas on issues which are still being questioned after 2,000 years. The only real problem I had with the book were the numerous punctuation irregularities. As a first time author, Frank Smith has made a fine start.

(Reviewed by Barbara Casey)   

"Woman as Butterfly" is a video by first time filmmaker Michelle Vandepas. In 36 short minutes, she examines the life of Ann Hawley, an 83 year old painter who lives in Taos, New Mexico.

Ann has always been a free spirit who has felt the need to express herself in some way, either through dance or art. While her six children were growing up, she studied painting. She followed her own “drop in the bucket” philosophy through the child rearing years, doing a little at a time. It was not until Ann was in her seventies that she found herself with unlimited time to pursue her interests. Her husband had died of cancer and Ann was now “free” to be a full time artist. She made the decision to devote the rest of her life to painting. She also drums, does etchings and sage brush dancing. For her, art is a spiritual search, like prayer and meditation.

Her paintings are dark and sometimes shocking for someone her age, and one of her daughters refers to her as an “artist of the unspoken.” In the video, some of her children speak about the loss of their father in a very moving way, but Ann says that the losses she has experienced in life are too painful to talk about. She has accepted them and embraced life and creativity.

This video works well on different levels. It is inspirational in that it portrays an exuberant elderly woman making the most of each moment. It also explores the nature of art itself and how it can allow us to be free when we answer its call. It was filmed in beautiful New Mexico and I wish it had shown more of the local scenery than it did. The segment with the two gallery owners who represent Ann was a tad too long, but the video was well put together and well worth watching. The filmmaker is currently working on another similar project and I look forward to its release.