Links: Astrology | Astrological / Spiritual
Books: Most Recommended | Beginning Astrology Books | Transits, Progressions & Synastry | Other Astrology Books | Other Books
Internal Family Systems Therapy
Press: Press photos for use in print or online
Links
Astrology
Free Online Chart Calculation
Need a copy of your natal chart calculated for free? The Astrolabe Free Chart Page makes it quick and easy. Astro.com is more involved, but gives you greater control over the output. Astro.com can also calculate moving energies (transits, progressions, etc.), as well as many other types of astrology charts.
Unknown Birth Time
Need to track down your birth time? Here’s where to order birth certificates. Can’t locate your birth time? Ask Benjamin about rectification, an astrological process that can figure out unknown birth times.
Asheville Friends of Astrology
This lively group of professional and amateur astrologers presents speakers via Zoom every month.
Astrological / Spiritual
This Week in Astrology
This Week in Astrology is the award-winning podcast that explains the most important celestial alignments right now. Make it a regular part of your astrological education!
Books
Most Recommended | Beginning Astrology Books | Transits, Progressions & Synastry | Other Astrology Books
Most Recommended
Creating Money: Attracting Abundance (Sanaya Roman)
This step-by-step guide to creating money and abundance was given to Sanaya and Duane by their guides, Orin and DaBen. These wise spirit teachers have successfully helped thousands of people to manifest prosperity, find their life’s work, and fulfill their life purpose. This book is infused with Orin and DaBen’s consciousness of abundance that is available to you as you read to increase your ability to create money and abundance. Learn more at amazon.com.
Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives, Fifth Revised Edition by Michael Newton
Learn the latest details and most recent groundbreaking discoveries that reveal, for the first time, the mystery of life in the spirit world after death on Earth―proof that our consciousness survives―in Journey of Souls by Michael Newton, PhD.
Using a special hypnosis technique to reach the hidden memories of subjects, Dr. Newton discovered some amazing insights into what happens to us between lives. Journey of Souls is the record of 29 people who recalled their experiences between physical deaths.
Soul Love: Awakening Your Heart Centers (Sanaya Roman)
Soul Love teaches you how to link with your soul and open your heart in order to feel more love, self-love, and love for others. Making soul contact and awakening your heart centers can be one of the most important and transformative steps on your path of spiritual awakening that you will ever take.
In the first section of this book Orin, a timeless being of light and love channeled through Sanaya, presents a series of meditations to assist you in meeting and blending with your soul. You can learn to tap into its strength, presence, light, and will to assist you with daily living.
The second section of this book guides you through some of the most powerful and transformative processes Orin knows to aid you in loving as your soul.
In Section 3 you will explore how to attract a soul mate and other important people into your life. You will learn how to work with others at a soul level. You can experience wonderful, harmonious, loving, and nurturing soul relationships that fulfill your higher purpose in being together. You can dissolve obstacles to love and discover new ways to love.
In Section 4 you will expand your awareness of the higher realms, connecting with the Enlightened Ones, Masters, angels, guides, and all those who are assisting humanity and you to experience more light and love. You will learn how to radiate soul love to everyone you know, as you experience and express the universal presence of love.
Sanaya’s books have been translated into over 24 languages, in over 2,000,000 books worldwide.
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships, by Marshall B. Rosenberg
2,000,000 COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE • TRANSLATED IN MORE THAN 35 LANGUAGES
What is Violent Communication?
If “violent” means acting in ways that result in hurt or harm, then much of how we communicate—judging others, bullying, having racial bias, blaming, finger pointing, discriminating, speaking without listening, criticizing others or ourselves, name-calling, reacting when angry, using political rhetoric, being defensive or judging who’s “good/bad” or what’s “right/wrong” with people—could indeed be called “violent communication.”
What is Nonviolent Communication?
Nonviolent Communication is the integration of four things:
• Consciousness: a set of principles that support living a life of compassion, collaboration, courage, and authenticity
• Language: understanding how words contribute to connection or distance
• Communication: knowing how to ask for what we want, how to hear others even in disagreement, and how to move toward solutions that work for all
• Means of influence: sharing “power with others” rather than using “power over others”
Nonviolent Communication serves our desire to do three things:
• Increase our ability to live with choice, meaning, and connection
• Connect empathically with self and others to have more satisfying relationships
• Sharing of resources so everyone is able to benefit
The Ra Contact: Teaching the Law of One, Volume 1
Don Elkins (Author), Carla L. Rueckert (Author), James Allen McCarty (Author), & 2 more
“I am Ra. We came to your peoples to enunciate the Law of One. We wished to impress upon those who wished to learn of unity that in unity all paradoxes are resolved; all that is broken is healed; all that is forgotten is brought to light.”
For thousands of years those of Ra have sought to teach the Law of One to seekers of truth on Earth who wished to learn of the unity or oneness of all things. This basic law of all creation is buried deep within each of our hearts because we really are one in love and in light, the building blocks of the universe. We are all manifestations of the one infinite creator. We are the creator. We are not learning this law for the first time but are remembering it yet again as all mystics have taught throughout Earth’s history. Our journey of self-realization is the discovery or remembrance of this essential truth, our essential identity. A waking up, as some have called it, within an illusion of separation.
Don Elkins and Carla L. Rueckert worked together for 12 years to perfect the channeling process and receive philosophical inspiration and guidance from extraterrestrial sources. When Jim McCarty joined them in 1980 they began to receive a new and unique type of channeling contact from those of Ra. Through this contact, Ra shared information to help seekers of truth deepen their awareness and acceptance of self and other, and to help Earth move into the emerging fourth density of love and understanding.
This audiobook is the transcript from the recording of that conversation between the Questioner and Ra. Through questions and answers, the metaphysical blueprint of spiritual evolution is explored, from the microcosm to the macrocosm, from the particulars of life on this planet to the life of the cosmos, to the possibilities of healing, transformation, and self-realization for spiritual seekers and wanderers.
Beginning Astrology Books
For beginning astrology students, there are two books I recommend:
The Inner Sky, by Steven Forrest. Astrology can be complicated, but Steven keeps it very simple. Here he gives clear and concise instructions on how to interpret a natal chart. Only the absolutely essential information you need to get started is included. Plus, his frequent use of imagery will keep both sides of your brain engaged. Start here if you’re just beginning to learn astrology.
Chart Interpretation Handbook, by Stephen Arroyo. A more thorough introduction to natal interpretation, but still presented very simply and clearly. The perfect book to read after The Inner Sky.
Transits, Progressions & Synastry
After you have studied these two books — and practiced interpreting a bunch of your friends’ charts! — you could do worse than to follow the “Forrest path.”
Steven Forrest’s The Changing Sky will introduce you to transits and progressions.
Skymates — co-written by Jodie Forrest and Steven Forrest — will open you to the extraordinary world of synastry. (That’s relationship astrology, where you see how the charts of two people interact.) Be sure to get the most recent editions of the Forrest titles.
Other Astrology Books
Transpersonal Astrology: Explorations at the Frontier is an innovative collection of essays that highlight the transpersonal within astrology. Sixteen unique perspectives and topics are addressed, including my chapter on Shamanic Astrology.
Pathways to Wholeness: Archetypal Astrology and the Transpersonal Journey, by Renn Butler. A unique and fascinating exploration of how planetary alignments affect transformative experiences such as holotropic breathwork and ayahuasca journeys. Also an outstanding “cookbook” on how planetary pairs interact. Benjamin interviewed Renn about this book on Episodes 383 and 385 of his This Week in Astrology podcast.
The Archetypal Universe: Astrological Patterns in Human Culture, Thought, Emotion and Dreams, by Renn Butler. My favorite book on the meanings of 2- and 3-planet combinations! The Archetypal Universe explores astrological patterns in human culture and self-exploration, including themes in cinema, music and art, dreams, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and Holotropic Breathwork. Termed by some “the middle way” in astrology, archetypal astrology is deeply grounded in Greek mythology and philosophy, while also acknowledging the evolutionary potential and healing gifts represented by Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Based on decades of systematic research, this rich and comprehensive handbook is sure to be a treasured resource for beginners and professionals alike.
Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, by Richard Tarnas. From a philosopher whose magisterial history of Western thought was praised by Joseph Campbell and Huston Smith comes a brilliant new book that traces the connection between cosmic cycles and archetypal patterns of human experience. Drawing on years of research and on thinkers from Plato to Jung, Richard Tarnas explores the planetary correlations of epochal events like the French Revolution, the two world wars, and September 11. Whether read as astrology updated for the quantum age or as a contemporary classic of spirituality, Cosmos and Psyche is a work of immense sophistication, deep learning, and lasting importance.
Other Books
Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men, by Lundy Bancroft. In this groundbreaking bestseller, Lundy Bancroft—a counselor who specializes in working with abusive men—uses his knowledge about how abusers think to help women recognize when they are being controlled or devalued, and to find ways to get free of an abusive relationship.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
The book Lifehack calls “The Bible of business and personal productivity.”
“A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from ‘the personal productivity guru'”—Fast Company
Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots.
Allen has rewritten the book from start to finish, tweaking his classic text with important perspectives on the new workplace, and adding material that will make the book fresh and relevant for years to come. This new edition of Getting Things Done will be welcomed not only by its hundreds of thousands of existing fans but also by a whole new generation eager to adopt its proven principles.
The Fourth Level: Nature Wisdom Teachings of the Inka, 1st Edition
by Elizabeth B. Jenkins
This book is the culmination of Elizabeth’s twenty –five years of study, exploration and practice of the Inka Nature Wisdom Tradition. A primer on how humans can increase their Nature Intelligence, this book translates the worldview of the Q’ero Indians of Peru, through Seven Energy Principles that reveal how we are each inherently connected to Nature. The book includes 7 authentic Inka practices or, “Nature Contemplations,” that allow the reader to experience each one of the principles personally and directly. Companion audio tapes of these Nature Contemplations are also available.
Note from Benjamin: While this book’s content is extraordinary, its editing is terrible! Be prepared to wade through numerous typos and some clunky language. Fortunately, the information is still easy to understand and implement.
The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success, by Jim Dethmer (Author), Diana Chapman (Author), Kaley Klemp (Author)
You’ll never see leadership the same way again after reading this book.
These fifteen commitments are a distillation of decades of work with CEOs and other leaders. They are radical or provocative for many. They have been game changers for us and for our clients. We trust that they will be for you too.
Our experience is that unconscious leadership is not sustainable. It won’t work for you, your team or your organization in the long term. Unconscious leadership can deliver short term results, but the costs of living and leading unconsciously are great.
Fear drives most leaders to make choices that are at odds with healthy relationships, vitality and balance. This fear leaves a toxic residue that won’t be as easily tolerated in an increasingly complex business environment.
Conscious leadership offers the antidote to fear. These pages contain a comprehensive road map to guide you to shift from fear-based to trust-based leadership. Once you learn and start practicing conscious leadership you’ll get results in the form of more energy, clarity, focus and healthier relationships.
You’ll do more and more of what you are passionate about, and less of what you do out of obligation. You’ll have more fun, be happier, experience less drama and be more on purpose.
Your team will get results as well. They’ll be more collaborative, creative, energized and engaged. They’ll solve issues faster, and once resolved the issues won’t resurface. Drama and gossip will all but disappear, and the energy and resources that fueled them will be redirected towards innovation and creativity.
Any one of these commitments will change your life. All of them together are revolutionary. Leaders who practice the 15 commitments:
· End blame and criticism
· Speak candidly, openly and honestly, in a way that invites others to do the same
· Find their unique genius
· Let go of taking everything—especially themselves and their problems—so seriously
· Create win for all solutions
· Experience a new relationship to time and money where there is always enough
What do you need to bring to the table? Be curious. Sounds so simple, and yet in our experience it’s a skill few have mastered. Most of us are far more interested in being right and proving it, than we are in learning, growing and shifting out of our old patterns.
By default we gravitate towards the familiar. We’re asking you to take a chance and explore the unfamiliar. You’ll get scared and reactive. We all do. So what? Just stay curious and let us introduce you to a whole new world of leadership.
Internal Family Systems Therapy
Great article on IFS
IFS Podcasts and Teleconferences
The podcast with Tim Ferriss interviewing IFS founder Richard Schwartz is great!
Self-Therapy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Wholeness and Healing Your Inner Child Using IFS, A New, Cutting-Edge Psychotherapy, 2nd Edition, by Jay Earley
Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts: Discovering Your True Self Through Internal Family Systems Therapy, Richard C. Schwartz PhD (Narrator, Author), Sounds True (Publisher)
Main IFS textbook (in-depth)
Internal Family Systems Therapy: Second Edition, Richard C. Schwartz (Author), Martha Sweezy (Author), Brian Arens (Narrator), & 1 more
Press
Photo of “AstroShaman” Benjamin Bernstein for use in print and web media
This is a preview of the 1.42MB JPG. Click the image to view and download the full-size image.