Paraview Media Guide July 2004

Paraview Media Guide
July 2004

Paraview Media Guide is a monthly guide to books, magazines, websites, and other media that capture your attention, expand your mind, and transform the world. Leading experts in mind, body, and spirit and the frontiers of science and culture present their media picks. This free newsletter is distributed by subscription only. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or obtain sponsorship information, please see instructions at the end of this newsletter.

GUEST PRESENTER: EDNA VENTRE-AUERFELD

	What would you do if you found you had a miraculous, otherworldly gift and could heal others? That’s the question posed in the Paraview Pocket Books release Penny’s Gift, by Edna Ventre-Auerfeld. In it, Penny discovers after a near-death experience that she can heal others and give life to the dying, but she struggles to cope with how her “gift” affects herself and her family. Author Ventre-Auerfeld wrote her first novel while on a hiatus from teaching and she speaks often on writing, the process of publishing, and fulfilling one’s dreams through written expression. For this month’s Media Guide, she offers her suggestions for great summer reading and exploring.


EDNA'S TRANSFORMING MEDIA PICKS
	Treasured: A book which deserves ongoing discussion is the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry. A simple yet beautifully crafted piece of fiction, Lowry depicts a community as it attempts to manufacture happiness through government control and the manipulation of the structure of society. It is a classic example of a writer exploring the idea of spiritual freedom, the necessary cost of pain, and the price of individuality within a group consciousness. The reader is left asking weighty questions about the dynamics of our own society and wondering what we may be trading for the comforts of our present situation. Current: As a writer particularly interested in how group dynamics affect our perception of ourselves, I was positively glued to Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. Her vision for a future whose outcome is based on vanity and unbridled experimentation is nothing but chilling. How exciting to come across a piece of fiction which leaves the reader pondering such current topics as genetic engineering, self-modification through surgery, class distinction caused by unbalanced educational opportunities, and the power of wealth over morality. A work with many layers of insight, it is a stark journey into the very fabric of the spirit of both individuals and society and the dire consequences of moving forward technologically without examining either in any real depth.


	Penny’s Gift creates a purely fictional version of what life after death might look like. Many readers who have had true life-after-death events have approached me to share their powerful stories. I urge anyone interested in the incredible accounts of their experiences to log onto the home page of The International Association for Near Death Studies, Inc. It is a fascinating source for lists of reading materials, theories, scientific studies, and compilations of worldwide similarities in the NDE (Near Death Experience). Up-to-date listings for conferences and support groups can be found at this site as well. If you're looking for something more interactive, it contains a message board and a link where you can ask a question not already addressed anywhere else on the site.

	What’s New at Paraview Call for Submissions Would you like to give a new life to your out-of-print book? We’re looking for quality body, mind, and spirit titles that can reach new audiences. New Releases After the Martian Apocalypse: "A stunning survey of the latest evidence for intelligent life on Mars." -- Herbie Brennan Crash at Corona: The definitive study of the Roswell incident The Future of Astrology: Wide-ranging essays from the world's leading astrologers The Poltergeist: Strange and terrifying cases collected by a leading parapsychologist

See you next month!

If you miss anything described above that you wanted to see or hear, more information about the media providers, programming, and air times is always available through links at our Conscious TV or Conscious Radio pages

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