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Valentine Gift Premiere Gift Suggestions for the Love of Your Life

By Kathryn Sargent, Editor

It's always a challenge to find the perfect gift for the love in our lives, and many of us struggle with the decision until Valentine's Day is upon us. If your love is a spiritual person, the challenge may be even greater. So, we're offering some thought-provoking, challenging and delightful gift suggestions to help you decide.

Spoken CDs

If your lover is into meditation, consider giving one of 'Psychic to the Stars' Gary Quinn's meditation CDs. Quinn, who is consulted by the likes of Katarina Witt, Roberto Benigni, and Seal, has released two titles: Experience Your Greatness: Give Yourself Permission to Live and Experience Your Greatness II: Give Yourself Permission to Love. Permission to Live offers personal messages to help your lover transform into a fuller, more rewarding existence and realize individual potential. Permission to Love offers life-changing tools to inspire a journey into love and its extraordinary power. Quinn's pleasant voice and comforting presence will guide your love on a journey of personal growth.

A hypnosis CD, Unleash Your True Potential, has words and music written, arranged, recorded and produced by Glenn Harrold (Diviniti Publishing, Ltd.). From the first notes of music, you know this is not your ordinary hypnosis CD! It starts off sounding a bit like the intro to the old rock song, Spirit in the Sky. Then Glen Harrold's incredible voice starts to do its magic, assuring you that you are in control of your life, that you are responsible for your destiny, that mistakes are opportunities to learn lessons, that you have so much potential. There are neat sound effects, in which his voice seems to be to your right, your left, behind you a few feet... I could listen to him all day, with that smoky British accent!

If the love of your life happens to be a child, you might want to give her or him the 20th Anniversary Edition of The Velveteen Rabbit (Dancing Cat Productions/RCA Victor Group). This CD features narration by Meryl Streep and music by pianist George Winston, and it has won a Grammy nomination for Best Recording for Children as well as a Parents' Choice Award. It was awarded Best Selling Children's Album by the National Association of Record Manufacturers. There is one set of music with narration and another that is just music, and this enhanced CD also includes printable sheet music for the song The Velveteen Rabbit. Margery Williams wrote The Velveteen Rabbit in 1922 and it has been a children's classic for many generations. Streep's voice captures the quality of a mother reading to her child, and George Winston's piano accompaniment is sweet and tender.

Esoteric Studies

One day at lunch, Caroline Lusky and Jean Adrienne were raving about Manly Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Tarcher/ Penguin). When I returned to the office, I opened the mail, and in one of those magickal moments of synchronicity, in one package was the very book they'd extolled! 'Well, I guess I'd better pay attention to this one,' I mused as I started to flip through the book. This is a massive paperback, as thick as a phone book, and crammed to the gills with esoteric information that answers the questions of generations of metaphysical students. Originally published by The Philosophical Research Society in 1928, Hall's book is subtitled: an Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolic Philosophy. It is an exploration of the secret teachings hidden in rituals and mysteries throughout the ages. The color illustrations and line art are thought-provoking and fascinating. If you hunger for more answers than contemporary books afford, The Secret Teachings of All Ages is a treasure trove!

Before You Cast A Spell: Understanding the Power of Magic (New Page Books), by Carl McColman, is NOT another Wicca 101 book full of cute little spells for success and love. Instead, it is a serious examination of magical ethics. This thought-provoking guide will help you examine your motives, determine if you are truly prepared for magic and its consequences, and discover the real heart of magic – spirituality. You'll learn what magic is, where it comes from and what it can and can't do. You'll understand the spiritual laws and concepts behind it and build the confidence to create your own spells, making magic an everyday part of your life.

Exploring Shamanism: Using Ancient Rites to Discover the Unlimited Healing Powers of Cosmos and Consciousness (New Page Books), by Hillary S. Webb, is an indepth exploration of shamanism, its philosophy, and methods. This book demonstrates very effectively that the shamanic worldview and the scienific worldview are converging and that shamanism is a workable practice even in our hectic society. It will help you - or your significant other - learn to work with beneficent spirits, feel a deeper connection to the earth and all that is, and expand your consciousness. This is one of the best books on shamanism I've ever read, and it is sure to influence future books on the subject.

Fitness and Health

Abs on the Ball: A Pilates Approach to Building Superb Abdominals (Healing Arts Press), by Colleen Craig, teaches how to use Pilates exercises with an exercise ball. With more than 250 photographs, the book offers 15 and 30 minute workouts for all ability levels. The workouts not only help build your abdominal muscles, they also help with low back pain and increase overall strength and balance. With a back injury, I have been a bit skittish of using my exercise ball, but these photographs and explanations show the right way to do the exercises safely, whether you're using the small or large exercise balls. Now, I have no excuse not to use that ball!

The Pilates Deck (Chronicle Books), by Shirley Archer, is a boxed set of cards with 50 exercises to strengthen, lengthen, and tone your muscles. Each card features an illustration of an exercise or stretch on the front and a verbal description on the back. You choose the cards to plan your workout as you please. The cards are printed on heavy card stock and are tough enough to last for years. The line drawings of exercises are very clear and easy to follow.

And if Yoga is more your thing, try The Yoga Deck II, by Olivia H. Miller (Chronicle Books). If you're in a hurry, you can choose just one card and do that pose, or you can choose several to create your own workout. You can throw the deck in your bag and carry it anywhere – office, home, beach, whatever – and put together your workout wherever you are. This deck also includes 50 exercise cards, and both have an introductory booklet included.

If your sweetie is a bit more on the exotic side, she might prefer to get her exercise with Bellydance: Fitness for Weight Loss – Cardio Shimmy, featuring Rania (Natural Journeys). This Dolby Digital DVD has interactive motion menus, chapter selections, a workout to music without narration, a photo gallery, two bonus performances and one bonus workout, the narrated workout, and bonus trailers from nine bellydance DVDs. Bellydance is one of the most fun forms of exercise I've found, and I know you'll enjoy Bellydance: Fitness for Weight Loss.

Personal Development

Beloved New Age author, Denise Linn, has presented us with her latest book, Soul Coaching: 28 Days to Discover Your Authentic Self (Hay House Publishing). This delightful book takes you through four weeks of entertaining, fun, and enlightening exercises to nourish and expand your soul life. Learn more about your values, how clutter clearing can open new possibilities in your life, how important it is to keep commitments to yourself, how to create a soul mission statement and a soul collage, how to change your personal history, how to release victim thinking and build more positive relationships. Each week focuses on either earth, air, fire, or water, and the plan is so much fun that you hardly notice all the good work you've done until you realize what profound changes are taking place in your life.

Positive Energy, by Dr. Judith Orloff, is subtitled “10 Extraordinary Prescriptions for Transforming Fatigue, Stress & Fear Into Vibrance, Strength & Love.” And if that isn't something most women long for, I don't know what is! Positive Energy explains why we are always so tired, and how we can feel better, how to develop intuition, find a nurturing spiritual path, open yourself to creativity, attract positive people into your life, create abundance, and more. This is a powerful book!

Life Style

If your lover is the impatient type, or just too busy to invest a lot of time reading, the 5 Minute series may be just the thing. Titles in this series include 5 Minute Smoothies, 5 Minute Feng Shui, and 5 Minute Massage. These little boxed sets contain a little, full-color booklet and tiny tools that go with the subject matter. Smoothies comes with two straws, twizzle sticks and a zester, and the booklet has recipes for smoothies. Feng Shui comes with a tiny wind chime and the booklet offers tips for getting your living space together, and Massage comes with two tiny vials of massage oil and tips on massaging your sweetie to bliss. These kits would be great in gift baskets with other related items. They make cute introductions to the subjects and who knows? You might have enough fun to want to investigate further.

So there you have it! There are plenty of gift ideas here to suit any lover. Now, don't wait until the last minute and don't forget the roses! Have fun!