Author Archives: Dana Taylor

Jun 11 2015

A Spiritual Himalayan Adventure

Book Review by Dana Taylor

Into The Land of Snows by Ellis Nelson

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This YA novel centers on sixteen-year-old Blake, a typical American kid dealing with his parents’ recent divorce with minor rebellion and simmering resentment. His Dad, a doctor and adventurer, has just landed an assignment working as a physician at the base camp on Mt. Everest. When Blake’s Mom declares him out of control, Blake finds himself dispatched to spend the summer with Dad in the Himalayas. Blake’s hopes of finally having time with his Dad are soon dashed when an avalanche makes the area too dangerous for Blake to remain. Instead, he finds himself on a cross country journey with a wise Sherpa named Ang, destination Katmandu. Soon Blake finds himself a stranger in a strange land of monks, yetis, mountain animals, and blizzards. All his concepts of reality and illusion are challenged with each step on the twisting paths.

Ellis Nelson weaves a well-crafted coming-of-age tale, making the cultures and mountainous setting come alive in the reader’s mind. Recommended for the YA audience and beyond.

 

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Ellis Nelson

Ellis Nelson has served as an Air Force officer, government contractor, and teacher.  She has had an interest in Buddhism since childhood.  Currently, she lives in Colorado Springs, CO with her husband. 

From the author: How This Book Came Into the World

Several years ago I had a particularly bad year. My father died, my son was hospitalized, and I came face to face with my own health crisis. All in one year. My illness effectively took me out of the world and focused my attention inward. I returned to basics and found my interest in Buddhism waiting for me. Silent, I think, since at least my teenage years.

I began taking classes offered in faraway Dharamsala, India.  Thanks to the internet, I was able to study with a master who had fled Chinese-occupied Tibet to follow His Holiness, the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959. Listening to Geshe Sonam Rinchen’s patient lectures aided my understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. That along with my friendship with a young monk in India helped me to process and write, Into the Land of Snows.   The novel explores many of the themes I was exposed to as I learned Eastern concepts.

The process of the inward journey continues for me. Living in the material world is not easy. I know the majority of readers will read the book as an adventure in a foreign land, but I hope the book finds a few fellow spiritual travelers.

Visit EllisNelson.com

BUY FROM B&N      BUY FROM AMAZON

Jun 10 2015

The World According to Kryon

Lee Carroll

Lee Carroll

Danaheadshot book reviews by Dana Taylor

My Kryon education continues. Since I moved to Hawaii in February, I’ve had a lot of me time. As synchronicity would have it, I discovered the wealth of Kryon free audios at Kryon.com. Kryon is a nonphysical  angelic teacher who has been channeling through Lee Carroll for over twenty-five years. As I’ve walked the Manoa Valley streets or sat on my lanai gazing at the rainforest hills, Kryon has been my otherworldly companion, thanks to the magic of iPhones.

Grasping the messages of cosmic creation, physics, human development, spirituality and beyond is fascinating and challenging. Over the years, Carroll has written 13 books compiling the messages into cohesive order to help us mere humans make sense out of it all. Now, with Carroll’s blessing and Kryon’s collaboration, Australian author Monika Muranyi has researched the Kryon messages and woven two books together, The Gaia Effect and The Human Akash.

The Gaia Effect: The Remarkable System of Collaboration between Gaia and Humanity

619k+VSKhUL._SL1358_This book is making me look at earth and nature in a whole new light. Gaia is the term for a spiritual intelligence of the planet earth. Kryon paints a picture of the earth as part of the cosmos, connected by other galactic intelligence. Our sense of history is minuscule compared to the viewpoint of an ageless nonphysical being. He speaks of a sacred design of the earth and its human inhabitants, nurtured by spiritual forces. He invites us to rediscover the wisdom of indigenous people who sensed the intelligence embedded in the natural world.

Several civilizations have risen and fallen over the course of time beyond any modern comprehension. With the dawn of the nuclear age, humans came close to obliterating our current civilization. Kryon’s hopeful message is that we passed a major marker in 2012. We did not destroy ourselves. We are awakening into the New Age. Gaia is shifting and changing with us.

If you’re ready to have your paradigms shifted and everything you considered “truth” challenged, pick up a copy of The Gaia Effect and read about the world according to Kryon.

71eLySNp-XL._SL1494_-2The Human Akash: A Discovery of the Blue Print Within

The Akashic Records have gained attention in recent years. Coming from the Sanskrit, Akash or Akasha refers to space and the essence of all things in the material world. Edgar Cayce referred to the Akashic Records in his health readings in the first half of the 20th century, sparking interest in metaphysical thinkers. Akashic Records readers have sprung up, many trained on the teachings of Ernesto Ortiz, Linda Howe, and the leaders of the Akashic Records Consultants International (ARCI).

Everyone supposedly has an Akashic Record including every lifetime lived on the planet and perhaps  beyond. But where are these records? What exactly is the Akashic Field?

Monika Muryani combed through the voluminous collection of Kryon messages, ferreting out references to the Akash. What light can Kryon shed on the mysterious subject?

Indeed, Kryon provides detailed information defining the whole Akashic system that involves the earth and everyone who has ever dwelled here. In The Human Akash you’ll read about the Cave of Creation, the Crystalline Grid and many fantastical new concepts. The core idea is the notion that our DNA stores Akashic information, hence the subtitle referring to the “Blue Print Within.” Much of “junk” DNA is tied to our Akash, plus we each have energetic DNA entangled in our energy body that can’t be seen by the human eye under a microscope. The Akashic Field entangles individuals, the earth, and the cosmos together.

Much of what makes us unique is DNA Akashic information from countless lifetimes. Kryon talks a lot about “mining your Akash,” finding all the talents and strengths from previous incarnations to enhance the current one. That’s an intriguing idea.

The Akashic DNA also explains the extraordinary children being born on the planet. As we enter the new cosmos age, the DNA is changing. Children will “remember” more of their past lives and tap into talents. They will develop and learn faster partly because they will access their Akashic information in an unprecedented manner.

The Human Akash will challenge your understanding of how the world works.

Ultimately, Kryon is an encourager. He knows “old souls” have been through a lot of struggle. They have their doubts that humankind will ever quit repeating a pattern of war and global destruction. Kryon says we’re on a new path, creating a better world than we can even imagine.

I hope he is right. At any rate, the books and audio messages are food for thought..and hope for the future.

And so it is.

 

 

 

Jun 6 2015

Sensational, Spiritual Sex

Danaheadshot by Dana Taylor
“When I make love, I’m giving myself to that person body and spirit. I absorb a part of him and he takes away a part of me. If I had sex with a lot of different people, it would be like losing pieces of myself that I can’t ever get back. If I’m making love with the same person over and over, then we’re becoming closer and closer, becoming spiritually and emotionally bonded.” Persephone Jones, Ain’t Love Grand?
Interestingly, that’s the most highlighted paragraph by readers of my first novel, Ain’t Love Grand? Our entertainment industry and media circus blasts us with the sexual sell. Lots of beautiful bodies rubbing against each other. Our headlines are filled with the dark side of sex–sexual abuse, pornography, pedophiles, disgraced clergy and politicians, the list goes on and on. Everyone is lookin’ for love in all the wrong places, as the song goes.
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Despite all the hoopla, our Puritanical roots run deep. My daughter recently surprised me with a comment. She noted that in a Bible study class of the large midwestern church she attends, she was the only person in the room who said her mother talked to her openly and positively about sex from an early age.
Of course, I started my book writing career spinning out romantic novels. I’m definitely pro-sex. Mainly I’m pro-love.  Sexual connection is so much more than a body slam and exchange of fluids. So much more than a necessary act for procreation.
Sex is a quantum activity. A mind/body/spirit connection.
Taking it to the emotional level of making love, sex creates energetic bonds unlimited by time and space. Currently a YouTube video is making the rounds showing the emotional impact of 30 year old love affair, long over but obviously not forgotten. The fact that this one moment captured on film resonates with millions of people, illustrates the deep, timeless bonds of love and sex.

There’s nothing casual about sex.
Having meaningless, multiple encounters is simply giving sections of yourself away, never to be whole again. A part of you drifts off attached to a stranger. You become a jigsaw  puzzle with missing pieces. Sex shouldn’t be commodity, something to barter, although historically often women haven’t had anything else to sell. Prostitution isn’t called the oldest profession for nothing. It’s also part of the old energy.
We should be teaching our children the joy of love and sex. Appropriate behavior should be discussed early and openly. Take a look at how children in The Netherlands are taught:
Sex and Spirituality
Deepak Chopra wrote an article listing 12 Insights into Sex and Spirituality. My personal favorites:
  • Bliss, carefreeness and playfulness are the essence of sex.
  • Sexual energy is the primal and creative energy of the universe. All things that are alive come from sexual energy. In animals and other life forms, sexual energy expresses itself as biological creativity. In humans, sexual energy can be creative at all levels — physical, emotional and spiritual. In any situation — where we feel attraction, arousal, awakening, alertness, passion, interest, inspiration, excitement, creativity, enthusiasm — in each of these situations, sexual energy is at work. Whenever we feel these states of awareness, we must put our attention on the energy that we are experiencing, nourishing it with our attention, experiencing it with joy and keeping it alive in our awareness.
  • Meaningful sex has to be value based. Values are personal. Each situation that has sexual energy in it, involves the whole human being and their entire value system. My values may be different from yours, and I have no right to be the moral judge of anyone’s values. It is important, however, to have core values, and respect them. Without values, we become spiritually bankrupt. Sexual experience will never cause problems and will always be joyful, if lovers share the same values.
  • True intimacy is union between flesh and flesh, between subtle body and subtle body, between soul and soul. Sexual energy is sacred energy. When we have restored the sexual experience to the realm of the sacred, our world will be chaste and divine, holy and healed.
As our world view shifts and we come to understand that everything is energy, we need to explore basic sexual energy, its power, beauty, and strength. Great sex is a spiritual experience. Auric fields overlap, energy explodes and bonds. The colors behind your eyes reflect the very real spectrum of  colliding auric lights, lover to lover. Quantum fireworks.
Definitely part of the Supernal Adventure!
Wishing you beautiful lovers,
Dana Taylor
Visit my Books and Bio Page
*****
 Opposites attract: The Healer & the Lawyer
Winner “Best First Book”–Golden Quill Awards
 Ain’t Love Grand?
Amazon,  Amazon UK, 
May 31 2015

The Best of the Blogosphere This Week

My interview with Ellis Nelson made the cut. Thanks, Richard the Third!

Rich Wilkins's avatarRichard the Third

10439379_10152800158117536_4066483237410852699_n If you wanna buy one of these, contact me.

Now that the “blogs i’m following” section of this page is pretty lively, I wanted to take some time to highlight some of the best stuff on other people’s pages. Here we go:

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May 29 2015

Authentic Beauty Revealed by Chris Scott

Today, I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 4 of Chris Scott’s Virtual Blog Tour. Chris’ book Face With a Heart: Mastering Authentic Beauty MakeUp is celebrating its big Amazon launch on June 2nd, 2015.

CHRIS SCOTT, M.A. is the creator of San Francisco-based Makeup Gourmet®. Over his nearly 30-year career, in addition to doing makeup for top models from every corner of the planet, he has also had the honor of working for legends like Paul McCartney, US Vice President Al Gore, Shirley Temple Black, Maya Angelou and Olympic Gold medalists Oksana Baiul and Kristi Yamaguchi. He was the creator and host of the TV show Makeup Gourmet from 2008 to 2010, he was a leading Chanel Beauté national artist for over two decades, and is also the creator and guest teacher of Fashion Makeup at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He created his unique Makeup Gourmet line to ensure his clients and the public have access to high-quality, ethically produced, ‘green’ makeup and skincare with a low-carbon footprint. Chris is also the author of the wonderfully visual ‘how to’ book Face with a Heart: Mastering Authentic Beauty Makeup (2014), as well as Cosmetic Counter Survival Guide: How to Buy the Right Skin Care and Makeup (2003). 

Yesterday, Chris visited Callie Carling at http://bit.ly/1Jv46Zf where they talked about how light affects the way we look, and regaining confidence through authentic beauty.

Today, I’d like to share a recent interview I had with Chris when I got to ask him some questions on authentic beauty for the older generation, and the keys to maintaining healthy skin as we age.

*** INTERVIEW ***

Dana: When you are discussing “authentic beauty,” what do you really mean by that phrase?

CHRIS:  This was a very difficult word to land on.  I wrestled with many words to capture what I wanted to convey.  My authentic beauty method came from a reaction of seeing makeup being way overused. Unless you want someone to notice your makeup first (which is easy), I have made it my makeup mission to create a method so that we are seen more clearly. Authentic beauty is people seeing us for exactly who we are.

Dana:  I’ve noticed that many of my 60ish friends are simply giving up using makeup. The faces and colors we thought of as “us” are no longer there. What suggestions do you have for women who are heading into their greying years for revealing their authentic beauty?

CHRIS:  Color intensity is a major part of my authentic beauty equation. I look at color first from lightness to darkness, then at the hue. There are two factors I consider when choosing color.

  1. Your natural color intensity meaning the lightness to darkness of your skin, hair and eye (iris) color.
  2. I then look at wardrobe and accessories for color intensity as well as hue.

I incorporate the two together to create a cohesive connection between you, your wardrobe and your makeup. I don’t use more or less makeup to create a natural to dramatic look; I only change the intensity of the color I am using in contrast with your natural color intensity and your wardrobe. Sounds a little confusing I know. Once you read Face with a Heart and watch my companion video tutorials, it becomes abundantly clear. The best part is that this approach removes all guesswork and replaces it with clear, dynamic decisions.

Dana:  Charles Revson is quoted as saying he sold “hope in a bottle.” I’ve purchased a lot of “hope” through the years! If you could name the most vital key to maintaining healthy skin as we age, what would it be?

CHRIS:  Exfoliation! Regardless of age, our skin has a 30-day life cycle from skin cell birth until each skin cell leaves us forever. Gently massaging away the surface dead skin cells (exfoliation) sends a message and makes way for new skin cells to be born. The healthiest climate you can provide for your skin cells to flourish in its 30-day cycle from life to departure makes the skin cell look its best when it finally makes it appearance at the surface of your skin. This includes hydration (moisturizer), sun protection (applied last before makeup) and anti-oxidants (more the better). 

I gave my sister a bottle of my Age Defying Serum and she asked if it will make her look younger. I pondered her query and thought, “What does young skin look like?”  Young skin is an abundance of fresh healthy round skin cells full of water and light at the surface of the skin. It made me happy to say, “Yes!” Healthy skin is like a healthy garden. Daily care produces the healthiest results.

*** END OF INTERVIEW ***

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Chris Scott and that you’ll check out his book Face With a Heart: Mastering Authentic Beauty Make-Up during his big Amazon launch on June 2nd.  When you buy the book during the launch, you’ll receive dozens of free gifts from Chris, and his friends and colleagues. You can CLICK HERE to find out more about the book and these free gifts.

One of the gifts when you buy the book is the MP3 downloads to Chris’ 3-Day Telesummit ‘The Keys to Feeling Authentically Beautiful’, with fabulous panel of 11 internationally renowned image experts.

To receive a reminder to buy this book on launch day
so you can get all the authentic beauty bonus gifts, go to
http://makeupgourmet.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.php

*** BE SURE TO FOLLOW CHRIS ON HIS BLOG TOUR ***

If you’d like to catch more of Chris’ Virtual Blog tour, ‘visit’ him at these dates and places:

WEDNESDAY MAY 27th:  Andrew Mondia’s Pear-Shaped View Blog at http://bit.ly/1Go22vZ where they will talk about how beauty is for everyone, inner beauty, and seeing yourself through the eyes of others.

THURSDAY MAY 28th: Tina Games’ Moonlight Musings blog at http://bit.ly/1nJGkuY where they will talk about authentic beauty, believing you are beautiful, and the difference between ‘classic’ and ‘authentic’ beauty makeup.

FRIDAY MAY 29th: Callie Carling’s Cancer Goddess blog at http://bit.ly/1Jv46Zf  where they will talk about how light affects the way we look, and regaining confidence through authentic beauty.

SATURDAY MAY 30TH:  Dana Taylor’s Supernal Living blog at http://wp.me/p1yTXR-AL where they will discuss authentic beauty for the older generation, and the keys to maintaining healthy skin as we age.

SUNDAY MAY 31ST: Michelle Galatoire’s Nourish and Bloom blog at http://bit.ly/1DBQWCI where they will talk about being seen authentically in public, and how to see ourselves the way other people see us.

MONDAY JUNE 1ST: Mali Apple’s and Joe Dunn’s The Soulmate Experience at http://bit.ly/1JJYsPI where they will talk about tapping into our own beauty, and why authentic beauty is unrelated to our age.

TUESDAY JUNE 2nd: Lynn Serafinn’s Spirit Authors blog at http://wp.me/p3cvXN-Tf where they’ll be talking about how to choose visual images for a full-colour book, working with a photographer, and how ‘crossover’ authors can communicate their message to their audience.

Thanks for reading! Please share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.

May 28 2015

INTERVIEW WITH DANA TAYLOR- author & healer

Many thanks to the gracious Ellis Nelson for the interview posted on her website.

ellisnelson's avatarellisnelson

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I met Dana through the Visionary Fiction Alliance and recently enjoyed reading her book, Ever-Flowing Streams: Tapping intoHealing Energy. She is an award winning author and healer. Her book describes her journey as a healer in the Christian tradition and how she eventually became a Reiki practitioner. Although I will focus on her non-fiction book, Dana also has several novels available. Today I welcome her to talk about her work and life experience.

Thank you, Ellis, for inviting me to chat today. These days my life involves writing, healing, and enjoying what I call the Supernal Adventure as we’ve entered this amazing post-2012 cosmic era.

Tapping400

 Do you see healing as a calling or can anyone train to become a healer?

Both. Some people incarnate with a life mission primarily geared toward healing in some capacity. However, learning to channel healing energy is something everyone can learn. As…

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