Colt O’Brien Sees the Light, by George Matthew Cole, is an engaging book suited to mature teens and adults.

The story is well-written, with passages like, “Colt O’Brien flashed down the main hall of Highline High School.  The five-foot, four-inch senior was dressed to garner attention.”

I like that use of words.  It doesn’t stop at a fifth-grade vocabulary, as many teen books do.  The author respects his readers, and correctly estimates their intelligence.

The story line also escapes the frequent folly of  many”young adult” authors: It doesn’t talk down to the reader.

The book’s description is accurate:

Colt O’Brien doesn’t think that he has to prove anything. He is the most savvy computer technician at Highline High in Burien, Washington. When a PC needs fixing, Colt is called in to save the day. The short, energetic senior, with his bright, colorful attire and cocky attitude, knows that he is the best. He expects the respect that is showered upon him by peers and teachers. School will soon be over and freedom beckons. No more girl friend to tell him what to do. No more schoolwork to bore him to death.

Colt is cruising through senior year, but his life is about to be turned upside down.

Two freshman nerds start a computer class that will put Highline High on the map and challenge Colt’s credibility. Three women will show him the meaning of love. One will show him the meaning of hate. And, his hidden psychic powers will emerge when he least expects them to.

Hang on, Colt.

One of the most important issues this book tackles is the challenge to discover one’s own identity.  The story shows the impact of others’ attitudes and expectations, and the importance of finding a strong sense of self in a challenging world.

It also portrays the effects of adults’ standards, sometimes from a place of low self-esteem.

Many of today’s parents had no one at home to show them effective parenting; they were part of that generation where moms had recently started full-time jobs, and the community wasn’t ready to fill in the role model gaps.

The proverbial “village” hadn’t come into its own voice, yet.  In this book, the support systems are evolving, but many of the adults seem in an awkward, colt-ish phase (no pun intended) when they deal with teens.

I think Colt, his friends and his schoolmates are representative of many of today’s teens.  Even better, Cole — the book’s author — has written his characters very well.  Instead of littering the story with two-dimensional stereotypes, each of the main characters has a clear backstory.  These kids and adults seem very real.

Though their flaws and features are timeless, they’re written in an up-to-date context with a raw honesty that teen readers will appreciate.

What makes this book especially intriguing — and worth mentioning to fans of New Age literature — is the added ingredient of Colt’s psychic awareness.  It’s one thing to escape narcissistic external cues and find one’s inner confidence.

It’s quite another to accomplish that while also discovering the inner/outer voice of psychic gifts.

The book includes themes related to sexuality.  For many teens, there will be nothing “shocking” in this novel.

However, for those with sheltered upbringings — and especially their parents who are oblivious to the gritty, honest conversations in most high schools — some plot elements may seem too frank for an average teen.

Though armchair editors may spot a few technical errors in the writing, this is one of those rare books that wasn’t over-written or over-edited.  I’d rather read a book like this,  that could have more paragraph breaks, but has also retained the fresh voice of an energetic, interesting writer.

That’s what this book delivers.

I recommend Colt O’Brien Sees the Light for mature teens, and adults who’d like better insights into what’s really going on with today’s high school students.

It’s a good, engaging read.

In addition, George Matthew Cole is an author to note. One doesn’t have to be psychic to predict a great future for his books, and the movies likely to be made from them.

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Audio guided meditations can be convenient and reliable ways to relax, remove mental barriers, and clearly visualize your goals.

Whether you download guided meditations or purchase them on CD, audio guided meditations are easy to use.  Using any audio player, you’ll sit or rest comfortably, close your eyes, and follow the clear and simple directions for a healing journey of the mind, body and spirit.

These are ideal for breaks from your workday, or when you return home after a long day.  Any time you need to pause and re-center, guided meditations can help.

For more information about meditation audios in general, see our article, Audio Guided Meditations.

PRODUCTS

Meditations 2GO are among the best meditation audios in the field.  I highly recommend them.  Though I have the CDs — and they’re impressive — you can download Meditations 2GO‘s guided meditations online.  Their prices are also about half what I usually pay for downloads of equal or lesser quality.

Higher quality meditations

So far, I have listened to the first CD, which includes Restoring Balance and Clarity, and Releasing Emotional Tension.

From the start, I was impressed by the voice of the person speaking throughout these guided meditations.  He sounds like the kind of person everyone knows and likes… the guy with the great, relaxing voice that’s just cheerful enough to put you at ease.

In other words, he’s not Mr. Happy-happy-happy, driving you up the wall with boisterous energy when you just want to unwind.

I like that.

I also like the ease of these guided meditations.  I’ve listened to meditation audios (from other companies) that left me puzzled, and I’ve even hit “rewind” to figure out the next steps in the journey.

Every step in these Meditations 2GO audio guided meditations is clear, simple, and enjoyable.  In fact, the first time I listened to Restoring Balance and Clarity, I dozed off.  (I woke up about 20 minutes later, feeling as if I’d had a full night’s sleep.)

Restoring Balance and Clarity

Restoring Balance and Clarity takes you on a relaxing journey, about 26 minutes long, and it effortlessly brings you back to center.   If you’re mentally, emotionally, or spiritually exhausted by the rush-rush world around you and conflicting messages (and demands) from a variety of sources, this is the audio guided meditation you need.

As the CD description says, “Using the rich, balanced energy of the earth, you’re re-established and reinforce your true, peaceful rhythms and natural pace.”

You connect with Nature.  You draw your energies back to yourself, untangle yourself from the confusions and artifice of the outside world, and find renewal within that centered place in your soul.

As the name of this meditation says, you’ll restore balance and clarity to your day.

Listen to a sample from Restoring Balance and Clarity

Releasing Emotional Tension

In Releasing Emotional Tension — a meditation lasting about 27 minutes — you methodically let go of tension in your mind and body.  The process is simple and very self-empowering.

In addition, this meditation helps you locate and release the “inner voices” that trigger stress… the self-blame, shame, fear, and regrets that often undermine our confidence.  With those chains released, you can find the peace of mind you seek, and heal yourself at a deep and profound level.

This audio guided meditation is generic enough for any situation that’s making you tense.  However, it also speaks to your soul and helps you release the burdens that have been weighing you down.

Listen to a sample from Releasing Emotional Tension

I’m looking forward to listening to the other audio guided meditations in this series.  I’ll review them as I do.

However, from these first two audios, I can confidently recommend Meditations 2GO.  At their website, you can purchase their CDs or download guided meditations immediately.

– reviewed by Sarah Skye

Photo credits: Meditation graphics (c) Meditations 2GO

Audio guided meditations are recorded meditations — usually spoken words with a background of music and/or nature sounds — that take you on a virtual journey that helps you achieve one or more specific mental, emotional, spiritual or physical goals.

They can help you relax or they can energize you.  You may find a sense of well-being or even physical healing, after repeatedly listening to audio guided meditations created for that purpose.

Some audio guided meditations have clear spoken tracks; others have subliminal tracks that bypass harmful and limiting conscious barriers.

Most audio guided meditations last at least five minutes but no longer than an hour.  Most are about 15 – 30 minutes long.

At this website, we review meditation audios, as well as other kinds of self-help audios.  The following summaries are based on three individuals’ experiences with each product line.

In general, we recommend the following:

Non-Subliminal recordings

Meditations 2GO (www.Meditations2GO.com) – CDs and instant downloads, affordably priced.  Good quality, and easy to listen to.

Reviewed here:

• Restoring Balance and Clarity – Helps you get centered and recover your sense of confidence and clarity in any situation.
• Releasing Emotional Tension – Methodically release the emotional tension that holds you back and keeps you down.  Ideal for mid-day breaks, and when you simply need a “time out” from everyday stress.

BrainSync offers both subliminal meditation audios and non-subliminal guided audio meditations.  We’ve tried both and recommend many of them.  We’ll review some of their non-subliminal tracks at a later date.

Subliminal recordings

Subliminal recordings generally include music and/or nature sounds, and a spoken track that is just slightly below your conscious awareness.  There may also be a clear spoken track, guiding you through a conscious meditation.

Some of these recordings also make use of “binaural beats” to help you achieve optimum meditation levels to accelerate your progress.

Binaural beats and brain entrainment

Binaural beats are to hearing what stereoscopes and 3-D movies are to video.  Binaural beats give the recording extra depth, and — using a slightly different frequency in each earpiece of your headphones — helps your brain “tune in” to the appropriate meditation level for your goals.

BrainSync is one of the top brainwave therapy companies, offering subliminal and non-subliminal recordings.

• Sound Healing is one of our favorites, whether you’re coping with an injury, a headache, a medical procedure, or simple stress.  It’s ideal for use when you want to fall asleep and wake refreshed.  It contains subliminal messages ideal for helping you heal mind and body.
• The Secret Universal Mind Meditation‘s spoken messages did not fit our spirituality, but the meditation seems to work anyway.  If you believe in “The Secret,” you may be astonished by the results of listening to this meditation.  We were, and we continue listening to it regularly, a year after purchasing it.

Immrama offers remarkable CDs — featuring different background sounds –  called Insight.  (We tested the gentle rain version, but the ocean one is equally pleasant to listen to.)  We still use this product regularly, and often prefer it over higher-priced brain “entrainment” products.  In 30 minutes, you can accomplish as much as you might with other programs that require a full hour, daily.  We listen to it at least once a week, and — after more than two years — still feel that we’re achieving excellent results with it.

Holosync is one of the largest companies in the brain entrainment field.  While we could ignore the voice in the free sample, we were truly delighted with Holosync’s “Level 0″ product, Prologue. It seemed to make a real difference in how we — all of us — felt about the world, and that optimism affected positive outcomes in our lives.

However, their Level 1 product — far more expensive — seemed less fun. It definitely seemed to contribute to dramatic changes in our lives, and none of us had the same cheerful optimism after listening to it daily.

Though we’ve heard favorable reviews from others, we’ve also heard from people who listened just once or twice and quit immediately.

We’re somewhere between those two extremes:  We didn’t stay with Level 1, but we’ve gone back to Prologue from time to time (with a pleasant result), and — now and then — listen to Level 1.

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2011 update: Our staff have tried some of Steve Aitchison’s binaural recordings.  So far, we like them and they seem to compare favorably with Holosync’s more expensive program.

See our detailed reviews of Mr. Aitchison’s recordings — including Energy Blast – Binaural Beats — in other articles at this website.

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Generally, the audio guided meditations — and self-help audios — you choose will depend on your goals and your philosophies.  Some people believe that any path is the right one if it gets you where you want to be.  Others disagree heartily with subliminal recordings and/0r binaural beats.

Our staff come from a variety of viewpoints, and our individual reviews reflect them.

In general, we like professionally made self-help audios.  (Watch out for recordings by amateurs.  Unless they know what they’re doing, they can produce unintended results.)

We also think that audio guided meditations can be very helpful when they’re high quality and used responsibly, with a clear understanding of what you’re using and how to get the most from it.

Photo credit: http://www.elitestockphotography.net

StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Tom Rath, is an unusual book.

When you buy the book, you’re actually buying the slip of paper hidden in the sealed packet at the back of the book.

The text of the book repeats what you’ll see at the Strengths Finder website… after you use the secret code to take the test and find your top five strengths.

Initially, I was disappointed.  The test had several of the usual questions where I say, “Well, this is getting down to semantics.  Both answers mean pretty much the same thing.”

That frustrates me.

Likewise, when I received my list of strengths, most of them were ho-hum. I already knew that I’m someone who starts cool projects and generates fresh, innovative ideas.  In Strengths Finder terms, I’m an Activator.

I also knew that I’m relatively empathic, intellectual (hello, I’m in Mensa), and a futurist, always looking ahead.

I didn’t need a book and an online test to tell me that.

However, my second-highest strength is Strategic. I’m good at estimating outcomes, and planning the best routes to get past or around potential obstacles.  I’m the person who tells others the shortest route from Point A to Point B.

And, too often, I get caught up in the impetus of my own Activator ideas, and don’t give myself permission to pause and adjust my strategies for discoveries (good and not-so-good) along the path.

That discovery was worth the price of the book, and a lot more.

I hate to say that I needed to give myself permission to pause and make better plans… but I think I did.

Seeing that this is my second most-important strength, well, that gave me an entirely fresh way of looking at how I organize (or don’t organize) my own projects and my time.

(I’m good at telling others how to be better organized.  However, unless I’m just this side of “meltdown mode,” I tend to be less scrupulous about my own planning and organizing.)

After taking the test and learning from this book, I realized how much time, energy & other resources I’m wasting by not planning as much as I could.

I’ve been relying on my intellect, empathic (“gut feeling”) ideas, and expected outcomes, instead.  They’re good, but not as good as my second-best strength: Viewing my goals and projects strategically, from exactly where I am at that point, and planning accordingly.

For the record: My strengths are Activator, Strategic, Intellection, Empathy, Futurist, in that order.

So, although my initial reaction wasn’t enthusiastic, I’m now a major cheerleader for this book.  I rarely rate any book over four stars, but this one gets a 4.5.  It earned it, for helping me reorganize my priorities and give my real strengths — all of them — a chance to shine.

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