In the midst of holiday madness, we here at North Atlantic Books would like to invite you to take a deep breath. Inhale. Feel your abdomen rise and your lungs expand to their full capacity. Slowly exhale, letting first your chest and then your abdomen draw inward. Repeat as necessary. Ahh.
Stressful or relaxing, the holidays are what you make of them. We think they’re the perfect time to indulge the mind, body, and spirit — both yours and those of the people you love. But instead of candy canes, how about some raw cacao truffles bursting with anti-oxidants? Instead of a Rudolph sweater, how about some inner peace?
We think everyone on your gift list will benefit from a little peace, joy, and wonder. With that in mind, we’re pleased to introduce some of our newest books.
Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as a delicious, guilt-free dessert. In fact, there are over 50 of them in our new dessert cookbook Sweet Gratitude. From pear-ginger cheesecake to macadamia butter truffles, these confections by the dessert chefs at Café Gratitude are raw, vegan, and free of refined sugar, preservatives, and gluten — and so delectable that no one would ever suspect that they were good for you. Check out the recipe for raw cacao fudge!
For the more artistically inclined (not to say that food, especially raw vegan desserts, can’t be art), we bring you The Unknown Hieronymus Bosch. Considered a forerunner of surrealism, Bosch was a renaissance painter whose idiosyncratic work is a blend of phantasmagoria, metaphysics, and religion. Filled with insightful commentary and glossy, full color prints, Kurt Falk’s book offers a contemplative, spiritual path into the enigmatic world of Hieronymus Bosch.
And for the modern art lover, there is renowned artist Alex Grey’s Art Psalms. Delving into the link between art and spiritual growth, Grey (whose art you may recognize from Nirvana and Beastie Boys album covers) presents his exuberant, expressive artwork with poems and writings that fuse profane with divine, creative with spiritual.
While there may be no place like home, there’s also no place like Damanhur, an eco-society in northern Italy committed to its ideals of art, sustainability, and the sacredness of the individual. In this oversized coffee table book brimming with full color photographs, Damanhur and its awe-inspiring subterranean Temples to Humankind –sometimes called the modern Atlantis — spring to life. Avoid the hassles of lost luggage and delayed flights this winter: see the wonders of Damanhur from your very own armchair!
And finally, in honor of the season, we present Creating Peace by Being Peace by Gabriel Cousens. Peace bumper stickers and dove-themed cards are all very well, but real peace begins deep within ourselves. Spiritual teacher Dr. Cousens synthesizes decades of his work and philosophy into a Sevenfold Path towards attaining peace with your body, mind, family, community, culture, environment, and divinity. Now that sounds like a New Year’s resolution worth keeping.
Peace and happy holidays from everyone at North Atlantic Books.
Posted by ailanna 
