Echoes Of The Mind

In August 1990, at the beginning of the fall semester, five college students were brutally slain in their southwest Gainesville, Florida apartments. An unknown killer, or killers, paralyzed the city for months. As the police searched for clues, Helen Baxter performed her own investigation with the help of several unusual sources: Psychics. Convincing members of the task force to use information gleaned from psychic intuition proved to be difficult but ultimately led Helen, a team of investigators and two psychics down a frightening path of discovery. Would the psychics be able to provide the police with enough credible information to stop the killing? Helen Baxter was certain of one thing: some experiences defy explanation.

Examining one's life is arguably the central distinguishing characteristic of being human, and this wise and wonderful book is the perfect answer to Socrates's warning that the unexamined life is not worth living. Readers who merely read through the book's fascinating anecdotes will be entertained, but they will be seriously shortchanging themselves, for it is the guiding questions that provoke and inspire serious self-examination. As the calendar-like format of the book implies, these questions should be savored and pondered no faster than one page of questions per day. Levy and Parco continue to challenge our thinking as they did in their previous two Thinking Deeply About books. Echoes of Mind presents common topics in an uncommon way that encourages both reflection and introspection. Spending time with this book will be reassuring and yet challenging, even at times uncomfortable-but in all cases, rewarding. Daryl J. Bem, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Psychology Cornell University

Early evening, a young boy alone on his pony on the rim of the Nebraska Sandhills. Three darkening thunderclouds rising higher and higher on the horizon. An electric atmosphere, a quickening, light cooling breeze. A slight shiver and the boy wonders, "Am I being pursued by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost?" These sudden, unbidden, unexpected, strange experiences. We all have them. What are they? Mere plucking on the emotional strings of our material selves? Or do they have a deeper meaning? Do they signal the Presence of something other, maybe some Other, maybe some one Other, some thing or some one, above, below, beyond our normal waking consciousness? James W. Sire has studied a massive number of these accounts. He pairs them with his own experiences and turns to scientists, philosophers, and theologians for explanation. These experiences, he concludes, are signals of transcendence or what N. T. Wright calls echoes of a voice--"the voice of Jesus, calling us to follow him into God's new world." This book is an account of the author's journey to this conclusion.

This book is a collection of poetry about life, loss, and love. It is dedicated to all those who inspired and provided the opportunity and challenges to always reach for the highest star. Writing is all about the expression of the inner soul. Each poem put to paper in this collection of poems reflects inner feelings of lifes experiences or from observation of others. From the start to the finished creation, poetry gives ways and means to profound and powerful communication. Poetry is the pathway to artistic expression. It is exciting to discover the genre of the poem and style that evolves. It is a challenge to find the shortest method possible of using powerful words to express a serious thought. Whether a poem is about love, humor, family, tragedy, or inspirational, funny, or general life experiences, the results are what I call poetry in motion. I hope you enjoy the collection of poems within Echoes of the Mind.

Hidden secrets. Unearthed truths. Simone Doucet returns to uncover the sinister truth behind a series of murders within an opulent mansion in the heart of New Orleans' Garden District. Yearning to escape the confines of her New York City brownstone, Simone jumps at the opportunity to house-sit a gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian home in her cherished New Orleans Garden District. Upon her arrival, the walls whisper ancient voices, the owner’s parrot mimics an eerie nightly tune, and elusive footsteps echo through the floorboards. Simone quickly discovers she is not alone in this majestic house. Tackling the afterlife alone, Simone becomes entangled in the stories of three tormented souls caught in a web of greed, hatred, and infidelity. Their deadly secrets converge in a bone-chilling tale of murder. Yet, within the grandeur of Ballard House, Simone is far from alone. The peril she faces extends beyond the spectral world, and she will soon confront evil from both the living and the dead. What dark secret lies hidden within the walls of Ballard House?