Syndrome X. Jack Challem, Burton Berkson, and Melissa Smith. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2000. $24.95.

"Syndrome X" refers to the insulin resistance syndrome, which I discussed last month. This book is an excellent overview of the syndrome, which blankets most of our currently fatal diseases, and its development throughout historical time.

The authors bring a variety of backgrounds to their book, and they write in a very engaging style. They make science simple, and they give eminently practical guidance for correcting this pervasive syndrome, brought about by our dietary changes over thousands of years, and now accelerating.

The teamwork called for in this new millennium is beautifully brought into the Virgo health and healing field by these authors, and at the same time they portray the global perspective and holism of Pisces.

As I read, I could identify myself on this journey of body enlightenment. For me, it began three years ago when I noticed I continued to gain weight despite my diet, which I thought was healthy according to prevailing wisdom. For breakfast I’d have coffee and maybe half a bran muffin, or half a piece of fruit. For lunch I’d have a cup of Ali’s wonderful soup—e.g., lentil, carrot, or barley-vegetable. And for dinner I ate a raw vegetable salad with a bit of protein, e.g., nuts, a hardboiled egg, or some tofu.

My diet was composed of healthy foods, and I could hardly cut calories to stop the weight gain. What was going on? My stomach was also inexplicably expanding. Obviously something was wrong.

So I went to the library to read up on diet and nutrition, and there I discovered books about the values of a high protein diet. It dawned on me that my diet was almost 100% carbohydrate.

Immediately I changed my food emphasis from carbohydrate to protein, and I began to learn to eat three meals/day—the most difficult thing of all for me. So time-consuming!

By autumn 1999 I was ready to begin—emphasis on begin—to follow the Eades guidelines, and by the end of February 2000 I could go on a strict regime, knowing that this is how I want to eat for the rest of my life.

Beginning this change in dietary habits has been long and difficult, a feature not covered by the books. But I kept the faith, and now am very rewarded by improved health, inner confidence, and the self-esteem engendered by knowing that I am nourishing my body well. It’s truly a life turning point for me.

The hard work of my process occurred while Saturn and Jupiter were transiting in Taurus. Saturn in Taurus refers to discipline or effort in realistic grounding, and Jupiter correlates with expanding vision and greater understanding.

It was a treat for me to find this book which tells about my personal journey in a simple way which everyone can share. Challem, Berkson and Smith describe the X-syndrome vividly, even to the expanding stomach, which signals its acute onset.

Syndrome X is an excellent book for opening the doors of perception to the insulin resistance syndrome. It can lift the reader to new levels of understanding about how this mysterious body works, and unveil new possibilities of personal empowerment.

I can vouch from experience about its truth for me. I am not through fine-tuning my dietary changes, but even so I feel in harmony, in sync, with the flow of food, with my body, and even with my whole life in a way I never have before.

I predict that as more people discover this new level of well being and renewal, that eating a healthy protein-vegetable diet will spread, and the use of refined carbohydrates will diminish.

(In fact today I received a flyer about "California Natural Beef," grown without synthetic hormones, antibiotics, or commercial feed lots. Rather than being fed artificially high levels of grain, they are fed their natural diet of grasses, legumes, and other plants. Phone Napa Sunrise Ranch at 916-443-4366 or check out www.californianaturalbeef.com.)

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Dancing in the Shadows of the Moon. Machaelle Small Wright. Perelandra, Warrenton, VA, 1995. $23.00. Reviewed by Maya del Mar.

Many people have read Behaving as if the God in All Things Matters, Machaelle’s first autobiographical book. This, the second book about her life and growth, is much longer. It is absolutely gripping, like an adult Harry Potter book. We see the magician—although she would never call herself that—at work.

Michelle is the developer—along with the nature intelligences—of Perelandra, the research garden in Virginia where she works to develop healing essences and programs to help people help themselves to improve their bodies and their lives.

Her life path has been extraordinary, beginning when she was born with heavy rejection by both parents. By age 12 she was out on her own. Machaelle was born with Moon in Cancer. Cancer is the family sign, and Moon in Cancer people have a very deep need for family. With various failed experiments along the way, Machaelle ultimately found that ever-supportive family, the nature devas. And she found it in her Sagittarian sun-sign way: exploring new horizons.

The nature spirits, and Clarence, are not the only family she found. Gradually she was led to materialize on another plane, where she was welcomed into a new family. She gives us a molecular blow by blow description of how she does this, and of the discomfort and sometimes pain involved in making this transition—which she does daily.

The other family lives in a dimension much like earth, and she explains how it all works. I won’t say more about it, but I will say that their mission, and knowing that they are working for earth from "the other side," makes me feel much more hopeful about the destiny of humankind.

And then I see this great UN gathering, and I think of these unseen guides. They are much wiser than Machaelle, and when she comments to them about their wisdom, they tell her it’s a "benefit of death."

Machaelle, who has learned to travel back and forth between these two dimensions, serves the group as a bond to earth, as a grounder. She is also a woman among a group of men, and helps them to tune into female energy. And earth is, after all, a she—our Mother.

Machaelle herself has a great deal of spiritual wisdom and know-how, and reading this book has enormously expanded my horizons in regard to spiritual dimensions and the potential for grounding spirit right here, in my life at this moment.

She is not at all airy-fairy. She uses the scientific method—noting everything she does, measuring the reactions, and eventually developing a protocol based on what actually works. With dedication, we can do the same.

During the early years of living this dual life, Machaelle was concerned for her sanity. That, plus the actual physical strain of making the transition and adapting to it, produced a lot of stress. However, her belief in the loving universe kept her going. She lists some of the changes she has undergone:

1. She has felt the relationship between soul and body. She has an exceptional appreciation for the teamwork that constantly goes on between the two.

2. She has experienced a new level of how big life is, and

3. An appreciation of how small life is, as the dimensions and threads of life interweave—as in "small universe!"

4. The interconnectedness between levels is a daily practicality for her.

5. Our lives continue, and we don’t lose what we’ve gained between birth and death.

6. Her whole view of death has changed dramatically. She now sees it as a wonderful rite of passage which she looks forward to experiencing.

7. Nothing stays on the back burner forever. There is no such thing as sidestepping.

8. Emotional balance is not a static phenomenon that once achieved remains forever.

9. She has a different appreciation of what it is to function in form. She doesn’t feel limited at all. Instead she feels respect and awe towards this amazing team of soul and body.

This is our Taurus-Aquarius endeavor of these times—putting together body and soul. Machaelle is a pioneer who lights the way with her life, and shows us how we can each make new connections between soul and body in our own lives. Teamwork is the mode of the new millennium, and there is no more important team than this one, our very own.

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Electrical Nutrition by Denie and Shelley Hiestand. ShellDen Corp., Bellevue, WA, 1999. $14.95. Reviewed by Maya del Mar.

Denie spent his first 40 years on a large dairy farm, and then became an electrician. He marries his great experience and background in physiology with electricity to become a "Body Electrician." He has worked closely with medical doctors all over the world. Shelley is a Reiki Master and music specialist. Together they have founded the International Academy of Vibrational Medical Science.

They begin by challenging myths, e.g. The allopathic medical system is a traditional model. "It is, in fact, the newest, most untried, most unproven, most untraditional health care system in the world. It is the most dangerous experiment …that has ever been foisted upon an unsuspecting population."

This is just common sense, if one thinks about it. I found the whole book to be in this style, filled with unconventional, but commonsense ideas—backed with research and statistics. Denie’s earthy, matter-of-fact grounding in farm life shines through this book. As he points out, health and nutrition on the farm relate directly to production and profit, and veterinary medicine is in many ways years ahead of regular medicine in its knowledge.

For instance, in his chapter, "Grain—An Electrical Drain," he points out that when a farmer wants to fatten up young cattle, he increases the grain ration. But when he wants a milking cow to be lean, fit, able to conceive every year and produce gallons of milk, he lowers the grain and increases the protein. An old farm saying is, "Protein for production, grain for gain."

The universe is electrical. We are electrical. And everything is connected through this electrical matrix. With this thesis, Denie and Shelley look at customs which impact the body, particularly food, from an electrical standpoint.

The challenge is to eat and do those things which help our body’s energy balance. This is particularly difficult now because there are so many disharmonies in our food chain, our beliefs, and our way of life. Denie and Shelley offer a practical—and simple—program to clear out our toxins and to strengthen ourselves.

This short, readable book has given me a new paradigm for evaluating my personal connection with earth in a more dynamic and inclusive way. It literally combines the earth of Taurus with the electricity of Aquarius, our two major signs now. I highly recommend it.