Sangria (CD) by Mariah Parker | ancient future records, $24.98
To heat things up on Valentine’s Day, consider adding a little sangria to the menu—and your iTunes playlist. Sweet and juicy, and leaving you with a warm glow, Sangria is a melodic mix blending Latin jazz and East Indian music. This brand-new recording features original compositions by Mariah (composer, pianist, and santur player) that draw inspiration from Brazil, Cuba, Spain, and India. The result is an album that is at once uplifting, peaceful, and passionate. —Erica Gehrke
CancerSmart 3.0: The Consumer Guide (Book)
by Sean Griffin | labour environmental alliance society, $10
Progress is a wonderful thing—except when you’re talking about your stage III breast cancer. Ironically, the scientific advances in chemistry that have made our modern lifestyle possible have also created harmful carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and endocrine disrupters—many found in household products we use every day. In short, CancerSmart 3.0 should be read in every home in Canada. Though it’s hardly a glamorous read, this detailed and intelligently organized magazine/pamphlet is full of information you need (though chemical companies may disagree), complete with comprehensive tables listing dangerous substances, specific brand names, and safer alternatives. —Stephanie MacDonald
Humanity Ascending: A New Way Through Together (DVD series; 1 of 7) featuring Barbara Marx Hubbard|
spiritualcinemacircle.com ; free trial membership
With the increasingly shaky state of the world, it may appear we’re poised for self-destruction. But author and futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard believes that as the old world of war and competition dies, a new one is being born—a world of universal humanity. Using simple and clear language to explain an otherwise mind-boggling concept, Barbara describes the cosmos’s 14-billion-year history as a journey of transformation, where the universe is becoming self-aware through humankind. In this self-awareness lie the tools for the full expression of our conscious evolution—and hence our glorious future. —Tamara Letkeman
