Rating: 
Summary: Recommendations for Gary, Oprah, and the Rest of Us
Review: 1. Maybe you liked Soul Stories, or part of it like I did. The first 132 pages were a great quick review of our soul's life journey, tailored for the metaphysically challenged like me. But I much prefer Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements, Alan Cohen's I Had It All The Time, or Wayne Dyer's Your Sacred Self. 2. Maybe you didn't like Soul Stories, or part of it like I didn't. The rest of the book on Spiritual Partnerships seemed forced, grim, and sophomoric in its writing style. Gary makes it sound like a spiritual partnership is a grueling climb up Mt. Everest roped to your partner. Doesn't sound like much fun. I think a spiritual partnership can be fun, don't you? Gary should read Stewart Wilde's Life Was Not Meant To Be A Struggle, Alan Cohen's Joy Is My Compass, or Ariel and Shya Kane's Working On Yourself Doesn't Work. 3. Maybe you wondered how someone could write two books on spiritual partnerships and never discuss the magnificent spiritual role and awsome spiritual power of the divine gift of sacred sex in an intimate relationship. Maybe you would want to know why Gary only briefly mentions sex three times in Seat of the Soul, and only as an example of the bad addiction he had and you may have. Or only one time in Soul Stories, and only in the context of sexual promiscuity. Maybe Gary should read Dr. Victoria Lee's Soulful Sex, Margo Anand's The Art Of Everyday Ecstasy, or Charles and Caroline Muir's Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving before he gives us any more advice about how to empower each other in spiritual partnerships. No wonder Gary's descriptions of the work of spiritual partnerships sound so grim: he never includes fun and sex!
Rating:
Summary: Authentic Empowerment.....
Review: Gary Zukav has found a better medium for explaining his beliefs. Stories have been the best way to explain every idea since the beginning of time. I have also reviewed Gary Zukav's The Seat of the Soul in detail and reading that review may be helpful in understanding the premise behind Soul Stories. In The Seat of the Soul he explains his basic beliefs and goes into detail about authentic empowerment and how to reach beyond our five senses to become a multisensory person. Throughout Soul Stories, he also promotes the belief that the Universe is alive. To me, this is the presence of God in our lives. Gary discusses intuition, forms of reasoning, the earth school, emotional awareness, responsible choice, harmony, cooperation, sharing, reverence for life, forgiveness, love, trust, marriage, children, kindness and inner richness. It is not surprising that he also includes some health advice, our souls do live in our bodies, so why not create a perfect environment for the soul? We are individual souls sent to earth to fulfill a task or to learn a lesson, which will benefit us in the next life. Yes, I agree that you make your own future through making daily choices and when you have an "intention" you can create a good or bad experience. This book is a blending of Eastern religions with a generous helping of real experiences and a pinch of Christianity. I recommend that if you purchase this book and take this soul journey that you turn on your intuition, logic and perception. Be aware that although there are many truths in many religions, the ultimate truth comes from God. To know truth you must first know God. Gary has done an excellent job in raising awareness of the need to nurture our souls, however he has combined many religions into one book. It is up to us to find our own way on this journey. God created our souls; and therefore he can lead us on the path to Truth. If you are searching to find out what Gary Zukav believes, then this book is very enlightening in that regard. I think his best idea is to view life as a school and that we are here to learn. I also appreciate his encouragement to make the best decision in each moment of our lives. He has changed my life in that regard! I hope you will continue to find truth and meaning in your own life.
Rating:
Summary: Divided
Review: I don't doubt the sincerity of the peolple and their stories contained in this book or the depth of feeling for their experiences,but a lot of the events described in the book can almost all be chalked up to coincidence.One lady had a premonition that an accident had befallen someone then later came to find that her gut feeling was right.But we all have had dreams and intuitions that come to be,and of course we remember those,because it is so unusual.However,we forget the countless dreams,hunches,premonitions and gut feelings that turned out to be nothing but our overactive imagination.Whether or not the stories and experiences recounted in this book are divine messages matters little.Like the near death experience or some other life changing occurence,what matters is that people took the experience as a sign to be better people,more giving,less selfish, and leaves them more hopeful and peaceful in the mind.That is what really matters.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe I've read too many of these books!!!
Review: I read this book with an open mind; however, I found it getting more and more discomforted as I read each little sound-bite anecdote. I found this book to present nothing new regarding human nature or understanding. This does not discount other readers who may find useful things here, but my fear is that they won't read the truly thoughtful works of people Like Thomas Moore or James Hillman or Joseph Campbell, or a host of other true intellectual/practioners who have a profound and innovative approach to understanding the concept of soul. Each of the mini-narrative in this book deals with common issues as awareness, jealousy, fear, relationships. There are a few koan-like truisms thrown in as though they are the last word in human understanding. This might be a nice gift for a high school student or someone with no background whatsoever in addressing quasi-spiritual ideas, but any thinking, reflective adult, I would hope, is past the stage at which these obvious parables would be of much use. Apparently, Ophrah was so taken by the author she invited him for a segment on her show, and it was expanded to a full-length Christmas program. Need I say more?
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: If I could have one wish for this review it would be for everyone reading this to have a copy of Soul Stories. A beginning statement like that is very strong but that is how much I enjoyed this book by Gary Zukav. I first saw Gary Zukav on the Oprah Winfrey show. Impressed by his gentle manner and his view of spirituality I went looking for The Seat of the Soul, the book he was talking about on the Oprah Show. I flipped through the book but it didn't look to me as if it were a book I wanted to spend $14 for which is what The Seat of the Soul cost a couple of years ago. I am now on the waiting list for it at the library. Soul Stories is not a book you can read through only one time. It is one of the easiest books to read given the profound effect it had on me. One would expect it to be filled with philosophical jargon and perhaps be a bit more tedious than it is. Zukav, much to my amazement is a former U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret) officer who fought in Viet Nam. He was quick at one time to use his fists to solve problems and if I could be in one spiritual place right now it is where he is and going where he is going. This book is not for people who can not stand the word spiritual because he uses it dozens and dozens of times. His book is designed to help you toward spirtual growth, toward finding "authentic power" and awake "consciousness and recognition of a Universe that is alive and compassionate. He does this through true stories both of others and his own with the use of parables, similies and metaphors. No where in this book does he say that is how it is written and I haven't read any reviews of this book. My daughter is much smarter than I and while visiting I read her a few versus to make sure that I was using these terms correctly and she told me I was. I will share with you in a moment what I mean because his use of these ways of writing is the key, in my opinion, of making Soul Stories real, understandable and more meaningful than anything else I have read. This is not a book you can pick up and read in the middle. Each chapter builds on the one before it in a fantastic way. More often than not I would finish one chapter and pause to take it in before going on to the next which would lead me a little higher up the ladder toward realization. Again, if all this makes you think I'm nuts, this book is not for you. It isn't for everyone. There are many people who just don't believe that there are no such things as random happenings as I have thought for a long, long time and as Zukav believes and discusses in his book. Many people don't want to read about Eastern philosophies, meditaion, Buddhism or anything that may go against their religion so this book isn't for you either. Zukav is Jewish by birth but clearly he has opened his mind to various parts of the Universe which will allow him to grow. There are 4 Parts in Soul Stories: What's New; How It Works: What It Looks Like; and How It Happens. The way to reach authentic power is by using harmony, cooperation, sharing and a reverance for life. Those 4 elements are written about throughout the book because authentic power, which is simply "doing what you are supposed to be doing" is one of the central thoughts to Soul Stories. Really interesting are his chapters on the Old Male and Old Female versus the New Male and New Female. In his chapters he has them each meeting, for example, the Old Male with the New Female and vice versa and what that would look like. If you live in a traditional household where the male and female roles are clearly defined and that is what you want then you may not like looking at the Universe as Gary Zukav does. When I met my husband I commented to a friend that he was the most non-chauvinistic man I had ever known. I now understand that he is a New Male and am proud to be married to a New Male being what Zukav calls a New Female.
Rating:
Summary: Some good spiritual advice
Review: In Soul Stories, Gary Zukav (author of The Dancing Wu Li Masters and Seat of the Soul) guides the reader on a spiritual journey towards greater openess and a feeling of connection with the world and one another. The stories range from personal experiences to parables. While all of them teach valuable lessons, I was not always comfortable with the way he tells them. As another reviewer pointed out, Zukav often writes as though his audience were young children. It's one thing to put a message simply and concisely, but to put things too simply can seem condescending to the reader. For example, in the section about how "new" men and women differ from "old," he goes on at great length describing how men have traditionally been protectors and providers and women have been concerned with raising children and taking care of the home. I think most people in their teens or older are aware of this and are also aware that these roles have been changing. In one story, there is a confrontation between an "old" style man and a "new" style woman (I put these in quotes partly because I'm skeptical of such neat categories); the woman wants to go back to school and pursue a more independent lifestyle, while her husband cannot understand this. This would have seemed more dramatic thirty or forty years ago than today, though there are people who still adhere to traditional roles. Zukav also describes emotionally charged workshops where people share and explore their various feelings and relationships. His style is very much in the spirit of such human potential workshops where the goal is to evolve or expand. I am somewhat skeptical of this approach, as it can give people a certain conceit about their spirituality compared to supposedly less evolved people (e.g. the comparison between old and new style men and women). I have been mainly criticizing the book, but I also found enough in it to recommend it to anyone interested in...yes, evolving and expanding their consciousness. For example, I liked a story about a man struggling through a barren desert until he finally finds a lush land with abundant food and water. A simple parable, but effective and well told. Gary Zukav writes with quite a bit of optimism about how quickly people are changing. Looking at the world, it often seems as though we aren't changing quickly enough, but I hope he is right. And following the advice in books such as this can only help.
Rating:
Summary: Books Can Be Catalysts
Review: It's that time of the year when I tend to look at the last year and think about what I'd like in the New Year. I picked up a copy of Gary Zukav's "SOUL STORIES" and I'm well on my way. It's a light collection of stories and thoughts about living your life from your heart. Zukav talks about the "Old Male" (old-fashioned and traditional) and the "New Male" (uses his intuition and recognizes a new order to things) -- I saw pieces of myself in both of these! I particularly enjoyed the chapter in which Zukav meets Oprah Winfrey -- it's a beautiful demonstration of how easily cooperation happens and how you never know all the ways in which your dreams and goals will be expressed. In my wanderings through book reviews, I came upon another excellent book that supports people in living from their truth -- "WORKING ON YOURSELF DOESN'T WORK" by best-selling authors Ariel and Shya Kane. A real catalyst to help light your fire. If you're looking to use the New Year as an opportunity to step more fully into your life, I highly recommend Zukav's and the Kanes' book.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding the Mysterious Workings of Spirit
Review: SOUL STORIES are a collection of 52 short stories which author Gary Zukav requests readers to contemplate as slowly as we wish -- even as slowly as one story per week. Each tale takes the reader one step further on a journey of introspective self-actualization in which relationships with one's ego and spirit are explored a little bit at a time. The book is deceptively simple to read, yet contains great depth which is ideal fodder for meditation. Zukav's SOUL STORIES are memorable tales of love, loss, and renewal in which the mysterious ways that spirit acts in our lives become just a bit more clear. Zukav does not preach any particular religion as he advocates that we aspire to reach our highest spiritual potential. In addition to the dozens of emotionally moving stories, Zukav gives advice such as "Spiritual partners look inside themselves -- and not at each other -- when they get angry, frightened, or sad." I could feel my heart breaking open with love and inspiration as I read each of these stories. These stories touch the heart and soul, and give us much to contemplate long after we've finished the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Mental confusion
Review: These are, in the main, interesting stories, well told. That said, it is important to remind the reader that they are stories in the sense that Carlos Castaneda's stories are stories, and J. K. Rowling's stories are stories. But while readers read with the knowledge that Rowling's Harry Potter is fictitious, and that Castaneda's Yaqui mystic is at the very least wildly mythologized, many readers are not that clear about some of Zukav's material. Why is that? It's because Zukav's material is presented as though inherently plausible. But the central fallacy around which the tales are built is that definitions and inherited concepts are presented by the author as if they were factual reality. "Soul," "God," "reincarnation," life as path, life as school, etc., are in reality simply definitional constructs that have originated and changed over the millenia as the concepts to which these definitional labels are applied have evolved. When a life is viewed as a journey from point A through B & C to D, it can be mentally back-constructed and viewed cognitively as a "path." If D can be seen as worthwhile in relation to earlier A, B and C, then the life to which this is applied can be retroconstructed to see A, B and C as a "school" for said life regarding what happened in this life at D. The book does not help the reader realize that patterns are not just found, they are often simply unconsciously postulated and constructed from elements of wishful thinking. Thus, these are interesting stories for fictionalized story readers, especially for those of relatively low awareness of the nature of definitional constructs as cognitive virtual reality and cognitive retromapping, but Zukav's stories are certainly not what would strike careful and knowledgeable readers as being credible accounts. This difference in types of reader-awareness and degrees of clarity may be seen as you compare other reviews here.
Rating:
Summary: Sleepy Stories
Review: This is not a bad book. I really enjoyed "The Seat of the Soul" and "The Heart of the Soul" a lot more than this one though. I expected a bit from this book than it gave.
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