President Trump threatens North Korea with 'fire and fury like the world has never seen', whilst fellow Republican John McCain warns that the country risks 'extinction'. But what does the regime in North Korea actually want? Is Kim Jong-un truly the mad cartoon villain that the media love to portray? Without being an apologist for the oppressive North Korean government, T. J. Coles exposes the propaganda war waged against it, revealing the truth behind the simplistic news headlines. North Korea has made multiple offers to the international community to end its nuclear programme in exchange for assurances that it won't be attacked by the US. It has even committed to a no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons – something the US itself will not do. Far from being a state in self-imposed hermitage, North Korea has diplomatic relations with over one hundred countries. It is the US, argues Coles, that deliberately seeks to isolate the regime as part of its wider geostrategic goals in the Asia Pacific. The US's real target, and ultimately its biggest challenge, is China. Coles debunks myths regarding North Korea's military and demonstrates that in actual fact it has limited capabilities. In building up its own armed forces in the region (the so-called Asia Pivot), the US is playing a dangerous game of nuclear brinkmanship. Fire and Fury provides a sharp, succinct briefing for anyone seeking a broader, less distorted and more balanced understanding of current events, whilst offering solutions for ordinary citizens who wish to further the cause of peace.

How can we live in alignment with the true Source of our being, finding joy in everyday life? Drawing on scores of deep memories from her many clients, Louisa Crisp shows that we can be free. By shedding negative emotions, traumas and conditioning, we shine from the Divine essence that lives within. This inextinguishable light cannot be taken from us, yet many are choosing to live in fear and judgment, in 'separation'. The Alpha and the Omega takes us on a breath-taking journey, from the moment our cosmos began to the present day, revealing the cause of separation and the beginning of duality. The second part of the book focuses on the life of Jesus, the first person who was able to let go of his fears completely and to live in total alignment with Source. Many valuable memories are revealed from individuals who lived during that time. Louisa shows how we can take steps to free ourselves from emotional turmoil, caused by separation from our true self. By listening above all to our intuition, we can embark on a voyage to the very core of our being. This, we will discover, is the path to enlightenment.

From the Arab Spring and London riots through the era of Brexit and Trump, the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Europe, this volume collects eleven years of lively, informative and entertaining essays and polemics, focusing on media treatment of major world events, political entanglements and culture-war squabbles. Taking aim at the distortions and omissions of news reports and cultural narratives in the Western world, Stephen Harper highlights the dislocation between humanity's existential crisis and the failure of the corporate media to register its underlying causes – or even to entertain any real discussion of its solution. Instead, he argues, the media blithely serve the narrow interests of a global elite that is subjecting the planet to a reign of fire in the form of endless wars and ecological destruction. Harper reviews contemporary journalistic, cinematic and televisual coverage, engaging with broad cultural topics such as 'cancel culture', the incel phenomenon and Covid conspiracy theories, as well as key events like the debate between Jordan Peterson and Slavoj Žižek. For all its eclecticism, Hot Planet, Cool Media has an ideological cohesiveness, rejecting popular left and right political positions and advocating the cause of socialism or communism in the Marxian sense of a classless, leaderless, moneyless society.

The Beatles brought colour, joy, freedom and love to a grey, post-war world. But the most successful group in popular music history also harboured hidden, sometimes darker worlds and influences that are often downplayed by their biographers. In their career, the Fab Four were to cross paths with many spiritual movements, religious groups, esoteric philosophies and mystical teachings. Inevitably, their thinking was affected by the ideas they encountered. These ideas in turn helped shape their music and – given their vast popularity – the public consciousness. Behind the Wall of Illusion examines the spiritual inspirations that the Beatles brought to the changing cultural landscape of the 1960s. From the popularization of the new religion of rock 'n' roll, Beatlemania (the 'new Cult of Dionysus') and John Lennon's explosive statement that the Beatles were 'bigger than Jesus', Sean MacLeod takes us on a tour of Indian ashrams, questionable gurus and hallucinatory drugs. He also studies the secreted 'clues' in the Beatles' album covers and films; the growing rumours that Paul had been killed in a car crash and covertly replaced; and the tragic assassination of John Lennon and the unknown perpetrators behind the crime. This is an indispensable book for any lover of the Beatles.

Let's work together to develop inner light and counteract the darkness! Illustrated throughout in full colour, this booklet features 28 meditations and soul exercises to help develop courage and internal strength, supporting our inner being and spiritual self. The meditations can aid in clearing our emotional space and illuminating our thinking – strengthening health, bringing healing to dark impulses and assisting us in integrating death as an important part of life. The exercises are also a contribution to easing the tensions felt in the collective consciousness during this time of multiple global crises. In the concluding chapter, based on concepts from the research of Rudolf Steiner, the author puts into perspective the spiritual struggle underlying the coronavirus crisis.

How can the West rediscover its authentic spirit? Exploring the period from 1899 to 1945 – from the end of the US frontier and the writing of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to the conclusion of World War II and the dropping of the atom bomb – Luigi Morelli traces the events that led the United States to become the world's dominating imperial force. America, he demonstrates, is deeply connected to Britain, Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly Russia. Yet despite their tragic collective histories, there is hope for the future – if only America can claim its true task. Searching for the Spirit of the West challenges many of the falsehoods that pass for mainstream history. Utilizing a wealth of documented evidence from the research of overlooked historians, economists, social and spiritual thinkers, the author takes a symptomatic view of the past, revealing hidden, longer-term trends. This approach offers a new understanding of events such as the rise of Nazism, the Great Depression, the new Deal, and even the roles of banking and clandestine 'brotherhoods' in world history. Morelli also appraises The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in parallel with America's cultural achievements. Through imagination, L. Frank Baum's contemporary fairy-tale enables us to intuit the true mission of the West and its potential contribution to world culture, now and in the future.

Combining Lía Tummer's lucid text and Lato's creative and playful illustrations, Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy is a highly-engaging and unique 'graphic' introduction that is suitable for both the curious beginner and the dedicated student. At the dawn of the twentieth century, Rudolf Steiner presented anthroposophy as a 'spiritual science' that expanded upon the restricted, scientific–materialist ideology of his time. Based on a profound knowledge of human beings and our relationship with nature and the universe, anthroposophy not only provides rejuvenating impulses for the most diverse spheres of human activity – such as medicine, education, agriculture, art and science – but also provides answers to the eternal questions posed by humankind, and on which contemporary science remains indifferent: What is life? Where do we come from when we are born? Where do we go when we die? What is the meaning of pain and illness? Why do people experience such differing challenges in their lives? This charming book depicts the development of a universal genius, from his childhood in the untamed beauty of the Austrian Alps to the sublimities of human wisdom; from his work as a Goethe scholar to the building of the extraordinary Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.

'Everyone with a curiosity for spiritual knowledge should read this excellent book.' – Peter John, psychic artist Based on direct communications with his eight spirit guides, Dr Bob Woodward confirms that we have all lived in spirit worlds before our birth – and that we will enter these same realms again after our material deaths. In a very real sense, these higher spirit worlds are actually our true home, he says, rather than our present physical existence, which is only a temporary abode. In consultation with his spirit guides – including a Tibetan Lama, a Jewish Rabbi, a Native American and his personal guardian angel – Bob Woodward gives a detailed survey of our lives in spirit worlds before birth and after death, our relationships there with friends, family and even pets, and our connections with both good and evil spiritual beings. He also gives a commentary on a range of subjects such as reincarnation and climate change. In a final extensive and moving interview, Woodward finds and speaks with the soul of his deceased father, who offers enlightening glimpses of life after death. Whilst the author's knowledge is grounded in decades of study of the work of Rudolf Steiner – with which he compares the results of his own extrasensory perceptions – Knowledge of Spirit Worlds is not intended as a dry philosophical study. Rather, it has a warm, experiential quality – based as it is on personal interaction with spirit entities – and emphasizes the love that connects all worlds and beings together.

How can we connect and converse with our personal spirit guides, our guardian angel and even the Christ? In a compelling and uplifting new work, Bob Woodward offers advice and suggestions on how we can link consciously with the spirit beings who seek to support us in everyday life. He demonstrates how, by reaching out to them, we can facilitate greater engagement and even direct dialogue. In the first part of Meeting Spirit Beings, we are introduced to human qualities that can awaken us to our personal spirit guides. 'Intentionality', 'silence', 'trust' and 'gratitude' are all important milestones on our inner path. Bob shares personal reflections as well as actual conversations with his own guides, who offer insights into methods and processes. In the second part of the book, we are encouraged to build a mindful relationship with our guardian angel, who accompanies us on earth, after death and during future incarnations. We are taught how to coordinate our life's path with our angel and to facilitate a healing and supportive relationship. Finally, the author offers transcripts of an extraordinary series of 'conversations' with the Christ being – a dialogue he initiated one Christmas. If Christ is there to offer love and support to all human beings, should it not be possible to enter into direct dialogue with him? Bob's attempts result in an inspiring series of discussions that offer beautiful perceptions of the meaning of life, death and eternity.