Books are NOT dead. Books are NOT dead! All of the following entries were passionate advocates for books and the life lessons we learn from them. Some radically changed how people felt themselves and the world. Some continue to be inspiring and intersting to their readers even to this very day. From holistic orchards to the placenta as a forgotten chakra, meeting authors to wild plants, many of these books have been added to my 'must read' list. I'm also reminded to step away from the internet every now and then and curl up with a book - this week I've been reading Pema Chodron, and the lessons and messages that filter from her words into my soul have been affirmations that the written word is important to inform our healing journeys. As @chireerocks noted in his poem, sometimes life experiences are a kind of book in themselves - absolutely - but I do believe our life experiences can be enriched and informed and added to by books. Go forth and read, darling Steemfolk - books are most definitely NOT DEAD!

Entries this week:

The Holistic Orchard Tree Trips for Tree Keepers by @nateonsteemit
The Foxfire Book Old Time Homesteading by @nateonsteemit
Spagyrics and Other Alchemical Texts Important to My Development by @alchemage
A cookbook and resource all in one by @porters
Placenta the Forgotten Chakra by @trucklife-family
One Generation Departs and Another Generation Comes but the Earth Forever Stays by @briarch

Week One posts were as follows:

Healing Hands of Light by @nainaztengra
Acupressure for emotional healing by @artemislives
Embracing My Introverted Nature by @plantstoplanks
The Celestine Prophecy - My Life After by @kaerpediem
Getting There Without Drugs by @hippiewithagun
The book That Began a Lifelong journey for Truth by @steelborne
Healing Hands of Light by @nainaztengra
Acupressure for emotional healing by @artemislives
Embracing My Introverted Nature by @plantstoplanks
The One Book that Will Not Leave My House by @porters
The Wild World - Studying and Documenting Wild Plants by @walkerland
@porcheberry wrote a REAL book - check it out here
Yoga and the Subtle Body by @riverflows
Three Books, Three Wisdoms by @riverflows

The Winners

Yeah yeah, I say EVERY wrap up post that it was hard to judge, and it totally is, every time. This was even harder, because I was trying not to let my personal interest in books influence my judgement. Some books here I wouldn't read in a million years, but that's not a criteria for assessment. Instead, I looked at passion - how did these books really feed into the reader's passions for self improvement, healing, and those revelations about life that change our outlook, our direction, our understanding of ourselves and the world?

And so, I awarded the prizes as following, giving 6 steem to each selected winner and 3 steem each to runners up - plus a little SBI.

@steelborne's passion for books has come across in the Natural Medicine Discord over the last few weeks, and we've really appreciated their enthusiasm and desire to share with us. Their post was thoughtful and reflective, reflecting on their beginnings as a reader and how books have informed their journey.

@alchemage presented a video here and I have to say I was a little biased - the subject of alchemy fascinates me personally. However, the discovery of alchemical texts totally transformed his life and set him on the path he is on now, where he's about to study to be a naturopath. I just loved listening to his enthusiasm. I think I'm definitely going to order one of the books he talked about.

@kaerpediem, in addition to winning 1 steem for the first week, also wins 5 steem to a total of 6 steem for his post on the influence of the Celestine Prophecies on his life. For many of the posts I read, it was the desire for knowledge that made these books an important focus on people's lives. @kaerpediem says:

In my teens, I started having all these questions. Questions the nuns couldn’t answer, the Bible couldn’t answer, the more religious of my relatives and friends couldn’t answer. The more questions I asked, the more non-answers I got and that got me looking for answers outside that inner circle. It was not easy as I was riddled with guilt but the need to understand got the better of me.

@hippiewithgun's post was really cool because he got to meet the author too!

@plantstoplanks post on being intoverted and finding out through a book that there was absolutely nothing wrong with that at all also warmed my heart - plus, check out that cute pic of her and her sister.

@trucklife-family's post on the placenta as a forgotten or secret chakra also blew me away! @nateonsteemit's passion for permaculture also resulted in two posts, and @nainztengra also wrote passionately about her healing book - each of these posts are awarded 3 Steem each.

Prizes of 1 SBI also go to @briarche, @porcheberry, @artemislives, @walkerland and @porters - everyone is a winner this week!

Thankyou all for your entries - they were truly, truly beautiful and I truly wish I could give you all a financial prize. You really make @naturalmedicine what it is - and please keep entering these contests, because it MATTERS - not only do you reflect on your own journeys, but you invite dialogue and create a community here that is all about it's beautiful lotus heart. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou - all of you are truly wonderful and this group would be nothing without the gorgeous folk that PARTICIPATE each and every time.

We need YOU! Please consider delegating to help keep this collective going. The minimum entry for membership is 50SP (free for members under 150SP), and helps give YOU upvotes, contests, meditation sessions, an awesome discord support group, and so much more!

50SPII100SPII200II300SPII500SPII1000SP