There are some great books that manage to distill and present information and insight in such a compelling way that they appear to be “new” knowledge, event though the ideas themselves have been circulating for a very long time.

I have spent the last 35 years or so in the company of monks, mystics, and “masters” from a number of wisdom traditions – a result of my abiding curiosity and interest in what has come to be known in modern times as “Transpersonal Psychology”. Nevertheless, when I heard the audio version of Eckhard Tolle’s “The Power of Now” a few years ago, it was as if I were hearing these things for the first time – such was the effectiveness of Tolle’s communication style that for the first time, I really “got it”, despite the years in the company of other great “teachers”. BTW, if you’re going to read Tolle, I really recommend the full-version audio CD. There’s nothing like listening to it in his own voice, which I think is actually a strong part of his communication style.

I’m just finishing Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, and am having a similar reaction to it. This is a truly amazing distillation of the current state of affairs of the Western diet and the well-orchestrated transition from eating food to eating nutrients instead. Suddenly every food package and every commercial that I see about food, provides overwhelming evidence for Pollan’s position. The worst packaged junk is now touted as being nutritionally beneficial because manufacturers have added Omega 3’s or Psyllium fiber, or probiotics, etc. Sugar-laden Nutella is “healthy” because it contains Omega-3’s. Processed white bread loaded with sugar and a chemistry set of preservatives is “good food to gow up on” because its made with whole grains. Pollan opens our eyes to what is going on around us in a very readable and actionable tome that is a must read in my opinion.