Calming Your Anxious Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Anxiety, Fear, and Panic

Calming Your Anxious Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Anxiety, Fear, and Panic
Average customer rating:

not as good as expected

Required Reading

A life-changing book

Only half way through, but give it 5 stars already

Changed my life!

Calming Your Anxious Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Anxiety, Fear, and Panic
Jeffrey Brantley
Manufacturer: New Harbinger Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mood Disorders | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Anxiety Disorders | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Stress Management | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Spiritual | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Kabat-Zinn, Jon | ( K ) | Authors, A-Z | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

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Guided Mindfulness Meditation (Guided Mindfulness)

Mindfulness for Beginners

ASIN: 1572243384

Book Description

From this compassionate and nonreligious book, learn to use the principle of mindfulness to relieve a wide range of stress-related conditions. A quality common to all human beings, mindfulness is a receptive, nonjudgmental, present-moment awareness. a state of focusing attention only on the here and now. Learn to become more present in your life experiences. Develop skills for calming and relaxing the mind and body. By putting the exercises into practice, find more power for controlling disruptive feelings in your life. The resources and techniques in this book provide you with a direction that leads to greater experiential learning and dramatically effective, life-affirming attitudes.

Although the focus in Calming your Anxious Mind is relieving fear, anxiety, and panic, the basic concept of mindfulness, as well as the practices taught here, have a demonstrated applicability to a wide-range of health and stress-related conditions.

Mindfulness, a quality basic to all human beings, can be described as receptive, nonjudgmental present moment awareness, practiced by paying attention in the present moment. The approach in this book has been developed specifically to practice mindfulness as stress reduction and health enhancement technique and does not depend upon or require (or dismiss) any specific religious or spiritual orientation. This health oriented mindfulness approach is known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, which has been successfully learned by literally thousands of people for over twenty years.

Customer Reviews:

not as good as expected.......2007-07-21

it deffinatley helped me out however I found that alot of the information and phrases are used over and over again through out the boook which made it boring to read . I baught this book because its foreworded by Jon Kinn but it did not have his style. I also did not like the cheap white paper its printed on , it feels like a cheap copy that somone made at home with a photocopy mahcine.

Required Reading.......2007-07-14

This book was very helpful in understanding axiety and how to work in anxious environments. I would recommend this reading to someone who would like to learn more about the subject.

A life-changing book.......2007-06-27

Along with Jon Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living, this is an indispensable book for anyone who suffers from GAD, SAD, or panic disorder. This is compassionate, pragmatic, deep therapy that has great power on its own and can be a great supplement to working with a therapist. There's strong current science behind it, and 2500 years of Buddhist practice. Very simply, if you learn to focus in the present you won't worry so much about the future, or beat yourself up about the past.

Only half way through, but give it 5 stars already.......2007-01-08

This book is wonderful. I am only half way through, but it already deserves five stars. It is a great book if you take your time and do the work and pratice the "mindfulness". It can and will change your life. I have noticed during a very unexpected stressful day recently, that several times the word mindfulness popped into my head and I just centered myself in the moment instead of thinking of how behind I was and how mucy more I had to do that day. And at that point, I hadn't even really learned what mindfulness meant. Give this book a try. I don't think you'll be sorry.

Changed my life!.......2004-07-02

Mindfulness is happiness. If you are not appreciating the present moment, you are not fully alive. This great book helped me understand what it really means to be mindful. It shows us how to be more mindful in our everyday lives by approaching life in a totally new way. I highly recommend this excellent book! If you like these positive life-changing books, you might also like "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. This is another fantastic book that has changed my life! It looks at things from more of a relationship perspective but it is completely outstanding! This very special book puts your life into perspective and I guarantee that it will also improve all of your relationships dramatically! Have fun!

Instant Healing: From Cutting-Edge Scientific Research to Ancient Rituals and Holistic Medicine, Powerful, Drug-Free Methods to Help You Heal Your Body and Stop Pain NOW!

Average customer rating:

Best book on Healing I have ever read!
great book!
Instant Healing
Saved My Life
Simply a Great Book

Instant Healing: From Cutting-Edge Scientific Research to Ancient Rituals and Holistic Medicine, Powerful, Drug-Free Methods to Help You Heal Your Body and Stop Pain NOW!
Serge Kahili King
Manufacturer: Renaissance Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Healing | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Energy Healing | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Shamanism | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Mental & Spiritual Healing | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Alternative & Holistic | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Urban Shaman
The Sacred Power of Huna: Spirituality and Shamanism in Hawaii
Ho'Oponopono: Contemporary Uses of a Hawaiian Problem Solving Process
Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace, and More
The Secret Science Behind Miracles

Accessories:

Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 1580631592

Book Description

"SOME OF THE RESULTS MAY SEEM MIRACUOUS, BUT I AM NOT WRITING ABOUT MIRACLES.THIS IS ABOUT PRACTICAL IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES THAT WORK."What if-the next time you stub your toe, crunch your finger in a door, or crack your shin on the corner of a coffee table-what if you could heal yourself in just minutes, with no pain and no bruising?Astounding though it sounds, you can do it.Serge Kahili King will show you how.Dr. King draw upon his decades of personal experiences, research, and understanding of medical science to present a truly remarkable synthesis of healing techniques using words, imagination, touch, and energy.What is possible with the ancient secrets and contemporary modalities in this program?You can relieve allergies; ease anxiety, headaches, nausea, colds, and the flu; lessen or eliminate the pain of burns sores, swellings, infections, cuts, and bruises-even mend broken bones!For over thirty years Serge King has explored the mysteries and powers of Hawaiian shamanism.That knowledge, together with his studies of African rituals, hypnotherapy, energy research, and psychology, has made him uniquely qualified to illustrate how your body responds to you psyche and how you can maximize the power of your thoughts to ease all types of ailments and injuries.Be prepared, for this program will take you on an amazing ride.Instant Healing will redefine your sense of reality and possibility in the healing sciences and arts.

Customer Reviews:

Best book on Healing I have ever read!.......2007-02-02

I think my title says it all. I thank the Gods for Serge Kahili King. I have been a Healer for 30 years and have also read a lot of books. His is the finest I;ve ever read on the subject...why? Because his techniques really work. I shall be recommending this book to all who come to me for Healing in the future so that they can learn to help themselves.

great book!.......2006-11-03

Serge K. King is a really important master spreading Huna wisdom around the world.
Is a really good book, written in a way everyone can understand and use in their lives.

Instant Healing.......2006-11-03

A wonderful guide to simple but profound healing techiques taught with humor and wisdom. Very enjoyable to read and offers great tools for quick,effective healing techniques.

Saved My Life.......2004-09-28

I got several books, videos and audio tapes from Serge Kahili King but his "instant healing" , which I have labelled "it never happened" technique - saved my life several years ago, when half of my face became paralyzed and when doctors told me that I'll just have to accept it and that it may even get worse over time.

The paralysis was bad enough that I couldn't even speak coherently (I'd have to hold my lips with my hand in order to make an understandable sound), nor could I eat properly due to lack of sensation and because I couldn't move the muscles of my mouth. It was simply unacceptable to me to live like that, so I remembered "instant healing" technique.

I have adapted that "instant healing / it never happened" technique with NLP Time-Line technique and spend few days running the new pattern in my mind re-living my life from before the event until the present moment as if my face was always normal and it never became paralyzed.

It was not INSTANT healing - but it took ONLY FEW DAYS for my face to become COMPLETELY NORMAL and to FUNCTION PERFECTLY. My friend said that that he was utterly amazed as he watched the transformation on my face returning to normal - he said it was just like witnessing a miracle. Yeah, our minds are truly miraculous.

Simply a Great Book.......2004-04-01

A terrific book, well written in plain english.

Breaking Free from the Victim Trap: Reclaiming Your Personal Power

Average customer rating:

Hope
Read With Caution
Don't read if you're going on Jerry Springer Show

Breaking Free from the Victim Trap: Reclaiming Your Personal Power
Diane Zimberoff
Manufacturer: Wellness Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Mental & Spiritual Healing | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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Who's to Blame?: Escape the Victim Trap and Gain Personal Power in Your Relationships
A Victim No More: How to Break Free from Self-Judgment
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Intimate Communion
Facing Love Addiction: Giving Yourself the Power to Change the Way You Love

ASIN: 0962272809

Product Description

This new millennium has ushered in the Age of Freedom. A time to break out of old, self-defeating patterns and claim our personal power. A time to face the past, heal the wounds, and move into our full potential. We've all known what it's like to be a victim. Now it is time to break free and thrive. This book is for anyone who has experienced the Victim Trap: (1) people trapped by guilt in compulsive use of alcohol, food, drugs, tobacco, gambling, spending, sex, or codependent relationships. (2) people burdened by stress-related illness, who have "taken on" the problems of those they are trying to help. (3) psychologists, doctors, therapists, nurses, those in the helping professions who may be feeding the Victim Trap by "rescuing" those seeking their services. This book chronicles the rage, the frustration, and most of all the guilt that keeps people in impossible "no win" situations. And it offers a clear, step-by-step approach to leading people out of their self-defeating patterns into new liberating freedom. Diane Zimberoff's Breaking Free from the Victim Trap guides victims attempting to communicate their despair to their therapists, and guides professionals in treating the victim client.

Customer Reviews:

Hope.......2007-04-17

The ideas in this book have changed my life. Being able to take care of my inner child and changing my decisions have let me be responsible and attract what I want into my life. If you are looking for healing I highly recommend this book.

Read With Caution.......2005-09-11

The author describes dysfunctional families as those being co-dependent within a victim-persecutor-rescuer triangle. Although the author is a marriage and family therapist and on the back cover it is stated that she created a therapy model called 'Heart Centered Hypnotherapy', I was surprised to find a lack of compassion in her book. She gives many examples of her clients and it felt to me that her overall feel for them was utter disgust. She seems to assume the worst of each client .... families with alot of children purposely have that many kids to become or remain victims. rape victims attracted the rape because of faulty thought processes, children attract their victimization because of decisions made in the womb or shortly thereafter.

Read cautiously if you are feeling fragile with regards to any guilt or the normal processing of your own or your family's victimization. This author will call you a self-pitier, a whiner, a complainer, and attribute many unkind motives to why you have 'attracted' this into your life. She will encourage you to repeat affirmations such as 'I am 100% responsible for what I attract into my life". Since everything from car accidents to a child's parents arguing is something that was 'attracted' into a person's life, it gets pretty discouraging.

I tried to weed through the harsh and judgemental attitude of this author, rescuer turned persecutor, and get something good out of the book. It was difficult but I did find some usable stuff.

I hope there are other books out there a little kinder and gentler with regards to people who have been victimized.

Don't read if you're going on Jerry Springer Show.......1999-10-12

Author shows how to deal with growing up in dysfunctional home and how to become a victor, not a victim. The book explains the dynamics of personal relationships & how to improve them & be a success. Author has a set of self-help audiotapes available through the Wellness Institute that are well worth listening to. There isn't any reason why we can't become I CAN Americans like we used to be. Read this book now!

Blue Genes: Breaking Free from the Chemical Imbalances That Affect Your Moods, Your Mind, Your Life, And Your Loved Ones

Average customer rating:

A Must Read
A great book about chemical imbalances!
Well balanced book
Too extreme - from a Christian perspective
Supports a use for medications by Christians

Blue Genes: Breaking Free from the Chemical Imbalances That Affect Your Moods, Your Mind, Your Life, And Your Loved Ones
Todd, M.D. Clements , Jean-luc Betrand , and David, Sr. Mandt
Manufacturer: Tyndale House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Depression | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Psychology & Christianity | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Don't Let Jerks Get The Best Of You Advice For Dealing With Difficult People

ASIN: 1414312164

Book Description

Many common psychological problems, such as depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and ADHD, can be linked to chemical imbalances in the brain. Dr. Paul Meier, whose clinic treats thousands of people per week, has written Blue Genes to help find answers for those who struggle. Through fascinating case studies, Dr. Meier shows the dramatic difference counseling and medicine can make. This empowering book addresses how genetics, environment, diet, fitness, and spirituality all affect our minds and our quality of life.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Read.......2007-07-12

Excellent book, it would be great for recommended reading for psychology classes. It discusses multiple mental health issues with success and not so succussful treatment profiles. Discusses how mental health treatment options have changed discussing new medications and future medications. It will give hope and understanding to those who have mental health issues and to their families.

A great book about chemical imbalances!.......2007-03-12

I got this book to help me deal with a loved one struggling with depression. It was well written and had great info, particularly about brain chemicals. I like that the authors stress the importance of knowing what you're dealing with before you medicate! Would recommend this for anyone wanting to know more about 'mood disorders'. I also appreciated the info about nutrition and lifestyle being essential.

Well balanced book.......2007-02-02

I appologize for writing a review before completely finishing the book. I am here to order at least 5 more books and noticed these reviews. I am astonished at the criticism. I am a conservative Christian who believes in natural healing and has hardly ever gone to see a doctor in my life. But I am also working on a masters in counseling, I have a mother and a(deceased) sister who are borderline hystrionic, and both have (or had) obsesive cumpulsive hoarding disorder, a husband who has had dysthymia since he was nine years old and has never taken medication for it, a grown son who was suicidal 6 years ago, and a grown daughter who has bipolar spectrum disorder. I know what it means to have "blue genes". I can't tell you how refreshing it has been to read this book! The authors do not "just push medications". They make it very clear in the book that 80% of their patients don't need medications. They demonstrate how psychotherapy can relieve clients without medications. They also point out the role of nutrition deficiency in these disorders. But they emphasize to a public in denial the need for medications in 20% of clients with mental disorders. Christians must realize that the world we live in is not the same world God created 6000 years ago. We rebellious humans have gone very far in destroying what God made perfect, not only in our natural resources, but also in our very genes. That is why John the Revelator saw in vision that "the (polluted) heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together" (Rev 6:14) and Paul said "we shall all be changed [healed] in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump" (1 Cor 15:51-51) and why, after the millenium (Rev 20) the earth will be melted down by fire into a lake and thus be purified. Until then we, with the wisdom and knowledge that God gives us in response to our prayers, must do what we can to be healthy and thus an honor to God. It is not an honor to God when his people are physcially or psychologically sick. If it is a lack of faith to use medicine that can restore our abused bodies, then we should go completely natural and back to being hunters and gatherers and wearing fig leaves. Thank you for "listening".

Too extreme - from a Christian perspective.......2007-01-30

The hope and insight that Dr. Meier gives those who have struggled with chemical imbalances is inspiring. His acceptance of people who are dealing with mental & emotional health issues is wonderful and necessary. Unfortunately, there are still stigmas attached to people with mental health problems. Dr. Meier and his co-authors truly understand the physiology of these problems. They have worked with thousands of people and have a real heart to help others. Their compassion and understanding are desperately needed in our churches and in our culture.

However, this book does not have a healthy balance for Christians. I felt that it sped right past encouragement and solid advice into some wild extremes. The overall impression I had after reading the book was that is was a shameless endorsement for prescritption drug companies and the Meier Day Programs.

The end of the book reads like a corny science fiction novel (see the last chapters titled Benefits of Stem-Cell and Other Research, Computer Chips in Treatment, and Cloning p. 185-191...it's an entire review in and of itself). It's surprising that Dr. Meier dropped several names like Chuck Swindoll and Focus on the Family's Dr. Dobson in his book. Did either of these men take the time to thoroughly read it? Do they realize what they are endorsing in this book? This guy seems like he is on the edge and going over fast!

The book speaks for itself....again and again. The first few pages begin by explaining that the key to happiness is found in taking presciption medication. Dr Meier, himself, has found happiness and productivity in taking medication. He explains that he can't write books or even practice medicine without it:

"I have rather severe ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Before taking ADHD medications, I would sometimes make impulsive decisions that affected my family, such as blurting out negative comments or making impulsive financial decisions that hurt the family budget.
By taking ADHD medications every day, I can stay focused and organized and do a better job of being a family member and practicing psychiatry with my clients. They also help me write more articles and books.
In my practice of medicine, without these ADHD meds, I could make multiple mistakes, such as leaving dates off prescriptions, losing focus while clients are sharing extremely pertinent data, and so on. Moreover, I write about two or three books every year whole on medications and could write only one book every two or three years without them. So if I were too prideful to admit that I had any mental dysfunction, and I refused to take psychiatric medications, I would hinder God, Who gave me that biochemical disability for a reason, using my books, radio talk shows, and TV guest appearances to influence millions of people for His cause. I would be taking the "all natural" route to impress my "new-age" neighbors and legalistic believers, but accomplish one-third as much for Jesus and for my family." - Paul Meier, M.D. p 10

Does he really believe that it is just for a few who are struggling and have tried all other alternatives? I don't think so. Dr. Meier believes that the answer to most all of our problems is found in taking medication. And he believes this happiness is intended for over half of the world's population:

"The January 17 Time magazine articles estimated that up to 50 percent of the world's population [3 billion people?] might have an underlying genetic propensity for mental health problems. That means that 50 % of those of us `lucky enough' to have blue genes often suffer from more psychiatric problems than the other half of the population. We are prone to depression, sadness and anger, especially under stressful circumstances...About 20 percent of the population [over 1 billion] either requires lifelong psychiatric medications to avoid depression and other mental disorders or they would enjoy great benefits from modern-day psychiatric medication." p. 9

This book explains in detail exactly which medications will work and gives the names and all the information needed to talk to a physician. I have to admit that I was tempted to hop on the prescription bandwagon myself after reading the book (maybe that was the point). According to Dr. Meier, meds work to bring about the fruit of the spirit in our life, heal us from our bad habits, our sins and our emotional problems. Who wouldn't want those things? But something just didn't ring true to me; I still believe there's something to be said for relying on the Lord and the Holy Spirit. There is no quick-fix solution for life. Even though Dr. Meier mentions this himself in the book, one doesn't get the impression that he really means it.

Unfortunately, I picked this up in my church's small bookstore. There is certainly some good information here, but Dr. Meier's views about all that medication can accomplish are way too far-fetched. I would steer clear of Blue Genes and look for something a little more biblically balanced.

Supports a use for medications by Christians.......2006-10-10

The book jacket offers "practical advice" on dealing with emotional and behavioral problems. I didn't find a lot of practical advice, but a lot of indepth case histories. While most books tend to deal with the psychological solutions to depression and behavioral issues, this book did show a Christian basis for needed pharmacological soltions, which is generally not addressed. However, most of the book was stories of someone tormented who turned to the Meier Clinics for help and were cured (not overnight granted, but always cured nonetheless). So it was much more of an ad for the Meier clinics than anything else.

Hopefully in conjunction with other reading, people will find this information useful.

Your Sacred Self: Making the Decision to Be Free

Average customer rating:

Your Sacred Self
Margaret Ottley-Okubo, Author of Everyday Miracles
Fantastic book for the mind and soul
Excellent Book
Your Sacred Self - Philosophical Review

Your Sacred Self: Making the Decision to Be Free
Wayne W. Dyer
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Meditation | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Self-Help | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Personal Transformation | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060935839
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Book Description

Bestselling author Wayne W. Dyer
reveals a three-step plan for finding joy
and taking strength from ourselves.

In this liberating and enriching book, Wayne W. Dyer teaches us:

To tap into the power of our higher selves

To live each day, regardless of what we do, with a greater sense of peace and fulfillment

To develop a sense of satisfaction with ourselves and others

To move from our insatiable need for more to an awareness of abundance

Step by step, Your Sacred Self will help you understand your place in the world and develop a sense of satisfaction with yourself and others.

Customer Reviews:

Your Sacred Self.......2007-10-11

I received this book thinking that I had ordered an audiobook. I
started to read it and felt that I had read and seen this material
in Dyer's other self help books. I recognized some material from the
101 ways to transform your life. I put the book down and could not
finish it. It seemed repetitous because I have read a lot of Dyer's
material. I love Wayne Dyer but this book just did not seem fresh. Again,
it always depend on the person. Someone else may pick it up and love it.
If you have read Dyer's other material then I think you will agreed it
just is not fresh or a fresh approach to the same material. F.J.

Margaret Ottley-Okubo, Author of Everyday Miracles.......2007-07-13

This book is a guide to keep one on the spiritual path. It enables us to view ourselves as spiritual beings first and then as physical beings.It has helped me find meaning to my existence and become a more caring and loving person. A great work of inspiration.Everyday Miracles: Stories That Touch Your Heart

Fantastic book for the mind and soul.......2007-05-21

This book gave me insight to myself and others around me. I can see myself in a totally new light, and I can see my part in the world has infinite possibilities.

I am grateful for this book and its writer, great for the soul.

Excellent Book.......2007-05-14

This is a book that is encouraging and helpful to those who are seeking to find strength and peace within themselves. The book is easy to read and has many thinking exercises and helpful ideas that are easy to practice. Excellent resource.

Your Sacred Self - Philosophical Review.......2006-11-02

An earlier work, Dyer's style includes both Eastern and Western philosophy. Stresses being true to self and being in touch with soul. Reminds me of an affirmation that says divine intelligence within us is our supply. The book is about discovering true self, knowing that part of each of us is eternal.
Trish New, author of The Thrill of Hope and South State Street Journal.

Why Am I Always So Tired?: Discover How Correcting Your Body's Copper Imbalance Can * Keep Your Body From Giving Out Before Your Mind Does *Free You from ... Midday Slumps * Give You the Energy Break

Average customer rating:

Very informative
Finally, an answer to my problems!!!
Combat CFS & Fibromyalgia--Read this book...
Brilliant!
Worth spending a few coppers on... (sorry, couldn't resist)

Why Am I Always So Tired?: Discover How Correcting Your Body's Copper Imbalance Can * Keep Your Body From Giving Out Before Your Mind Does *Free You from ... Midday Slumps * Give You the Energy Break
Ann Louise Gittleman
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Gittleman, Ann Louise | Authors, A-Z | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
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ASIN: 0062515942

Amazon.com

Copper overload is an insidious but increasingly common nutritional problem, says Ann Louise Gittleman, author of the bestselling Beyond Pritikin. She says that difficulty getting out of bed, midday slumps, mood swings, insomnia, and anxiety may be symptoms of a copper/zinc imbalance. She discovered this link after she encountered several patients in her nutritional practice--most of them women--who were not suffering from hypothyroidism, adrenal problems, or anemia (as she had suspected), but rather a mineral imbalance that was diagnosed after simple hair testing.

Vegetarian diets, low-fat diets, and taking multivitamins--all ostensibly healthy moves--can make you more susceptible to copper overload. So do less-healthy activities, including drinking alcohol and coffee, taking cortisone, and being constantly stressed. (These activities sap the body of zinc, says Gittleman, jeopardizing the delicate zinc/copper homeostasis in the body.) Home tap water may also be overloaded with copper, and women are susceptible to absorbing copper from intrauterine devices.

To remedy the overload, Gittleman outlines an easy plan for renewing health and increasing energy. She includes a questionnaire to help determine if copper overload may be a problem for you; gives resources for hair analysis in case your doctor doesn't have one; instructs on how to read a tissue-analysis report; and outlines a sensible diet plan, including menus to keep the zinc/copper balance in check.

Up to 80 percent of the general population complains about fatigue; Gittleman's book may very well offer a simple solution for thousands of people. --Erica Jorgensen

Book Description

"This may well be a seminal book--a courageous eye-opener that could fundamentally alter our approach to the treatment of chronic fatigue."
-- From the foreword by Michael Rosenbaum, M.D.

Answering the question on the minds of 75 percent of Americans, Why Am I Always So Tired?, leading nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman shows us how we canbe more alert and active by eliminating excess copper in our diets and increasing our zinc intake. The time-tested formula points out which culprits steal energyfrom us--namely trendy, low-fat diets--that make otherwise healthy people feel drained.

This revolutionary book offers Gittleman's insights into how we can modify our diets and lifestyles to increase our energy and prevail over the chronic fatigue thatplagues us with symptoms such as: anxiety, insomnia, skin problems, frequentcolds, and roller-coaster emotions. Using her research and breakthroughfindings, Gittleman helps us eliminate these problems and access the energywe didn't know we had.

Customer Reviews:

Very informative.......2006-11-23

Now I know exactly what my health problems have been for over 20 years....copper! Very informative read and very interesting. Definately recommend this book for anyone to read.

Finally, an answer to my problems!!!.......2003-03-31

After suffering for many years from acne, dry skin, hair falling out, anxiety disorders, occasional insomnia and hormonal problems like bad pms, I have finally found what the causes of all these problems were; Copper toxicity! After reading Gittleman's book, I had a hair mineral analysis done and my copper levels were 5 times the normal limit! I have been following the advice in this book for 3 months and I feel like a totally new person. A very overlooked problem that could be the cause of many health problems especially for women. Go buy the book!

Combat CFS & Fibromyalgia--Read this book..........2002-09-15

To Melissa Diane Smith and Others....

This was an exceptional book! What you have written makes so much sense that anyone complaining of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia would be wise to buy this book and read it. I am a certified physician assistant and a candidate for the doctor of naturopathy degree for healthcare professionals and I have referred several people to this book, Syndrome X and Going Against the Grain.

I think that all three of these books feed on each other and would be quite helpful to anyone, not only people suffering from chronic diseases.

These books give options for self-improvement without the use of multiple medications. The American people of today need to take a closer look at their treatment plans and get back to basics and fundamentals of natural health.

The medications and foods we eat are our biggest problems and these three books address those problems and methods of correcting them that are essentially easy, but will take determinated and an adjustment of will power....

Thank you to the writers for giving us such eye-opening books in an easy-to-read format.

Marge Cook
Physician Assistant Certified

Brilliant!.......2002-07-21

Love her! Copper overload will not be everyone's reason for fatigue, of course, but it's possibly true for many people. She explains why the copper/zinc becomes imbalanced and what to do about it. My hair analysis of 8 years ago showed this syndrome, but no one knew what it meant. In fact, it was not considered "abnormal" nor did it merit any red flag whatsoever. I'm feeling better since implementing Gittleman's advice. Easy to do on your own. Copper can be like a toxic heavy metal for some of us. I'm less anxious, noticeably more relaxed. This was great just in itself, even if the fatigue does not improve (but it has, slightly, too). If you think this could be you--Try it!

Worth spending a few coppers on... (sorry, couldn't resist).......2000-11-16

In this book, Ms. Gittleman suggests that excess copper is a common cause of fatigue and other chronic health problems, especially among women. Many popular foods, such as tea, nuts, beans, avocados and whole wheat, are high in copper. Even if we don't consume excess amounts, other factors (including stress and the Pill) can cause it to build up in our tissues instead of being excreted.

It's true that the author doesn't have a lot of evidence from peer-reviewed medical journals. Still, the idea makes sense, and her profile of the typical person with excess copper, especially the "physically tired/mentally overactive" part, describes me quite well. It also describes a good friend of mine to a 'T'. (She even has the characteristic orangish hair color.) I can't say I'm a true believer, but I figure it can't hurt, so I might as well try it. The suggested eating plan seems healthy and simple enough, and the optional supplements - B6, C, zinc, manganese - aren't expensive or dangerous.

I agree with some other reviewers that this book is a bit light on content: it's less than 150 pages, with a fair number of anecdotes and some repetition. Also, the useful material is scattered all over the book; an index would be greatly appreciated. But if it works, it will be well worth the price.

Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life
Average customer rating:

Poor. Repetitious anecdotes that go nowhere

This book is very good for people who think too much

Women Who Think Too Much

lots of repetition

Excellent Book On Breaking Free From Overthinking

Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema
Manufacturer: Owl Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mood Disorders | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Compulsive Behavior | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Personal Transformation | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Personality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol, and Depression--and How Women Can Break Free

Women Who Worry Too Much: How to Stop Worry & Anxiety from Ruining Relationships, Work, & Fun

When Your Body Gets the Blues: The Clinically Proven Program for Women Who Feel Tired, Stressed, and Eat Too Much!

The Worrywart's Companion: Twenty-One Ways to Soothe Yourself and Worry Smart

Worry Worry

ASIN: 0805075259

Book Description

It's no surprise that our fast-paced, overly self-analytical culture is pushing many people-especially women-to spend countless hours thinking about negative ideas, feelings, and experiences. Renowned psychologist Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema calls this overthinking, and her groundbreaking research shows that an increasing number of women-more than half of those in her extensive study-are doing it too much and too often, leading to sadness, anxiety, and depression. She challenges the assumption-heralded by so many pop-psychology pundits of the last several decades-that constantly expressing and analyzing our emotions is a good thing. In Women Who Think Too Much, Nolen-Hoeksema shows us what causes so many women to be overthinkers and provides concrete strategies that can be used to escape these negative thoughts, move to higher ground, and live more productively. Women Who Think Too Much will change lives, and is destined to become a self-help classic.

Customer Reviews:

Poor. Repetitious anecdotes that go nowhere.......2007-04-17

If you are prone to ruminate and worry, you probably think this book sounds like some kind of Godsend. I mean, the title hit it on the head, right? Sounds like it describes you to a t? Unfortunately, the book doesn't deliver. It's just one lengthy anecdote after another of various women who think too much, with overly simplistic solutions on how they can/should stop. I rarely give a book one star, but this book is especially noxious because it sometimes takes on a lecturing, unsympathetic tone, which should alienate most readers. I wish I could describe it better, but frankly, there's just not that much to this book...The BEST book I have ever read on worrying? Edmund Hallowell's "Worry." That guy is a genius, and it's beautifully written. Other good books if you are a worrier? The cognitive therapy books by David Burns; the big bestseller was "Feeling Good" but I think he has many...The book isn't as fun to read as Hallowell's but if you can actually learn to really do the written cognitive therapy exercises, that will get a major handle on your worries. BTW, neither one of those books is sexist; human beings as a group are examined.

This book is very good for people who think too much.......2005-05-19

If you have problems with anxiety, self-esteem, and overthinking then, this book is really for you. It will help you preserve important decision-making skills. It will also help you heal from many psychological problems. This book will allow you to develop healthier thinking in general. This is a very good self-help book. I really liked this book.

Women Who Think Too Much.......2004-02-08

This book was very disappointing. Every chapter seems to constantly review the negative people and situations that "women constantly think of" giving examples. On and on with all the negativity, it was depressing. The advice given was what any friend could tell you. There is no new advice, just seems to be a review of everyone's problems and to "do something else", so you don't think about it. I was bored and disappointed, the worst book I've read in a long time. Made me think too much about what a waste of money it was!

lots of repetition.......2003-12-31

This book will probably be helpful for the average woman with minor problems with overthinking who hasn't as yet identified this as her problem. The book could have been much shorter and said just as much. There is a lot of repetition that will probably prove helpful for women trying to figure out if this is their problem as many synoptic examples of overthinking are given. For others that have read a lot about anxiety etc. it will be less helpful and very repetitive. Most of the strategies will not help those with serious debilitating problems, but may provide relief for women (or men) with occassional bouts of anxiety and overthinking. Methods of distraction and telling oneself to stop are only marginally helpful to those with more serious problems in this area, as if one could stop that easily, presumably one would have done so long ago. This book will mostly help some people to realize they can give themselves permission to stop ruminating. For those who are beyond being helped by that, it offers little more than a bandage. There isn't much scientific information on nuerology outside of a paragraph or two. The rest is mostly anecdotal.

Excellent Book On Breaking Free From Overthinking.......2003-11-21

Women Who Think Too Much came out earlier this year, and I gobbled it up in two sittings. Several people have borrowed this book from me, and have found it incredibly insightful. (And not all have been women, either!) This book features a breakthrough new method that teaches you how to free yourself from the negative cycles of overthinking.

What is overthinking? Nolen-Hoeksma, a professor of Psychology, contends that our society is both fast-paced and overly-self-analytical. The self-help section in bookstores bulge with upteen ways to analyze yourself and gaze at your bellybutton. With this self-analysis comes over-thinking--and Nolen-Hoeksema has discovered that women are more prone to overthink than men. Women spend countless hours fruitlessly thinking about negative ideas, feelings, experiences, and relationships. The result of this over-thinking? A huge number of women are feeling sad, anxious, or seriously depressed.

The author provides case studies, but they aren't presented in a dry, intellectual tone. She connects the dots between the research and how it impacts women in their day-to-day lives. Chapter titles include What's Wrong With OverThinking?, Married to My Worries: Overthinking Intimate Relationships, Always On The Job: Overthinking Work and Careers, and ten other chapters. The great thing about this book is that it doesn't just talk about why overthinking is bad for mental, emotional, and even physical health, but also provides several chapters on how to break free from overthinking and move to higher ground.

In the Chapter If It Hurts So Much, Why Do We Do It?, the author explains fascinating discoveries in brain science, and how when we think of one bad thing, it usually cascades into a torrent of negative thoughts and emotions. She writes:

"The organization of our brain sets us up for overthinking. Each little thought and memory we hold in our mind does not sit there isolated and independent from other thoughts. Instead, our thoughts are woven together in intricate networks of associations...This intricate organization of the brain into in interconnected networks of memories, thoughts, and feelings greatly increases our efficiency of thinking. It's what helps us see similarities and connections between issues...But our spiderweb of a brain also makes it easy to overthink. In particular, the fact that negative mood connects negative thoughts and memories, even when these thoughts and memories have nothing else to do with one another, sets us up for overthinking. When you are in a bad mood for any reason, your mood activates--literally lights up--those nodes of your brain that hold negative memories from the past and negative ways of thinkings. This makes them highly accessible: it's easier to get there with your conscious thoughts. This is why it is easier to think of negative things when you are in a bad mood than when you are in a good mood. It is also easier to see interconnections between the bad things in your life when you are in a bad mood..."

The author describes three phases of conquering overthinking, and covers each phase in separate chapters: breaking free of its grip, moving to higher ground and gaining a new perspective, and avoiding future traps by building your resources. Not only does she provide example scenarios of how to implement these strategies, but she also has a quick reference section in chart form at the end of each of these chapters. For example:

Strategy: Don't go there.
Description: Choose not to get involved in situations that arouse overthinking.
Example: Jan knew that spending too much time with her mother was sure to result in weeks of overthinking, so she kept her visits short.

Another example:

Strategy: Let go of unhealthy goals
Description: Let go of goals that are impossible or that cause you to act self-destructively.
Example: Briana decided that rather than try to lose 50 pounds by starving herself, she would lose 20 with a diet prescribed by her doctor.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in neuro-science and the thought/emotion connection, as well as those looking for pratical strategies to manage negative self-talk and unproductive mental chatter.

The Procrastination Workbook: Your Personalized Program for Breaking Free from the Patterns That Hold You Back

Average customer rating:

mistake on page 2??
Disappointing
Joking about procrastination is funny only because it hurts

The Procrastination Workbook: Your Personalized Program for Breaking Free from the Patterns That Hold You Back
William Knaus
Manufacturer: New Harbinger Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Motivational | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Personal Transformation | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Do It Now!: Break the Procrastination Habit
The Habit Change Workbook: How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones
Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It
The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play
The Procrastinator's Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now

ASIN: 1572242957

Book Description

At its worst, procrastination can sabotage personal relationships and impede professional progress. The Procrastination Workbook distills the most effective techniques available to help readers identify why they put things off and find solutions. Based on 30 years of research, the book offers a plan for counteracting this undesirable trait at work, home, or school. Quizzes, worksheets, and tips make the process engaging and fun.

Customer Reviews:

mistake on page 2??.......2007-01-30

Just reading the excerpt I spotted a mistake. Who edits books nowadays? The word procrastinate comes from Latin: pro - for or toward / cras - tomorrow / tinere to hold, hold off.

Disappointing.......2004-07-18

Since there are only two reviews (well just one, really) I thought I should give my perspective to fill the picture out a bit. Remember, this is just my personal view.

I take it that the author is strongly influenced by Albert Ellis's REBT system. I don't know very much about it, but I would also guess that if you like Ellis' work, you'll probably enjoy Knaus' as well.

I on the other hand was turned off by the way the author presents his ideas. He seems to use complicated lingo--not always clinical, but usually obscure--to say things that could be expressed more clearly. For instance, towards the beginning we find that we'll diminish procrastination through "self regulation training". "Self efficacy is the belief that you have the power to organize, regulate, and direct your actions to achieve mastery. With high self efficacy, you'll predictably procrastinate less. With low self efficacy, you are likely to procrastinate more. Among the self regulation methods, the PURRRR acronym describes a six step--pause, utilize, reflect, reason, respond, and revise--process to keep your 'do it now' engine purring." And it goes on like that. While I don't disagree with what he says, I find that his writing style gets very little across. But I quoted him so that you can form your own opinion.

No matter how challenging this affliction can be for someone who is a confirmed procrastinator, dealing with it is not rocket science, and there's no need to obscure the matter.

Joking about procrastination is funny only because it hurts.......2003-03-04

In page after page I find myself gasping as William Knaus explains the different ways I have developed to procrastinate my life away. Knaus describes procrastination as a complex mixture of discomfort, self-doubts, perfectionism, fear of failure, anxiety, rebellion and depression developed over a lifetime. He explains how heaping blame on yourself only drives you to procrastinate more and he has created thought questions to help you develop the skills you need to pause, resist, reflect and respond.

A life changing weapon against the graveyard of missed opportunities, I highly recommend it!

The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Awakening, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND: 10 Keys for Unlocking Your Personal Potential, Achieving Spiritual Awakening, ... of Humanity's Ultimate Cosmic Destiny
Average customer rating:

Way Beyond "Socrates Revisited"

True, but gimmicky

A Unique and Inspiring Wake-up Call

Challenge Consensus Reality!

A Simple Cure For What's "Eating Us"

The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Awakening, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND: 10 Keys for Unlocking Your Personal Potential, Achieving Spiritual Awakening, ... of Humanity's Ultimate Cosmic Destiny
Vincent Casspriano Jr.
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Buddha | Buddhism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1847285783

Book Description

The Simplest Path, Step One: Free Your Mind delineates, in one slim volume, a complete system for achieving personal spiritual awakening, along with a straightforward, no-nonsense plan individuals and groups so enlightened can follow to awaken Humanity en masse and positively transform the world. This book contains keys to awakening. Awakening from our personal dream shatters the solid "box" of limitation memes have built around our lives, and frees us to fluidly craft our personalities, environments, relationships, careers, etc. as an artist paints a landscape or a sculptor teases form from formless clay. All of us awakening together from the shared dream of the planet will mark the birth of our species out of our current global nightmare of decline into a limitless future literally beyond our present ability to imagine, even in our "wildest dreams," indeed.

Customer Reviews:

Way Beyond "Socrates Revisited".......2007-08-22

After reading the commentary attached to the one star rating given by the young man from Texas, I feel compelled to step forward in defense of this very fine book. With only one exception, every point made in that negative review is simply wrong. Just not factually correct. The reviewer identifies himself as a young man (... "to my young mind"), and since all of his other Amazon reviews are of TV episodes on DVD, video games and rock music CDs I take him at his word. Well, I am an "old man," closing in on my sixty-third birthday, and I came to Mr. Casspriano's book after six decades of life experience, the last three of those decades a zealous practitioner of Zen Buddhism. I say this not to "brag," but simply to qualify myself as a reviewer before beginning.

I'll start where the one star reviewer closed his argument, with his statement that the simplest path reduces to two Socratic concepts: "Admit that you don't know anything" and "know yourself."

The first part is nominally true (the exception). Like Zen Buddhism, a central tenet of the simplest path is working to release the false notion we all hold that we know ourselves, other people, the world around us. But identifying and releasing our attachments to our illusions is a life's work, not some brash "I don't know nothin'!" as the young Texan seems to imply. Under normal circumstances, we go about our daily lives with no idea we are deluded about anything, as Maya (the illusion of the phenomenal world around and even inside us) is so convincing that most of us never even think to question its validity. Casspriano did not invent the notion of human beings being trapped in illusion, as this truth was known to the timeless authors of the Hindu Vedas and is central to all schools of Buddhism (not just Zen). But his scientific/spiritual exploration of the mechanism by which Maya ensnares our minds and can, with effort, be overcome is among the best "plain English" explanations of this process I have read. There is no "inscrutable mystery" in the simplest path (a criticism that has been accurately leveled toward Zen Buddhism, as a lot of Eastern thought truly does come off as "inscrutable" when translated into English and/or the metaphors of Western culture). Casspriano lays out in no-nonsense American English exactly what our brains are doing when they create the illusion we mistake for reality, then shows the reader in the same clear terms how to train his or her brain to break free of illusion and taste reality as-it-is. In just 216 pages, that is no mean feat. After thirty years of Zen practice and numerous kensho experiences (of varying depths and intensities), I can say from personal experience that Casspriano is correct. Enlightenment comes as the fruit of a long, incremental process of retraining the mind to touch reality in a new way, and the process described in the simplest path is the same as that followed in Zen practice, especially Rienzi Zen koan study (I'll have more to say about this in a later paragraph). Casspriano's approach and language is very different from traditional Zen (more "scientific," and no sitting meditation is required), which I think would appeal to Americans and other Westerners seeking to experience "awakening" without necessarily committing themselves to a religion like Buddhism, but the internal mental/spiritual process and final destination are the same.

"Know yourself," on the other hand, is not in this book at all, at least not in the way the young reviewer, or Socrates for that matter, uses the phrase. As in Buddhism, Casspriano takes pains to demonstrate that "self" is as much of an illusion as our misapprehension of the phenomenal world, and is a byproduct of exactly the same mind process that creates outer Maya. A core teaching of Buddhism is that our "self," our personality/ego, is nothing more than an aggregation of outside influences that cluster together in our minds like shiny stones gathered into a pile, and which we mistake not only for something "real," but tragically, for our essential selves. Yet this "pile" has nothing really to do with who we are at all. Buddhism teaches "no-self." Belief in the illusion of a unique and independent "self" is our greatest obstacle to enlightenment. Wasting time and energy getting to "know yourself" in the Western sense is foreign to Eastern thought. Casspriano again does a great job of translating the Buddhist concept of "no-self" into Western scientific/spiritual terminology. He shows the process by which our ego/personality aggregate "piles up," as well as how to take the pile down, stone by stone. Enlightenment is what the pile was covering up, and so it naturally appears as soon as the pile is removed - but oh how we cling to our personal pile of stones! "Self" is what we must trade for enlightenment, what must be surrendered, and Casspriano returns to this truth many times in the simplest path. My point is that the one star reviewer's reduction of the simplest path to "know yourself" has no basis at all in the actual book.

As to the book being "gimmicky": Yes, the words "The Simplest Path" recur frequently throughout the book, but not in reference to the book itself (at least that's not how I took it), but rather to the system of understanding the mind and working toward "awakening" Casspriano is describing - and it is a complete system that deserves to be considered as a whole, on its own. At times the repetition does have a feel of "branding" in the commercial sense, so I understand where the reviewer may have taken his impression. But the simplest path, while resonant with Zen Buddhism (and apparently, according to Casspriano, with the Toltec philosophy espoused by Carlos Castaneda, of which I have no personal knowledge, so I'll have to take the author's word for that) is far enough different that it needs its own "name" to set it apart from other schools of similar but not identical thought. The reviewer's criticism is like saying that every use of the term "Zen" in a book called "Zen Buddhism" should be taken as a reference to the book, and not to the larger practice of Zen Buddhism as a spiritual discipline that the book is describing. Casspriano's point in repeatedly linking The Simplest Path, Zen Buddhism and Toltec Shamanism throughout the book, at least as I understood it, is to highlight these three spiritual practices as related reliable paths through a dark forest of illusion, a forest in which many apparent (and more popular) paths, including most (all?) religious beliefs, actively vie to mislead travelers toward deeper ensnarement in the dream, rather than leading them toward "awakening."

I want to say a word about koan study in Rienzi Zen and how it relates to the simplest path. Koans are those quirky Zen sayings and stories like "what is the sound of one hand clapping?" or "what was your original face before you (or your parents) were born?" that have no rational answer, and which Zen students turn and turn in their minds like the tumblers of a combination lock until their imprisoned psyches "explode" in a "super-rational" experience of reality beyond the illusion ("irrational" would be the wrong term, as that implies "nonsense"). That "super-rational" vision of reality is called "kensho." I have experienced it myself, more than once in my lifetime. I have come to think of Casspriano's "Key Questions" in the second half of the simplest path, especially the later seven of the ten, as "cultural koans" designed to trigger "collective kensho" for the whole human race at once. Like "what is the sound of one hand clapping?", unflinching consideration of the value of human life, of how our beliefs about the future shape the present, of the true origin and destiny of life on Earth, etc., especially as seen through the lens of Casspriano's "Key Question Technique," reveals that none of these questions have rational answers, yet all require our active and immediate response. Successful resolution of these larger riddles that impact everyone will require us all to eventually "explode" into reality, together, in a "super-rational" way. We'll have to break through the illusion and wake up together, as one (which has been the goal of Mahayana Buddhism, of which Zen is a sect, since around 200 BCE). That is the "Planetary Awakening" addressed in this book, and I believe Casspriano's "Key Questions" are a concrete step in that direction. I'm glad I spent my fifteen dollars.

This is my "old man" take on the simplest path, having encountered it after 30 years of Zen Buddhist practice (I'm not veering off my chosen path here, just bowing respectfully in passing toward Casspriano's). From a Buddhist perspective, the simplest path is true Dharma, though I do not get the impression from reading his book that Vincent Casspriano is himself a Buddhist or a follower of any religion. That to my mind makes his book all the more interesting.

True, but gimmicky.......2007-08-09

Casspriano's book is scientifically and philosophically sound as best as my young mind can tell, but I don't recommend this book. Its scattered with numerous pages of advertising about how his "program" works and how it compares to other religions and spiritual movements. Why must this author physically write out "The Simplest Path" in reference to his book every other page, and talk about his second volume? Perhaps because he's not out for pure truth, but for our money.

All this book comes down to after you strip away the nonsense is two things. First, admit that you don't truly know anything. Second, know yourself. Do those two things (they essentially both mean to question EVERYTHING), and you'll have Casspriano's "Planetary Awakening," with 15 bucks still in your pocket. And you'll be following the fundamental truths already said by Socrates.. so do yourself a favor and pick up Plato's "Apology" and read up on the Socratic dialogue on how to live a good life. And don't stop there, because you can't be sure he's right.

And I have 10 bucks that says these other couple of reviews were written by the book publisher. In any case, ignore the hype.

A Unique and Inspiring Wake-up Call.......2007-05-15

This is one of the most clear-headed books I've read in years on the subject of real, nitty gritty, get your hands dirty spiritual development (as opposed to the fru fru New Age variety). So much of what passes for "spirituality" in our time amounts to some author, celebrity, priest, philosopher or self-appointed guru telling us what to "believe," sight unseen, if we want to reach heaven, attain enlightenment, achieve "ascension," etc. Casspriano takes an at times startling opposite approach. For Casspriano, such unquestioned/unquestionable beliefs are not only NOT the path to spiritual awakening, they represent the chief obstacle blocking our realization of higher consciousness. And it's not just religious beliefs ("faith") he's talking about, but all our beliefs about reality, especially those that enclose our thinking in "boxes" that limit our freedom to find solutions to real-world threats like Peak Oil, overpopulation, Global Warming, etc. Though much of the book focuses on individual enlightenment, for Casspriano, these larger planetary issues are "spiritual," as well. Whether the issue is our personal inability to find happiness or Humanity's collective rush toward physical extinction, the cause is the same - our wrong-headed beliefs about what's real. The solution is the same, as well - continuous, deep questioning. Using Richard Dawkins' concept of "memes" as a central metaphor, Casspriano first breaks down the basic process of belief, showing the mechanism in our brains by which beliefs misdirect and control our psyches, then he walks the reader through an exploration of a series of ten "anti-meme questions" aimed at breaking down the walls of our mental "boxes" and setting our minds free. With each question, he supplies an exercise designed to allow the reader to attain a personal taste of reality "beyond the box," especially as flavored by that chapter's "Key Question." For the most part, this formula works very well (with a few rare moments of over-exuberance on the author's part, as already described in other reviews, though as a card carrying vegan environmentalist, I can't say I particularly minded), delivering a cumulative series of death-blows to some of the most basic "pillars" of our present human consensus reality. Beyond the walls those pillars supported lies real reality, where we are all interconnected and interdependent, and, in Casspriano's view, mutually destined for greatness, if we can just wake up and grab the reins of our runaway culture in time. This is not a book for spiritual "feel gooders" seeking soft assurances that they're perfect just they way they are and everything's going to be all right, no matter what. This is a wake up call, a tool kit and a concrete action plan for becoming individually enlightened and collectively saving the world, all rolled up into one. That, I think, is a cause well-worthy of exuberance.

Challenge Consensus Reality!.......2007-05-10

This is a thoughtful book that addresses how we may go about developing a process to question our everyday consensus reality. I suppose if I have learned anything in 49 years of life, it is that all personal and social problems stem from our fundamental views on the nature of reality itself. Vincent Casspriano uses the concept of a "meme" as a fundamental unit of ideas, assumptions, etc. that often block our understanding of reality itself. One such meme, for example, may be that we have to "fight for our freedom" or the world's a "fearful" place and hence, we have to be ready to kill to protect ourselves. I suppose you could also use the word "paradigm" here as well, but the essential point of this book is that we "unconsciously" function in our life with many limited points of view that block our ability to solve problems on both a personal and a social basis.

While Vince Casspriano is to be congradulated for producing a book that presents both a methodology and a motivation for personal transformation, there are a few pitfalls here that the potential reader should be aware of before tackling this material. The author has some rather strong views on fossil fuel consumption, meet consumption, and the role of humans in the cycle of procreation. While I generally agree with his analysis on fossil fuel consumtion and meat consumption (as I have viewed large tracks of deforrested grazing land in developing countries), these viewpoints can distract the reader from the essential point here which is to rigourously question consensus reality. Since I am single, and have no motivation to have children, I definitely disagree with his views on the necessity of human procreation on this planet, but here again, it is important to extract the essential meaning rather than get caught in the specific political/social debates that these issues may spawn.

If you are serious about personal transformation with the potential for changing our global consciousness, than this book can be an invaluable tool. I do agree with the Author that a world population of "high functioning" people can resolve every planetary problem we face today. As we systematically question our consensus reality, we will see our problems in new ways, and with this new perspective, problems can often be quickly resolved or transcended.

A Simple Cure For What's "Eating Us".......2006-11-13

I considered titling this review, "Stop Whining, Wake Up and Get Busy Saving the World," but decided "Eating Us" would be more attention-grabbing - which matters because I believe Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" is an important book, and I want to do whatever I can to draw your attention to it. Pick the title you like best. Both very fittingly describe what you will find within the pages of this remarkable new release from New Paradigm Press.

I have selected three short quotations to explore in this review that I think best summarize Casspriano's overall message:

From Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":

"Right now, this very moment, you are asleep... Even if you are reading these words in broad daylight - sitting at your desk or beside the kitchen table, your feet firmly planted on the floor, eyes open, senses alert, feeling the weight of this book in your hands as sounds of life rise and fall rhythmically around you - you are deeply asleep, and dreaming furiously"

Now, the idea that Humans are sleeping, and must therefore "awaken," is by no means unique to Casspriano's "Simplest Path" spiritual system, being the root observation underlying pretty much all Eastern religion, and a lot of Western Occultism and New Age metaphysics, as well. In fairness, Casspriano makes no claim to this as an original insight, openly supporting his assessment of the human predicament with quotations taken from Animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. He then flows seamlessly into a list of complementary illustrations from the secular realms of Quantum Physics, brain/consciousness research, and most to-the-point, the study of memes and memetics, ala Evolutionary Biologist and world's best-known cheerleader for scientific atheism, Richard Dawkins.

If you've never heard of memes or memetics, a quick Google of those terms will reveal hundreds of serious, information-rich websites devoted to this now thirty-year old science. In a nutshell, a "meme" is a sort of contagious thought-form that spreads between people by way of imitation. Obvious memes in our environment include advertising jingles, fads and fashions, etc. Casspriano somewhat radically extends the concept to include just about everything that makes up the contents of our individual brains and shared human culture. While he resists redefining the word "meme" wholesale, he decidedly expands its definition to make memes and "memeplexes" (what you get when a number of memes band together into an organic, relational unit, like a religion or cultural or political movement) the basic, fundamental building blocks of everything we habitually label "real..."

And then he demonstrates, in at times excruciating detail, the complete emptiness of the "apparent-reality" that is a byproduct of memetic activity in our brains. What we call "real" is not real at all. It's an illusion spun up by our memes. And our memes are not original to us. They are "viral invaders" assailing our minds from without. Worse - and, while even this thought is not wholly unique to Casspriano, he certainly gives it his own very effective spin - memes are by no means mere passive beliefs or simple "harmless ideas." They are, Casspriano believes, actively predatory psychic parasites whose survival depends on our buying into the illusions they create in our minds. Think of illusion (Samsara, Maya, etc.) as a web we're caught in. Memes are the spider. We are the fly. Gotcha.

One thing I like very much about Casspriano's book is that he never asks us to take anything on faith, least of all this rather ugly depiction of the human psychic/spiritual condition. He not only challenges readers to test his hypothesis firsthand in order to experience what is real and true for ourselves, he spends a large chunk of the book outlining specific exercises anyone can do to escape memetic interference and personally experience reality as-it-is. The exercises in Part II of the book are powerful medicine... But this is a digression, so let me return to the point.

Memes are the spider, and we are the fly. A better metaphor might be that memes are the farmer, and we are the cow. Domesticated and docile, we allow memes to milk us daily, to extract from our minds the potent human psychic energy which, if reclaimed by us and put to proper human use, would quickly and positively transform our lives and our world. This transformation is awakening, ascension, enlightenment, metanoia, the Buddha-like change of consciousness most religions and spiritual systems on Earth hint at, but few ever actually deliver to followers. In this analysis, Casspriano's "Simplest Path" is very much in line with Gurdjieff's "Fourth Way," Carlos Castaneda's Toltec sorcery, and a few other well known spiritual practices inhabiting a somewhat darker, though perhaps more realistic corner of the New Age. But unlike most of those other systems, Casspriano's prescription for escaping illusion and awakening to reality is remarkably, well... simple.

From Chapter Three, "Waking Up":

"The simple truth is that we are sleeping because we lack sufficient energy to wake up."

And later in the same chapter:

"The real work that brings about awakening, rather than merely granting the external appearance of "being spiritual," while actually embroiling us ever more deeply in the dream, is a rigorous, daily commitment to the identification and elimination of every self-serving belief from which our personal dream-lives are constructed."

For "belief" in the quotation above, read "meme/memeplex." Casspriano certainly does, treating the terms as largely interchangeable. In the end, this genuinely simple - at least in the sense of being uncomplicated and pragmatic - spiritual practice amounts to discovering reality as-it-actually-is less by searching for a glimpse beyond the illusion, than by systematically withdrawing our participation in, and identification with, the dream. When we disentangle our psyches from memetic illusion, only reality remains. We don't have to chase it; to a meme-free mind, reality just appears. This is "Satori" in Zen Buddhism. This is "stopping the world" in the Toltec sorcery of Castaneda and others. Casspriano's genius lies in his talent for exposing the core mechanism behind such complex and often inscrutable spiritual systems, and for putting into plain language clear instructions for unraveling the dream and achieving personal awakening. The virus-like process by which memes take over and control our human minds, as described by Casspriano is, to my mind, very complicated (but well worth struggling through). What is genuinely simple about "The Simplest Path," however, is Casspriano's prescription for breaking those bonds, once you've made the effort to understand how they are created and maintained. For Casspriano, remaining a victim of spiritual sleep and energetic exploitation by memes is a complex activity in which we unconsciously invest enormous amounts of psychic energy every day of our lives. Awakening is the product of a simple act of withdrawing that investment, which automatically re-energizes of our minds and lives. Or as Casspriano cleverly phrases it when closing Chapter Three, "Waking Up":

"Unweave the tapestry of the dream, and awakening happens."

Anyone can do this. Spiritual awakening, in Casspriano's view, may be hard work, but it is not complicated work. The path to enlightenment is really rather shockingly simple. Fall out of love with the dream. Reclaim your psychic energy. Wake up to reality.

The ten "Key Questions" Casspriano explores in the second section of the book are designed to put the theory laid out in Part I to practical and immediate use. Essentially, I think Casspriano sees these ten issues - why we treat enlightenment as an "airy-fairy" ideal instead of a measurable transformation of brain functioning, the excuses we make for avoiding personal responsibility and integrity along the lines of Castaneda's "impeccability," the fallacy of belief in a "separate self," etc. - as pillars of both our personal and collective human dreams. They are by no means an exhaustive listing of the memes twisting our minds. But they are primary keystones on which layers upon layers of the grand illusion are built. Topple these ten baseline pillars and the larger structure crumbles.

Casspriano explores some "Keys" more successfully than others. One downside to the book is that, especially in the "Keys," Casspriano's own memetic prejudices shine at times rather glaringly through, as when, in his discussion of the American "What Would Jesus Do?" religious fad, he characterizes the Evangelical Christian purveyors of WWJD as, "ultra-conservative, right wing ideologues." Even should the reader personally agree with such pronouncements, its hard to resist thinking, "Hey Vince! Your memes are showing!" But where he nails his point, Casspriano's prose can be downright inspiring, as with the "Key" cosmological study "Is Earth the Center of the Universe?," which explores the gap between what we know, scientifically, about the Universe and what our daily choices and behavior says we really believe, about the cosmos and about ourselves. His closing "Key" "Are We Alone?" so poetically frames the true stakes of our global human predicament - species survival VS extinction - that its hard to imagine anyone keeping their gaze glued squarely to their own self-involved navel in the wake of reading it. Of course we are not alone. There are six and a half billion of us on Planet Earth, and whether we awaken to what's best in us or follow our darkest drives over History's cliff into oblivion, we do so as one. One planet, one fate.

This notion of "oneness" and of a common, intertwined human spiritual and biological destiny is a core theme in The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND that sets it apart from any spiritual book in recent memory. My final quotation from the book returns us to the opening lines of Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":

"We are all aware of the challenges facing us as we enter together into the 21st Century:

· World oil supplies are running out.

· Global warming is transforming the Earth into a steamy greenhouse.

· Even as our technology connects the world, ideological extremism, terrorism and militarism divide us as never before.

· Headlines bombard us with news of war, famine, pestilence and death until we feel overwhelmed and unable to respond.

· Time is running out..."

Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Transformation, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" does not offer easy escape from these very pressing real-world human ills, but rather, a down to Earth, workable prescription for their cure. Yes, we must awaken as individuals, and, rest assured, "The Simplest Path" shows spiritual seekers exactly how to do that. But a prime message of "The Simplest Path" is that, for personal awakening to have meaning, it must occur within the context of a complete re-visioning of global culture, and a mass wrenching away of the wheel of History from the control of viral memes, that we might create a common cosmic human destiny worthy of our highest potential as a species.

Now that's a meme worth feeding.

Sark's New Creative Companion: Ways To Free Your Creative Spirit

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SARK ROCKS!
my first SARK experience
Even better than the original
New Creative Companion

Sark's New Creative Companion: Ways To Free Your Creative Spirit
Sark
Manufacturer: Celestial Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Creativity | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Motivational | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Magic | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Personal Transformation | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1587612348

Book Description

We all need reminders that it's little things that make us feel really alive & those small actions and subtle gestures that can potentially lead to great moments of magic and joy. Unfortunately, we're so frequently occupied with day-to-day responsibilities and commitments that a mere moment of magic often seems miles away. In SARK'S NEW CREATIVE COMPANION, you'll discover insight and suggestions for creating everyday magic in your life no matter what your everyday surroundings. You'll find stories, poems, and exercises that provide inspiration, self-reflection, and discovery & all cheerfully handwritten in SARK's trademark style and embellished with her vibrant illustrations. From treasuring yourself and others to living artistically and free, SARK'S NEW CREATIVE COMPANION will open your heart and your mind, and remind you that it's never too late to kindle or rekindle the loving and creative spirit within.

Customer Reviews:

SARK ROCKS!.......2007-05-11

i can't believe that this book has been out long enough to be renewed! with the extra pages and it being all in color...it's fantastic! thank you again sark!

my first SARK experience.......2007-05-03

WOW, this is a great book. I really love the colorful, handwritten style. It has really inspired me too. I love this one so much I bought several other SARK books

Even better than the original.......2006-08-11

Add this to your SARK collection even though there is repetition here. Some things just deserve repeating.

New Creative Companion.......2005-07-23

Wow! I loved the first copy she wrote and Sark has outdone herself again! Creativity is where it is at. Dream your dreams and they do come true. An inspiring mind elevator!

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