Book Description
Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.
In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.
The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers -- men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible.
Customer Reviews:
Didn't like.......2007-10-11
I purchased the audio book since I am in my car most of the time being a mom and running around town. I actually threw one of the CD's out the window. I didn't like this theory. I felt it left out "GOD" in this whole picture.
Not for me.
The Secret.......2007-10-11
This is an eye opener...a must read. I find myself referring back to the book to absorb as much as I can. Who would have known? Get this one for your library, it's a wonderful investment!
The Secret Refined.......2007-10-10
On Page 55 in The Secret, you will read about the difference between taking inspired action (which feels effortless), versus acting to "make something happen"(which feels like a struggle). Life is described here as a flowing river, and you can either go with the flow of the Universe . . . or against it. I love this metaphor, but it is not original with The Secret (or the author of this section, Bob Doyle). In 2004 I read an entire book on this very metaphor by Steven Lane Taylor. It's called Row, Row, Row Your Boat: A Guide For Living Life In The Divine Flow. I think it greatly refines the concepts in The Secret, and I recommend it as a follow-up to this book. It is especially helpful if you want to know how "God" fits into the picture.
Whatever...duh.......2007-10-10
Est, the program, Mary Ann Williamson... got your money yet?
This one will too.
Life isn't that simple, is it?
A steaming pile..........2007-10-09
I'm just adding this review to try to bring down the rating. Seriously, how did this steaming pile of .... rate 3 1/2 stars? If I could rate it a negative, I would. Not only is "The Secret" worthless, it's actively harmful.
Book Description
You may not be aware of it, but a very powerful force is at work in your life.
It's called the Law of Attraction and right now it is attracting people, jobs, situations and relationships in your life - not all of them good!
If your life feels as if it has turned south and taken on the characteristics of a bad soap opera, it's time to pick up this book.
Customer Reviews:
Law of Attraction.......2007-10-11
This is one of the most powerful tools I have come across in the personal development realm. Michael Losier is concise, to the point and makes it easy to follow the principles laid out. If you want to get to another level in your life whether, business, financial, relationship or other, this and Understanding: Train of Thought are the books for you.
Skip this one - there are much better books out there!.......2007-10-10
I've been listening to this guy drone on for about the last hour and I just can't take it any more. I am listing mine right back in the Used Copies for sale section. This guy obviously likes to make lists, enjoys lists, and finds lists fascinating. I do not.
He can't just make a strong point about something and move on, instead he has to support his conclusions with a detailed list of every possible thing associated with that point. I counted 17 items in mercilessly detailed list of how to train your mind to think about the LOA when he could have made the same point in a single, well-worded sentence. It's like he needed to flesh out the book so he decided to stretch out every idea to it's ultimate conclusion instead of giving you genuinely useful information and techniques. I think the LOA is fantastic, but I don't think this is a very good resource to learn about it. I just found it repetitive and annoying.
Synchronicity at Play.......2007-10-08
"Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want & Less of What You Don't" by Michael J. Losier is a fascinating book that demonstrates how SYNCHRONICITY is evidence of the law of attraction. The Law of Attraction responds to your vibration. Your vibration is your feelings, so therefore be joyful, optimistic, compassionate, and content. This facilitates life transformation by means of the power of the law of attraction.
The Law of Attraction explains how it is important for us to discern what our ideal financial situation is, to compose desire statements, overcome negative vibrations, and bring the law of attraction alive by means of creating a vibrational bubble as well as allowing statements.
The Law of Attraction is a most recommended book since it is easy to understand, provides an inspirational process, and an increased understanding of why you don't have what you want yet in order to transform your life.
Two of the most powerful transformational books that I also recommend are;
The Secret
Nexus: A Neo Novel
Abundance is mine!.......2007-10-06
I LOVE this book. I watched The Secret and flipped through book... BUT nothing beats the Law of Attraction book. Fast and easy read, plain english, makes sense, well written. BEST OF ALL: are the worksheets that he provides a link to for you to print out. PRINT OUT THE WORKSHEETS AND THE MAGIC COMES ALIVE!!! I have printed out all the worksheets and fill out the abundance worksheet every night. I've been attracting what I want ever since. Buy this book and DO the worksheets. Best book I've bought in years... money spent has come back to me ten-fold+!
the book was as described by the seller.......2007-10-03
I am very satisfied with this transaction. The book was as described and expected. Thanks
Product Description
James Arthur Ray presents a proven step-by-step method for creating true prosperity and harmony in life, based upon timeless laws and principles. With penetrating insights and straightforward concepts, James gives you the tools necessary to tap into your own spiritual power center. A simple book that is by no means simplistic, combining fun stories and powerful anecdotes, The Science of Success gives you the power and the wisdom to create the life of your dreams.
Customer Reviews:
Action is Key.......2007-10-10
I enjoyed this advice because unlike the mindless lazy wishing and narcissistic bent of 'The Secret' pap, this book illustrates how important action is in attaining dreams.
I also appreciate that James stresses how riches don't mean anyhting compared to souls and our true selves.
He himself has said the bulk of his words were heavily edited for The Secret video.
He makes great points and this is a highly valuable work.
The Science of Success.......2007-10-08
I have read and re-read this book over 10 times in the last 8 years! Excellent style for the text of the science of success. If you are tired of "feeling" your way to success James Ray breaks down the steps and mental disciplines needed to achieve your desires. I recommend this book to everyone wanting more out of their life.
More than worth the read.......2007-10-08
Looking for a great book, then you have found it here. This book is a must have if you are looking for ways to improve your life. Easy to read and understand, up to you to apply. Read it again and again. Sharing it is also a great idea.
Less than One Star would be better.......2007-10-06
Here we have yet another one of those dreary, drudging works which offers HOPE to the confused and the lacking. I found a relative of mine reading this item and asked to borrow it. After going through it, I came to the conclusion that this information is infantile to say the least. It is written to appeal to wide-eyed yearners who feel left out of the excitement and pleasures that life today seems to contain. Unfortunately for the yearners, there is absolutely NOTHING to be found between the covers of this book which will help them to reach their dreams in ANY way. Like eager kindergarten children, the hopeful readers will make serious attempts to follow various "Super Laws" ( Thou Shalt's and Thou Shalt Not's ) and the only glimmer of "success" they will ever experience from this exercise will be "success" in terms of how fantatically they adhere to these idiotic "Laws". "See mom! I'm following all the Laws!", "That's nice, Jimmy!"
The author claims to have researched "successful" individuals and is now providing the readers of his book with the "inside dope", the "standard formula" on how all these famous people managed to accomplish what they did in their lives. According to the author, its all so easy! All anyone needs to do is be aware of these various "Super Laws" responsible for the success of others, and then follow them! Success then becomes inevitable.
Well, this is simplistic in the extreme. No one can get inside another's thoughts or feelings, or even hope to grasp what the emotional/physical/psychological environment happened to be at any given time for another individual when that person managed to succeed at anything! The imbecility of copying the behavior of so-called "successful" people is exactly the same rubbish constantly pushed by the "You Can Have The Moon" types like Tony Robbins with their ridiculous concepts of "Just model what a successful person does and you'll succeed too" claptrap. This book is written with the same illogic.
I ask you to consider the following:
First;
If this author, Tony Robbins, and others of the same ilk were correct in terms of how they insist that people "succeed" in life ( model the successful and be successful too ), then where is the proof that it works in today's world? How many people have attended seminars, bought books and cassette tapes, and religiously adhered to the "modeling" principles and mysterious "laws" set before them? And out of this massive, teeming group of yearning believers, how many have actually SUCCEEDED? How many "overworld" types are there today who have every dream coming true, and who have openly stated that they must thank this or that book or seminar or cassette tape instructional set for getting them to the sublime state they now exist in?
Second:
Have you ever heard of the saying which goes; "What you see is what you get"? In other words, what has this author GOT? What do you see in him? Have you done any sort of research on HIM as a successful person before deciding to put your trust in what he claims will bring success to you if you purchase his book? Does he have the world in his hip pocket? Is he wealthy? And if he isn't, why not?! After all, he has uncovered and revealed the "Super Laws" of success in the Universe!!! If ANYONE should be succeeding at every turn and in the greatest ways possible, it should be THIS AUTHOR!!!!! But IS he doing so? If he has ANY significant wealth and material ease, did it come to him by following these "Super Laws" of the Universe, or did it come like wealth came to Tony Robbins? That is, did it come from SELLING HOPE and from nothing else? Where do you suppose someone like Robbins be without his Snake Oil maneuvers of offering hope to the hopeless?
Folks, this sort of sucker bait, snake oil routine has been going on in one form or another for literally centuries all across the Western world. People keep buying into it, and the only "success" it provides is to the SELLERS, not the buyers. Generation after generation, there is always a certain portion of the populace who never wake up and who are always willing to put their trust and belief in these empty promises of astounding achievement though the following of "LAWS" of some sort or another. Well, here's a "LAW" that will certainly bring magnificent success -
SELL HOPE THOUGH INFORMATION CLAIMING TO REVEAL MYSTERIOUS, ALL-POWERFUL "UNIVERSAL LAWS" !
Do this one thing and YOU too can succeed, make millions, and achieve your fondest material dreams!
Best Book I've Read in a Long Time.......2007-09-10
I like the concepts shared in the book so much, I bought several more copies to give to friends. I also bought and read the books of the people that he talked about in his book. It has been a chain reaction of books. I highly reccomend read it.
Book Description
Have you ever wondered why some relationships are wonderful and others are just catastrophic and tragic? Why do we get along with some people and with others just seem to constantly engage in bitter fighting? In this fascinating and helpful book, internationally renowned psychic
Sylvia Browne examines why we form our relationships with certain individuals . . . for better or for worse. From the lifelong connection of a loving marriage to the short and bitter agony of a brief encounter leading to divorce and heartache, she reveals why we have joyful and happy relationships on the one hand and chaotic, hateful and painful ones on the other.
Sylvia takes us on a remarkable excursion that covers all the different types of relationships we’ll encounter in life. From our childhood experiences to our golden years, she helps us see why we form both good and bad unions, and she also explores how our themes and charts of life can interact with others in both positive and negative waysâcreating either lifelong love or friendship or a situation doomed for disaster. Sylvia enables us to come to a true understanding of why we have certain compulsions and attractions for some people while being totally repulsed by others. By utilizing Sylvia’s marvelous insights, we can all learn how to cultivate our relationships (and sift the wheat from the chaff) in order to live a happier and more fulfilling life.
Customer Reviews:
It was just okay........2007-10-04
Sylvia's books these days seem to be more full of, "fluff," than anything else. There is no more original content. This book seems to be more of her ramblings about the people she knows or meets in her life. There is of course a purpose and you need to read through all the, "fluff," to get to the point. I guess if she just flat out told you the point there would be 200 blank pages to fill.
I dont love this one as much as her other books.......2007-10-03
While I always get a good feeling of having learned something after reading her books, this one left me hanging. I was waiting for more.
Enlightening Book on Spiritual Relationships.......2007-09-05
As Sylvia Browne asserts many books have been written on having a better sex life, staying married or how to have a friendly divorce. This is one of the few books available on spiritual meaning of relationships in our lives.
Sylvia shows how to bring spiritual understanding to our relationships - that our relationships have a deeper meaning. The people in our life have been selected by our soul before our birth for our spiritual development. So each person in our life teaches us something and we in turn teach them something. Even people we meet casually such as the grocery store clerk, bank teller or the person delivering our mail all are part of spiritual connections in our lives.
Connection with family and close friends is often taken for granted but these relationships are particularly conducive for our growth. Browne even contends that the annoying co-worker or boss can teach us important lessons for our soul growth. The best part of the book is the exploration of the 47 life themes, which have a higher and lower expression.
The book has a warm tone because Sylvia shares her own relationship challenges. This book is worth reading just for the Life Themes and fans of Sylvia Browne will be most satisfied with this book, since it gives a lot of depth to her ideas previously stated elsewhere.
(***If you're interested in other books about relationships check out "Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential" by Caroline Myss or "Nexus: A Neo Novel" by Deborah Morrison and Arvind Singh***)
No one knows more about yourself than you do.......2007-08-19
Who are these people giving this book 4 and 5 stars and do they really know about Sylvia Browne? Even the few bad reviews are from fans who claim to "love" her and sound rather apologetic for giving her anything but the highest praise. What's going on? Someone please tell me, did I just enter the Twilight Zone...?
I have always been fascinated with Sylvia Browne because she is probably the most famous psychic of any first-world country. So, I decided to read this book with an open mind. But I wasn't at all happy with it. It seems shoddy, choppy and thrown together quickly. And Sylvia doesn't offer up anything (in the way of literary references) to back up her claims. I suppose some could say that this is based on "blind faith." But should faith also be deaf, dumb and stupid?
For years, I have watched Sylvia on the Montel Show and she always arrogantly seems so cocky when she doles out her "readings." For example, someone could tell her that such and such happened to them and Sylvia will quickly reply, "oh I know" as if she really does know. But if she knew, why didn't she volunteer this info up front, first? I have also noticed that she almost always exclusively only gives detailed info about past lives, the "after world," and other deceased "spirits." But Sylvia Browne is never overly explicit or detailed when she is talking about the here and now. Why is that? Also, one more thing I have noticed about Sylvia; she always seems incredibly cold, condescending, downright rude, pushy, bored, and incredibly belittling when she gives her "readings." Shouldn't a spiritual advisor be welcoming, loving, warm and inviting? Has Sylvia ever comforted any of the grieving parents on Montel or has she ever given any of them a gratis reading after the show when the cameras weren't rolling? No she has not. That is a fact. I can remember a lady once kept pressing her with specific questions on the show, and Sylvia became very aggravated and said something to the effect of, "this is what I 'see' and that's that." Talk about being a wolf in wolf's clothing. Maybe that's better because she would be easier to spot? You'd think so, but people still adore her and worship her and follow her advice to the letter.
When is the last time a corporation also referred to their organization as a church? Sylvia Browne does it. But her "corporation" and "church" are more like a cult because it's all about money and profit; not about adding some happiness and spirituality into someone's life (free of charge.) And if in fact she is a leader of a church, why should she charge her parishioners that want to seek her out for advice? At best, this is an oxymoron: Sylvia Browne Corp./Church. Does Sylvia Browne/the Sylvia Browne Corp. pay taxes? Or is she tax-exempt? This is a very valid question.
I decided to do a little research after reading "Spiritual Connections" by Sylvia because I wanted to see if she really was all she was cracked up to be; after all, maybe I am just being super-critical and Sylvia is honest and totally caring and loving? I began my search on Wikipedia.
From there, I found an incredibly informative site, StopSylviaBrowne. I spent more than 3 straight hours on that site reading everything I could about Sylvia. I have never seen a site so professionally laid out that included facts to back up everything the Webmaster stated. Everything that I initially felt about Sylvia was confirmed (and more.) I have since learned that Sylvia Browne is a convicted felon that preys on vulnerable people because these are the ones that are most likely to pay exorbitant moneys for "help", buy her books, go to her events and recommend her. I have also found out that her first husband has totally discredited her and her son (who also claims to be a psychic.) And, I have found out that Sylvia was caught in numerous half-truths, made-up stories and downright lies. The most notable being her higher-education; she has stated that she has a Masters Degree in English. There is zero proof that Sylvia has a Masters Degree in English from any accredited institution.
If you simply think that Sylvia is total entertainment and you watch her on TV or read her books once in a while then that's fine in and of it self. I suppose there's no harm in that. But if you're about to shell out the hundreds of dollars for one of her "telephone readings" or the thousands of dollars for one of her "in-person meetings" then I strongly recommend that you do some research on her first because I don't want you to be taken advantage of. One more thing that Sylvia's followers should keep in mind is that no one knows more about yourself than you do!
Utterly !.......2007-08-09
After reading "Spiritual Connections," I was totally and utterly amazed by Sylvia's profound spiritual insights and fascinating perspectives (especially through her invisible spirit guide Francine, who seems to have come into Sylvia's life in three or five contradictory ways, depending on which Browne tome you read). Her astounding proven accuracy as a psychic, totally verifiable, has convinced me that Sylvia's the real deal, a veritable Goddess on Earth with disturbingly long talons, and she's well worth the mad money she charges for her phone consults! Forget your so-called hifalutin' "science," forget those overeducated quacks with PhDs and researchers with their fancy protocols and let Sylvia be your guide. Humans just want proof, proof, proof. Surrender your power to her, open heart and wallet. No less an authority on psychic matters than Montel endorses her, as do her true believers, so she must be the real deal. By all means, buy this book NOW! Buy a spare, just in case! Get an extra for a friend!
Average customer rating:
- Funny and profound
- Grace (Eventually) thoughts on Faith
- Not her best, but still brilliant
- No thank you, no good.
- She's the Best
|
Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
Anne Lamott
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
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Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
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Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
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Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
ASIN: 1594489424
Release Date: 2007-03-20 |
Amazon.com
Through Anne Lamott's many books (including six novels, her bestselling parenting memoir, Operating Instructions, and her popular guide to writing, Bird by Bird) the subject she keeps returning to is her faith, her deeply personal--"erratic," she says--journey in Christianity. Her latest book, Grace (Eventually), is her third collection of her "thoughts on faith," and she took the time to answer a few of our questions.
Questions for Anne Lamott
Amazon.com: This is your third book on faith. How has your perspective changed since you wrote your first one?
Lamott: I wrote my first book on faith when Bill Clinton was president, and I was in a much better mood. I wrote Plan B during the run-up to war in Iraq, and the ensuing catastrophe, so I was very angry, but trying to reconcile that pain and hostility to Jesus's insistence that we are made of love, to love, and be loved, to forgive and be forgiven. Some days went better than others. Also, my son Sam was in his early teens, and that was a LOT easier than when he turned 16 and 17, his ages when I was writing the pieces in Grace (Eventually).
In general, I think Grace (Eventually) is a less angry book. I like how I'm aging, except that my back hurts more often, my knees crack like twigs when I squat, and my memory fails more frequently, in more public and therefore humiliating ways. But I think I complain less. As my best friend said when she was dying, and I was obsessing about my butt, "You just don't have that kind of time."
Amazon.com: What does grace mean for you? How can we better communicate it to each other?
Lamott: Grace is that extra bit of help when you think you are really doomed; also, not coincidentally, when you have finally run out of good ideas on how to proceed, and on how better to control the people or circumstances that are frustrating or defeating you. I experience Grace as a cool ribbon of fresh air when I feel spiritually claustrophobic. Sometimes I experience it as water-wings, something holding me up when I am afraid that I'm going down, or the tide is carrying me away. I know that Grace meets us whereever we are, but does not leave us where it found us. Sometimes it is so small--a couple of seconds relief here, several extra inches there. I wish it were big and obvious, like sky-writing. Oh, well. Grace is not something I DO, or can chase down; but it is something I can receive, when I stop trying to be in charge.
We communicate grace to one another by holding space for people when they are hurt or terrified, instead of trying to fix them, or manage their emotions for them. We offer ourselves as silent companionship, or gentle listening when someone feels very alone. We get people glasses of water when they are thirsty.
Amazon.com: Many of the essays in Grace (Eventually) first appeared in Salon, the online magazine, and that's the way that many readers first found you. How do you see the Internet changing the way people read and write?
Lamott: The Internet makes everything so immediate and spontaneous, which I totally love--UNLESS it has to do with the immediacy of people's negative response to me. Several of the Salon pieces in Grace--for instance, the story about the horrible fight with my son, and the piece about turning the other cheek while being ripped off by The Carpet Guy--generated a couple hundred letters, many of them extremely hostile. Perhaps "spewy" would be a better description. I also sometimes get knee-jerk responses to my mentions of Jesus in my Salon pieces that seem to lump me in the same tradition as Jerry Falwell. But for the most part, I love the populism and egalitarian nature of the Internet: everyone counts the same.
Amazon.com: What stories do people tell you, when they've read your books or know you are a writer?
Lamott: People tell me how relieved they are that I try to tell the truth about how hard it can be to be a mother, or a daughter, or an American in these times. They tell me stories about how awful their own teenagers can be, or how awful they themselves behaved towards their kids or parents; how hard it was to finally be able to adore their mothers, or to forgive their fathers. They tell me their sobriety dates. They whisper to me that they are Christians, too.
Also, they ask if I am able to read their manuscripts, and the name of my agent, and my e-mail address. They ask if we are going to survive the current political difficulties--and I promise them we are. They ask how old my son is now--17 and a half--and how he is doing, which is fantastically, after some of the hard months I wrote about in Grace.
Amazon.com:What lessons do you think you can pass on to others: to your readers, to your son? What lessons does it seem like people have to learn for themselves?
Lamott: All I have to offer is my own truth, my own experience, strength and hope. I can pass on the tool of a God Box, and how for 20 years I have been putting tiny notes in mine and promising God I will keep my sticky fingers off the controls until I hear God's wisdom: sometimes I get an answer because the phone rings, or the mail comes, but at any rate, during every single terrible problem and tragedy, I have been given enough guidance and stamina and even humor to bear up, and be transformed, for the good. I always tell Sam that if you want to make God laugh, tell Her your plans. I tell Sam that if he listens to his best thinking, he will suffer: and to listen to his heart instead, to listen in the silence, and to seek wise counsel.
Amazon.com: You've written nearly a dozen books (including an incredibly popular guide to writing): does writing get any easier? Does it get harder?
Lamott: In a very important way, writing gets easier, because I've been doing it full time now for thirty-plus years, and just as you would get better and better if you practiced your scales on a piano, I've gotten better, and can try harder and harder pieces. But writing is always hard. It does not come naturally to me at all. I sit down at the same time every day, which lets my subconscious realize it's time to get to work. I give myself very short assignments, and let myself write really terrible first drafts. But I grapple with the exact same problems every writer does, which is having equal proportions of self-loathing and grandiosity. I sort of live by the Nike ads: Just Do It. So I sit down. I show up. I do it by pre-arrangement with myself, because I know I'll feel sad and terrible if I shirk on that days writing. I do it as a debt of honor, to myself, and to whatever it is that has given me this gift of being able to tell stories, and to make people laugh. Laughter is carbonated holiness. Other people's good writing is medicine for me, and I hope mine is too, for my readers.
Book Description
The sharp, funny, and heartfelt follow-up to her bestselling Plan B, Anne Lamott's newest collection is a personal exploration of the faith and grace all around us.
In Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, Lamott examines the ways we're caught in life's most daunting predicaments: love, mothering, work, politics, and maybe toughest of all, evolving from who we are to who we were meant to be. This is a complicated process for most of us, and Lamott turns her wit and honesty inward to describe her own intimate, bumpy, and unconventional road to grace and faith.
"I wish grace and healing were more abracadabra kinds of things," she writes in one of her essays, "that delicate silver bells would ring to announce grace's arrival. But no, it's clog and slog and scootch, on the floor, in silence, in the dark."
Whether she's writing about her unsuccessful efforts to get her money back from an obstinate carpet salesman, grappling with the tectonic shifts in her relationship with her son as he matures, trying to maintain her faith and humor during politically challenging times, or helping a close friend die with dignity, Lamott seeks out both the divinity and the humanity in herself and everything around her. Throughout these essays, she writes of her struggle to find the essence of her faith, which she uncovers in the unlikeliest places. By turns insightful and hilarious, pointed and poignant, Grace (Eventually) is Anne Lamott at her perceptive and irreverent best.
Customer Reviews:
Funny and profound.......2007-08-12
Anne Lamott is honest and engaging. This book is a beautiful testament to a real life lived in faith and hope in the midst of inevitable disappointments and hardships.
Grace (Eventually) thoughts on Faith.......2007-08-08
I bought this book thinking I would get an inspiritial read. Instead I found that the title totally misrepresented the book. This is nothing but a self-centered, self-indulgent, whiny bunch of writings from a drug user/alcoholic, over age hippy, feeling (what?). Certainaly not faith!
Title should read "Poor Me, I can't Think Straight"
Not her best, but still brilliant.......2007-08-01
One of the most popular voices in contemporary spirituality, Anne Lamott has a remarkable gift at handling serious and unfunny topics - religion, motherhood, eating disorders, death - in a witty and disarming way.
Lamott's new book, "Grace Eventually: Further Thoughts On Faith," is a collection of essays, many of which Lamott wrote as a columnist for Salon.com. If you haven't read anything by Lamott before, the best places to start would be "Traveling Mercies" (her bestselling memoir), and "Bird by Bird," (one of the best guide to writing anywhere, another bestseller). But the two things you should know before reading Anne Lamott is that 1) she is an incredible prose artist, quirky and profound, with a style that seems all her own. And 2) she is almost completely neurotic.
"Grace Eventually," is a special book in that Lamott's description of ordinary events make them feel sacred. She is a writer with an ability to make the reader pay attention, feel present, and tune in to the story taking place around them. Although she refers to Jesus consistently, there is little that seems orthodox about Lamott's spiritual journey, and perhaps that is one of the reasons she has such a wide readership.
You'd have to be made out of granite not to find something that moves you in this unique collection of essays. You would also need to adhere to Lamott's precise and strident political positions not to find at least one portion of this book infuriating. Either way, "Grace Eventually" is a provocative and unique read, and any avid reader owes it to themselves to become familiar with one of the country's top writers.
No thank you, no good........2007-07-25
I read another one of Anne's books. The first one I did not like much, and really did not want to read this one, but when you already own it, you feel you must with 16 dollars into the book. It was some repeating of stories I really did not like in the first place, there were a few highlights or good moments, but not enough. I still feel bad for her, but most times I was like "get over it." Now I loved Donald Miller's book, which was along the same mindset, but he seemed deep or maybe just a man. Sorry Anne, you are twice if not more the writer that I am, but I was just not into the book.
She's the Best.......2007-07-25
Her words are equivalent to the phrase "A sight for sore eyes." My copy now has so many underlines and dog ears that I just don't know where to start with quotable quotes--
"IT FEELS AS IF SOMEONE FINALLY CRACKED OPEN A WINDOW THAT HAD BEEN JAMMED."
"...taught me a willingness to help clean up the mess we've made is a crucial part of adult living; that our scary, selfish, damging behavior litters the planet."
"...we get mad at each other, over and over, then we apologize, become friends again: I see how each time this is redemption. How amazing it is to share that."
"Joy is the best makeup."
"Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine."
I use this like a Bible when I need to be called to a higher place. It soothes me, calms me down, and calls me to a (much) higher place. Buy this, Bird By Bird, and the other two from this series. They are GIFTS.
Average customer rating:
- A good foundation
- PLEASE... Read the 1 star reviews BEFORE you buy this book!
- Everyone on this Planet should read this book, it should be a teaching material in Schools
- Critical information, so powerful it should be taught 7- 12 + college
- Easy to read, let's see how easy in practise
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The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
Don Miguel Ruiz
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ASIN: 1878424319 |
Amazon.com
Sit at the foot of a native elder and listen as great wisdom of days long past is passed down. In The Four Agreements shamanic teacher and healer Don Miguel Ruiz exposes self-limiting beliefs and presents a simple yet effective code of personal conduct learned from his Toltec ancestors. Full of grace and simple truth, this handsomely designed book makes a lovely gift for anyone making an elementary change in life, and it reads in a voice that you would expect from an indigenous shaman. The four agreements are these: Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. It's the how and why one should do these things that make The Four Agreements worth reading and remembering. --P. Randall Cohan
Book Description
In The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting agreements that rob people of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform anyone's life to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. These agreements are deceptively simple: Be impeccable with your word (speak with integrity; say only what you mean); Don't take anything personally (nothing others do is because of you); Don't make assumptions (find the courage to ask questions and express what you really want); Always do your best (and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret). Peter Coyote's resonant reading emphasizes the power in these remarkable tenets.
Customer Reviews:
A good foundation.......2007-10-01
This is a compelling book that provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand methodology for improving one's quality of life. In this work Ruiz first reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that tend to rob people of joy and create needless suffering. He then recommends a technique for overcoming these beliefs: adopt four new agreements with respect to how they approach the world and conduct their lives.
Is this some new, revolutionary technology for self-improvement? No, the fact is in one way shape or form we've all heard these types of admonitions from other sources in our lives. What Ruiz does well is package them in a novel way and provide practical insights into how we can best apply them. Bottom line, even if you've heard something like this before it never hurts to be reminded about good advice you've received in the past.
PLEASE... Read the 1 star reviews BEFORE you buy this book!.......2007-09-27
I am shocked at all the 5 stars and positive press this book has received. PLEASE, read a few of the 1 star reviews before you purchase this book. Quite often people who rate something with just 1 star are grumpy individuals who just want to argue... not this time. Many writers of the single star reviews are extremely well spoken, very well read and positive minded individuals. They are worth reading! (More so than this book.)
Everyone on this Planet should read this book, it should be a teaching material in Schools.......2007-09-25
The four agreements is not only a book, it is a lifestyle. Most of the wisdom in self helping books i have read thruout the years has mostly washed away, vanished in to the sea of mind few weeks later after i read them. This one is different. It has somekind of power. And it forces you to do the doings not just read about them.This one stayes with you cause you wan't to pick it up over and over again.
Critical information, so powerful it should be taught 7- 12 + college.......2007-09-24
I did not receive any critical information about my role in relationships from any source including school, religious education, parents, or advisor's.
The Four Agreements and the Mastery of Love has now provided this knowledge and it is and will always be a reference source for living the rest of my life
It is so ingrained and with me every day as I work to improve on my relationships with my family, friends, and business relationships. After you listen to the message of the Four Agreements, you will see the need for this information to be made available to your family and friends.
My wish is for this to be a part of the curriculum for the public school systems.
Cecil Sterne
Pawnee County, Oklahoma
Easy to read, let's see how easy in practise.......2007-09-18
I think we've all seen this stuff before in various incarnations (e.g. Bible - "Do unto others...") but it is a very easy read and the agreements are plain and unambiguous. They are not cluttered with ceremony but come down to principles of values and self context. And like alot of similar readings, the battle or challenge lies in the effort to achieve and not only the achievement itself. I like that it advocates largely a position or development of an inner strength that is personal. All too often, I have noticed some of these personal freedom type writings from authors who present their writings in a stadium type environment and whip the crowd up in a frenzy to create a mob frenzy that attempts to portray the message. That's clearly the domain of some charlatans that we've all seen. I'm looking forward to the challenge involved in implementing these agreements. It won't be easy but most thnigs worthwhile aren't so they say.
Book Description
A "no-brainer" system to better physical, emotional and spiritual health. Take a dynamic medical researcher and physician, pair him with his down-to-earth, straight-talking mama - and you've created the perfect writing team for The Slim and Beautiful Diet. Based on ground-breaking research, this book shares the exciting health benefits of soy along with other easy-to-implement life-enhancing beliefs, activities, thoughts and health practices in an entertaining, accessible format.
Customer Reviews:
Does read like an informercial, but it's not all bad!.......2007-06-26
I use Revival Soy products (the shakes & protein bars, low carb versions) on a regular basis and enjoy them for the most part. It one of the few products I've ever used that have actually done for me what they say it does. It's helped greatly alleviate my PMS symptoms, clear up my skin, and more. My husband doesn't need further convincing to keep Revival Soy in my life...he doesn't miss the PMS witch at all! Even with the controversies that surround soy products, I stick with Revival Soy...I don't want to go back to what I was (or how I felt) before it.
With that said, when I heard that Dr. Tabor and Revival Soy were coming out with a diet book, I got excited and actually looked forward to reading it. (I hate reading diet books.)
Well, by chance I was able to get a free copy. I'm glad I got it for free, as I would not have been completely happy if I had to pay more than a few bucks for this book.
The biggest reason? This book does come off as a informercial. I've caught myself rolling my eyes on more than one occasion...and I'm only 1/2 way through the book!
Despite that, I have found a lot of great tidbits and inspiration to help keep me motivated in my current weight loss journey. While I'm not doing the Revival Diet plan per se, (I prefer to stick with my low carb diet) I still enjoyed some of what the book had to say and gave me some new ideas and inspiration to work with.
To me the real value of this book is in the psychology of going through the weight loss process. Losing weight is not easy...but if we can keep a positive attitude about it - about ourselves - we will enjoy the journey of change better than just a quick fix plan.
If you can pick up this book for "cheap" then I think you will find some gems in there worth reading. If you're not a fan of informercials, then stay away!
Worst book ever..........2007-04-19
There is nothing in this book that hasn't been said before and it points out in numerous places that you have to follow the entire plan exactly. Which means living off of the author's products. It was like reading over 150 pages of an infomercial.
Not worth the price..........2007-04-18
This diet book provides Dr. Aaron Tabor yet another forum from which to tout his soy products. Interspersed with recommendations about a variety of other supplements (all of which I had heard about previously), this book contains such breakthrough diet advice as: eat small to be small. The tidbits provided by Dr. Tabor's mother, while mildly amusing, offered little in the way of useful material. It may interest readers to know that mama knew it was time to do something when she looked like an overstuffed sausage casing in her slimming undergarment, but these interspersed comments get annoying quickly and seem more like filler than useful advice. This program isn't unique - it's simply repackaged material from a dozen different books already on the market.
Great New Book!.......2007-04-05
Unfortunately, current popular diets offered to consumers focus only on weight loss, not total-body beauty inside and out. Dr. Aaron Tabor, M.D., a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has created his next-generation "The Revival Slim and Beautiful Diet." The program is the first clinically proven inside-out makeover diet plan for dramatic weight loss and improved skin, hair, and nail appearance, year round.
"Using topically applied creams and lotions is only 50 percent of battle against the visible signs of aging. The other 50 percent starts inside for a slim figure and gorgeous skin, hair, and nails," said Dr. Tabor.
Developed during the past seven years at some of the nation's top hospitals, "The Revival Slim and Beautiful Diet" was originally created to rescue Dr. Tabor's mother, Suzanne Tabor, from what he calls a "midlife meltdown." His mother experienced a rapidly expanding waistline, deepening wrinkle appearance, dull hair, brittle nails, menopausal hot flashes and night sweats. The program was carefully designed as a simple, yet effective, diet and physical activity plan to help dieters achieve:
* An average weight loss of 26 to 29 pounds in just sixteen weeks (among the best results ever published in medical history);
* A rapid reduction in belly fat (up to 25 percent or more in sixteen weeks) with a reduced waist circumference;
* Improved appearance of wrinkles and skin with less roughness and better coloration;
* Increase in hair silkiness with reduced dullness and better manageability;
* Sexier nails with less splitting, ridging and flaking;
* A reduction in hunger and cravings for sweet, salty, and crunchy foods;
* Promotion of better energy levels with protein-packed, low-glycemic "smart-carb" choices; and
* Promotion of normal hormonal health (including reduction of hot flashes), bone health, and cholesterol levels.
Revival dieters did not experience the typical weight loss "plateau" seen in many other diets, thus indicating that Revival dieters can continue to lose significant weight well beyond the initial sixteen weeks.
"The Revival Slim and Beautiful Diet" book, co-authored by Dr. Tabor and his mother Suzanne, encompasses unique and tangible research-based guidelines to help dieters achieve maximum, long-term results. The eight-chapter book not only highlights the physical steps needed to successfully diet, but it also touches upon the psychological aspects. Chapter three, entitled "The Ten Psychological Commandments of Permanent Weight Loss," addresses the deeper meanings of dieting and helps consumers become mentally determined for permanent weight loss. When the principles learned from the aforementioned chapter are paired with the more actively involved guidelines in such chapters as "The Fifteen Physical Laws of Accelerated Weight Loss," and "Put A Tiger In Your Tank...Energize Me!" dieters are guaranteed to experience a lasting "inside-out nutritional makeover."
"The proven power and simplicity of `The Revival Slim and Beautiful Diet' can help any dieter improve the way they look and feel," said Dr. Tabor. Tabor continued, "Looking great isn't vanity. It's victory. This diet is designed to help people lose weight, look beautiful and live healthier, empowered lives."
Consumers can learn more about the latest inside-out makeover technology, including how to promote better facial bones, and view a special video from Dr. Tabor.
About Dr. Aaron Tabor
Aaron Tabor, M.D. is the CEO of Physicians Pharmaceuticals and author of "The Revival Slim & Beautiful Diet." A graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Tabor oversees all clinical research on the Revival Slim & Beautiful Diet plan, conducting randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies at leading hospitals in the U.S. Areas of note include weight loss, skin/hair/nail appearance, energy, menopause, PMS, cholesterol, memory, and diabetic health. He is also responsible for directing new Revival product development based on clinical research results. Individual results vary. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Revival isn't intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Book Description
Douglas Hofstadter's long-awaited return to the themes of Gödel, Escher, Bach--an original and controversial view of the nature of consciousness and identity.
Can thought arise out of matter? Can self, a soul, a consciousness, an "I" arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here?
I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the "strange loop"--a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain or mine is the one called "I." The "I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse.
How can a mysterious abstraction be real--or is our "I" merely a convenient fiction? Does an "I" exert genuine power over the particles in our brain, or is it helplessly pushed around by the laws of physics?
These are the mysteries tackled in I Am a Strange Loop, Douglas R. Hofstadter's first book-length journey into philosophy since Gödel, Escher, Bach. Compulsively readable and endlessly thought-provoking, this is the book Hofstadter's many readers have been waiting for.
Customer Reviews:
Very good read .......2007-09-25
Douglas Hofstadter fans will find this book fun and interesting to read. Although many of the GED ideas have been reshashed in this book but it includes some new learnings and evolution in thinking that the writer has gone through in last 30 years.
You may find the book using a bit to many analogies, but you should expect that from the writer of fluid concepts and creative analogies. Once again Hofstadter's description of Godel's incompleteness theorem is one of the best written explanation for non mathematicians.
Book maintains its focus on explanation of conciousness and overall does a decent job in making its point.
Shadman
Nice complement to GEB.......2007-09-20
If you have already read and enjoyed Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, then you should read this. Just don't expect GEB 2.
If you have not, then go read that first, then read this.
Syllogistic fantasy.......2007-09-01
There's a revealing passage in this book, in which Hofstadter tells us how he dropped out of math graduate school, having reached the limit of his ability to handle the complex abstractions in abstract algebra and topology. I went to the same graduate school, and I know what he means. I observed there that the best mathematicians handle this complexity with two hard-earned skills operating in parallel: deft and precise manipulation of strict definitions according to the rules of logic; and deep intuition. Hofstadter has the latter, and in this book you believe he's onto something. But he's not so good at the former. At some point the analogies grow tiresome, and you just want him to spell it out.
It's disappointing that a brilliant thinker and teacher writing about a fascinating subject central to his work ends up leaving too much to the reader.
The book, in essence, expresses the following syllogistic fallacy: The human brain creates an internal "symbol" for its owner, which we call "I", and which can observe itself, creating a sort of self-enriching feedback loop called a "strange loop". Now strange loops, found primarily in mathematics, are magical things. And consciousness is a magical thing. Therefore it's the strange loop we call "I" that creates consciousness.
Unfortunately, Hofstadter never really connects all the dots. For example, he never explains precisely what a "strange loop" is. He makes a "first stab" in Chapter 8, but then never tries again, so we're left with a "definition" that is more vague than no definition at all. (It involves the word "paradoxical" and "level-crossing" - terms that wouldn't fly in a math seminar.)
He does go on to explain why he believes the self creates strange loops. The idea is that by observing its interaction with the world, it creates an ever more elaborate symbol of itself. It's a compelling idea, amply illustrated by analogies to video cameras and Gödel's theorem. But then he never quite closes the loop. What's the link between that strange mechanism and the feeling of consciousness that we all find so tangible and yet mysterious?
Quite possibly Hofstadter has rushed to a conclusion based on enthusiasm and intuition rather than evidence. It's clear that the man is obsessed with self-reference. He's never lost his early fascination with hallway mirrors and video feedback and Gödel. Which is good for us, but it doesn't serve this book well. He sees a connection between the self-reference of the mind and the self-reference of numerical systems, and leaps to a conclusion without checking his work. I can imagine the moment when the young Hofstadter realized that the self is self-reflexive, just like Gödel's proof. It must have been like the time I had this sudden insight into my own mathematics research. It was thrilling. I knew I was onto something. I rushed back home to write it down, and suddenly there were a hundred little details that had to be resolved, and it was two more years before I was done. Douglas Hofstadter isn't quite done yet, but I think he's onto something, and I look forward to the result.
Relax, It's Just Physicalist Functionalism.......2007-08-25
I became interested in philosophy of mind about three years ago, and have since read a variety of books written by philosophers, neuroscientists, psychologists and computer experts. About a year ago I heard about Douglas Hofstadter and his [then] forthcoming book "I Am A Strange Loop". I also discovered his 1979 work Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, where the strange loop concept was expounded in great detail. While GEB did indeed attempt to apply strange loops to the workings of the mind, IAASL promised to focus this idea with laser intensity upon the mysteries of human consciousness. Given what I had already read about the importance of circular processes within the brain, especially regarding the "binding" of multiple sense and memory data into a "unified impression", I looked forward to IAASL with great anticipation. I hoped that it would provide cutting insights that would help dispel the fog surrounding the current consciousness debate. In the end, however, Dr. Hofstadter provided little more than a warmed-over version of an old theory, i.e. PHYSICALIST FUNCTIONALISM; albeit with a quasi-mathematical twist to it, i.e., the Godel / strange-loop approach.
Although Hofstadter is a computer scientist, his first love appears to be mathematics. He gives a great description of what mathematicians do, i.e. finding and analyzing patterns amidst groups of numbers. He gives examples of how this is done, and then shows how these patterns are analyzed and formally documented via axioms and theorems and strings of logical symbols. He then kicks it up a notch by explaining what number theory is, i.e. the foundation for those theorems and logical constructs. Not content with stopping there, he takes you to the next level by explaining how mathematician Kurt Godel performed a brilliant meta-analysis of number theory in 1931 and found that it breaks down when "indexicals" are considered (i.e., self-referential propositions such as "this quote is untrue"). By now, most of us reasonably-intelligent readers are gasping for mental oxygen, as though we're way up in the Andes. But Hofstadter then pushes us up to the peak, i.e. the "strange loop", which is an abstraction and generalization of what Godel did to number theory.
Yikes! How many levels up have we gone? Numbers can be called first-order abstractions of reality. Identified number patterns would be a second-order; documentation of these by theorems would represent a third. Number theory is four levels up, and Godel hits the fifth floor elevator button. So a "strange loop" is a sixth-order abstraction from everyday reality. No wonder it seems somewhat "strange" to mere mortals.
But strangeness doesn't mean that an idea is useless. Hofstadter makes it clear (more so in GEB) that mathematicians have come up with all sorts of abstract ideas, which often sit for years in dusty library books until some physicist comes along looking for a way to describe something rather peculiar about the data he or she has gathered from the lab. All of a sudden, an ignored system or obscure concept is found to be exactly what is needed to solve the problem of, say, electrical superconductence at room temperature. The question here is just how useful the strange loop concept would be in solving problems. It is not a logically formal idea, in the way that a math construct such as the proof of Fermat`s Last Theorem is. The strange loop paradigm is really more of a philosopher's construct, something a bit looser around the edges. Hofstadter tries to do with math what the late, great David Bohm attempted with quantum physics, i.e. to stretch it into a bigger, more holistic thought system that extends to the far corners of the human mind. What Hofstadter and Bohm found once they reached those far corners are quite different however; instead of localized loops, Bohm saw "implicate universal order". (Bohm's 1987 book Science, Order and Creativity is to "implicate order" what GEB is to strange loops).
This is important to keep in mind if you choose to climb the mountain of thought with Hofstadter. Right up through Godel's intellectual craftwork, Hofstadter stays on the pathways of formal logic. But that last jump is different, and Hofstadter does not warn you. It's easy (for those of lesser minds like myself) to be impressed by the strict methods used to get to level number five, and believe that such intellectual acuity carries through right to the top. So keep your eyes open (even though it's difficult at such intellectual heights); Hofstadter is very impressive as a wanna-be mathematician, but may not be as skilled when he shifts to philosophy, where the "strange loop" proposition actually resides.
In GEB, Hofstadter attempts to give real-world examples of strange-loop situations. Not surprisingly, the results are of mixed efficacy. He first refers to the Escher paintings so liberally sprinkled throughout his first book (a few of which show up in IAASL). But he gains little traction - those are just optical illusions. He then refers to what almost happened during the Watergate crisis during Richard Nixon's presidency; i.e. the Supreme Court interpreting the Constitution for the Executive Branch, and the Executive Branch contrarily interpreting the Constitution regarding the Judiciary. In fact, such political situations don't loop around very much; they are resolved rather quickly by riots and bullets (luckily Nixon backed off in 1974). Hofstadter's greatest success with strange loops in GEB came in a wonderful chapter about the workings of DNA in living beings.
Hofstadter also took on the problems of the mind in GEB. However, his efforts in that field were overshadowed by the expansive brilliance of the book. And thus, in IAASL Hofstadter conveys his disappointment about not being taken more seriously by the brain-mind-consciousness crowd. He calls GEB a "shout into a chasm" - although Hofstadter did in fact team up with one of the most formidable "mind philosophers", Daniel Dennett, soon after GEB (e.g., their 1981 book The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self & Soul). I read GEB only recently, but it was rather clear to me that Hofstadter's strange-loop concept of the mind was really nothing more than physicalist functionalism, a viewpoint that has been around since the mid-1960s. Not surprisingly, Dennett is quite sympathetic to this approach. For a good introduction to functionalism and its materialist interpretation, I'd recommend David Papineau's Introducing Consciousness.
In applying strange loops to the workings of the brain, Hofstadter establishes that the mind works "recursively". Sense data flows in from the body and drives the neurons; and yet this "bottom level" activity works its way through a hierarchy to the upper levels of the mind, where sensations are felt and decisions are made. Those decisions are then "passed back down" to the neurons and synapses, completing the strange loop from low-level to high-level and back again.
The brain is thus seen as having "mind states" that exist between sensory input and behavioral output. These states are loopy and recursive; their present status is as much a function of what they were like an instant ago, as of what new sense data was just inputted into them. Through devices such as memory, they tend to stabilize human behavior, allowing a longer-term perspective. E.g., if you are chasing a rabbit for food, and the rabbit temporarily disappears behind a tree, you don't stop running just because you no longer see it - you hold a belief that it will soon reappear. Brain states, as an intermediary between stimulus and response, obviously have a function, one that contributes to survival. And thus the case for functionalism. The physicalist part rejects any dualist notions about the ontological independence of "qualia" and inner experience, and equates our mind states and their functional interactions with consciousness itself. In GEB, Hofstadter used the strange loop abstraction to get to functionalism. In IIASL, he concentrates somewhat more on the physicalist agenda.
As such, Hofstadter wears the philosopher's hat more frequently in IIASL, while in GEB he mostly kept the mathematician's cap on. But the new hat doesn't fit as well. First off, he doesn't seem to be aware that he's pouring the old wine of functionalism into the new skin of strange loopiness (to reverse the Biblical metaphor). He seems a bit too sure of himself, too ready to summarily ridicule those who have argued against functionalism, most notably philosopher John Searle. (He may be doing the bidding of his partner Daniel Dennett, who has had rather vitriolic debates with Searle over the years; but unlike Hofstadter, Dennett has spelled out in great detail his position relative to Searle's. Hofstadter, in turn, is mostly yelling insults at the enemy of his friend). He spends many pages setting up and attacking a straw man, i.e. substance dualism, a position that has not been seriously espoused since Sir John Eccles passed away.
Professor Hofstadter doesn't show any appreciation for the subtleties of modern property dualism and its hope that future progress in understanding the nature of "deep reality" may eventually close the "explanatory gap" between physics and consciousness, e.g. the "information substrate to reality" and the hologram paradigms that physicists such as John Wheeler now discuss, and which David Bohm anticipated. Hofstadter admires, yet refuses to adopt the self-doubt that his fellow materialist Derek Parfait expresses after Parfait strictly identifies qualia and self-awareness with brain electrochemistry.
Hofstadter as philosopher shows no knowledge of the "mysterian" position of Colin McGinn and Thomas Nagel; this is especially regrettable given Hofstadter's words in GEB about the human brain ultimately being a Turing algorithmic system subject, one that at some point faces a determinability limit similar to what Godel found in number theory. Is it possible that our questions regarding our own consciousness are the ultimate indexicals? Hofstadter also seeks to kill some "sacred cows" of philosophy that are antithetical to the functionalist viewpoint, such as the "inverted spectrum" thought experiment. (Hofstadter swears in the book to be a vegetarian pacifist, but I suppose that philosophic sacred cows are still fair game.) Interestingly, though, he does not attempt to "kill" the thought-experiment denizen who should trouble him the most: i.e., Frank Jackson's "Mary", the formerly color-blind neuroscientist (also explained well by Papineau, cited above).
Even when explaining his own paradigms, Hofstadter can be a bit confusing. He spends a lot of time telling us that human consciousness is like a television with a camera pointed at it (he even provides pictures of what the frame-within-frame results looks like). The implied infinite series of frames-within-frames is claimed to be much like the strange loops that power our consciousness. But if so, then how far is this paradigm from the much reviled "Cartesian theater" idea of the homunculus (tiny little person) within the brain watching a screen tied to our sense organs, with a homunculus within him/her watching a screen, with a homunculus . . . . in the end, just another infinity of screens. Nonetheless, after a lot of words about TV cameras pointed at monitors, Hofstadter then tells us that it's not the infinity of screen frames that is important; infinity would have sunk Godel had he not gotten around the problem with a finite reference to infinity. The given example of a finite reference to the infinite is the girl on the Morton Salt container, holding an identical salt container under her arm so that her image, and an infinite regress, is blocked but still implied. OK, fine, but I didn't see how the TV/screen system was squared with the salt container. Are they both kinda-sorta like indexical consciousness, but in differing ways?
And then there's Hofstadter's illusion of the marble in the box of envelopes - proving that our everyday notions regarding self-consciousness are just illusions, anyway. But illusions to who? Don't ask, just be satisfied that the illusion is had by an illusion which is perceived by another illusion . . . . ad infinitum / ad absurdum.
IAASL is an intensely personal book - it could almost be sub-titled 'Please Understand Me', with apologies to David Keirsey and his work on Myers-Briggs and human temperaments (Hofstadter is clearly an INTP "architect" - an architect of numbers, ideas and systems). You learn a lot about the life and times of Douglas Hofstadter while climbing the intellectual heights with him. He makes a lot of entertaining little jokes and quips along the way, but becomes very serious as he discusses Carol, his beloved late wife. His word are truly moving until he tries to convince you that Carol lives on in his mind, almost as much as Douglas Hofstadter does. She is still conscious within him - certainly not to the same degree that he is, but according to his hyper-functional concept of "consciousness", just as qualitatively conscious. He goes through a rather convoluted thought experiment (regarding "Twinwirld") to justify the notion that one consciousness can be shared among more than one brain.
To truly grasp what is going on here, you need to be familiar with a certain tenant of physicalist functionalism: i.e., that consciousness is "platform independent". Platform independence has been used to support the notion that living protoplasm is not a sine qua non for consciousness, and that there is no reason why artificial intelligence researchers (such as Hofstadter) will not eventually reproduce consciousness "in silico". Hofstadter has put a rather innovative twist on the platform independence theory here: why not a person-to-person transfer of conscious awareness? One could think of all sorts of skeptical questions in response, but I would like to ask something more personal: is this really healthy? At some point, don't we need to learn to let go after we lose something or someone we love? (Or am I taking Hofstadter too seriously, since he feels that all human consciousness is just a "marble in an envelope box" anyway?)
Given all the psychological sharing in IAASL, one can see how much even a brilliant person's views are shaped by their own personal history and circumstances. It's not surprising that the wrapping of physicalist functionalism with a strange loop bow comes from a fellow of prodigious intellectual talents who, as a young boy, bought math treatises and who got goose bumps thinking about self-referential propositions, and whose teenage music thrills came from Albert Schweitzer doing Bach's greatest hits. (I wonder if Hofstadter considered calling this book "Godel, Schweitzer and Bach"?) Professor Hofstadter didn't know that Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes also recorded a song using the refrain "it ain't the meat, it's the motion", which Hofstadter uses to mockingly attack Searle's consideration of the idea that living protoplasm might be essential to consciousness. Hofstadter is being unfair here, as Searle is in fact quite cautious in discussing this. As to Southside and Mr. Popeye, well, they will probably get over the slight eventually . . . .
I'd give this book two stars from the perspective of the general reader who might want an overview on the current debate regarding how our brains, minds and consciousness relate. If you are already familiar with philosophy of mind, then perhaps Hofstadter earns a third star - he will at least give YOUR mind a work-out. And if you enjoyed GEB and more-or-less understood it, then IAASL could be a four or even five-star read for you. So I've averaged it out to three stars overall. As with Hofstadter's sense of humor, which is liberally sprinkled throughout the book (aside from the Carol chapters), some will enjoy and benefit from Hofstadter's approach, but many won't.
A final note about Douglas Hofstadter's admittedly touching tribute to his late wife. Despite his heartfelt attempts to weave his theories into something of beauty in her honor, recursive mathematical constructs still pale in comparison with Tennyson's "In Memoriam":
I trust I have not wasted breath:
I think we are not wholly brain,
Magnetic mockeries; not in vain,
Like Paul with beasts, I fought with Death;
Not only cunning casts in clay;
Let Science prove we are, and then
What matter Science unto men,
At least to me? I would not stay.
As Dr. Parfait realized, dualism will not be easily vanquished. Like Professor Hofstadter, I too am a vegetarian romanticist computer geek, albeit a considerably less brilliant one. But as to being a strange loop . . . no way.
The mind plays tricks on us.......2007-08-24
Interesting fellow this author.
He has done a good job illuminating the inner clouds of thought rolling around in the brain.
Takes you on an interesting trip. Still a little tough to grasp.
Book Description
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—2000 Edition is now available in eight additional languages to help project managers around the world.
Each of PMI's official translations includes a bilingual glossary of newly translated and standardized project management terminology. This allows candidates to study the guide in the same language in which they plan to take the Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification exam.
PMI undertook a rigorous, year-long process to ensure the maximum effectiveness of each official translation. Each translation team included qualified bilingual PMPs as well as professional translators and editors.
Official translations: Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Korean, German and Italian.
Customer Reviews:
Most boring book you can read, Good for reference.......2007-10-06
You cannot really read this book. You can use it as a reference, very comprehensive. Must read other book for learning the basics, then use this as a reference for comprehensive guide.
Unfortunately badly written, but absolutely necessary.......2007-10-01
This book is absolutely mandatory to get a PMP certification, which is nearly a mandatory requirement for being a project manager. These days, it is difficult to get a PM job without this certification. And the only way to get it is by knowing this book from cover to cover no matter how dry and 'dictionary-like' it is.
That being said, it is not *that* bad. It is better than, for example, the CMMI 1.2 book. What is missing is why these practices are the "best practices" and why you would implement them - what the benefits would be. Also missing is any kind of comprehensible memorable writing style.
You're not going to pass the certification test by reading this book, but you can't pass without it either.
Good Book.......2007-09-28
A very good book for PMs, since it is from PMI, they have covered most aspects of PM, however, no that much in detail, so not that good for early career PMs.
Very good Book - - Un libro muy bueno, se los recomiendo........2007-09-24
This is a very good book, you should read it if you want to know more about project management.
Es un libro muy bueno, se los recomiendo si estan interesados en la administracion de proyectos.
Do NOT buy this book!!!.......2007-09-24
I really, really wish I would have read through the amazon reviews before buying this book. It looks like a good idea and that it will an informative read. It's a piece of summary junk that provides no real value whatsoever.
Instead of actually trying to teach concepts in detail, the objective of this book appears to be the mere identification of concepts. If you're content learning about the concepts that exist, maybe this book is for you. If you want to actually know how things work and be able to do them yourself, go elsewhere.
Amazon.com
If there ever was a pair of docs who can make the small intestine seem truly intriguing, here they are. Dr. Mehmet Oz is an alternative-medicine maverick and a cardiologist known to implement acupuncture during open-heart surgery. Dr. Michael Roizen developed the RealAge concept of calculating one's biological, as opposed to chronological, age. Here they've whipped up a witty guide to the workings of the entire body, appropriate not just for those who can't tell their pancreas from their pituitary. Even Cheers' Cliff Claven types who think they know it all will likely be humbled by the 50-question "body-quotient" quiz that starts off the book.
With much sassy humor (they describe the adrenals as similar in shape to Mr. Potato Head's hat), they give a guided tour of the body's anatomy and major systems (hormonal, nervous, digestive, sensory, etc.) including plenty of fascinating trivia along the way. How often should you get your thyroid level checked? How much gas does the average person produce in a day? And, most important, how many times a year do most people have sex?? Drs. Oz and Roizen know. They also reveal plenty of bizarre (and potentially life-saving) facts such as this: If your earlobe has a prominent vertical wrinkle, it's likely that your arteries are aging faster than they ought to be. If only 8th-grade health class had been this fun.
The docs' main goal in presenting all this info is twofold: first, it's your body, so shouldn't you finally learn how it works? And, second, they want to help teach ways of preserving the body's health and youthfulness. To that end, they've included an "Owner's Manual Diet," a 10-day menu plan designed not for weight loss, but to make you feel "years younger." Its simple recipes are each meant to benefit a certain body system, such as Tomato Bruschetta, packed with the antioxidant lycopene, which has been proven to boost immunity. --Erica Jorgensen
Book Description
Between your full-length mirror and high-school biology class, you probably think you know a lot about the human body. While it's true that we live in an age when we're as obsessed with our bodies as we are with celebrity hairstyles, the reality is that most of us know very little about what chugs, churns, and thumps throughout this miraculous, scientific, and artistic system of anatomy. Yes, you've owned your skin-covered shell for decades, but you probably know more about your cell-phone plan than you do about your own body. When it comes to your longevity and quality of life, understanding your internal systems gives you the power, authority, and ability to live a healthier, younger, and better life.
You: The Owner's Manual challenges your preconceived notions about how the human body works and ages, then takes you on a tour through all of the highways, back roads, and landmarks inside of you. After taking a quiz that tests your body of knowledge, you'll learn about all of your blood-pumping, food-digesting, and keys-remembering systems and organs.
Just as important, you'll get the facts and advice you need to keep your body running long and strong. You'll find out how diseases start and how they affect your body -- as well as advice on how to prevent and beat conditions that threaten your quality of life. Complete with exercise tips, nutritional guidelines, simple lifestyle changes, and alternative approaches, You: The Owner's Manual gives you an easy, comprehensive, and life-changing how-to plan for fending off the gremlins of aging. To top it off, you'll also get the great-tasting and calorie-saving Owner's Manual Diet -- a thirty-recipe eating plan that's designed with only one goal in mind: to help you live a younger life.
Welcome to your body. Why don't you come on in and take a look around?
Customer Reviews:
You: The Owner's Manual.......2007-10-06
This book is very informative. It takes the human body and breaks it down so anyone can understand it. I have learned a great deal about my body and the abuse I do to it. Would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Oh, and I love the humor too!
Heath for Dummies.......2007-10-06
Health for dummies. Fun and quick reading. But, before you buy the book. Look through the 50 question quiz. If you are interested in the questions and were not able to answer them, then go ahead and buy.
Look at the menus at the back of the book. If you are not interested in changing your diet, you might look elsewhere.
Look at Page 127-139 for an excercise plan: Very basic
Page 173 simplistic smoking cessation plan
Interesting points
1) Take half an aspirin with warm water for the rest of your life.
2) Ideal blood pressure: 115/76
2a) Systolic Pressure exerted when the heart contracts
2b) Diastolic: Pressure in arteries when the heart is at rest
3) HDL should be at least greater than 40
4) Should be maximum heart rate: Exercise hard 3 mintues. Heart rate should be 80-90% of 220 - age.
5) Recovery time after 2 minutes:Heartbeat should be 80% or drop by 66 or more beats
6) Definition of clinical depression is sadness for more than 2 weeks
7) Enamel and bone are the first and second hardest thing in your body
8) 650 muscles in the body
9) Pneumonia: Old man's friend
10) 26 feet of tubing
11) Most active muscles are in your eyes. 2 million working parts
12) caruncle: reddish pink fleshy substance on the inside corner of your eye. remnant of the reptilian eye.
Tried to be a little too funny.......2007-10-01
I liked this book, but ended up skipping over a lot of the parts that were supposed to be funny. I would have liked the pictures to be labeled correctly, not with funny made up names for body parts.
You: The Owner's Manual.......2007-09-29
Great stuff, easy read. Very informative. I read it and then my Mom read it.
Very "YOUseful".......2007-09-28
In short, just a very informative book that is successful in achieving several goals. For one, it educates the reader in the inner workings of the human body. It does this quite entertainingly through trivia, facts, and interesting pictures (for instance the authors use a lot of elves). Additionally, the book also gives you many helpful tips on self-care and how to keep your body running smoother. While there is a lot information, I really would like to have seen a reference section at the end of the book. All in all though, it's a pretty informative and amusing read that should enhance the well-being of many. Also recommend Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff for readers who might need more specific info on shoulder pain and rotator cuff self-care.
Books:
- The Seven Pillars of Health
- The Urantia Book: Indexed Version With Free Audio Book on DVD
- The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change
- There is a Season (Cheney & Shiloh: The Inheritance #3)
- Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters Series)
- Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
- What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada
- Whispers in the Wind (Orphan Trains Trilogy, Book 3)
- Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
- X-Men: Fatal Attractions
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Chicken Soup for the Woman Golfer's Soul: Stories About Trailblazing Women Who've Changed the Game F
- The Bearded Dragon Manual
- Life Is Paradise: The Portraits of Francesco Clemente
- Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
- Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
- Radiation Protection
- The Atlantic Salmon
- Lean and Mean: Why Large Corporations Will Continue to Dominate the Global Economy
- Just Because I'm Latin Doesn't Mean I Mambo
- Maryland Business Almanac
The Secret (Extended Edition)
You: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management
The Science of Success: How to Attract Prosperity and Create Harmonic Wealth Through Proven Principles
Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't
The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham
