Book Description
Courageous Souls explores the premise that we are all eternal souls who plan our lives, including our greatest challenges, prior to birth for purposes of spiritual growth. The book contains ten true stories of people who planned physical illness, having handicapped children, deafness, blindness, drug addiction, alcoholism, losing a loved one, and severe accidents. Because very different life challenges are often planned for similar reasons, readers who have not faced these specific challenges will nevertheless see themselves - and their motivations as a soul - in these stories. As readers come to realize that they themselves planned their lives, suffering that once seemed purposeless becomes imbued with deep meaning. Wisdom may be acquired in a more conscious manner; feelings of anger, guilt, blame, and victimization are replaced by acceptance, forgiveness, peace, and gratitude.
Customer Reviews:
So that's why . . ........2007-10-08
If you ever want to get into the backside of your pre-birth planning of your life challenges, read Courageous Souls by Robert Schwartz. Want to know why you attract illness, accidents, birth defects? Want to know why you chose a life of alcoholism or drug addiction, or are around someone who has? Read this book. The stories, while may start out slow at first, are powerful and insightful. Just stick with them. Robert uses mediums who are able to access multiple guides at one time, and your primary guide and listen in on conversations between you and your soul group.
not credible.......2007-09-30
I got to p. 300 and started reading another book. I found this book painstakingly slow to read, the information provided by the mediums: farfetched, and the conclusions drawn by the author, hard to swallow. Often, when mediums are tired, their accuracy rate diminishes. I never heard of any of the mediums used in this book. Robert Schwartz makes everything so complicated when the subject matter is really quite easy to understand. The book just doesn't flow easily and it's not a page turner in my opinion. I'm a believer, but this book really is a waste of time and money. Read Journey of the Soul by Michael Newton, PhD. Instead of using mediums, he enters the superconsciousness of his clients and elicits information from them directly about their experiences on The Other Side.
An Empowering Way to Reframe Painful Challenges in Our Lives.......2007-09-17
It has been said that asking oneself the question, "Who was I before I was born?" can teach us the most about our true spiritual identity -- yet few of us have been so enlightened as to have heard the full reply. COURAGEOUS SOULS takes this starting point one step further by exploring just how we may have crafted our entire life around all of our life circumstances -- both the high and the low points.
What sets Robert Schwartz's book apart from other books about spirituality, reincarnation and the afterlife is his organized use of intuitive readings as companion pieces to accompany the various life stories he includes. These intuitive sessions provide a deep sense of interconnectedness and unconditional love shared in our lifetimes which we sometimes lose sight of, as well as insights into how we continue learning life lessons from one life to the next. The stories include descriptions of people who have experienced tremendous suffering who are greatly inspired and relieved to see an underlying sense of purpose and meaning to all they have gone through.
COURAGEOUS SOULS is an exceptional book for anyone interested in exploring the true nature of their spiritual identity, who is willing to keep an open mind regarding the value of some of the most painful challenges we humans face in our lives on Earth; this is highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to reframe and find deeper meaning from the painful challenges, setbacks or hardships in their lives.
Some of life's challenges explained........2007-09-06
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Before I even finished reading this book, I ordered more and had them sent to my friends. This book is amazing.
Told through many soul journies, Robert Schwartz brought in the talents of true mediums who were able to discover decisions that these people made before they were born - again. He did not use just one medium, but several, and they are listed in the back of the book. The individuals who shared their stories are also listed with email addresses -- and if they are able and have the time they will answer your questions.
This book came to me at a time I really needed to be reminded of my own experiences through many lives and the time between our next life. The stories are beautiful because they are able to explain why certain tragedies happen to a person.
I highly recommend this book, especially to those with open and searching minds.
Why Human Challenges Exist!.......2007-08-28
Courageous Souls is highly recommended to anyone trying to understand the suffering, tragedy or loss that has caused them to question life, death and/or God. And who among us is not inflicted by such challenges and questions in our lifetime? In my eight years researching life after death, spirituality and life purpose, I have discovered no better explanation of why human challenges exist than what is so eloquently written in Robert Schwartz's book.
Bob Olson, [...]
Amazon.com
Featuring more than 70 stories collected as part of "the Feathers project," Feathers Brush My Heart is a comforting book for women in times of loss. Each story, ranging in length from a couple of paragraphs to several pages, speaks of some sort of communication between mothers and daughters; what they have in common is that in each case, the mother has already passed away. In every other way, each story is entirely different.
The women who contributed stories are of all ages and income brackets. Some write movingly of abuse and dysfunction during their childhoods, while others pen with equal grace tales of close, loving relationships with their parents. Some gifts are as simple as finally learning to make their mom's beloved peanut butter fudge. More complex tales show repeated instances of protection and strongly felt presences in the midst of physical danger.
Dreams, impressions, and objects all figure strongly, and many women write of the particular significance of a special flower, ribbon, vase, or article of clothing. Author Sinclair Browning ties this collection together with gentle musings and recommended readings, along with a few short stories of her own. And while the details vary, the core message remains consistent: those who love us are never truly gone, and contact is always available if you remain open to the possibilities. --Jill Lightner
Book Description
Featuring more than 70 stories collected as part of "the Feathers project," Feathers Brush My Heart is a comforting book for women in times of loss. Each story, ranging in length from a couple of paragraphs to several pages, speaks of some sort of communication between mothers and daughters; what they have in common is that in each case, the mother has already passed away. In every other way, each story is entirely different. The women who contributed stories are of all ages and income brackets. Some write movingly of abuse and dysfunction during their childhoods, while others pen with equal grace tales of close, loving relationships with their parents. Some gifts are as simple as finally learning to make their mom's beloved peanut butter fudge. More complex tales show repeated instances of protection and strongly felt presences in the midst of physical danger. Dreams, impressions, and objects all figure strongly, and many women write of the particular significance of a special flower, ribbon, vase, or article of clothing. Author Sinclair Browning ties this collection together with gentle musings and recommended readings, along with a few short stories of her own. And while the details vary, the core message remains consistent: those who love us are never truly gone, and contact is always available if you remain open to the possibilities. --Jill Lightner
Customer Reviews:
Most Wonder Book for Loss of Mother.......2007-09-10
A friend told me to read this book shortly after I lost my dear mother to breast cancer. It is full of inspiring, wonderful true stories of women who lost their mothers and had signs of them being near them after passing. The most wonderful thing happened to me after I finished this book a couple of weeks after my mothers funeral. I was going to church every morning at 7 a.m. for mass every day on my way to work after she died. One morning I was sitting in my usual pew in front of the Blessed Mother statue waiting for service to begin....I looked down as I knelt to pray at the pew seat in front of me and there was a feather! It was over 3 inches long - I looked everywhere else around me - no other feathers but the one right in front of me. I believe this was a sign from my mother. Please read this book - your mother is still with you...you will always be together.
HELPED SO MUCH AFTER DEATH OF MY MOTHER.......2007-06-02
I have given this book to about four of my friends whose mothers have died. It is a compilation of stories from women of all walks of life who have experienced some sort of "visit" or sign from their mothers after their mothers have passed on. It is so interesting and so comforting. It expresses what many of my friends have experienced but hadn't been talking about. Are these visits coincidences or are we living in a dream here and the world after this is the real world? It gave me great comfort and hope when my mom died, and I continue to hear from her in so many ways.. strange bird visits.. dog visits, dreams.. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who has lost a mother, whether they were on good terms or bad. I will continue to order this book and share it with my friends. Thanks for reading!
Feathers Brush My Heart.......2007-03-09
A very intersting book relating experiences women have had after the death of their mother.
Slow Read.......2007-01-14
This isn't a book you should buy if you just want to get from beginning to end in a hurry .. its a book you read a story or two and then set aside while you digest - or dry your tears .. bought one for each of my sisters as well - we lost our Mom this year and this book touched my heart
The Cardinal.......2007-01-08
I just finished reading this book and sat wondering how my mother would contact me. I love feeding the birds and began to wonder what kind of bird my mother would be if she choose to visit. A cardinal, so beautiful and bright, that's what she'd be. I'd made up my mind.
I put the book down, walked to the kitchen and stood in shock. There sat a cardinal in the lilac bush, just several feet away. I'll never forget that day.
My mother passed away 25 years ago and this was the first time I can say I truly felt her presence.
Sadly, I will now give this book to my niece. I just attended her mother's funeral. I don't want her to wait 25 years.
Book Description
Social visionary Joseph Chilton Pearce’s indictment of cultural imprinting as the cause of humankind’s cruel and violent behavior
• Refutes the Neo-Darwinist assumption that violence is inherent in humanity
• Identifies religion as the sustaining force behind our negative cultural imprinting
• Shows how infant-adult interactions unconsciously block the creative spirit
We are all too aware of the endless variety of cruel and violent behavior reported to us in the media, reminded daily that in every corner of the world someone is suffering or dying at the hands of another. We have to ask: Is this violence and cruelty endemic to our nature? Are we, at our foundation, really so murderous? In
The Death of Religion and the Rebirth of Spirit, Joseph Chilton Pearce, life-long advocate of human potential, sounds an emphatic and convincing no.
Pearce explains that beneath our awareness, culture imprints a negative force-field that blocks the natural rise of the spirit toward its innate nature of love and altruism. Further, he identifies religion as the primary cultural force behind this negative imprinting. Drawing from recent neuroscience, neurocardiology, cultural anthropology, and brain development research, Pearce explains that the key to reversing this trend can be found in the interaction between infants and adults. The adult mind-set effectively compromises the infant’s neural and hormonal interactions between the heart and the higher evolutionary structures of the developing brain, thus keeping us centered primarily in our most primitive and defensive neural foundations, generation after generation. Pearce shows us that if we allow the intelligence of the heart to take hold and flourish, we can reverse this unconscious loss of our true nature.
Customer Reviews:
Either this or the author's previous title, not both........2007-07-02
I ordered this, Pearce's latest offering, together with his preceding 2002 effort, "Biology of Transcendence" and read them back to back, in chronological order. This is the one book, in his output so far, Joseph Pearce needn't have written.
Given that Pearce's incentive for writing this book (p. 190) was triggered by an altogether demonic experience, that behold-and-become function stressed so often in his authorship has here become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Really, a previous reviewer put it mildly in saying "Death of Religion" shows the author retreading familiar ground. In fact, this is an about 80% rehash or rewrite of his previous title "Biology." The very same material has been reorganized, rewritten - sometimes expanded upon a bit, sometimes contracted. I would not say the presentation of it has improved, it is merely a different version. It even uses the same batch of quotes from a select number of, to Pearce's mind, outstanding thinkers.
So because the bulk of the contents is yet again the discussion of the "New Biology," the title of the new book is a bit of a misnomer. The post 9/11 impetus to writing a book on "violent culture" is a thin veneer, a couple of dozen pages bracketing the older material. Pearce carries over not only his favourite quotes but even repeats a number of his own punch lines already used up in "Biology."
Some mistakes slipped through editing: using cases from, to some, controversial para-psychology, one would expect facts to be absolutely in order. Still famous French explorer Alexandra David-Neel turns into an Englishwoman (and gets her name slightly misspelled). From where Pearce got the etymological explanation that "sin" originally meant "separate" (p. 166) baffles. See [...]resource for more trustworthy facts. From "Biology" one remembers Pearce explaining "existence" as "to set apart" (p. 78), e.g. separate, so perhaps he misread his old notes while revamping them.
Commenting upon the ability to live without food (p. 178) without previously having introduced the subject, is another hint this book was hardly the fruit of that "Heureka! effect" Pearce is rightfully fascinated by. Presumably a paragraph was lifted out from an early draft and this reference to supernatural non-food eaters remained in place.
I heartily recommend the previous "Biology of Transcendence" as a great reading experience, upon which this rewrite has nothing substantially more to offer. The book gets three stars given the intrinsic value of Pearce's observations and if you have not read "Biology," nor intend to, you may consider this a very thought-provoking read. But as Pearce devotes quite a number of pages to describing a theory of Julian Jaynes' (The Origin of Consciousness) - a summary not present in his previous work - I really recommend you to go for Pearce's previous "Biology" and also Jaynes' 1970s classic in its entirety instead. That would be a crucial reading experience.
It's a pick recommended for any spirituality collection.......2007-06-09
The Death of Religion and the Rebirth of Spirit: A Return to the Intelligence of the Heart could've been featured in our New Age column but deserves wider mention here for its far-reaching survey blending philosophy, religion and sociology. The study begins with a survey of violence in human society and the question of whether cruelty is part of human nature - and argues that the roots of human behavior aren't violent, but a cultural imprint. Chapters use recent neuroscience, cultural anthropology and brain development research to explore the violent trends, spiritual understanding, and how to reverse violence to achieve a higher level of being. It's a pick recommended for any spirituality collection - particularly at the college level - strong on added cultural analysis.
I've been here before.......2007-05-13
I have been reading Joseph Chilton Pearce for years beginning with "Crack in the Cosmic Egg". His work has been very valuable to me because he explains the spiritual search in ways that are understandable and not all woo woo. This book seemed to me to pretty much cover territory that I was familiar with from previous books. His ideas about the proper birthing and raising of children are important and probably will never have a wide following because of the strength of cultural ways of doing things (another topic that he is very good on). I think this book would be very interesting to someone who had never read any other of his works.
Manifesto of a Spritual (R)evolution.......2007-04-12
Beware! The photo of the author on the book jacket is deceptive. It pictures a soulful, Quaker like grandfather--when all the time the contents of his book are loaded with intellectual hand grenades aimed at the very heart of our culture!
I began writing this review in the usual manner, underlining a phrase here, a word there, scribbling little notes at corners, on the edge--you know, the usual. But after a couple pages I saw that practically every word, every phrase was highlighted, and that there were copious notes all over the place. The book contains so much knowledge, so much insight, and addresses so many of the most vital subjects of life--that to attempt restricting myself to a few ideas here and there seemed almost sacrilegious.
And in the most positive sense this book IS sacrilegious.
In his call for humans to approach the next step of evolution, JC Pearce challenges us to overcome the greatest obstacle to that evolution--our very culture based on organized religion and orthodox science, that in turn arise from humanity's apparent need for PREDICTION and CONTROL. The author is such a master of phraseology that he'll have you convinced in a matter of a few pages that, yeah, they really ARE holding us back.
Pearce is no mere iconoclast--he skillfully demonstrates that the natural replacement for these cultural misconceptions exists and has existed all around us from the beginning of our collective jump from chimp to human (via the common shrew we are now told.) The author illustrates the power & biological source of both the individual & collective creative process, and how they interconnect in "fields of mind." We go along with the author on a developmental human journey from pre-natal conditions, thru birth and from there to the many stages that, where they should release ever higher levels of freedom & pleasure, in reality bind us ever tighter to conformity, frustration & social violence.
And never fear--just because THE DEATH OF RELIGION is a mental revelation, it's a pleasure to read. The writer's source material is life itself & is a record of every day situations and their evolutionary potential.
Reading THE DEATH OF RELIGION allegorically feels like lifting a boulder from one's very soul.
This is one of the most relevant books of our time.
It's a stunning achievement.
Do your Mind a favor & read this book!
The Origins of Psychic Phenomena: Poltergeists, Incubi, Succubi, and the Unconscious Mind
Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld
Book Description
How Two Grieving Mothers Found Inspiration and Comfort There are few, if any, events in life as traumatic, heart-wrenching, and crushing as the death of a child. While nothing can mute the pain of such a life-shattering loss, others who know this experience can help those suffering articulate the chaos of their feelings and see that they can, eventually, feel whole again. Organized by a journalist and a psychotherapist, each of whom has lost a child, A Broken Heart Still Beats is a remarkable compilation of poetry, fiction, and essays about the pain, stages of grief, and the coping and healing process that follows the death of one's child. The chapters are organized thematically and chronologically, from "Thunderstruck," the point at which parents first learn they have lost a child, to "The Legacy of Loss," wherein the authors and the anthology selections speak to the "steely hard and cold" life lessons this type of bereavement brings. This compilation of poems and excerpts draws from short stories, novels, biographies, and autobiographies that focus on the death of a child as relayed through classic and contemporary world literature. It is made up of works by some of the best writers and thinkers present and past, many of them bereaved parents as well, ranging from Mark Twain, Isabel Allende, William Shakespeare, John Edgar Wideman, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Anne Tyler, and Sophocles to Eric Clapton and Winston Churchill. Biographical introductions personalize the excerpts, often offering new insights into well-known writers like William Faulkner and Rudyard Kipling. This book's anthologized selections make it truly exceptional. This book expresses the universal themes of grief--and the common points of these experiences and feelings--in language and imagery that goes straight to the heart. The fact that each of the authors has lost a child brings a powerful authenticity to the book. Bereaved parents and family members as well as mental health professionals, bereavement counselors, and those interested in grief literature will all find this book extremely valuable. "As one who has experienced the tragic, untimely death of a child, I have found this anthology of similar experiences an excellent source of comfort and healing." --George McGovern, former U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate. "By putting words to what is surely the most unspeakable of life's losses, this eloquent and painfully honest book may help make the darkness a little less dark, the loneliness a little less lonely." --Judith Viorst, author of Necessary Losses Born and raised in new York, Mary Semel graduated from Goucher College in Baltimore. She is a psychotherapist who, after working for many years at Sheppard Pratt Hospital, now has a private practice. Her sixteen-year-old son, Alexander, was killed in a car accident in 1991. Anne McCracken is a former newspaper reporter and feature writer. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband,
Customer Reviews:
An excellent grief resource for grieving parents.......2007-09-18
My daughter questioned why I was reading this book, and until she said it I would have not really thought about or understood why I WAS reading it. However, when forced to think about it, I realized that I was probably wondering how other parents were able to survive this crushing loss and by what means they did so. This book provided that window into another's grief and gave me the sense that I was not alone, and that while it was normal to feel the things I was experiencing, others were finding out and giving voice to their own grief. It was this shared experience of understanding another's pain that gave me some relief - to know that I wasn't going crazy!
an amazing anthology.......2006-07-23
When my granddaughter was born still, I immediately turned to the solace offered by the written word, finding that to be much more helpful than the empty cliches and platitudes offered by acquaintances. This is an incredible collection of writing, both fiction and nonfiction, essay and poetry, on the subject of the loss of a child. Many, if not most, of the writers included have experienced this most devastating of all losses. The authors introduce each section with personal writing that forms an intimate connection. They draw from classic literature as well as modern, making this a book that offers something to everyone. I found myself re-reading sections in an attempt to hold off coming to the end of this sustaining book. I doubt this book will ever make it to my bookshelf, as I will be turning to it often for inspiration and comfort.
The one I still read..........2005-09-27
It's been five years since the death of my precious son and although many books were helpful in the early months and years this is the one that has lingered with me the longest. I still turn to it from time to time, especially on the hard days.
If I'm angry, confused, consumed with memories and flashbacks, or just missing my boy this is the book I turn to.
As Mark Twain is quoted in the book, "It is one of the mysteries of our nature that a man, all unprepared, can receive a thunder-stroke like that and live. There is but one reasonable explanation of it. The intellect is stunned by the shock and but gropingly gathers the meaning of the words. The power to realize their full import is mercifully wanting. The mind has a dumb sense of vast loss-that is all. It will take the mind and memory months and possibly years to gather together the details and thus learn and know the whole extent of the loss."
That quote, like so many in the book, resides in my heart and mind. I am still grappling with my loss, but thanks to this book and many others my heart continues to mend.
The most depressing book I have ever read.......2004-08-15
I found this book to be extremely depressing and full of despair, which someone who has lost a child doesn't need to feel more of. This book offered no hope and must have been written by authors who believe they will never see their children again. I refuse to look at life and death that way and instead choose to have hope of reuniting with my daughter and peace in knowing that she is in a much better place than we are. Obviously I would not recommed this book for anyone who has lost a child.
The most helpful book so far..........2004-06-21
I lost my precious daughter Hannah Caguiat last December in an accident that injured me and her little sister Emily as well. Along with an outpouring of love, support, and sympathy from our family and community, I received dozens of books about bereavement in general and loss of a child in particular.
I received _A Broken Heart Still Beats_ as a gift recently and reading it has been so helpful. Despite the variety of experiences and the fact that some of the pieces in here are fiction, this is the first time I have felt like there are people out there who truly would understand what we are going through. It is not a self-help book, but does explore various aspects of being a bereaved parent -- from relationships with spouse/partner/child's other parent, to anger, to sibling issues. I highly recommend this for anyone who has lost a child or is close to someone who has.
I was saddened, too, by how many people out there in the arts and literature have been in this situation. So many that I never knew had experienced this.
Average customer rating:
- Highly recommend
- A good resource for grieving family members and friends.
- Good Book
- solace in knowing you're not alone. or crazy.
- Reommended Resource for Grieving Grandparents
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Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby
Deborah L. Davis
Manufacturer: Fulcrum Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1555913024 |
Customer Reviews:
Highly recommend.......2007-10-03
This book was recommended to me over a year ago when I lost my daughter. It has taken me that long to get around to ordering it, I wish I had of much earlier. Fantastic book.
A good resource for grieving family members and friends........2007-03-11
After the stillbirth of our first and only child, we bought or were given a raft of books relating to infant death and stillbirth. Of these, Empty Cradle is probably the best known.
I found it comprehensive and extremely focused on affirming the emotional journey of the parents. For me, it was perhaps a little bit too affirming. I found that in the end I preferred the more matter of fact tone in a book like A Silent Sorrow than the more emotional point of view in Empty Cradle. Still, it is one of the better books on the topic, and would be particularly valuable to people who are really struggling with what emotions they should be feeling at a time of loss.
I also really appreciated the comprehensive and categorized bibliography that Davis included with the book.
Good Book.......2007-02-04
This book has lots of good info in it. I read it following the passing of my 24 week olddaughter back in 2005.
solace in knowing you're not alone. or crazy........2007-01-06
i wish this book never needed to be written, and never needed to be read. but as tragic as it may be, babies do die, and parents do need to learn to live with it. if you are expecting any answers, you are looking in the wrong place. and if you do find the right place, please let me know. as far as i have learned, there are no answers. there is only an endless pain that we try to alleviate by sharing with each other, so that we do not feel too alone in this. and that's exactly what this book does. it helps you feel less alone. the garbled thoughts and feelings, the phantom pains and sounds, the guilt and the anger, the endless loss and the irrational fears. the fear that you are going insane. sadly, it is shared by all, and can thus be termed as "normal". whatever that is.
Reommended Resource for Grieving Grandparents.......2007-01-03
Davis gently offers information surrounding the concerns Mothers and Fathers have about the loss of their baby. Most importantly Davis gives accurate use of the term Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the differences between this medical mystery and other infant deaths. It is a great resource for parents of adult children and grandparents because it gives insight into what the parents are going through, as well as it explains how to tell children about death. Grandparents will also learn how to support their children through the grief process, knowing we all go down this path of grief together, yet it is a uniquely personal journey.
Average customer rating:
- THIS BOOK IS GREAT!!!
- Right time, right book, lucky me
- Some Good Advice, But Not Totally Realistic
- Wonders for my daughter
- Finally , REAL help
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How to Mend Your Broken Heart: Overcome Emotional Pain at the End of a Relationship
Paul Mckenna , and
Hugh Willbourn
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
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ASIN: 1400054044
Release Date: 2005-06-28 |
Customer Reviews:
THIS BOOK IS GREAT!!!.......2007-07-01
OK, I'm a guy and trying to get over my ex of less then 8 months being with her, it has taken me over 6 months to try to move on.
I went to the Library to just search for something AGAIN as ALWAYS but this time the book on the shelf stood out. Never seen it before. Something was telling me to get it.
I could not put this book down when I got home.I read it cover to cover in one evening. The small work Exercises in this book are really great, I mean REALLY GREAT AND FAST to do and you can remember for every day use. I like the "SELF-ESTEEM BOOSTER" and " HOW TO FALL OUT OF LOVE". The next day I had to order it on line. I took notes for keeping. And when I get my book it will be highlighted alot on things to remember.
I have bought many on line e-books on getting over your mate, and things like that, but this book is really great to get. Don't waste you money on E-books out there. Put your money on this book first. It may not be the the best for you, but it moved me, made me cry sometimes reading it, but it was for the good. GET THE BOOK!!!
Right time, right book, lucky me.......2007-05-09
During the two months after my break up, I went through a roller coaster ride. My emotions were everywhere, and worst of all, when I felt better, I always feared that it was just my imagination and that I would soon feel worse again. I got a lot of support from my friends and family, but inside my brain painful images that reminded me of my past would pop up involuntarily from time to time.
The biggest obstacle this book has helped me overcome is related to the fact that one of its authors is a hypnotist. I have only read half way through the book, but I believe I have found everything that I needed already. The techniques they presented in the first half uses a semi-hypnotic sort of way to help you manipulate and recode your memories so that you can change your way of thinking - from the root. Ever since following the instructions in the book, I really do feel like I was able to stop thinking about my ex and stop feeling pained.
I think most books helping you deal with break ups are shallow. Many books are just out to make a buck on someone who is desperate for help. This book is much better than the other break up book I bought, but books alone cannot help you get over a heartbreak. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for that last thing to help them completely get over their break up.
Some Good Advice, But Not Totally Realistic.......2007-04-29
Although this book contains some helpful information, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it lived up to the author's claims of being able to "stop the pain of a broken heart in its tracks and bring about lasting improvements..." in my life, anyway. But then, maybe my situation is a bit different from those which Drs. McKenna and Willbourn reported.
That's not to say, however, that it won't work for others. Obviously, all our situations are different; consequently others will be affected or respond to this information much differently. But then, while I want the pain to stop, I'm not willing to stop loving my ex, which is where the good doctors' techniques ultimately lead the reader. Granted, falling out of love is the ultimate goal for many who wish to get over their exes. But at the same time, for many others - such as myself - it is not.
I also found their advice on eliminating jealousy and obsession by utilizing a technique to `white it out' not only rather simplistic, but unrealistic. For some - both men and women - being able to let go of either obsession or jealousy is hardly as easy as pretending that it can be erased. Just like love, jealousy and obsession are two very powerful emotions that take time to work through. This, I would posit, is where the utilization of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), hypnosis, retraining and reframing are, in my humble opinion, more likely to work; along with a good dose of cognitive behavior therapy.
The reference to New Orleans Gestalt therapist, Anne Teachworth's theory, that we learn to relate to significant others based on the relational interactions we observed in our parents, resonated strongly. Although, certainly, there are often other factors involved, but there's no arguing (and quite a few studies in support of the contention) that - for the most part - children learn by emulating what they see and hear. Therefore, it only stands to reason that we are most likely going to carry these learned behaviors with us into adulthood and into our own relationships.
Once again, although the doctors offered some good advice, I was also struck by the fact that an equal amount of advice seemed insensitive and aimed at women while not taking into consideration that women don't think or respond similarly. Case in point: "Your past is your job to deal with. It is not your new partner's job. So rather than foist it on them, work through it with a friend or a therapist." `Foist'? This is the way most men think. It is not, generally, the way women think. Many women, in fact, are usually all too willing to hear about their partner's past issues if their partner is willing to share that part of their life with them. Additionally, in some cases this advice is not feasible, such as when one partner truly has no one else to talk to and is in dire need of talking about a situation that is potentially life-threatening. It appears that chivalry must, most certainly, be dead.
So...how does one mend a broken heart? I never quite reached the point by the end of the book where I felt that my broken heart had been mended by the advice offered. In my opinion, this can only be done by learning to love oneself. Because by loving ourselves we realize that we are deserving of love from others and that we deserve more than a partner who has chosen not to remain in our lives. Only then can one learn to let go of the pain of a broken relationship and go on to truly love another.
And, in case you're wondering...it took reading this book for me to see that I really didn't need anyone to tell me how to let go of the pain of my broken heart. The answer was always within.
Wonders for my daughter.......2006-04-21
I got this book from the library for my daughter. It did wonders for her after her boyfriend of 3 years broke up with her without warning. She had lost weight, was going to a counselor, her grades suffered, and she couldn't stop crying. This book helped her more than anything else. She's a very visual person and the book gave her visual exercises to do; and also practical things to do like changing your habits or changing the furniture around. She showed it to the counselor she was going to at college and the counselor liked it so much, she bought it to keep for other students to look at. I had to bring the book back to the library, but my daughter wanted to have a copy of her own, so here I am at Amazon getting her her own copy. This is a great book for anyone going through heartbreak or for anyone who wants to help someone in that situation.
Finally , REAL help.......2005-12-18
OK the wallowing in misery, self-pity, and denial is SO over. How I loved this book! I have been struggling mightily in a heartbreaking relationship with a really cold man - thinking he was something else, and thinking there were real feelings and a soul in there if I could only peel that onion back one more layer. It just got worse and worse until I hated myself as much or more as I hated him. Obsession, compulsive behavior, self-torture - what a waste of time and life! And who wants to win the "I hate you more" contest anyway? Hate is the worst! Over the years I think I've read every single "breakup recovery" books, some more helpful than others - but most of them have the same advice. "Rally your girlfriends, stay busy, excercise more, know it will eventually get better!" Yeah, whatever. The advice helps, but it really just distracts you from the pain, rather than helping you truly heal and throw out the pain for good. What's cool about this book is how it provides tools and excercises (I know, but these are really good tools and exercises.) you can use immediately, anywhere / anytime to change the way you feel and see your situation through visualization and self-hypnosis. It also had very keen insight into human behavior - both yours and others. If you're ready to pick yourself up and really move on, this is the one I would recommend. Good luck!
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Drawing from the Heart: A Seven-Week Program to Heal Emotional Pain and Loss Through Expressive Art
Barbara Ganim
Manufacturer: Quest Books
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ASIN: 0835608328 |
Book Description
Ganim's book provides a powerful and enjoyable tool for releasing stress, setting personal boundaries, practicing gratitude, increasing compassion, and growing from painful experiences so that they become the source of our wisdom and strength.
Amazon.com
"Feelings of loss don't go away; they go deeper," says grief counselor Stephen Levine, whose work over the past 30 years has won acclaim from the likes of [[LINK]][Elisabeth Ku[umlaut]bler-Ross]. He claims that chronic grief can result just as easily from the death of a loved one as it can from everyday disappointments like "unfulfilled ambitions." Whatever the source of one's sense of loss, Levine argues that grief must be thoroughly worked through, or it can lead insidiously to addiction, clinical depression, and other physical complaints. Borrowing heavily from Buddhist teachings, Levine recommends mindfulness meditation as one of several paths to reaching relief through "self-mercy." Unfortunately, as earnest he may be, Levine has a tendency to meanders in his writing, even in chapters that average just five pages in length. He's right that Americans in particular are too-often taught to "swallow our grief," but (likely distraught) readers may have a hard time wading through his ponderings to reach the far-between bits of concrete advice. --Erica Jorgensen
Book Description
Wise and compassionate advice from one of the nation's most trusted grief counselors-to help heal emotional wounds that linger and prevent us from leading full and happy lives.Unattended sorrow is unresolved grief that has never been given a chance to heal. This lovely, spiritual book from one of the nation's most trusted grief counselors offers a series of techniques to help heal this pain so readers can lead full and joyful lives. The book not only guides those who have experienced a fresh loss to face the hurt before it settles in, but it also addresses the devastating impact of tragedies past, when people become "stuck" years after childhood abuse, teen rape, early divorce, or loss of a loved one."Your heart and soul can be made whole again, be rejuvenated. . . . All this is thanks to the gentle, insightful, user-friendly wisdom of my friend, Stephen Levine."-Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator, #1 New York Times bestselling series, Chicken Soup for the Soul
Customer Reviews:
A Healing Journey: Gentle and Compassionate.......2007-09-20
I read the review that said this book is repetitive, etc. . . . and I felt I needed to share my experiences with this book.
Sorrow can run deep. Especially when a pattern of grief and sorrow is laid down when you are a child; it can persistently sap your energy, your joy.
What is lovely about this book is that, recognizing the persistent nature of this malaise, it gently speaks to you of other alternatives. When I was in pain, I really appreciated the slow pace; the way it is written with such kindness, and compassion; the gentleness with which the materials are presented. This book is more about helping you find your peace within your sorrow than about expressing tools and techniques; although the tools and techniques are there.
It is a lovely book, and it can be very, very helpful in working through those old patterns. I highly recommend it.
Different and useful take on the grieving process...........2007-03-14
This book is very different from most other books. Rather than explaining the grieving process and approaching it from the head, it is an invitation to opening up the heart and letting our sorrow and unmourned material come to the surface and speak to us. In Western societies, the expression of grief or sadness is often swept under the rug. This book treats it more like a messenger from the soul and invites the reader to let the sorrow drive you inward. As such, it is written in more of a poetical and lyrical manner. The analogies and insights are powerful and the book is filled with pearls of wisdom.
If you are looking to understand the grief process from the inside and to gain a fresh perspective on grief, this book will be very helpful. I am a personal growth coach and I recommend this to certain clients, particularly ones who have difficulty surrendering to tender emotions or sadness. There are many tips in here on how to open up to the grieving process in a mindful way and move through it without sweeping it under the rug.
If you like a very linear and logical approach, most likely this book is not for you. However, if you are feeling scared, alone, confused and need to sort out complicated feelings, this may be just what you need.
Grieving all our losses, both great and small.......2007-02-22
After the recent, too-early loss of my youngest sister, I searched for insight to help me and my parents through our grieving. This book addresses the accumulation of sorrow due to death, loss of love, disappointment, disillusionment, rejection, betrayal and the many injuries over the years that scars our hearts and drags down our lives.
The aim of the book is to help "process the grief" so we aren't overwhelmed by the anxiety, fear or anger that unresolved sorrow can bring. I feel the need to reread the book later when my mind and emotions are clearer. When grief is too fresh, it is hard to concentrate on the important concepts this book contains.
Here's what is covered in the 40 chapters:
Chapter 1: Unattended Sorrow
Chapter 2: Every Day We Lose Something
Chapter 3: The Heart of Loss
Chapter 4: Softening the Belly of Sorrow
Chapter 5: The Reservoir of Sorrow
Chapter 6: Loss of Trust in Life
Chapter 7: The Meaning of Life
Chapter 8: In the Absence of God
Chapter 9: When the Mirror of the Heart Is Broken
Chapter 10: A Bad Dream
Chapter 11: Opening the Heart in Hell
Chapter 12: The Trauma of Survival
Chapter 13: Connection
Chapter 14: Making Peace with Our Sorrow
Chapter 15: What Is the Body Pattern of Grief?
Chapter 16: Reentering the Body
Chapter 17: Attending the Mindset of Loss
Chapter 18: A Day of Walking
Chapter 19: Heart Breath
Chapter 20: Tapping the Resources of the Heart
Chapter 21: Loving Kindness
Chapter 22: A Day in the Heart of Pain
Chapter 23: Making Peace with Our Pain
Chapter 24: Mindfulness: An invitation to Liberation
Chapter 25: A Day of Silence
Chapter 26: Breaking the Isolation of Fear
Chapter 27: Forgiveness
Chapter 28: A Day of Forgiveness
Chapter 29: Our Most Ordinary Existential Grief, Our Very Human Architecture
Chapter 30: Overcoming Perfection
Chapter 31: The Ten Thousand Sorrows
Chapter 32: A Day of Singing
Chapter 33: Our Life Is "Just This Much"
Chapter 34: The Map of Our Lives
Chapter 35: Who Are We When We Are Not Who We Thought We Were?
Chapter 36: A Day of Compassion
Chapter 37: A Day As If It Were Our Last
Chapter 38: A Heart Revived into a New Life
Chapter 39: Day in a Life of Love
Chapter 40: Gratitude
Unattended Sorrow.......2007-01-09
I'm a new widow having lost my love after almost 40 years. Went through service, thank you notes, legal stuff, but why didn't I feel better? Unattended Sorrow came to my rescue revealing how to deal with the horrible black hole in my heart, what to do with the feelings, how to go on. It is a spiritual how-to book showing a path for the feelings. Widow to Widow is the book to read afterwards that deals with the practical aspects of moving forward. But, Unattended Sorrow MUST come first! I keep a copy to send to newly widowed friends.
Some excellent content, but repetitious and loosely organized.......2006-09-02
This book has a very poignant message about sorrow which is not attended to. It also goes into how and why we sweep our feelings of sadness under the rug. Not only is it not acceptable to be sad beyond a certain length of time in our culture, in our fast-paced world we tend to accumulate ungrieved losses.
There are many very lyrical and moving quotes throughout the book. For this reason alone it is worth owning. For example, Levine uses the following metaphor to illustrate a point, "Where we expect to find a highly sensitive area around pain, we may discover it is actually going numb from overload. This is a true of a broken bone as it is of a broken heart." He goes on to say that this numbness is unattended sorrow, "it's all the places where we've gone numb... overflowing the walls by which we attempt to compartmentalize our pain."
While the book is filled with powerful content, you will have to wade through a lot of repetition to find the gems. The book is also loosely organized and I didn't find many of the specific suggestions useful for dealing with acute grief. I think he fails to present enough detail to get the full benefit from his practical advice and he tends to just keep repeating the same basic two or three concepts.
On the other hand, Levine does a great job of articulating the pain of grieving and some existential realities that accompany it. The style of the book is poetic and it's a good book to open randomly and just read for short periods of time. It could be very comforting at a time of loss, but it doesn't present a real roadmap of the grief process or a systematic way to get through it.
Stephen Levine is a mindfulness proponent, so is approach is more meditative and meandering. For Westerners, this may not come naturally, although I don't argue that it could be a very effective way to deal with grief if you understand more about it. However, I feel some important supporting text is missing and a more comprehensive overview of the grief process as a whole would probably be an addition that most readers would appreciate.
Book Description
A tale of forbidden love and inevitable death, the medieval legend of Tristan and Isolde recounts the story of two lovers unknowingly drinking a magic potion and ultimately dying in one another's arms. While critics have lauded Wagner's Tristan and Isolde for the originality and subtlety of the music, they have denounced the drama as a "mere trifle"--a rendering of Wagner's forbidden love for Matilde Wesendonck, the wife of a banker who supported him during his exile in Switzerland. Death-Devoted Heart explodes this established interpretation, proving the drama to be more than just a sublimation of the composer's love for Wesendonck or a wistful romantic dream. Scruton boldly attests that Tristan and Isolde has profound religious meaning and remains as relevant today as it was to Wagner's contemporaries. He also offers keen insight into the nature of erotic love, the sacred qualities of human passion, and the peculiar place of the erotic in our culture. His argument touches on the nature of tragedy, the significance of ritual sacrifice, and the meaning of redemption, providing a fresh interpretation of Wagner's masterpiece. Roger Scruton has written an original and provocative account of Wagner's music drama, which blends philosophy, criticism, and musicology in order to show the work's importance in the twenty-first century.
Product Description
A fearless exposé of mainstream medicines most revered dogma, Malignant Medical Myths is solidly based on trusted medical and nutritional books and journals. Americans spend $2 trillion per year on health care, about $7,000 each, yet it buys almost the poorest healthcare among developed countries, with 200,000 deaths per year from medical treatment. Find out why advice from authorities on screening tests, drugs, diet, exercise, alcohol, radiation, radon, and water fluoridation is often wrong and commercially motivated. See how clinical trials are slanted. Understand how sickness is created to sell treatments, and which government agencies support these shenanigans.
Customer Reviews:
malignant medical myths.......2007-10-05
This was exactly what I was looking for, INFORMATION and while it isn't a book for the beach, I will read and refer to it for many days,months and years. Would not part with this book.
Buy One for your Physician.......2007-06-13
One of the most remarkable examples of herd behavior among humans is their tendency to create and believe lore about medicine. Although biomedical researchers consider themselves above all this, as Kauffman shows, they are not. Without engaging in either inflated rhetoric or florid outrage, Kauffman exposes and dissects conventional wisdom in a careful selection of conditions that affect large numbers of people. Despite the occasional misstep, he puts the evidence and argument out on the table for us to see and judge. We cannot ask for more. When you are finished reading it, send it to your doctor.
Evidence based medicine at it's best!.......2007-02-26
If you care about your health, or that of those around you, this is a must read book.
This certainly isn't a book you can simply skim read. It took me a while to ponder about the impact this might have (I'm a medical student). The arguments are very well presented; he puts all the studies in front of you and analyzes them in a relevant manner.
What I consider to be a minor flaw in the book: the author sometimes concludes that certain differences in mortality are "negligible" when I don't think they are negligible. Certainly though, improvements in mortality rate are far easily attainable via fish oil, magnesium and other quality supplements.
I would love to see a new version of this book, further exploring and digging through the literature on various drugs and supplements.
Highly Recommended.......2007-01-29
You need this book. It is easy to become so engrossed in Kauffman's easy writing style that you will continue reading and lose track of time. Thumb through and stop at any place and you are guaranteed to find a wealth of information. Detractors to the best toxic-free remedies are provided rebuttals--you can learn a comprehensive approach to what and why. Let's make this required reading in medical schools! The only error I found was a typo misspelling of Antiplatelet in the Fig. 1-2 Treatment Meta-Analysis Table (p. 21). Again, this book is so loaded with useful information you will constantly refer to it. On p. 232 and again on p. 254 we read, correctly, how sunblock contributes to cancer by blocking Vitamin D formation--something that Rodale Press in their vast publishings fail to impart. Rodale Press, whom some may consider a leader in preventive health publishing, recommends sunblock to unsuspecting readers.
The hallmark of clinical observations (p2-3) over random clinical trials [RCT] is a common sense approach often missed in the medical literature and is sometimes used to discredit bonafide treatments that elicit positive results. You will learn of the class-action lawsuit against Pfizer regarding Lipitor [still want to ask you Dr. if it's right for you?](p97) and that statins cause cancer (p98).
The section on fluoridation is a must read. "How Antiflouridationists Have Weakened Their Cause," to only non-English speaking countries having the foresight to reject fluoride, to 60% US public water supplies being fluoridated--we get the good, the bad, and the ugly. As fluorides have been shown to increase cancer risks, adding them to water violated the Delaney Clause of the 1958 Amendment to the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act of 1938. So, the Delaney Clause was repealed in 1996 (p.273). Also, adding fluoride violates the EPA policy on drinking water standards (Safe Drinking Water Act) explaining why the 1990 National Toxicology Program on sodium fluoride was "revised" with findings of "clear evidence of carcinogenicity" to "equivocal" evidence. This was necessary to keep the flouridation program legal (p274).
On mammograms, benefits claim lower breast cancer mortality without providing all-cause mortality. Kauffman reminds that this is also a major fault in "major texts in gynecology and oncology" (p217). However, I was surprised to find thermography cast in such low regard, but then this is coming from the American College of Radiology, who cites a false-positive rate of 25% (p.212). Kauffman clarifies this in Addendum 1, on an entire page devoted to Thermography, in which thermography is better "able to detect breast cancer 5-8 years before mammography with vastly fewer false-positive errors" (p.327).
On anti-oxidents in red wine, Kauffman notes no evidence that moderate drinking offers worthwhile health benefits (p.142). What Kauffman calls "sudden enthusiasm for red wine in the late 1990s," reminds of a medical school course in which the professor remarked his telling the grape juice convention promoters that their product wasn't needed--that wine was preferred. No mention was made by the professor of the far superior anti-oxident capability of 1 gram of Vitamin C--in comparison.
There is absolutely no reason that this book should not sell out and go through several subsquent printings. A valuable edition to your medical library or home book-shelf.
A valuable book.......2006-10-21
In Joseph Conrad's famous novel, "Heart of Darkness," Marlowe, the narrator of the central tale travels to the Congo in search of the enigmatic and elusive Kurtz, a renowned European ivory trader who went to Africa as an idealistic "emissary of pity, and science, and progress." Marlowe finally encounters Kurtz on his deathbed, in a compound surrounded by a ruined fence, the posts of which are capped with shrunken human heads. Kurtz, having succumbed to primitive, destructive forces-- both external and internal-- utters his last words-a withering realization of truth: "The horror! The horror!"
Readers of Joel Kauffman's book "Malignant Medical Myths" should prepare themselves for an analagous journey of discovery. Not only will they learn of the specifics: that taking an aspirin a day may not make you live longer; that low carbohydrate diets are beneficial, not dangerous; that statin drugs, while effective in reducing cholesterol-an irrelevant endpoint-do little to reduce mortality-and then only in a very select population; that high blood pressure is over-treated; that the benefits of moderate alcohol use, exercise, and mammograms are exaggerated; that chelation therapy is unfairly maligned; that fears of radiation are overdone; that cancer cure rates have not changed much in the last forty years.
More important than these specifics is the totality-the picture of the medical establishment which emerges from them. That establishment, like Kurtz, is often seen as a beacon of pity, and science, and progress, but, when examined more closely, seems corrupted by greed, an aversion to truth, and a kind of tribalistic conformity; it seems to lack the structures which would provide an ethical backbone, and promote a commitment to scientific thinking. The hospital compound, with its white coats and gleaming machines is shadowed and compromised by an ominous fence of grievous errors and unpleasant truths.
The first subheading in Dr. Kauffman's introductory chapter is: "You Do Not Have To Trust Your Doctor." The reasons gradually become clear: Doctors' recommendations often rely on information which is "outdated, biased, flawed, and sometimes based on outright fraud."
Drug companies manipulate the results of clinical trials by careful selection of volunteers, by elimination of those who show initial adverse side-effects, by publishing only favourable results, by dealing only with surrogate endpoints, by failing to use placebos, and by failing to provide total mortality figures. Relative risk statistics, which are often highly misleading are used to advantage. Abstracts of medical papers, and hence press releases, may contain selective and hence misleading information. Doctors may not only rely on information given by drug company representatives; they are feted, gifted, and even paid by drug companies. Doctors on decision-making committees and panels often have conflicts of interest because of financial ties to drug companies. Doctors have great difficulty in exercising independent judgement, because conformity to current thinking, no matter how mistaken, is the safest course.
"The horror! the horror!"
We should be grateful to Dr. Kauffman for the research he has done to expose these medical myths, and reveal the corruption which initiates and maintains them. I became aware of Dr. Kauffman's work in 2005, in researching the causes of heart disease. Dr. Kauffman is a former professor of Chemistry at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and (according to biographical information on the back cover) has now "turned his attention to exposing fraud in medicine."
I think everyone should read this book, but there is no doubt that many will find it troubling. At the end of Conrad's novel, Marlowe meets with Kurtz's fiancee. When she asks what Kurtz's last words were, he responds: "The last word he pronounced was - your name."
He lies, because, in the end, the truth is too difficult. (It is the "necessity" of this lie that is the "Darkness" referred to in the title.) Dr. Kauffman is a Marlowe who has the courage to tell us what really happened.
Books:
- Culture Warrior
- Daisy Miller (Penguin Classics)
- Dante's Inferno
- Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross
- Demian (Perennial Classics)
- Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss what Matters Most
- Don Quijote de la Mancha
- Ernest Hemingway Audio Collection CD
- Essays and Lectures: Nature: Addresses and Lectures / Essays: First and Second Series / Representative Men / English Traits / The Conduct of Life (Library of America)
- Ethan Frome (Signet Classics)
Books Index
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