Customer Reviews

Change Your Thoughts Meditation CD: Do the Tao Now!

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

Before you get this disc I have a question: have you heard Dr. Dyer's Meditations for Manifesting : Morning and Evening Meditations to Literally Create Your Heart's Desire? If you have, and you like it, then I can say that this disc is very similar in style and you will probably like it as well. If you don't like that disc due to the chanting sounds, you probably won't like this one either. (Check out the reviews of that disc for more explanation.)

If you haven't heard that disc but you're familiar with Dr. Dyer's wonderful speaking voice, you might be a little surprised. His speaking voice is perfect for a meditation disc- very calming and serene. But his chanting voice takes some getting used to. While it's not the point to sound "perfect" or even "pretty," sometimes the chanting is distracting which isn't good on a meditation disc. This time he's backed up by some new-age type music which is pleasant and relaxing and he more-or-less stays on pitch, but, I still struggle with his sometimes atonal chanting.

The meditation is structured as follows: the music plays softly in the background, Dr. Dyer states a positive affirmation (such as "I fully trust that others do know what is best for themselves.", "I act virtuously. I do not need rules to be kind and just." or "I come from greatness, I attract greatness, and I am greatness.") and then follows each affirmation with 3 long (and loud) chants of the word "Tao." He does this a total of 81 times, one for each verse of the Tao. It is a very mellow experience.

For what it's worth, I actually find Dyer's speaking voice to be wonderfully meditative and relaxing. I have several of his excellent CD's such as The Secrets of the Power of Intention: Live Lecture (6-CD Set), on my I-Pod all lumped into one playlist I call "Nighttime." If I can't sleep I put it on the speaker holder for my Ipod Bose SoundDock digital music system for iPod (White)and play at a low volume. I find his calming, restful style eases me quickly into sleep. I have added this disc to that playlist.

Bottom-line: As my review is titled, this disc is recommended with caution. I know that some of you will be cool with the chanting, while others will find it distracting and that, of course, will wreck the meditative experience. If you can find a way to sample it before purchasing, I recommend that.

First, let me admit, I am a Wayne Dyer fan. I have most of his books and a number of his audio sets. For the most part, he gets complex concepts across in an understandable manner. Not this CD. This CD contains his reading of the Tao. Each verse is easy to find in its own section. The translation is easy to absorb. Those parts are fine! The problem is that Wayne thinks he can chant. He can not chant. His voice is at best an off-key drone, leaving the listener longing for the peace of chalk scratching against a blackboard. Reciting the verses followed by silence would have been a much improved recording. I would be willing to trade for that CD!

Wow, I do like Dyers work and thanks to reading the reviews was "sorta" prepared for the chanting. I almost plunked it into the CD player in my car but became distracted. THANK GOODNESS! So upon entering the house I plunked it in the stereo. The sayings of the Tao are wonderful, Dyers voice is calming and the music is lovely. BUT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED-the first 3 chants will set you bold upright and there is no relaxation in listening to Dyer chatting the sound TAOOOOOOO. Im half smiling as I write this as it is a beatiful CD and there is much to be absorbed from it and after the 23rd TAOOOOOO I got up and puttered around and was able to absorb it much better. Wayne, some of us dont like scaring our dogs, small children, the elderly or making our fish leap from their tank, anyway you could do a CD w/o the chant?????? My fellow non-chanters, you have been warned, keep the volume DOWN. ;)

Mr. Dyer has a large following in the "self-help" genre. In this recording, he attempts to use a classic text of ancient Taoism as a vehicle for his latest commercial project. I was not impressed with Mr. Dyer's understanding of the Tao as presented in this project.

But, Mr. Dyer does have a very calming voice and I can understand the popularity of his audio cassettes. It make more sense to me that people would buy an audio version of this work versus the book version. I hope a charismatic Westerner with a fine voice will someday properly cover the Taoist classics in audio format. That would be a fine contribution to Taoism.

I don't see the success of this work as a negative for Taoism, as it is my hope the commercial success of this CD will lead more Western readers to look deeply into Taoism.

If you enjoyed the pieces of the Tao used in Mr. Dyer's work, I hope you'll read more about Taoism. Amazon has a fine selection of Taoist books.

I humbly suggest you consider another Translation of the Tao Te Ching. For example, the Penguins Classics translation of the Tao Te Ching. Here is the link on Amazon:
Tao Te Ching (Penguin Classics)

The Merton translation of the Chuang-Tzu is excellent, the Chuang-Tzu is considered one of the Taoist classics. Here is the link on Amazon:
The Way of Chuang Tzu (Shambhala Library)

The Huainazi, also known as The Book of Leadership and Strategy is one of my favorites:
The Book of Leadership and Strategy: Lessons of the Chinese Masters

Also, Lao-Tzu's Treatise on the Response of the Tao (T'ai-shang Kan-ying P'ien) should not be overlooked and it offers a guide to living which readers of Mr. Dyer's works might appreciate:
Lao-Tzu's Treatise on the Response of the Tao (The Sacred Literature)

Or, if you prefer lighter reading, consider the Tao of Pooh which illustrates some core Taoist principals using the well known characters from Winnie the Pooh.
The Tao of Pooh

I hope Mr. Dyer's interest in Taoism will lead his many readers to study Taoism more closely. I was exposed to Taoism through martial arts. I am a student of the Tao and it continues to be a tremendous help in my life. If you learn of the Tao, you will learn if it can be a help to you as well.

This is probably the most obnoxious thing ever rendered in plastic. The reading wouldn't have been so bad, but Dyer had to add the droning chanting of the word "tao-o-o-o-o-o-o" after every verse. This is supposed to be cultivating a state of peace and relaxation, but actually has the opposite effect. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH!

I will be suspicious of every Wayne Dyer product in the future. He ripped me off, and Lao-tzu too.

If you want to hear a really relaxing interpretation of The Tao Te Ching, I recommend the Stephen Mitchell version.

This meditation tape was much too robust for me. Not a quiet OMMMMMM but a quite loud one over and over again. Not pleasant or restful. I need something more soothing and mellow to concentrate on. I would not recommend the CD but the book is terrific.

I have to agree with some of the other negative comments. This is not relaxing...his chanting is annoying and not relaxing. He chants out of tune and it distracts any real meditation or focus. You would think he could have hired someone with a good voice to simply chant for him...but his ego is too large. He cracks me up. While he has alot of good things to say in the book of Tao it is very easy to give advice about not focusing on material things, etc. when one is a multiMillionaire sitting on his estate in Hawaii. The CD is a waste of $$ and I am sure that one can find some other smoothing and most certainly relaxing meditation cd's somewhere on Amazon. I am truly sorry I bought it. I was going to buy the CD version of the TAO book but after listening to this I will save my $$$.

I am a huge Wayne Dyer fan, and was looking forward to listening to this CD. Unfortunately, as others have mentioned, the chanting that happens after he does every affirmation is NOT calming!!

He has a wonderfully soothing voice, and the light music playing in the background is just great, and then you are jolted with this awful Doooooowwwwww sound that is such a contrast to the sounds you just heard. For me it's like fingernails on a chalkboard. In my first listening I quickly and thankfully discovered each affirmation is its own track, so after he's said the verse, I learned to skip to the next track. Now that's not really so soothing because it makes me have to listen carefully before I get hit with the Doooooowwwww.

I have now ripped the CD to my computer and am in the process of editing the awful sound off each of the tracks. It's going to take a while to get through 82 tracks, but it will be so much better to listen to after I get it done.

The CD is a collection of phrases from Tao, where each phrase is followed by 'Omm' sound. It was not at all conducive to meditation, it was not even relaxing... actually it was bordering on annoying.

I usually enjoy greatly any of Wayne Dyers works, be it in print or recorded, but the way this cd is recorded, while the content is great, it is not that useful as a meditation cd. the sound difference between the spoken word, the background music and the "tao" sound is too harsh and not in balance. however, as the content promised to be great, I got his accompanying book in addition and use deepak chopra's chakra balancing cd as a guided meditation instead.