Customer Reviews

Conscious Conception: Elemental Journey Through the Labyrinth of Sexuality

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Both a practical handbook and a treasure mine of thorough research, meditations, and musings on conception and the primal period of life, Conscious Conception answers every question a reader could have about this essential part of family life.

Central to the book are the Bakers' dialogue and questions about every aspect of welcoming a "pre-baby" into a family, with corresponding articles by many different contributors. The book is arranged in thematic sections symbolized by the elements - earth, water, fire, air, and ether - each section opening with a metaphoric fragment of Greek mythology. What follow are incredibly rich pieces covering everything from optimal pre-conception nutrition, to men and women's physical and celestial rhythms, beautiful rituals for enhancing creativity, fertility and conception, healing ceremonies for abortion, dreamwork, etc.

While borrowing examples and guidelines from a panorama of references and cultural backgrounds, such as the Vedic scriptures, naturopathy, Chinese medicine, feminist literature, ancient healing arts, Jungian psychology, tarot, astrology, anthroposophy and other esoteric arts, it never stays stuck in one optic. Instead, it suggests how we can use all of these tools to forge our own path. By embracing a broad vision, it transcends the usual do's and don'ts of accepted traditions, and joyfully shows how uniting to co-create new life can be a truly spiritual and full path towards enlightenment. It celebrates love, life, and family in all their beauty and freedom.

What makes the book so special is that despite the intense debates and meticulous articles, it never takes itself seriously, and always reaches out to include the reader, while remaining light and fun in the process. It is a book you'll find yourself underlining and dog-earing throughout, reading and re-reading, at once lending out to all your friends and wishing you had it back.

Conscious Conception offers the eye-opening and optimistic message that conception is not a random act. It is a sacred celebration to be carefully planned, as it holds the potential not only for a more fulfilling family life and caring society, but an opportunity to grow, to heal ourselves, indeed, to "heal the earth by healing birth."

Conscious Conception Elemental Journey through the Labyrinth ofSexuality By: Jeannine Parvati Baker and Frederick Baker

In 1987while pregnant with my forth child, I read Conscious Conception. This book confirmed for me the sanctity I felt growing richly in my belly. As my body became a mobile-home for my son, my heart stormed about so many questions. This book fed my mind, and soothed my heart.

Later when I lived in Bali, Indonesia, as a midwife... I used Conscious Conception as tool when working with couples who were trying to achieve pregnancy. The words and concepts of communication with pre-babies, I would translate. The many pictures and images needed no translation.

Now in the year 2000, I endeavored to re-read Conscious Conception. this time as a mother, as a midwife and as a grandmother. Inside these pages I have unearthed even more treasures, than in my first two readings of the book.

As a master teacher of the Ovulation Method of Natural Family Planning, I highly recommend Conscious Conception. I am grateful to find in Jeannine and Frederick's writing kindred souls, willing to acknowledge the potent "response-ability" of sexuality.

Be you man or woman, ask yourself; "Do I consider my fertility a blessing or a curse?" And then ask; "What cultural and societal influences have determined how I feel about having babies?" As you delve into this dialog with yourself and those you love... Conscious Conception will serve as an enlightened textbook. You'll find it is divided into chapters by the elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether. Within each element the word-meals are served up in delectable portions, which will at once leave one hungering for the next course, while fully satisfying.

Those interested in Natural Family Planning will wish to visit the Family of the Americas web site, for practical instruction and guidance.

We all arrived on Earth as the result of two people making love. Perhaps that is why sex is unquestionably the red hot tile in the mosaic of life. I urge folks on this Earthly journey to pack Conscious Conception. May your medicine bag to be full of what you really need.

Robin Lim Certified Professional Midwife END

I liked the book very much because I am a home schooled teen with great parents who conceived me consciously. The book showed me that there is more to conception than people seem to think.
I like the format of the book a lot -- it has a wide range of info about a wide variety of topics besides just conception. It has yoga meditation, mythology, the elements, and spirituality. When you read this book it gives you a sense of having so many options when it comes to birth and conception, we really have an infinite amount of posibilties. This book is huge so if you have the time buy this book and read it. It is good for reference, too. Teens and adults alike will enjoy this wonderful book.

There are very few books that I consider mandatory
reading for humanity; Conscious Conception is one
those books.

This is not a "new-age" book at all. It is a
guidebook for living life to its fullest. What
Jeannine and Rico have written sits in the home of my
soul. It is like some kind of cosmic memory had been
brought back. I can just hold the book and feel that
warm fuzzy feeling of being loved in the womb of Terra
Madre.

I learned a great deal about my impact on the planet
earth and how, with a few simple steps, we can all
make a positive change in how the future looks.

With Conscious Conception, you learn how to welcome a
new person into the world. You realize that
everything you do, up to the biological act of
conception, has an impact on our children. Also, you
will realize that free birth, the chance to birth a
whole child without trauma, will be the key that opens
the door of peace.

This is also a great book to better understand your

body's natural fertility dance, and how we don't need
human-made devices (abortions, c-sections, etc.) to
control birth.

A wonderful book! There are not enough stars to rate
this masterpiece.

You will not find this perspective anywhere else. These two remarkable authors have graciously shared their unique life experience of fertility awarness, spirituality and how the two interact. This voluminous book is packed full of fascinating journeys into the mind and hearts of parents-to-be. They give the unborn baby spirits a voice - whether you wish for children or not, you can still speak to them softly with intent. Although it is not a scientific guide to fertility charting (there are many other fine books that do that), it does delve into the uncharted waters of consciously creating a family with honesty, courage, love and spirituality.

I bought this book because I was interested in natural techniques to fertility and "consciously" conceiving my future child. I was hoping that the authors would have an unbiased, balanced perspective; however, I have found that this book is VERY "new age". Don't get me wrong, there are many new age principals that I agree with. I just think that the authors of this book are on the extreme deep end and are extremely biased by their own opinions.

One example is in the article "Health, Nutrition & Fertility" by Frederick Hamilton Baker. In regards to the amount of chemicals that are found in foods and therefore in our bodies causing infertility, he says "It's as if the soul isn't very interested in coming to unhealthy parents especially in these 'latter days' when there are already so many other early obstacles to fulfillment. (Unnatural birthing practice, lack of breastfeeding, childhood torture in the form of cribs and city housing, etc.)"

"Torture" as he uses it, is such an extreme viewpoint. I haven't read the whole book; it's unreadable. But one can assume from this statement that he is pro- bed sharing - which is fine, except I think it's really rather rude and ignorant to assume that all children are "tortured" by being put into cribs (I know plenty of them who love their cribs, my own son being one of them). He also expresses a belief that eating meat is deviating from a healthy "whole" diet. Regardless of what he feels is personally best for himself, I think it is small-minded to assume that that must be the case for everyone and a better proclamation would have been that if you are not a vegetarian, meat consumption needs to be moderated.

Elsewhere in the book is an article by Jeannine Parvati Baker called "Astrology: Stars in Our Eyes or Preventing Dis-Aster". I don't know what else to really say about this article except that it seemed to lack a point. She talks excessively of what sign the moon (for example) was in when she first ovulated and then after she gave birth one out of five times, the signs of all of her children, etc., and goes on to say that she sees a pattern without really discussing what that pattern is. I am pretty in to astrology, more so than the average person, and I really didn't get the point.

In fact, much of this book seems to be a little self-indulgent. The authors speak from their own heavily biased perspective without maintaining any sort of objectivity or sense of how their experiences might relate to the reader. It is unfortunate, for this book had great potential - it's large with beautiful illustrations throughout and alot of the topic material is good. The writers just didn't seem to be able to keep their feet on the ground long enough for this book to really be practical at all. And quite frankly, it is also offensive. It seems to me that the authors are taking the viewpoint that living a natural lifestyle in sync with nature that you can achieve fertility, healthy pregnancy, etc. My last pregnancy ended in a stillbirth because my son had a birth defect, and I eat and buy everything organic, never take medication, do most of what they are suggesting in this book anyway. And it still happened. My point being not that living a natural lifestyle is not good, but there are most definitely instances in which modern technology and medicine can be helpful. For example, many women suffer from clotting disorders and suffer repeated pregnancy losses until they are diagnosed and take blood thinners during pregnancy, after which they are able to go full-term and give birth to healthy babies. I get the feeling like Jeanning Parvati Baker was lucky (nothing more, nothing less) to have given birth to five healthy children. I don't think that it's because of astrology, or vegetarianism, or anything else that she is talking about in this book.

So in conclusion I would say this book is good if you are extremely into new age ideas, as this book is VERY new age (I don't even know how other reviewers said it wasn't at all; this book reeks of it). But if you are someone who is not at all into new age ideas, or you are into some but combine new age with conventional wisdom to find the balance that is right for you, then this book is pretty worthless. I wish I could return it and get my money back. I am going to try to buy some other books that might be related to what it was I was originally looking for, and hopefully they will be much better than this book was.

I am an avid reader of books on many topics..spiritual, medical, educational....this book is all that and more. It has changed me. I have recommended it to many friends and all have loved it (can't put it down). This book is such a great inspirational resource for women and while the focus is fertility...even those not trying to conceive will find plenty of empowering wisdom inside this book. It offers a great perspective of who we are as females and the power of creation that is contained within us. While some of the views are a bit controversial (abortion..to have or not to have....baker is confidently pro-life) ...my pro-choice self did not at all feel put off by baker's comments on the subject. In fact, quite the opposite. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This book is a beautiful, breath of fresh air! Ms. Baker is a goddess, and will thoroughly help you to see the goddess within yourself. What can I say about this lovely work of art? As you meditate through the words of this "bible", you will begin to cultivate a fertile self you never knew you had. I bought this book to help with my fertility problems, and it is wonderful in this aspect, but it is oh, so much more! Please read this book.

In today's world of ever-increasing assisted reproduction technology, this book is even more important than when it was first published in 1986. This enormously rich and original work of art takes readers on a very special journey. A journey about beginnings, with a very special guide-Jeannine Parvati Baker reigns as the spiritual leader of the Women's Movement in the US and her influence has spread abroad as well. She has always been a powerful advocate for babies to be born naturally into families who can express their own power inspite of the medical establishment.
Every individual considering pregnancy should study her insights, and return to the book again and again, because a conscious conception is the cornerstone of primal health.

Had I read the book concious conception before hand, I would've reconsidered abortion and viewed pregnancy completely different and with out fear.... Well, not the kind of fears that I endured atleast. I started to cry when I read the section: Ritual 4 healing abortion. Until I read the book, I didn't even think I could heal from it..... We just get so caught up in the way society deals w/it....just ignore it or pretend it never happened ! (And we wonder where disease comes from...) Until I read this book, I never learned how to honor my true self and didn't think it was possible to heal from certain things.... But it is ..... you can learn to heal yourself in so many ways. Not just live w/it! So what I'm trying to say is : Conscious Conception thought me alot more than conception...... It showed me how to be "concious" of my life,of who I really am. It gave me back my POWER as a WOMAN! Thank you Jeannine, for such insight and for sharing it with the rest of the world.. " I AM WOMAN and I am PROUD!" Kyera