Customer Reviews

The Heart of Listening: A Visionary Approach to Craniosacral Work

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It is interesting to see such divergent opinions and ratings regarding this book. Does it mean that a person looking for texts on craniosacral therapy should accept the average rating for this book to mean that it is middle of the road? Hmmm....I don't think so. For the person seeking out help with their healing process, craniosacral work is only as valuable as the consciousness of the practitioner is clear and open. Milne writes that "presence is more important than technique." He also teaches that it is important to learn the techniques well and to have a fully-equipped, expert tool bag (realizing that this may take many, many years of practice to acquire). Then the practitioner will have just the right technique that may be intuitively chosen for each individual in their own timing and need. It is also important to realize that no one is the sole authority on craniosacral work. If you have undertaken a journey to incorporate craniosacral work in your practice, it would be wise for you to read many books or articles on the work, including the words of Rollin Becker, Don Cohen, Hugh Milne, Michael Shea, Franklyn Sills, William Sutherland, John Upledger and others. The best way to learn the work is to wipe the slate clean before each bodywork session, before each study session, before each class, and let the cranial wave and dreambody of the person offered before you to teach you what craniosacral work is and what is needed. This includes the practitioner accessing his/her own cranial wave as a wisdom teacher. The truth is--craniosacral work cannot be completely written down in any book or completely taught in any class. It can only be wholly known in the place where there are no words. This book just may be the help and the inspiration for you to be able to arrive in the place of no words and no doing, the time/space where the "breath of life" (Sutherland) is united with the blue print for health. The world needs this work. Let us all learn to listen with our hearts, and keep our minds open in the process.

Note: The hardcover edition of The Heart of Listening includes both Volume One and Volume Two, which are available individually only in paperback editions

If every Massage Therapy School would teach The Heart of Listening's lessons on "transference" and "counter-transference," I believe Hugh Milne would have provided a direly needed understanding and set of constructive guidelines for therapists who are human and therefore tend to get into trouble when in close contact with other humans.

There are many other extraordinarily helpful and interesting stories, explanations and illustrations to be found in The Heart of Listening. If you believe that truth is beauty and beauty truth, I think you would deeply appreciate Hugh Milne's book. It is a fine creative effort, especially in presentation of both the technical and spiritual aspects of Visionary Craniosacral Work.

Another thing I like about the writing: Milne doesn't take credit for someone else's work. Quite the contrary. I noticed meticulous care in giving credit where credit is due. A certain humility permeates this book, letting the reader know the author is not just knowledgeable in a gentle way, but quite honest. Jockeying for "who's the best" status obviously isn't a Milne characteristic.

Milne's two-volume text is superb and comprehensive in scope. It describes, in detail, the anatomy, physiology and energetics of the craniosacral system. Volume One offers Milne's visionary approach to the practice of craniosacral therapy, drawing from an intelligent, diverse collection of energy work, including the dreambody work of Arnold Mindell, Eastern meditative practices, Indigenous shamanic traditions, as well as the genius discoveries by William Garner Sutherland, the patriarch of craniosacral work, and many other organic sources. Volume Two is the most complete list of craniosacral techniques in print, giving clearly written descriptions of each technique, along with technically accurate photographs. The Heart of Listening is clearly the best text for practitioners who want to expand and deepen the healing process with their clients. Volume One is also a good tool for all bodyworkers and psychotherapists, not just craniosacral therapists. The only thing that surpasses this book is the curriculum provided by the Milne Institute itself, offering excellent classes, each of which is Visionary Craniosacral Work in action. Milne describes the work as "sculpting the conscious medium" and this book is a sculpted conscious work of art. It is a valuable book to read and digest again and again, over a long period of time, savoring its wisdom and depth of experience.

My heart really connects with Hugh's insights and explanation of this work.

It's everything I already knew, instinctively but couldn't put to words. In my Craniosacral practice. This book is the one I turn to most.