Customer Reviews

The Lotus Effect: Shedding Suffering and Rediscovering Your Essential Self

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The Lotus Effect is a remarkable book which guides readers on rich exploration of their relationship to their own identity. Somov's voice is lithe, often playful, but his intent is dead serious. The ideas and techniques in the book are designed to do nothing less than transform the way we think about our own identity. We being with a process of "identity detox" - which is a wonderful way of describing the process of detaching from the information about ourselves which is not our true self. After working through a series of short exercises designed to help us enact the experience of dis-identifying from what we are not, we are then led on an exploration of what is left after we have discarded all of these unhelpful attachments. Somov has a gift for capturing issues of great complexity in simple concise metaphors and enactments, allowing us find our way almost effortlessly into an experience of deep self-exploration.

I read (and write) self-help mindfulness books. This one by Pavel Somov hooked me in first pages with its compelling blend of fascinating history and a very down-to-earth, novel and inventive way of bringing to life and describing age-old Buddhist and Hindu concepts. It was clearly written and also provocative--in the sense that it challenges the reader in a positive way to practice and bring these concepts of detoxifying the mind and mental processes into everyday life. He also helps to explain teachings on emptiness with wonderful clarity and insight, and makes the paradoxes that exist in this area more understandable from an experiential level.

This is a highly beneficial book that can help overcome entrenched negative emotions and thought patterns--even addictive behavior. The writing, too, was seamless and highly engaging. I actually started reading this book at night when I was tired, and I have to say that I happily lost some sleep that night because I couldn't put it down. Thank you Pavel Somov for sharing with us such a unique and healing book. Donald Altman, M.A., LPC, author The Mindfulness Code[[ASIN:1577318935 The Mindfulness Code: Keys for Overcoming Stress, Anxiety, Fear, and Unhappiness]

This book is enlightening. The exercises whether done literally or in your head will shed light on your essential being and remove the unwanted weight of negativity from your life if you allow it to. It's easy to read and does not assume that the reader is of any specific religious base. I highly recommend it.

Pavel Somov's "The Lotus Effect" is an identity detoxification program and dis-identification manual that will radically transform the way in which you view yourself, others, and the world around you. Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist wisdom and advaita psychology, Dr. Somov has developed practical exercises, strategies, and techniques that will not only help you reduce the symptoms associated with the causes and conditions that contribute to your suffering but will also allow you to become aware of the very source of suffering itself - your false identity. By helping you first become aware of how your false identity (the self that you believe yourself to be) causes you to suffer, Dr. Somov opens a space for you to come into intimate contact with your true identity (the self that you actually are). He will guide you through a series of practices that will help you to awaken to your true identity by way of dis-identifying from your false identity. If you dedicate yourself to practicing the exercises in this book, I can assure you that whether you suffer from depression, anxiety, stress, and/or anger, you will experience a profound sense of liberation. You will feel lighter and less burdened by the emotional baggage that your false identity has carried around because you have shed the very source of the baggage itself. Dr. Somov has tested all of the techniques in this book by way of personal experience. He not only writes from the position of being theoretically sophisticated but from experiential knowledge. In essence, Dr. Somov is no "armchair" psychologist or philosopher that will tell you to try a technique that he himself has not practiced. He has practiced the techniques in this book and knows how helpful they can be. Not only have I practiced the techniques in "The Lotus Effect" and have experienced a radical transformation in the way in which I view myself, but as a licensed psychologist, I have recommended many of these techniques to my patients. By practicing some of these profound identity detoxification techniques on a consistent basis, many of my patients have reported that the overall quality of their lives has greatly improved as they no longer cling to painful emotional states when they arise within their awareness. Instead, from the perspective of their true identity, that vast space of awareness where suffering cannot root itself, they have been able to let painful emotional states come and go as clouds floating through the sky. With sincere gratitude do I thank Dr. Pavel Somov for writing this book as he has done a great service to all sentient beings. Review submitted by Ian C. Edwards, Ph.D.

Although I haven't finished this book, what I have read has radically altered my way of thinking and any book that does that deserves five stars. We become so entangled with labels, roles, trying to define who we are that we don't realise these cause us suffering and result in us losing our sense of self. Disidentifying with such labels is how we can find our identity among all our roles and responsibilities, and who we THINK we are, just as a lotus flower emerges from the muck. I encourage anyone who has ever been affected by the negative words of another person or has ever suffered as a result of not meeting expectations of who we 'should' be to read this book. It will open your eyes and make you realise that you, and everyone around you, is so different to what you think. Highly recommended.

I was expecting this book to be a really interesting read, as I'm very interested in Buddhism and the whole concept of coming up clean out of the muck like a lotus flower. I was pretty disappointed with this book however. Some points were helpful but for the most part the exercises were basically a variation of the same thing over and over again. Writing things on mirrors (literally or in your mind) and wiping them off again. Might have been a useful visualization or exercise the first few times but the book needed to move on from there instead of using that one exercise over and over.