Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus Nine Principles for Lasting Love, Increasing Success and Vibrant Health in the 21st Century [Hardcover]

John Gray Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2000

From the author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, Dr. Gray provides nine guiding principles for creating miracles in your life as well as new practical tools and techniques for taking charge of your personal destiny.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Hoping to demystify the miraculous, author John Gray (Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus) offers a handbook on creating "practical miracles." Having experienced a personal miracle when he recovered from near blindness, Gray began to realize that humans could actually participate in creating their own miracles. "Miracles don't just happen for some and not for others," he notes. "They occur when specific conditions are nurtured." In order to nurture these conditions, Gray suggests living by nine guiding principles, including "Love as if for the first time," "Work as if money didn't matter," and "Relax as if everything will be okay."

Typical of Gray, he has narrowed his book down into concise formulas, following step-by-step, stage-by-stage plans and exercises. This compulsion to script his theories into neat little self-help packages is his downfall, limiting what could have been a meaningful and important discussion about miracle making in everyday life. Instead, we can't help feeling that he's simply holding up a bottle of his latest formula and saying, "Ladies from Venus, gentlemen from Mars, for just under $20 you too can be a miracle maker...." Nonetheless, his heart seems to be in the right place and there are passages of impressive wisdom. Even hardcore skeptics could live a better life (and may even encounter a miracle or two) by following his excellent list of guiding principles. --Gail Hudson

About the Author

John Gray, Ph.D., is the author of Mars and Venus on a Date, a follow-up to his phenomenal bestselling book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, which has sold more than 6 million copies in the United States and millions more in 40 languages around the world. Gray is also the author of the bestselling Mars and Venus in the Bedroom, Mars and Venus Together Forever, Men, Women and Relationships, What Your Mother Couldn't Tell You and Your Father Didn't Know, the recently published Mars and Venus in Love, and the star of a new CD-ROM version of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.

An internationally regarded expert in the field of communication, relationships and personal growth, Dr. Gray's focus is assisting men and women in understanding, respecting and appreciating their differences. Over the past quarter century he has conducted public and private seminars with a total of more than a million participants. In his highly acclaimed books and in his popular weekend seminar, "Men, Women and Relationships," Gray entertains and inspires his audiences with practical insights and easy-to-use techniques that they can apply to enrich their relationships immediately.

Gray is happily married to Bonnie Gray and has three daughters -- Laren, Julie and Shannon. He not only understands first-hand the principles of successful marriage, he's also experienced the serious problems that can trouble any union, having previously married and divorced.

Gray lived as a monk for nine years, which helped him to learn about solitude and serenity. He studied for many years with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and received both his B.A. and his M.A. in Creative Intelligence from Maharishi European Research University. In 1982 received his doctorate in psychology and human sexuality from Columbia Pacific University.

John Gray is a popular speaker on the national lecture circuit and makes frequent appearances on television and radio programs to discuss his work. Gray has been interviewed on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Donahue, Good Morning America, Eye to Eye With Connie Chung, CNBC and CNN, as well as on countless local television and radio programs across the country. He has been profiled in USA Today and People magazine, and is regularly quoted in Cosmopolitan , Glamour and other popular magazines.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (September 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060198591
• ISBN-13: 978-0060198596
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,726,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great insights and wisdom for everyday living, September 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus Nine Principles for Lasting Love, Increasing Success and Vibrant Health in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

Unlike John Gray's other books which are focused on specific topics, Practical Miracles For Mars And Venus is aimed at improving one's life in general. It's a kind of 'How to' manual for life.

The ideas, concepts and information in this book are truly clever and insightful. There is a lot of insight and wisdom that anyone can use to improve all aspects of their life. You can't help but think "That is so clever. How did he think of that?" while reading Practical Miracles. Read this book, it will definetly improve your life.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book for John Gray's fans - Practical all the way, September 13, 2000

By 

Hitesh Tejani - See all my reviews

This review is from: Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus Nine Principles for Lasting Love, Increasing Success and Vibrant Health in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

A Practical book - the hallmark of John Gray. Good examples for all the 8 rules. Marriages may be made in heaven - but miracles are made by this book. The author suggests clear guidelines on how to achieve success (in love) by "letting go" - not compromise - but letting go. Submitting yourself to the supreme power and having faith in ones own mind - he /she can create a mode which can relive one of all stress and generate long lasting love. The examples in the book are truly inspiring. A must read for all Gray fans.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag, February 18, 2004

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus: Nine Principles for Lasting Love, Increasing Success, and Vibrant Health in the Twenty-first Century (Paperback)

Albert Einstein's famous quote sums up the message of this book: "There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is."

A large part describes the cultural and historical changes that have taken place that now allow miracles to take place by common people - rather than by the stereotypical monks that live in the mountains.

Smashing old and limiting beliefs with inspiring and liberating ideas, John Gray provides nine techniques that'll
allow you to use these nine principles to create miracles in your life in a simple, practical manner.

One technique, however, may be a bit superficial and impractical: The Blockbuster Technique.

In this short chapter, John Gray describes a familiar way of healing: writing a mock letter to whomever you are feeling negative towards. Gray provides a chart of "blocks" that are common to most. Examples include: Resentment, Depression, Confusion, etc. Your letter should explore the feelings attached to your particular block. By exploring emotions below the "block," one can attain healing. Examples of feelings attached to these blocks: Deprived, Angry, Abandoned, etc.

I tried this with a particular person I knew at one time. My biggest challenge with this technique? I would have been up all night writing this letter. And I would have wasted an entire notebook of paper to boot!

In trying to figure what was not working out for me, I realized one's beliefs about oneself and others determine how long this letter will go on for. So rather than using this technique of letter-writing to feel better, go read something by Albert Ellis instead - and change your ideas that lead to these feelings. That way, you will not only feel better...but you will GET better. There is a big difference between those two.

Regardless of the validity of writing letters, there is one fantastic part that I love: this book will teach you the
exact technique behind energy healing.

Yes, the mysterious stuff "those spiritual people" have used to create miraculous healings. Whether these techniques work or not, I cannot say - I still need to start applying them myself. These are not ideas that you grasp in an hour, however. There are three separate exercises involved with energy: Recharging, Decharging, and Natural Energy Healing. Each one has separate instructions, and John encourages you to take baby steps
and learn these concepts gradually.

John Gray has the background for this, too. From my hazy understanding of him, before he got his Ph.D. in psychology and created the Mars-Venus craze, he was a monk for nine years. His story of how he healed his own blindness is described in the book as well.

A great book: liberating, practical, and useful. Most important, if you've always wanted to learn how to heal yourself and others via meditation, touch, and energy, you must read this book.