Customer Reviews

The I of the Storm: Embracing Conflict, Creating Peace

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book and the work of Gary Simmons has literally opened new horizons that I only imagined before. I am able to stand in the face of conflict or distress with my mind open and curious to the possiblities. Of course, I still react but even when I do, I have the resources at hand to change my course. Having more resources, I find more ease and creativity in my life and work. I highly recommend this book as a pathway to a larger embrace of life and possiblity.

I bought this book because of the stellar reviews, but it's not really hitting the spot for me. It's too simplistic to say that everything that happens is for my ultimate good, or that I agreed to it before my birth. Sometimes we get caught in other peoples' lessons. As an adult, I can always choose to learn and grow from what happens to me--on that point, I'm in agreement with the author. But I would never lay that perspective on a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, for example. Life IS relational. We don't individually create our own reality--we are co-creators, communal creatures. Some people have suffered horrible injustices because of the choices of others. It may be comforting to think that "God never gives you more than you can handle" but I don't actually think it's true. Some people start off with so many strikes against them. Whatever the big plan is, it's way beyond the ability of our pea brains to understand it.

As professional personal coach I found Gary Simmon's book both helpful and reassuring. We are raised to see conflict as a negative force. His book shows us why it is a positive element in our lives and he us gives practical advice on how to capitalize on this often unrecognized blessing. It is reassuring to know that when we are in conflict we have the opportunity to grow and change for the better and that we do this by working with the energy of the conflict rather than by "fighting back". I highly recommend it for all who want to harness power of conflict for their own personal growth.

It often appears that conflict is the norm and that there's no way to avoid it. We see this in our personal lives and in the entire world around us. We see it on TV and in the movies. We hear it in a lot of popular songs. We read about it in the newspapers.

However, there is an alternative to all this lying within each individual. Careful reading of Gary Simmons' book should help one understand the how and why of this conflict, and how to embrace, rather than resist, it and thus learn the effective way to deal with it.

This isn't Pollyana stuff. The author teaches martial arts, and his teaching comes from strength, not from timidity and passiveness.

For those who are super serious in their desire to deal effectively with conflict, I recommend buying the tape EMBRACE TIGER, RETURN TO MOUNTAIN, along with this book. However, if you're not ready for that, than go for the book itself.

I used to have some really bad road rage, peptic ulcers, a fondness for Smith and Wesson, a collection of Schwarzenegger movies, a craving for red meat, a facial tic, and a little vein that always pulsed right at my temple. Then I read this book. Now I hang out with Franciscan monks and grow turnips for the homeless. Of course the thorazine may also have something to do with it....

Seriously, the ideas in this book are the most helpful about conflict resolution I've ever encountered. Gary puts his martial arts and ministerial/spiritual background to excellent use. He boils it all down to it's essence of personal responsibility in a way that not only makes sense, but makes it easy to swallow, get a handle on, and use.

So buy it and give it to everybody in your life that ticks you off!

No seriously, read it and use it, and then all those people will wonder what the heck you got that they don't. Really.

conflict has been challenging for me all my life...i wonder if it hasn't for anyone! reading gary's book has been such a gift, for not only does he remind me that all conflict begins within me, he also shows me that its cause is a sense of brokeness within myself and that it is simply an invitation for revealing wholeness. wholeness that already is within me, but just hasn't been discovered yet. and now the adventure begins; not one of judging my brokeness, but of disovering and experiencing and expressing my wholeness. and not just in my personal life, but also in my work life. i can't wait!!!! this is a must read for everyone....i can only imagine if we all practiced the principles that gary presents in this book......

Many readers will be familiar with the "Peace Song," which acknowledges that for peace to be established between countries and peoples, it must first begin in the hearts and minds of each one of us, and then be fostered in our relationships within the family and neighborhood and workplace. Gary Simmon's book "The I of the Storm" provides practical steps for using the dynamics of conflict as an energy for positive change in these relationships.

Simmons is an International PeaceWorker Manager, whose book and trainings provide a spiritually-centered investigation of how we can learn to accomplish the right thing rather than remaining self-righteous about being "in the right."

Simmons claims a mountain of trial-and-error experience behind his topic, admitting that he has been "a serial relationship killer" who has many "past wife experiences." His humor is rivaled only by his compassion for the difficulty of human experience, as the reader of this wonderful and easy-to-read book will discover.

It doesn't take much thought to recognize that discovering how to "do" peace is a prime need for the human race today! Terrorism begins in our hearts and minds, too -- so to end terrorism out in the world, the angry and vengeful thoughts that stem from a sense that there is only one right way to be must be halted in each of us. Simmons gives us a way to get a good start on changing the way we see what we normally think of as reality.

Gary Simmons' book came at time when I was in pain over a relationship problem in my life. This book clarified for me exactly what had gone wrong in my relationship, and how to fix it. I now also have tools to use in make all my relationships better. Now when I see a problem coming, I head for the eye of the storm.

This is a very good book if one is seriously interested in learning about conflict resolution, transformation, and peacemaking. This is a fast easy to read and digest book. The author presents facinating ideas about how to overcome conflict in one's personal life, and how to move from the rough outer edges of the storms in our lives to the center or "I" of the storms in our lives. The "I" of the storm is where one finds, peace, quiet, creativity, and transformation of the spirit and soul. I like this book because I am a strong believer in possibility thinking. The ability to unleash creative possibilities when one is nestled in the "I" of the storm is sprinkled throughout this book. The author offers a fresh approach to handling conflict within and without one's body, mind, and soul. The only reason I did not give the book 5 stars was because of a heavy emphasis on the influences of Christianity and very little mention of the influences of other religions and philosophies such as Buddhism.

One of the most practical and helpful books on dealing with conflict in relationships. A must read for anyone who is looking to bring harmony to a family, a team, a congregation, or a community. Actually, these principles would work well for a nation and a world as well.

Gary Simmons lays out the issues in relationships fair and square, then shows how a shift in attitude and approach can bring peace and solutions where before there was only chaos and confusion.

There's also a teen-age version of this book for working with young people.