11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple. practical advice for healing, January 27, 2001
Just as a wise person won't fight fire with fire, one is ill-advised to fight hatred with hatred - whether it's sexism, racism, or any other -ism. Love IS the universal solvent, which Jampolsky proves again and again in this book, with stories and principles, examples and suggestions. Rather than doing battle with our demons, we're enouraged to RELEASE them. This book embodies the best of a Judeo-Christian outlook without being preachy or religious.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book changed my life, August 16, 2008
While reading this book, a particularly compelling passage jumped out at me. The gist of it is this: In every encounter we have with another human being, that person is either offering love to us or in need of love from us. In that instant, I became a better person.
Not long after, I walked into my gym and saw Bill, a member I knew fairly well, doing standing calf raises with his back to me. Impulsively, I wrapped my weight belt around his forehead as a goofy way of saying hello. He was not pleased. He whipped around and, in so many words, most of which were unprintable, told me he would punch my face in if I ever did that again.
Instead of reacting on the same level of consciousness--"Oh, yeah? Take your best shot, you jerk!"--I thought, Cool! Here's my chance to see if this love stuff really works! I immediately began radiating love from my heart and bathing Bill in its healing glow. I also tried to apologize, but he turned away, muttering angrily.
After hanging up my jacket in the locker room, I headed to the pull-up bar and began my workout. I dropped down from the bar just in time to see Bill striding purposefully toward me from the other side of the gym. "I mean it, Phil," he fumed. "If you ever do that again, I'll take you out to the parking lot and pummel you." With that, he spun around and stormed away.
This time, I followed him, pumping love instead of iron. "Bill," I called out, catching up to him. "I'm very sorry. I had no idea you would be so upset. It won't happen again." I continued apologizing until he turned to face me. "My sister used to do stuff like that to me," he sputtered. "And I hated it."
Bingo. Bill's outburst had nothing to do with me; I had inadvertently triggered a painful childhood memory. What happened in the next moment was astonishing. The heavy, negative energy that had enveloped him, the almost palpable rage that had engulfed him, vanished. It was as if a magician had uttered "Abracadabra!" and had replaced a violent thunderstorm with sunny skies. Instantaneously.
Bill cut me off in mid-apology. "Don't worry about it," he said calmly, dismissing the whole incident with a wave of his hand. "No big deal." An hour later, we were both in the locker room, preparing to leave. "So long, Phil," he called out. "Have a good day."
Wow. If I had responded to Bill's anger in kind, the confrontation could have escalated out of control. From that day forward, the tension would have been thick between us. Even worse, my enjoyment of going to the gym every morning would have been tinged with dread. Instead, love healed the situation, it healed our relationship, and it very well might have healed the pain he had been carrying around all those years.
May you choose love in every moment. It is a wonderful place to live. After all, divine intelligence does not keep score by how many possessions you accumulate but by how much love is in your heart. Why wait another minute to begin living that truth?
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