Customer Reviews

There Is Nothing Wrong With You: Regardless of What You Were Taught to Believe

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We all do it (or did it at one time)...we all believe in the voices that criticize ourselves. Those voices pound our self-worth down and build-up our fears. This book is about the first step in discovering your true and powerful self -- that person you know you could be if the chains would just come off; the person who brings joy to the lives of those around you. It's all about replacing that fear and hate with love...Love for yourself.

If you find yourself in a vicious cycle of commit -> stress & try -> fail -> self-battery -> resolution -> commit. You can now know how to step off the treadmill and step into your personal joy.

This book changed my life.

Was there some great secret of life in it? Nope, not really. Was there some Tony Robbins-style empowerment formula? Not at all.

This book simply allowed me to sit still a moment and look straight into the face of my greatest enemy: my hateful-self. That person was constantly telling me all these lies about how I "wasn't good enough" or "wouldn't be happy until..." Cheri led me through the realization that I am worthy of being loved right now: faults and all. The first step to making lasting change in anything is telling the truth about how it is right now (i.e. accepting the current reality). How can you make lasting change in yourself until you evict the lier?

Cheri's book is an easy read. She is keeps it real simple. This is clearly a work from the heart.

If this book were $1,000, I'd *still* recommend it (or recommend you borrow it! ;D).

Equal parts Zen and self help, this 233-page book examines how we have been conditioned to punish ourselves, and teaches us how to look deeply beyond that conditioning into our own good nature. It is about letting go of those voices that tell us we are bad, wrong and inadequate long enough for us to catch a glimpse of who we really are (p. ii). In another book, Zen teacher Cheri Huber compares self-hate to a parasite. "It steals your time, your joy, your good feeling about yourself," she writes in SUFFERING IS OPTIONAL (2000). "It steals your life" (p. 21).

In this loosely-organized book ("kind of like life"), Huber says, "something is wrong with you is not the voice of your Heart, God, True Nature" (p. 110). Rather it is the voice of social conditioning that teaches us as children to stop looking to ourselves in order to know what is so for us, and to begin looking to others--parents, teachers, friends, lovers, spouses, "Jesus or the Buddha or God--all'out there'," in order to know what is right (pp. ii-iii). Social conditioning teaches us "to assume there is something wrong with us, to look for the flaws, to judge them when we find them, to hate ourselves for having them, to punish ourselves until we eradicate them" (p. 102). It does not teach us "to love ourselves for our goodness, to appreciate ourselves for who we are, to trust ourselves, to have confidence in our abilities, to look to our heart for guidance" (p. 102). Huber encourages us to be suspicious of any voice "inside or outside that says, 'there is something wrong with you'" (p. 50).

Huber acknowledges it takes courage to look deeply beyond our self-criticism. "To sit still in compassionate acceptance is all that is required," she says (p. 85). Written with wisdom and clarity, Huber's book is an excellent guide for that inner journey.

G. Merritt

Forget the corny self-help-sounding title. If you're not satisfied with yourself or your life, then get this book, and read it with an open mind. If you are seeking more compassion, love, or peace in your life, this may be helpful also. It is an excellent, incredible book.

If you would like this book but don't think you can afford it, let me know, I might be able to help.

The book has "large friendly letters" so that it is inviting to pick up and read all the way through in 2 or 3 hours. It returns me to what I know in my deepest self, what I know through the spiritual disciplines (Christian), and through my feminist spirituality. I have begun the journey of not being sucked in to the ego-centricity/self-hate, and living in the present moment, with acceptance and compassion for myself. I used to be very anxious about receiving the parenting and love I need from others (my mom died when I was young, and my dad is lost in alcoholism). Now I see that I can give the love and blessing and healing to myself. Brenda B.

After reading other reviews for this book, I was struck by the thought that it isn't the book as much as what -we- bring to the book. If you are at a point in your life (like I was) when you are open to learning about yourself, then I wholeheartedly reccommend this book as a way to learn how to start forgiving -yourself-: it may be the most important thing you can ever do...

Don't be intimidated by the Zen factor. This book simplifies it's message so much that it really gets through to you. The voices in your head are yours and you can talk back to them. You control your thoughts, your thoughts don't control you. Be nice to yourself! There is nothing wrong with you!

This book got me through cancer, losing everything, my father-in-law's death, terrible family problems and chronic disease. It appears simple but is actually profound in a many-layered way, revealing more as you practice with it. Fortunately I'd already started when all this began! Cheri Huber is a genius at making the deceptive simplicity of Eastern religion accessible to the Western mind. I have Cheri and June's engaging book to thank for keeping my mental health intact through dire times and recommend it to anyone not satisfied with the status quo.

This book had a profound impact on my whole way of dealing with myself and has had a dramatic impact on my life. I think that it will be very helpful to those who are at a place in their lives where they can finally "get it". I've since read other of her books and found they all offered plenty.

The book speaks to the child in all of us. It was a great comfort to me during a difficult period. I have bought copies for friends who have also been touched by its simplicity and calm reassurance

This book was one of the greatest gifts I have ever received! I am learning to ignore those hateful voices that tell me I'm not good enough or that I'm not lovable. Cheri Huber shows how we are indeed our own worst critic but we can also be our own best friend. When we stop trying to change what we think is wrong with us, we learn who we really are and that person is good!