Most Helpful Customer Reviews
112 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your typical fluffy new age self-help book., April 30, 2001
This review is from: Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation and Other Devices (Paperback)
No book on meditation does any good, of course, unless you do the meditations themselves. I've never seen any other book on meditation, though, where the exercises were so plainly and clearly laid out. Also, the meditation style is radically different from more passive and less effective forms of meditation such as the transcendental variety, and I suspect that is due to the author's background in Reichian psychology with its emphasis on "muscular armoring." Essentially, instead of working on your brain first, the "Energized Meditation" in this book seeks to get at the mind/body connection by working on your body. Negative thought manifests itself by creating muscular blocks to the flow of energy in your body, and the exercises in this book help undo those blocks. Thus, the exercises in this book are exactly that: exercises. The combination of breathing and movement are extremely simple and easy to follow, yet the effects are so profound that you must experience them to believe them. If you've ever heard the concept "your mind can achieve the same effects as drugs without the drugs" and wondered if that was hyperbole, just try out this book and see. This book will change your life if you let it. I guess I should mention the changes--more energy, increased sense of optimism, reduction of worry freedom from neurotic attachment to dogma, and possibly a sense of humor about the human condition. As for the book itself, don't let the pages of bizarre "Discordian" and counter culture humor designed to test your addiction to dogmas put you off. The book itself may not be for everyone, but the exercises truly are. Additionally, the introduction by Robert Anton Wilson is alone worth the price of this book--its one of the best essay's of his career, and one of the best summary's of the delusion of Western thought in regards to Free Will I've ever read. Buy this mind altering book, but don't let the DEA know--they may kick in your skull and confiscate your brain: as it turns out, your mind is the greatest mind altering substance of all.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
* regarding the recent ninth edition *, May 26, 2002
This review is from: Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation and Other Devices (Paperback)
Undoing Yourself is a frolicking and at times penetrating look into the traps of mind that keep people repressed and constrained. Unlike typical "self-help" books that rely on traditional methods to gradually attempt to move you toward a greater level of psychological health, Undoing sets up a crafty, experiential web of mind tricks that seem designed and effective at tripping you into better understanding. Akin to Zen koans, these are modern powers of suggestion at times powerfully disarming and highly amusing. Falcon preserves the original essence of the earlier editions and includes updated pages by Hyatt and peers. These updated pages, which include commentary on such recent events as 9/11, somehow flow seamlessly from their predecessors and also lend variety by including the voices of others. Some do not realize that in addition to excelling in the realms of psychology and literary ventures, Hyatt is an extremely talented visual artist who uses this ability to give flesh to the ideas in this book. There are many pages of captivating images that help elucidate the points in humorous and McLuhan-esque ways. On the practical side, for under twenty bucks you really get a lot of pages of beautiful madness. This book should rattle your cage, force your nervous system into heavy-duty self-analysis, and quite possibly create the most beneficial intellectual upheaval possible - one that empowers you to really start being yourself and enjoying life!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
40 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Effective for Those Who Desire to be Effected, March 19, 2005
This review is from: Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation and Other Devices (Paperback)
Things you should know:
1)This is not some new age technique; there are NO feel-good meditations to be found here. This book is intended to drag you, kicking and screaming, to your own destruction. You will not enjoy many of the techniques; change is painful.
2)It helps to be familiar with a system of magick (namely Golden Dawn or Thelema). It HELPS, it is not necessary. The book will not encourage you in any way to be a part of any order or group.
3)You don't have to believe everything in this book. In fact, if you do you've probably missed the point entirely.
4)You are wasting your time reading these reviews. It is irrelevant to you whether myself or others felt liberated or disgusted (or both) by this book. If you think it sounds interesting: buy it. Find out for yourself.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
