Customer Reviews

Vivation : The Skill of Happiness

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

 

 

My context of reading this book was while I was actually being trained in the techniques of Vivation by none other than the author & inventor of Vivation himself, Jim Leanord. I have been an active participant in the brain change game for nearly 20 years. Like many spiritual practitioners I have studied even the most radical of brain-change techniques of people like Crowley, Gurdjieff, Leary, Lilly and Robert Anton Wilson. I've pracitced advanced magickal techniques, yoga, bioenergetic therapy, energized mediation, ad nauseum.

Having learned Vivation only 2 months ago, I have not found a more powerful, wonderful and effective technique in making positive changes in my life at all levels. There is simply no way to praise this book ernough. Vivation works! Vivation is a dogma-free approach to discovering yourself at the feeling level. In Vivation, your body is the only guru. Vivation is the only technique I have found whose primary purpose is the help the practitioner acheive true emotional independence. Once learned Vivation becomes an AUTONOMOUS skill that efficiently makes positive and permanent changes in oneself. Vivation really is the skill of happiness.

After a series of tragedie, a friend of mine gave me this book. It didn't take long to realize that what this book teaches is so fundamental to the human condition, that implementing the techniques will result in powerful change. After spending a few weeks practicing the basic skills I realized that it would be even more beneficial to learn the process in detail from a Vivation Professional. This turned out to be the best decision I ever made. I learned what my Vive Pro called the 7 basic lessons to Vivational Autonomy. Each lesson is about 2 hours long, 1 hour lecture and 1 hour Vivation Session. I experienced what Vivation calls "integrations", positive shifts in ones context about oneself and ones relationship to the world. This happened continuously and throughout the Vivation Sessions. I felt totally renewed after these sessions, as if something very permanent had resulted. And that is exactly what actually happens. When one relates positively to a previously suppressed negatively judged emotion, it results in a permanent integration or resolution. This is not only liberating, like a huge load being lifted of, but is extremely pleasurable. Because doing Vivation is so blissful and pleasurable I can't imagine not doing it anymore. The really nice part about it is that once you learn it you have it for life. Since that time, I have incorporated Vivation into all areas of my life. I Vive on my way to work, at work, with friends, everywhere!

I thought the book itself was going to describe exactly how to do the Vivation technique, but turns out -- I was disappointed to learn -- that it very superficially describes the technique, and then goes into a sales pitch, more or less, for having a session with a Vivation professional. So I am returning the book. Also, the breathing technique he seems to be describing, the Circular Breath, seems no different from very well-known pranayama I am already doing, not so dissimilar from rebirthing.

(This review is for the book "VIVATION: The Skill of Happiness" by Jim Leonard, paperback, 1996; front cover is white with a large purple picture in the middle.)

This book is an excellent companion to "VIVATION: The Science of Enjoying All of Your Life" (1991, by Jim Leonard and Phil Laut) - I will call this first book BOOK 1. So, BOOK 2 then is "VIVATION: The Skill of Happiness".

BOOK 1 is a bigger, more in-depth book on how your mind works overall (about 320 pages). BOOK 2 is only on Vivation (about 174 pages). But there is much more on Vivation itself in BOOK 2 than in BOOK 1.

I would like to suggest that you read BOOK 1 first, then do a few Vivation (or Rebirthing) sessions on your own (or with a Vivation/Rebirthing Professional), then read BOOK 2. If you really study both books, I believe, you will be able to do Vivation on your own.

Once you have studied BOOKS 1 and 2, you'll know just about everything you can learn about Vivation. However, at the beginning, when you are inexperienced, some feelings that may come up (i.e., the pain you may feel) could scare you and cause you want to terminate a session before its completion. This would be a big mistake! Just keep on breathing through the feeling/pain and it will "integrate" fast. Have the courage!

The only draw back of BOOK 2 is the heavy push on visiting a Vivation Professional at the beginning and periodically thereafter (Chapter 10 is all about that). This is fine and dandy - who would not want to have their own Vivation/Rebirthing Professional? However, if you don't have access to one in your area, or if you can't afford their exceedingly high fees, then just study these two books in detail and you'll manage on your own just fine. But keep in mind that even if you are confident on your own, it can still be very beneficial to get one or two sessions at the beginning from a Vivation/Rebirthing Professional.

BOOK 2 contains more about Vivation than BOOK 1, but I truly believe you'll need both of these books. These books are much superior to the flimsy, poorly written Rebirthing books available in the market today. I don't really understand this since all "older" Vivation Professionals started out in Rebirthing first, so you would think that there would be good Rebirthing books available also. But this is not the case; it is very hard to find a good Rebirthing book from which you could learn to do it yourself.

I'm genuinely confused by the two negative reviews of this book. Mr. Devereux hasn't actually learned Vivation, and the second by 'A Customer' who thought he could learn Vivation from just reading a book! That's just silly. Firstly, there is no possible way to learn Vivation from a book, anymore than you could learn to ride a bicycle or drive a car from reading a book. To suggest otherwise is absurd. All great transformative spiritual practices require a great teacher. However, since it's a book we're talking about, this book is a great introduction to the inner workings of Vivation. This book does such a good job of explaining Vivation, that it remains my primary resource for improving my practice. Everything you could learn from a book, is right here in black and white. If you're looking for a more detailed and technical book, may I suggest Jim Leonard's and Phil Laut's book, `Vivation - The Science of Enjoying All of Your Life".

Vivation is a very powerful system of emotional integration and resolution. With something as powerful as this you'll need a competent coach who can guide you through the wide variety of emotional experiences that are likely to come up as you do Vivation. Often during my early Vivation sessions, I would drift off, go into shallow breathing, or get so activated by the material coming up in a session, that if it weren't for my Vivation coach I wouldn't have applied the techniques properly and achieved the profound healing and integration that results. I know this because when I tried them at home, I would get 'stuck' in those areas, without realizing it. I just figured that's the way reality is, only to find out that after an integration, that its far more pleasurable than I could have ever imagined. When intense feelings came up in the session, my Vivation coach got very engaged and coaching me right through it, with sensitive comments and feedback on my breathing, awareness and other 'elements' needed to efficiently integrate difficult emotional material. The best part is, once the coach worked with me through it I had huge breakthroughs, and it began to dawn on me what and how emotional integrate actually works and how profound and amazing it really is. There is no possible way I could imagine accomplishing that first without a coach to show me how.

So yes, this book is a good introduction to the process and how it works. It was instructive enough to get me to see the truth of how it works. But it is even more valuable after you take the 14-hour training, because then you "get" what all the material is about, not just the words, but from direct experience.

There is no substitute for a good coach in learning this process, not even a simple and well written book as this. Read the book, take the training. It's as simple as that.

has any one any thoughts on vivation as i am about to take the course and want some feed back on any one who has anything to say good or bad