Customer Reviews

Your Body Is Your Subconscious Mind

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I couldn't stop listening until I finished the tapes. It has changed the way I view myself. As a physicist I can feel her frustration in having experiences which can not be explained by our current reductionist approach. The first step in understanding is having the imagination to reach and the courage to share one's visions. This is why so many physicists ultimately turn into mystics. Compare this audio tape to the "Molecules of Emotion" tape which she made only 3 years ago to see just how far she has evolved personally from her insights. What stronger validation would anyone need? Perhaps you will share in this benefit. Science, too, must evolve in the coming millenium and I believe she is at the forefront...

Contrary to reviews I have read about this book of the same name, I found this tape fascinating in every way. Dr. Pert has an enjoyable and entertaining way of putting her information forward without losing you in the process. Deepak Chopra fans will love this tape...

As a student of psychoanalysis there is very little in this CD that relates to the subconscious or unconscious mind and it's affects on the body. The problem is that this CD has been mistitled. Perhaps if it had been a more honest title I would not have been so disappointed.

Anyway, I wasn't expecting it to be anything psychoanalytic. What I was really expecting and hoping for was more of a spirit/mind/health theme as shown in the movie "What the Bleep".

Pert mostly discusses how to have a healthy body by living a more natural life--eating right, exercising, getting fresh air--all things we know and are VALID but NOT what was suggested in the title.

She focuses these CD's not on the fact that negative thoughts are the reason for illness but that our harmful physical environment is the cause--for example she mentions that drinks contained in plastic bottles may be a main culprit in the development of breast cancer. It's interesting information but there is little of the mind/body connection talk going on here.

There is a booklet that comes with these CDs which contains a couple mentions of Freud, an incomplete glossary of the difficult to understand science behind her work and information on Chakras which were not discussed at all in the audio CD leaving one to wonder "what do I do with this information"?

It is interesting to note that at one point when the interviewer ask Dr. Pert to discuss her spirituality she nervously mentions the word "soul" as though it were a problem and then goes on to say that it is the word that "scientists are not allowed to utter".

July 8, 2006--I would like to say that I have seen the new version of "What the Bleep--Down the Rabbit Hole". I found Pert to be much more informative regarding how our thoughts affect our bodies and I was much more satisfied with what she said in the movie than what she had to say in the audio CD's.

"Our whole brain is organized for pleasure. We are hardwired for bliss." -- From CD 1

In the 3-CD audio series Your Body Is Your Subconscious Mind, pharmacologist Candace Pert, Ph.D. --author of Molecules of Emotion who was featured in the film What the Bleep Do We Know!?--provides compelling evidence showing that the mindbody field resides in the *entire* physical body, not just the brain. For example, our entire gastrointestinal tract is lined with neurons, receptors, and peptides that are found in the brain. This is why what you eat can affect your mood. Endorphins and other mood-altering peptides are found in places other than the brain--such as organ tissue and bone marrow--and this particular "molecules of emotion" can be released during relationship bonding, orgasm, and as a "runner's high".

In Disc 1, Dr. Pert gives a live lecture relating fascinating scientific evidence about the mind/body connection. In fact, Dr. Pert says that the mind is *not* separate from the body because it doesn't reside solely in the brain, as was once theorized. "Bodymind" is a field of energy that can be entered--and affected--at any point, much like the informational web of the internet.

Dr. Pert also explains intriguing new research about heart science and the dynamic range of emotions. For example, the old idea that a tightly regulated homeostatic human robot is the ideal for health and normalcy is not being borne out by research. In fact, the more "regular" the heart rate, the closer to death a person is! Like chaos theory, the more irregular the heart rate the healthier person--which shows that humans are meant to be dynamic creatures exploring a wide range of states and emotions.

CD 1 also covers ideas such as:

* There is no state of mind NOT mimicked by the immune system.

* Chakra regions are actually "mini-brains" that contain tons of peptides--converging ancient wisdom with classical neuroscience.

* Individuals are often controlled by a specific chakra center (e.g. led by the "gut" or by the "gonads").

* The anxiety peptide and why this relatively new evolutionary state shows how "smart" you are.

* It's a mistake to categorize some emotions as "positive" and others as negative. For example, anger can jump start the immune system and has been connected to the spontaneous healing of cancer/tumors. Rather, "emotional integrity" enhances health--the allowance of emotional expressivity.

* We all have non-pathological "multiple personalities" characterized by distinct attitudes, reactions, and even biology. Also, we create a new brain every day!

The end of CD 1 features a brief Q and A session with the audience. Participants asked intelligent and pointed questions about healing (such as how music heals and the efficacy of homeopathy), but, unfortunately, Dr. Pert only offers vague, general answers like "I can imagine that." Also disappointing is the audio editing, which excises crucial explanations and segues--making for quite a few audio "double takes" on the part of the listener.

Discs 2 and 3 of Your Body Is Your Subconscious Mind features a one-on-one interview between Sounds True founder Tami Simon and Dr. Pert. Some of the excellent questions that Ms. Simon asks of Dr. Pert include:

* What does it mean that the body is the subconscious mind?
* How do you define "mind"?
* What are the research findings supporting the idea that free will/choice resides in the frontal cortex?
* What part of the body is "in charge"?
* What do we know 100% about emotion?
* How is the gut entirely run by the molecules of emotion?
* How does something fit your category of an emotional, informational substance?
* What is the true cause of disease?
* What are the beliefs that enhance health?

Ms. Simon does her very best to cull relevant, practical information from Dr. Pert. I have to wonder if she was as frustrated trying to get a straight answer as I was hearing Dr. Pert offer vague generalities that never really answered many of the questions. For example, Ms. Simon asks something that I wanted the answer to from reading Dr. Pert's book Everything You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d and Your Body Is Your Subconscious Mind: "The body produces substances that are similar to substances that people take to affect their emotional life. What does this knowledge tell us about how to work with our bodies?"

Dr. Pert's reply? "Well that's a great question. The implication is that we have the ability to be any state of mind we want to. We can internally deliver anything we want exactly where we want it." Well no duh! But HOW do we achieve particular states? What foods, spiritual practices, or bodywork modalities link to specific states of being?

Ms. Simon appears to try to re-frame the unanswered question by asking, "Looking at what we now know for sure in terms of emotions, what are the implications for the everyday person who wants to be healthy?" This, in my opinion, is what readers/listeners want to know from Dr. Pert! But Dr. Pert answers, "Not to stifle emotions or let them all hang out in wild catharsis. Bottled up emotions build up pressure and we need to get in touch with our feelings." Well, another "no duh!" Anyone who's taken Psych 101 or counseling courses in college knows this, as well as anyone who has read some current Self Help and New Age books!

What I don't understand is why Dr. Pert fails to answer these obvious questions in her latest book or in Your Body is Subconscious Mind. While listening to this audio series, I took some notes and one of the things I wrote was:

"Where is the practical information that we can use? That is, ___ emotional state is triggered by ___ peptides which are set in motion by ____ food, ____ experience/practice, ____ OTC drug, etc."

Yes, we're provided some answers (e.g. "meditation is good for you", "emotional congruency is paramount", and "we contain multiple selves"), but these ideas are found in other books and spiritual paradigms! I'm baffled as to why Dr. Pert doesn't fill in the blanks. Either she's a great researcher but a poor teacher, or she hasn't yet made the leap between the research findings and the practical methods for creating desired emotional states (such as which foods relate to which emotions). Surely this has been done *somewhere*, because I heard Dr. Mehmet Oz ("YOU On a Diet") on Oprah speak about cravings and emotional states--for example, craving salty foods is linked to feeling stressed.

To her credit, Dr. Pert *does* share some potentially life-saving tidbits in this audio series. For example, she confirms something I've believed for quite some time: that our bodies are very fluid and that to get some kind of diagnostic test (e.g. blood work, CT scan, MRI, EKG, etc.) merely frames a few seconds in time. What if the "high blood pressure" wasn't high after the test? What if the test confirms one state, but you're body has moved on to another--one that is illness free? Diagnoses can become cemented in the psyche--perhaps codifying a particular disease in the body--*especially* when using the diagnosis as an "excuse". (Maybe this is what Caroline Myss refers to as "woundology"?)

However, Dr. Pert makes some drastic medical claims (although she's not a medical doctor), such as "Chemo has not been proven to cure--or be a great treatment for--breast cancer."

If Dr. Pert's appearance in What the Bleep Do We Know!? piques your desire to know more about peptides and "molecules of emotion", then you'll likely enjoy this 2 ½ hour CD series. However, if you're familiar with basic biochemistry and current psychological and mindbody research, you may not find a whole lot new here. Surprisingly, one of the best features of Your Body Is Your Subconscious Mind is the 18-page booklet that accompanies the CDs. It doesn't appear that Dr. Pert wrote this lucid description (complete with a helpful drawing of receptors on the surface of the cell and how they bind with ligands), yet, it's the best explanation thus far of Dr. Pert's work aimed at laypeople!

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)

"Endorphin is only one of the substances capable of altering our moods at the cellular level. It is part of a larger group of chemicals known as neuropeptides. These naturally occurring molecules are produced inside our cells, then released into the surrounding fluids. They are like messengers, seeking out the right addresses so they can deliver the specific information they carry." ~ pg. 3

Neuroscientist Candace Pert has a true passion for her work and is known for her discovery of opiate receptors in the brain. If you are interested in how emotions affect our health, then this may be very interesting as it answers the following questions:

How does anger affect the immune system? Can emotions trigger alternate states of consciousness?

The first CD offers a brief introduction to Dr. Pert's work and then a quick Q & A session. The next two CDs offer an extended interview session the sheds light on a variety of topics. This CD set covers the following topics:

Molecules of Emotion
Chakras as they relate to the Subconscious Mind
Working with the Molecules of Emotion
Paying attention to Dreams
Reducing Stress Levels
Exercise
Eat Wisely

A glossary covers topics like bodymind, immune system, neurotransmitters, polypeptides and psychosomatic network.

"In the light of Dr. Pert's discoveries, we can define `mind' as a constant flow of information between all the cells in our bodies. The nature of this flow is to be in constant motion." ~ pg. 9

~The Rebecca Review

I have found this audio to be extremely informative as well as important; I have bought at least half a dozen copies for friends and family - especially those in some form of medical crisis. Candace lays out in a language that we can all understand the scientific basis of the mind-body connection. She explains in believable terms, what many people have here-to-fore not understood - how our subconscious mind can do amazing things within our body - especially with respect to healing. It is a must-have for all mind-body practitioners, and newcomers to the natural healing world as well. I would recommend this audio as well as her new book in combination, for those who practice Guided Imagry, Hypnotherapy, Accupuncture and the like - it is an excellent teaching tool to help clients/ patients understand how these mind-body therapies work.

In 1972, Candace Pert, Ph.D., former Research Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine and Section Chief at the National Institute of Mental Health discovered the opiate receptor, revealing for the first time how morphine affects the brain. Her discovery established an important new method for studying drugs, and led to her theory that neuropeptides, short chains of amino acids that serve as messengers between cells, play a powerful role in regulating behavior and emotions. The Molecules of Emotion is Dr. Pert's biographical account of her scientific quest to find the opiate receptor, including her painful experience in the contest to win the Noble Prize.

In the last few decades, advances in the understanding of the physiological links between emotions and health have generated great interest in the neuropeptide system. Monocytes, immune cells that act to heal wounds and ingest foreign bodies, have receptors for neuropeptides called endorphins, proving an important link between emotions and the immune system. This is one of the reasons why stress makes us more susceptible to illness, and why people who cope better with stress are healthier.

Discovering hundreds of different types of neuropeptide receptors on cells, organs and systems throughout the body led to Dr. Pert's view that the brain and body primarily communicate through information molecules or what she refers to as the "psychosomatic network" of the "bodymind." The book presents the science on how the bodymind functions as a single psychosomatic network of information molecules which control our health and physiology.

Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine Candace Pert is a world leader in the field of neuroscience, and her easily understable 3 CD set explains recent discoveries in this area, linking mind to body to the molecules of emotion. As a homeopath, counsellor and holistic practitioner, I wish I had discovered this essential and inspiring set of lectures years ago.

I have worked with energy for years and the effects of denying feelings. This is MUST-HAVE INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE. Feelings denied result in illness. Don't pass this up - and buy her first book, Molecules of Emotion.

I, too, was fascinated by the information on the CDs. I have now listened to them twice just to make sure that I have a total understanding of what she is conveying! It is fascinating to live in a time frame where science is proving much of what many people in metaphysics have believed for years.