The Life We Are Given [ABRIDGED] [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio Cassette)

by George Burr Leonard (Author), Michael Murphy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The authors outline their comprehensive program called Integral Transformative Practice. Based on a two-year experimental class that grew out of their lifework, this full program offers step-by-step instructions for joining body, mind, heart and soul in an evolutionary adventure that has powerful personal and social implications.

From AudioFile
Leonard and Murphy bring us results from their program, Integral Transformative Practice (ITP), the latest concept in the quest for self-knowledge and spiritual awakening. With a kind of tag-team approach, they switch off in explaining the principles of the program of focusing inward on one's mind, body, heart and soul in a lifelong practice. They also reveal helpful experiences with their own ITP classes. Leonard and Murphy integrate Japanese "katas" (body-warming exercises), Hindu meditation and a Western "group therapy" format to help students transform their goals into realistic and lasting successes. Although the physical exercises aren't incorporated into the audio presentation, there are helpful guidelines toward mental and emotional relaxation all listeners can benefit from. R.A.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: MacMillan Audio; Abridged edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559273763
• ISBN-13: 978-1559273763
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,459,006 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventures in living., February 22, 2002

By	G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Life We Are Given: A Long-term Program for Realizing the Potential of Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul (Paperback)

Mahatma Gandhi said that we must be the change we wish to see in the world. Through the Integral Transformative Practice (ITP) set forth in this 221-page handbook, George Leonard and Michael Murphy show us how to change the world by first changing our own hearts (p. 194). Leonard is a founder of the Human Potential Movement. Murphy is a founder of the Esalen Institute. Together they have created a lifelong program in THE LIFE WE ARE GIVEN leading to the transformation of body, mind, heart and spirit.

This is by no means a quick-fix, self-help book. Most of us realize only a small part of our human potential, and as a result we live only a fraction of the life we are given (p. 170). Not surprisingly, in our fast-paced culture, we turn to quick-fix programs, "crash" diets, weekend workshops, and audiotapes in our quest for self-knowledge and spiritual awakening (p. 27), rather than making a longterm commitment to strive for our highest potentials. Leonard and Murphy show that it is only through a lifelong practice of affirmations (pp. 53-72), Japanese "kata" (pp. 73-106), meditation (pp. 107-116), exercise (pp. 117-131), and nutrition (pp. 133-143) that we are able to realize our true potential for an extraordinary life. "How do you become more intellectually interested and focused? Practice. How do you become a more loving, caring, emotionally expressive person? Practice. How do you develop a sense of community and social service? Practice" (p. 45). The practices they offer here are also easy to integrate into the current American lifestyle ("the householder's path").

For anyone interested in stepping onto the path of self improvement, skip the multitude of self-help-quick-weight-loss books promising overnight results, and invest your time and money in this handbook instead, and then practice.

G. Merritt

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Life We Are Given: A Long-term Program for Realizing the Potential of Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul , February 14, 2009

By	Johnny Rivera "Johnny" (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Life We Are Given: A Long-term Program for Realizing the Potential of Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul (Paperback)

The book was at a great price and and in good condition with slightly yellowish pages.