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112 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Caroline, December 24, 2002
Wow, Having read the review by Clark I feel compelled to offer a somewhat more temperate opinion on this audio series by Caroline Myss. First, I must confess, I am an avid fan of Caroline's work and have read and/or listened to most of her books and audio recordings. This particular series starts with the somewhat surprising revelation that self-esteem, contrary to the average book in the self-help section, is a spiritual concept. Therefore the lack of self-esteem is not just a psychological problem but a spiritual crisis. The rest of the series goes on in some depth developing a working definition of self-esteem, discussing how to develop self esteem, and interspered through out, giving examples of how the lack of self-esteem is at the root of many of life's problems. Couple of things I found particularly interesting. - Her recommendation that you should start with something physical (losing weight, new hairstyle, clothes, etc) to build self-esteem is interesting, particularly given that many "new age" types tend to emphasize "spiritual" techniques like meditation or affirmation, and ignore the role of physical movement and change in creating spiritual health - Her argument that you build self-esteem by honoring the commitments you make to yourself really spoke to me, as I can vividly recall many failed New Year's resolutions because I did not honor my commitments to myself. However she doesn't recommend beating yourself up if this happens, but rather asks that you recognize that this is self-sabotaging behavior and explore what part of yourself fears your own empowerment and why. Great stuff here! - Finally she discusses self-esteem within the context of relationships, finances, and health. - For those who have followed Caroline's work I found this series more personal than the others, as she shares more about herself and her own struggles with self-esteem than in previous series. I also love the fact that she takes some of the more narrow notions of "new age" philosophy to task. Sure meditation, affirmation, and "oms" have their place, but as Caroline notes they're not the end all and be all of living a spiritual life. You've got to live the principles, and when you don't, you need to be conscious of that choice and take responsiblity for it. This isn't "feel good" spirituality. The path she recommends requires thoughtful, continuous self-examination, trust in a higher power, and the courage to follow through on your intution with action. Personally, I find her approach the best blending of spritual principles with common-sense living out there. - I gave this series 4 stars for two main reasons. First, even though it's 4 cassette/CD's I didn't find it as meaty as her other series. Sometimes the material seemed thin and stretched out to cover the alloted time. Second, she does use words like "always", "never", and "only" a bit much for my taste. Personally, I find absolutes like this rarely useful and they made me feel like I was being lectured at by a parent Hope this is helpful and more balanced
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by Caroline Myss
by Caroline Myss
by Caroline Myss
