11/14/2012

book review: What Makes Us Healthy by Caroline Myss


FTC Disclosure: I received this audio book for free from Hay House Publishing for review purposes.  The opinions are completely my own based on my own perspectives.
So a couple of months ago I posted a book review on my blog.  Part of the deal from Hay House is that I receive the book for free if I review it on my blog. The first book I reviewed was great.  Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the second book – actually an audio book, being a cd set of a live lecture from Caroline Myss (actually pronounced mass).
What kept going through my mind as I pondered what I can write about this six cd set lecture is, “Caroline Myss is miss for me.” Ultimately, I think she does have some useful, thought-provoking things to say, I recall her questioning the use of the powerful word transformation, and questioning if we (collectively) even understand what transformation means in the larger context of energy. Fair enough assessment however, this cd set, titled “What Makes Us Healthy? Did not really address health (mental, physical, spiritual) at all, in my mind.  I heard a lot of was what you should not do and how “we” collectively are all sharing the same illusions, but I did not hear much about how to nurture the inner world of the soul as is indicated on the blurb on the back of the cd set.  Further the additional byline of “Understanding Mystical Law and Your Parallel Reality” was addressed by way of a historical argument of how we are as a society in relation to the Mystical Laws; and she delved into parallel realities and the possibility of living other lives in a parallel manner. I don’t know if she provided enough for me to facilitate further understanding this concept and how it impacts our health.
 I think the biggest problem with this lecture is that it is a lecture.  The way Caroline Myss expresses herself bars on ranting and raving.  I recall there were many “you” statements stating things about what “you” are “addicted to” that I felt were assumptive and misguided.  I struggled to get pass cd 1.  I thought, why is this woman yelling at her audience with all these assumptions about how they think or experience life? Of course curiosity led me to wonder does she do this for the whole 6 cds?  What about making it through the cds for the intended review that I signed up for? Fortunately by cd 3 Ms. Myss had changed her tone somewhat, but the accusatory aspects still seemed to creep up within the framework of addiction. Ms Myss does have a few nuggets of insight, but I found her approach distasteful.
Recently, in listening to another speaker who challenges realities, who I really like, I can say that Caroline Myss comes off as abrasive where as the other speaker I’ve been listening to persistently challenges but in a way respectful, encouraging dialogue whereby he is not the “source of all knowledge” but rather a guide to help us grow our ideas based on his own journey.  I suspect that Caroline Myss’s approach is to “shock” her audience into questioning themselves and to provide “facts” of Mystical Law, however this just lead to me questioning Ms. Myss’s credibility and (misdirected?) anger.  Perhaps this is a piece of learning for me to not assume when although something looks like it could be appealing and an easy task, i.e. enjoy a book, learning something new and to write a book review, it can end up being a onerous task that I wish I didn’t have; that perhaps, I need to choose more wisely.
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