Studying the diagrams of body, soul and spirit.
921495
The experience of reading the book and studying the diagrams of body, soul and spirit casts the meaning of following your heart in the proper light.
3523103
I enjoyed reading this book by Manly P. Hall. It gives a synoptic analysis of unforeseen energies and what surrounds us that the naked eyes cant see. It's a great way for anyone looking to elevate their consciousness understand why "things" are the way they are.
803660
The main theme of this book is about the choice to either learn and evolve or to regress and develop symptoms following the loss of a loved one. The reader is invited to be aware of how they may or may not be cooperating with their bodymind's desire for new circuits.  One suggestion that is offered is to begin the process by drawing an image of you and your heartbreak. For example one man found an image to be that of a turtle dying in a shell. Others found images depicting an emotional tsunami; a psychic hemorrhaging, a worn out rubber band with no snap left; a paralysis and a piercing. The author says that the benefit of doing this is so that there can be more communication between one's implicit memories (which are pre-verbal) and one's consciousness, "a mapping from the source domain to the target domain." This then orients a person to help them know where they are at. "A psychic GPS will work only if you are first able to inform the satellite of your situation." Each person will have their own unique image of how their heartbreak feels. "Although the trauma of heartbreak is archetypal, universal, a common drama, the symbolic form it takes is unique for each person ..."

The author then suggests having an imaginary dialogue with your image to learn more about the situation. An example is given with a woman who developed a skin condition as a symptom of her heartbreak.

The author then goes on to emphasize the importance of being aware of the three main parts of the brain which she nicknames: crocodile, puppy and wise human. The crocodile is focused on fight/flight survival. When triggered, she suggests naming it, "Here's comes the croc." The puppy connects and can feel what others feel (empathy), when it whimpers, it wants attention. Horses can get depressed and elephants spend one fifth of their time caressing one another with their trunks. The wise human sees what's going on learns as much as possible about the puppy and the crocodile.

Regarding projection, the author views it as a sign that some old synaptic connections in the brain wiring need to be updated. For example, one man was shamed a lot when he was a child and then decades later when someone pointed out to him that he had a piece of lettuce stuck in his beard, he felt a deep sense of humiliation. His reaction related to the past more so than the present. Another man who used to feel very attracted to "cold" women later realized that that was due to the rejection he received from a parent after birth. This awareness deactivated the old circuits.

Projections also run the risk of destroying relationships. One partner said to the other, "I am not the one who broke your spirit, cut your wings, said you were ugly, stupid, and a loser ... You are not with me in OUR story, you are engaged with the villains of your past."

Chapter 10 provides a summary of narcissism. Those with this style/pattern believe that "only my suffering counts, yours is nothing compared to mine." They also find it difficult to love themselves and others. They need others but at the same time usually dislike them.

Chap 11 includes the idea that if a person feels invisible it may be a clue that they are experiencing heartbreak. Chap 12 offers one way of reading fairy tales. Chap 13 gives an example of how a famous person successfully recovered from heartbreak and the book concludes with some notes on how the field of neuroscience can be of help in transforming the lead of heartbreak to the gold of love.

A lot of songs and works of art are in response to heartbreak.

A clearly written and thoughtful book.
3955731
The first thing that caught my attention about The Soul of a Leader was its subtitle: Finding Your Path to Success and Fulfillment. At first glance, in a book on soul and spirituality, that's not what I would have expected. It sounded too--well--too materialistic. But, on second thought, success and fulfillment elegantly sum up the contention by scholars of workplace spirituality that soul is good for business but also leads to deeply meaningful work.

Readers of Margaret Benefiel's first book, Soul at Work, will recognize again in this book a crucial distinction presented in its final pages: namely, the difference between what could roughly be called the first and second halves of the spiritual journey. Success characterizes the first half and fulfillment the second, but not without interludes of dark night in between, where neither seem possible. The diagrams of the spiritual path on pages 146-147 (for individual leaders) and 164-165 (for organizations) are alone worth the price of the book.  They chart the classical three-fold path of spiritual transformation (purgation, illumination, and union)--with a first and second dark night in between; and they show how it plays out in the life of a leader or organization over the long-term. As maps of the territory, I have seen none better.

Another elegant mapping tool--and this one is quite practical--is the diagram in the Conclusion that reminds leaders to check out four areas of soul: both their own individual inner and outer growth, and that of their organization. Simple as it is, this map keeps us focused on the total four-fold picture rather than only one or two of these areas. In a word, this reminder cultivates balance.

Elegant, too, is the overall division of the book into three sections--choosing the path, staying on track, and persevering to the end. Each of these, in turn, is divided into three sections. For example, choosing the path is divided into following the heart, finding partners, and daring to dream. As if that were not enough, each of these is divided into three. Following the heart, for instance, is divided into paying attention, taking the first step, and stumbling. This elegant structure enables leaders to zoom in and out--looking at the big picture, the mid-size one, and the small. I wondered if these divisions were overly neat and tidy until I realized two things as I read deeper into the book: they all ring true to experience, and dividing them into threes makes them memorable. Like an ingeniously crafted formula such as E=mc2, these divisions distill an enormous amount of information and wisdom into the most compact of spaces. Wow!

Like Margaret Benefiel's first book, this one is full of great stories--revealing, inspiring, opening out a wide window onto what might seem like a hopelessly invisible and elusive topic. The selection of stories is wide-ranging and diverse. I came away from them deeply moved, filled with hope.

If you're looking for a masterful interweaving of the theory and practice of spiritual leadership, this is the book for you!
2694139
Bringing the body (Chakra system), mind (Kabbalah) and Spirit (Enneagram) together to help us learn more about ourselves while improving and expanding our horizons is very powerful.  Organizing the book into these three structures and bringing it all to life with the paintings and personal anecdotes makes the abstract much more concrete.  It definitely a book  to be read and reread because each time you will go a little deeper into the concepts and the art.
3107913
A helpful book for those of us interested in learning to understand each other.
2835997
It's very detailed, reminded my of a text book and reference book.  It's very interesting to read what each type looses spiritually as youngsters and what one needs to focus on to recapture that lost part of themselves.  I enjoy reading it very much with a pen in hand in a quiet space to fully concentrate on the material.  It's lovely!
3572004
This is a very good and easy to understand book.  I especially like the diagrams.
3369203
This is not light reading.  It will, however, provide an understanding of the psychological aspect to alchemy that is not readily available elsewhere.  The insights and illustrations in the book make it a must read for individuals exploring the esoteric.  I read this book after Psychology and Alchemy by Jung and found it to be a continuation of Jung's investigation into alchemy, revealing further insights.
1364645
This book addresses human spiritual anatomy, evolution and capacities. For those reasons, I would consider it a foundational reading for those interested in such things. It is aptly titled, as it is reflects Steiner's cognitive scientific methodology. His writing is extremely well organized and coherent, which is an achievement in itself, since the subject matter is often quite difficult to express. I was continually impressed with his own deep thought in this regard. If you are not distracted by the Victorian style, which keeps the head tethered to a bygone era, you will certainly extract that occult science which transcends all time.
2307767
The amplitude of questions and methodology linked to 'bodily communication' (title) is coherent with the explanation throughout the book. The book merits to be recommended to psycho-therapeuts and professional interested in the theme.
3376107
Human body in color is a book I was able to review for free. This book states off by teaching about the body structure. The book then discusses composition of the human body which blows my mind that my body contains nearly five in a half liters of blood. I do like the cellular pictures from skin cells to neurons. The diagrams and pictures in the book is phenomenal they are loaded with such great information. I would have liked to have seen an ending to the book opposed to just a blank page.
3348305
Jungian analyst Bud Harris's fifth book focus on the intersection of spirituality and sexuality -- two forces which are often viewed as opposites.  Harris encourages a harmonious marriage of the two, leading to consciousness expansion, the discovery of the true self, and spiritual transformation.

The Fire and the Rose is a four-part work reminiscent of a journey.  In I. "The Power of Desire," Harris describes our thirst for spirituality, which is often not met by rigid, mainstream religion.  The author teaches the reader to know thyself in Part II. "The Depth of the Soul," and then expounds upon the societal benefits of self-knowledge in Part III, "Transforming Lead into Gold."  The conclusion of the journey, "The Wedding of Spirituality and Sexuality," demonstrates how all of life's energies can become grounded and magnified.

The text draws on mythologuy, history, psychological research, and anecdotal experience to describe the union of spirituality and sexuality.  The appendix includes practical advice for journaling, listening to others, reflecting, and questioning.  Includes an index and bibliography.
3617124
This resource has been purchased for the anatomy and physiology courses related to a homeopathic education. The resource is thorough in its coverage of the different body systems. A great resource to learn the different body systems.
1837083
In Why People Don't Heal and How They Can, Caroline Myss Ph. D and medical intuitive, explores healing from using the age old energy chakra system. As in her previous book, Anatomy of the Spirit, Ms. Myss explains the ages old concept of the 7 energy chakras found in the human body and how their balance (or lack of it) affects our health. But here she takes those concepts a step further, relating them to both the 2,000 year long astrological ages and 7 Christian sacraments. Those may seem like conflicting philosophies but the symbolism as it plays out in our culture and in our daily lives was surprisingly pertinent. The Aquarian Age energy underlies holistic thought-and in terms of healing represents the increasingly recognized concept that we cannot heal part of an organism without treating the whole of it-body, mind and spirit.

Why People Don't Heal also addresses 5 common myths related to the healing process. Much of this information is useful. Ms. Myss points out for instance, that illness is not necessarily the result of negativity. Our can-do American attitudes sometimes result in portraying illness as a failure or weakness. We want to believe that our lives are totally under our own control. But illness is usually the result of complex causes and is sometimes our teacher. Ms. Myss has a complex yet clear understanding of the nature of illness and more important she realizes the focus on health rather than the treatment of dis-ease.

Some of the stories she relates--and the sentiments she relates along with them-particularly her references to "woundology" early in the book, did not seem in keeping with the tenor of the rest of her work. However, upon further reading the paradox seems more understandable given an understanding of her constant contact with those seeking and struggling with healing on a daily basis in her professional life. Exploring the myths and paradoxes also allow the reader to delve deeper and with more truth into their own path of healing. As she puts it, "you biography becomes your biology." With this knowledge, exploring how to heal the body, also leads to healing of the mind and spirit.
1126111
The book at the beginning starts with discussions on the word of God. Next it provides examples of dreams and the interpretation of what they feel the message is behind the dream from his point of view. Processing the book enters into a fairly lengthy list of symbols, words and other with the interpretation that is understood by the author. What I learned is that most scriptural symbols shared are very commonly known song with the authors personal symbols. What I mean by that is that there are symbols that you would not find in the bible for example: nail clipper. The interpretation attached to this reflects " for we wrestle not against flesh and blood..." but I am not understanding how he made the connection. I personally cannot agree but let me add that this, could be part of the authors personal meaning for that symbol. Since one will have many personal symbols that one is familiar with, that authenticates what the author feels to be true.

As also a person who has studied the language of the bible, I can agree with much of what the author is sharing. However, having to be honest there are things shared that I don't agree with or that I see to have more scriptural meaning as well as opposite to what is shared. I believe the authors did a good job in taking out time to elaborate a teaching guide that can assist the body. The author provides a limited section on names but it's adequate enough to make a point and that is that meanings of names can contribute to finding out what part of this can link into finding a dreams meaning. Like I mentioned, there will always be symbols that are not always an absolute and particular words come alive to the dreamer and they understand that symbol to mean what they are sure to be correct. The Bible has an extensive amount of symbols, metaphors, parables and other to learn and draw from.

I gave it a four star because of the authors heart to educate the believers and possibly non believers to consider that God may be talking to them. I don't believe that "every" dream is from God however, and caution should be taken where one feels you need to decipher every dream because it could be misleading. Personally I feel everyone has the ability to notice dreams that stand out and they do often have an idea why they dreamed a particular dream while others are odd or just dream because of concern, physical illness at that time. This is a nice guide to see if the meanings ring true to one, to compare the symbols with and how one understands them almost a universal agreement. Let me add that the Lord speaks to one according to ones knowledge, profession, cultural and via the amount of the word you have become familiar with. There is also universal symbols such as road signs, foods, actions and so much more so one cannot limit how you will receive. I agree journaling because dreams come and they can be forgotten while others stick with you. Glad that as believers the body is able to share what the Holy Spirit has taught them, like the authors have shared. Thank you, for your service to the body.
553885
This is a splendid book. It's chock-full of wonderful illustrations covering topics as diverse as can be, from astrology to Heraldic animals, the four elements to the Kabbalah. In the introduction we are given an overview of various schools of thought about symbols, including Jungian as well as various culteral perspectives.
The chapters of the book include: The Power of Symbols; The World of Symbols; The Uses of Symbols; and Symbol Systems. Covered topics include: Gods; Myths; Ritual, Magic and Prayer; Dream Symbols; Mandalas and Yantras; Mazes and Labyrinths; Numbers and Sounds; Colors; Animals; Dragons and Serpents; Hybred Creatures; Trees; Flowers and Plants; the Elements; the Sun, Moon, and Stars; Good and Evil; Gods and Goddesses; Witches, Priests and Wizards; the Tarot; Astrology; Chakras; the I Ching; and more.
There is also an excellent index, glossary, and suggested further reading list. All in all a wealth of information, both written and visual well worth buying.