Tung acupuncture author lacks depth
591653
This author has not given  Tung acupuncture cases the proper depth, time or patience to make this book a worthwhile purchase. More time must be spent explaining how he arrived at his diagnosis instead of  just trying points until he is satisfied. Felt like spaghetti soup.
1443251
I am a great fan of the author, his PersonalMBA has influenced me quite a bit and has helped me get some skills that helped me as an entrepreneur. So this review is coming from someone who had high expectation levels.  This book however, lacks the rigor that Josh applies to his efforts. First lets go with whats right with the book that made it deserve the three stars that I have reviewed it at:

1. Simple 10 steps to acquire new skills. Josh is clear right from the beginning on the gap between learning and mindful practice.
2. Excellent examples. Often such books lack application examples. For a good part of the book Josh breaks down 6 skills he acquired over a year, spending about an hour of practice daily. These skills are not trivial. When you go through the application examples you get an idea of the diligent person that the author is.

My issues:
1. Low focus on technique: Perhaps since the 10 steps he describes are simple, josh spends very little space to the steps itself.
2. Lack of system focus: I have always found those messages resonating where authors describe a process , methodology with acronyms, metaphors. This make sense since any system has to be applicable, therefore a need to easily recall the steps. This book sorely misses a systems perspective to learning a new skill
3. While Josh describes 6 skills he acquired, the mapping between actions and what he did ultimately isn't very clear
4. Often author laments that regular practice is needed, but there is little material, techniques devoted to effective practice. I believe this is the single biggest flaw of the book. Practice is clearly defined as keystone activity to acquire a new skill, but there is little material that covers the barriers to practice or what constitutes 'mindful practice'

Finally perhaps if you didn't follow his other works, this book may pleasantly surprise you with its easy to read style, examples. That said, if you are someone who has either read his earlier works or expect depth in the subject, this isn't for you
4104349
This book took me about 90 minutes to read in total. And that's not a boast abut my speed of reading. There is some basic information to be had here, but the treatment is pretty shallow and often seems somewhat mean-spirited.

For example, in a section about education, the book states that Chinese education "stifles creative development."  Okay. But then it gratuitously  recommends that Americans "cultivate a forgiving attitude towards those [Chinese] who sometimes seem unable to deal with situations requiring creative solutions--no matter how simple the problem may seem to you." A lot of the book reads like that: slightly derisive and even condescending towards Chinese culture.
4659613
I was recently diagnosed with endo and somewhat disappointed with this book. Since this book is the product of one of the leading specialists in the treatment of the disease, I was expecting much more of an in depth explanation of the science behind endo. Unfortunately, I didn't really learn anything new that I haven't already learned from some internet research. The entire book sounds like a sales pitch for Dr. Seckin's practice. If you know little to nothing about the disease, this is a good introductory read but that's about it.
2035390
The first part of the book describes what intuition is, the qualities that she found most highly intuitive people to have, and how these people seemed to benefit from having these qualities intuitively.

The second part of the book has meditations that you can do to help with intuition, and I have never been able to remember a meditation script from reading it long enough to follow it by meditating on it afterwards. The meditations are also the same as the ones in her cd for unlocking intuition, which I had already purchased. This is not stated in the main body of the review, and if any of the people who bought it mentioned it, I did not see those reviews prior to purchasing.

I did not really learn anything from the book that I did not already know from reading other materials on intuition, and did not find that she really gave much information apart from the meditations on opening the heart, which she says is the key to unlocking intuition. I agree with this, and also agree with her that falling in love is one way to open the heart, but she also writes of someone who was not successful in finding anything else that was as effective, which is what I was looking for.
36724
This book has some useful information but it attempts to be comprehensive and it isn't clear that was successful. The first edition was in 1996, there is no way to tell how much the later editions were improved. There are no notes and a very limited bibliography. The author recommends homeopathy and some other discredited therapies which is a bad sign. She is a psychotherapist not a medical doctor or a specialist in this area. There are better books.

Midwest Independent Research, educational websites. Mental health, mwir-mentalhealth.blogspot. There is information and a book list on CTE, ETC. here.
2112842
This book reminds me of a surgeon trying to operate on different parts of the body simultaneously, concentrating on the interconnections rather than on a specific operating field, in this case alchemy.

The author is good at names-dropping of Sufis and authors. However, he "forgot" to quote Imam 'Ali ibn Abi-Talib on alchemy and thus from the outset reveals a bias in favour of Shi'at Mu'awwiya, the original historic name of the party of Muawwiya, opposed to the party of 'Ali, the latter still known today as Shi'at 'Ali, the former having given itself the name "Sunni". The author further expresses this bias for example in citing the late French professor Dr. Henry Corbin without however mentioning e.g. his extensive publications of Haidar Amoli, Sadruddin Muhammad al-Shirazi and other Islamic sages who criticised and developed the work of Ibn al-'Arabi. One finds Mr Eberly's pro-Sunni leanings confirmed again at the end of this book in the definitions found in the glossary.

Like several other proponents of occidentalised neo-Sufism, Mr Eberly tends to equivocate vagueness with enlightenment, quite in contrast to renowned authors of Irfan including Ibn al-'Arabi, whose works often contain detailed cosmological and other diagrammes with clear explanations.

Mr Eberly's book is mystical in the sense of mysterious, relates several nice tales of Sufis, but alas utterly fails to fulfill its subtitle, "The Mystical Islamic Essence of the Sacred Art of Alchemy", probably a simple impossibility. Most authorities consider the hermetic Tradition and its application alchemy to be independent of any specific religiously related Tradition.

Those who are interested in the contributions of Muslims to alchemy are kindly and better advised to read "Islamic Alchemy", Chapter 5, 44 pages, of E. J. Holmyard's book "Alchemy" and Professor Henry Corbin's relevant works.
1472652
I was looking forward to reading this book for a book club.  Being a meditator and a member of the Learning and the Brain Society I thought this book would be really fascinating.  It might be kind of interesting for someone with absolutely no background knowledge of the brain but for someone with even minimal understanding it's not informative.  Additionally,  Dr.  Taylor does not really elaborate on her personal experience during the stroke very much which is what I really wanted to hear about.  I would say the one valuable chapter would be the chapter that she describes the stroke;  the rest of the book could easily be contained in a tri-fold pamphlet.  Even if the information was good which I didn't think it was the writing was very poor.  It looks like there was never an editor.  I was so distracted by the cliches I started counting them.  "Thinking outside the box,"  and "peanut gallery"  are the two top choices but she scatters others throughout.  She also uses inappropriate parentheses, bold type and strange, simplistic, not funny jokes.  A disappointment.
1228418
sirs: i was very disappointed in the contents. first of all i was looking for the 18 step chen style which is the simplest style.secondly i wanted to learn more about ki gong, and there wasn't much written.
4791183
While it's common for someone with a Western medical background to have doubt and difficulty relating to TCM, it is rather unusual to read about a book pertaining to acupuncture to start the discussion with a very negative and denigrating tone.  The author seemed to be in a very bad mood when he penned the book.  The content also seemed out of date as well.  If you are interested in a more modern biomedical approach to acupuncture, I'll recommend Yun-Tao Ma's Biomedical Acupuncture for Pain Management instead.

BTW, I bought the book from quality7, a used book seller on Amazon...  I returned the book shortly after receiving it upon the quality7's consent.  But quality7 never refunded me, and it's too late to leave feedback on them after a few months.  Just for your reference...
2818854
As a person who studied with students of and later Peng Jui Ling himself (continuing to Luo Han Gong, Kongjing Qigong and the Poison Hand techniques), the man who is supposedly the source of the information of this book, I would like to take issue with the content. When I studied this form (taught by Master Peng as One finger Zen, also known elsewhere in the world as One Finger Art and Yihizi Chan Qigong), I was given his notes and I find many inconsistencies from notes to book, one of the most glaring the amount of time bending each finger, which is actually the core of this form. I would suggest this book be used as an introductory primer for someone considering taking one Master Peng's courses with either him or an instructor recommended by him, not as a substitute for actual instruction.
2622604
Good book with good ideas for the seasoned tung and or balance method practitioner.

Beginners beware!! This book may seem overwhelming or confusing due to the author's writing style. The author thinks very fast and broadly, and his writing reflects that. Some typos as well. This book is very word heavy when explaining the holographic images, with no pictorial diagrams to help with visualization. Again, for beginners, not the best book. Make sure you have an understanding of balance method to start and an anatomy book at your side when reading this one.

Otherwise, a valuable addition to anyone's library from a seasoned and highly successful acupuncturist
1501239
This mandala style herbs coloring book is a lovely idea. However upon receiving the book, I was quite disappointed that there is no explanatory text which I thought would be included in such a learning book (which a 'Look Inside' feature could have revealed, and I could've ascertained this book was not for me). After all, the aim is to learn more about the plant kingdom. But no instructions as to colors commonly associated with the herbs and no text of descriptive qualities/properties of the herbs were included, so that one can begin to associate these with the genus/species of the particular herbs. The herbalist author has over 20 years of experience working with plants, but most of us are pure newbies. She knows what the characteristic leaves and blossoms, stems, stamens, seeds, etc are supposed to look like, but I would not always be sure exactly what parts I am coloring, or whatever her other outline drawings/symbols are meant to mean! How can I learn if am not sure what I am coloring?
Here are some revision suggestions:
1) A KEY Descriptor to the elements drawn on each mandala page.
2) Text on the page opposite the drawing giving basic descriptive qualities of each plant, and maybe a photo or color drawing of the plant itself for orientation purposes.
3) Make a separate chapter for general categories/properties that are not actual herbs ( - eg tannins, bitter principles, saponins, etc - just what do the drawings mean?). I'm not really sure how to categorize these titles/categories in my mind. It's frustrating to have to consult another source to understand what they are, when all the info could be included here within the book itself.
Right brain visual learning is a fantastic way to learn, but without the left brain explanatory categorical information included, there is not enough info here in this book to actually assimilate holistic impressions of what I am to be coloring.
As a teaching tool, the book falls short. I hope the author pursues her coloring book idea with revised editions. If  she revises her coloring books as suggested here (and get some logical type thinkers to critique them before re-release), these volumes could really be winners, and I'd be interested in using them in the future.
937168
I bought this book on the recommendations of a friend.  I am not sure how much of it he read but it didn't take me very long until I realized that this was not a very good version of the I Ching. I am most familiar with the Wilhelm-Baynes version in which  the foundation for the material is based on the first two hexagrams, The Creative(male, light, heaven) and The Receptive (female, dark, earth) .  The remaining 64 hexagrams are based on the guiding principle of those two hexagrams.

Ms. Anthony and Ms. Moog are rewriting the more accurate Wilhelm-Baynes version at the very beginning by changing The Creative to The Cosmic Consciousness and The Receptive to Nature.  They don't make any great distinction from either Cosmic Consciouses and Nature. They state that right use of Cosmic Consciousness transforms through harmony the creation of Nature.  It says nothing of the male or female role or the principles of light and darkness as a balancing factors of the Tao. The interpretation of all the remaining hexagrams are often viewed through new age filters and pop psychology.

Most of the instructions in the book were about doing battle with the ego for control of the Cosmic Consciouses.  The true student of Tao knows that in order to find the way, we have to make peace with our ego.  We don't fight our ego because we  would lose ourselves in the battle. The ego is a servant and we only need to let it know the right goals and beliefs that serve us well.

I will admit writing a new interpretation of the I Ching would be extremely difficult.  I have been studying the I Ching and Taoism for over 40 years and I would be very hesitant of writing my own version of it because interpretation of the material is a organic process that is subject to spiritual growth. Fewer words and less opinion will get one closer to the truth, and this book has too much of both.

I would recommend Richard Willem's version to anyone who is serious about studying the I Ching.  It is much more poetic and more open to interpretation of the Tao at many levels. I believe the Ms. Anthoney and Ms. Moog are very talented writers, but they should have a better understanding of the Taoism if they want to write about it.
69067
This book turned out to be a disappointment, largely because Wallace is disturbingly anti-science and pro-religion, which shows that Buddhists can believe with blind faith in weird stuff just as other religious fundamentalists do.

Example: I can sort of understand what "brightly shining mind" might be like (this supposedly is primordial consciousness, the mind of the Buddha). But many Buddhists also believe in a bodily transformation that is a whole lot less believable.

Given Wallace's assertion that Buddhism is a religion committed to confirming religious phenomena, I figured that he'd offer up some evidence of "one's body vanishes at death like a rainbow disappearing into the sky" and "the material body of the contemplative decreases in size until it finally vanishes without leaving any trace of the body or mind behind."

Nope. So there is no evidence confirming a Buddhist dogma, the dissolving of the physical body at death into a "rainbow body," that could easily be tested by scientific methods. Yet Wallace speaks of this being "an extraordinary challenge to many religious and scientific assumptions that limit the human imagination today."

Wallace's version of Buddhism is annoyingly unscientific. He uncritically accepts religious beliefs, such as the rainbow body and reincarnation, on faith, and also makes unfounded claims that Buddhism knows more about physical reality than science does -- such as the non-material foundation of consciousness.

Hasn't Wallace heard about anesthesia, persistent vegetative states, neurological injuries, MRI scanners, and other evidence that the physical brain and consciousness are exceedingly intimately connected? If not identical.

Sure, subjective states can't be measured objectively. That's obvious, both philosophically and scientifically. That's a far cry, though, from asserting that Buddhists know human consciousness survives bodily death.

Every Buddhist contemplative who supposedly has made this discovery has been alive at the time. How the heck can someone know that his or her consciousness doesn't cease at death when they're not dead?

The main thing I learned from this book is that Buddhism really is a religion. I've tried to view it as a philosophy based on direct experience of one's own mind/consciousness, not on theological precepts accepted on faith.

But it's clear that Wallace sees meditation merely as a means of confirming the teachings of Buddhism. If a meditator doesn't experience what Wallace believes is true, he or she is doing something wrong.

This isn't spiritual science. It is dogmatic religion disguised with a flimsy covering of a pseudo-scientific method.

If you're interested in non-religious Buddhism, there are plenty of alternatives to "Mind in the Balance." A couple of my favorites are "Buddhism Without Beliefs" and "Ending the Pursuit of Happiness."
3380123
The author supposedly a Zen achiever meets his God who is just what he was expecting. There were no revelations beyond the standard meditative state proscribed in many how to meditate books. I did like some parts, and the writer has some obvious talent but he merely copied a prescribed description of a made-to-order experience. Any real experience that enlightens a person will be unique to them and have the quality of their consciousness. It will not be the stated experience that someone else has had that is duplicated for them with the same results and understandings. I think he had an experience that he wanted.
942336
While I admire the author's cheerful energy, I am very disappointed by her attempts at Chinese brush painting. The key to all oriental painting is the power of the strokes. Nan Rae's strokes are weak and lack courage. It is saddening when students are misled by a glossy 'how-to' book. Several of Nan Rae's illustrations are poor copies from books such as the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Chinese Brush Painting, a classical 'how-to' book that has endured for centuries.  One of the problems with all 'how-to' books is that students try to imitate the finished result, not understanding that the correct performance and rhythm of the strokes are necessary to achieve their goal. Nan Rae's explanations and encouraging style are well-written; it is a pity that her painting technique does not equal her writing.