Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System As a Path to the Self [Paperback]

I have to say, this author knows her stuff.

As I've learned from reading many of her books, she has long had a history of studying the chakra system. Through personal experience, she has adapted some of the esoteric systems with her own style, which are discussed more fully within her books.

This book in particular is an important one. In our culture, we all suffer abuses of some kind or another, even abuses we probably wouldn't consider abuse. Take noise pollution for example - it's a real assault on your senses, although we drown it out and let our body deal with the consequences.

But this book deals with the heavier stuff too - relationship issues, physical or sexual abuse, eating disorders, mental imbalances, whatever it may be, it's probably covered in this book. And what I have noticed is this author really knows what she's talking about - she provides insights I have not heard come from anyone else in my entire life.

I strongly encourage this book to everyone, regardless of who you are. This is a book for humanity.

I was looking for something that would relate elements of eastern metaphysical philosophy to more familiar western concepts in order to make the former more accessible, particularly the connection between body/mind/spirit. This is not that book. Instead, it is composed of the author's own elaborate theories on how social influences encountered early in life result in lingering issues that impact specific chakras. She appears to have synthesized her theories by combining her own considerable suppositions with a lot of pop developmental psychology, a profoundly speculative body of theory unto itself, and many of her claims are in conflict with modern neuroscience concerning the impressionable stages of brain development. It's no secret that despite the profusion of psychological and spiritual theory that has been hatched over the last half-century, most reliable indicators show that Americans are, in fact, less "well" than they were before. This author's theories are spun from those same pop-psych notions, so it's doubtful that there's much real value to the material - other than the sense of relief some might gain from latching onto a convincing excuse for their problems. In that respect, this book will probably find a willing audience among people suffering hangovers from having grown up in a dysfunctional family, but linking any resolution of those issues to the chakras seems like taking credit for something unearned. Most of us encounter the chakra concept through yoga, meditation, or similar disciplines. Those practices commonly result a sense of improved mental and spiritual well-being, but for reasons that are poorly understood. This book does little to credibly elucidate those reasons, nor does it do much to alleviate the flakiness-factor that prevents many of us from "connecting" with eastern philosophy. That realm is filled with self-invented healers who dispense opinion and dippy psycho-spiritual jargon to seekers who are perhaps a bit too impressionable and undiscerning. A little research reveals that this particular author's own credentials are extremely questionable: a "masters degree" from a for-profit, "independently accredited" "university" (located in office space at a convenient freeway exit near you) and a "PhD" from an unaccredited "non-traditional" "distance learning" institution that was closed by court order for granting illegitimate degrees. Hmmm..... As for flakiness - well, check her out yourself on Controverscial.com. (Yes, that's how they spell it.) In sum, if you looking for credible information that will help you connect with principles of eastern philosophy, this book is not recommended.

As the subtitle suggests, this book gives a psychological analysis of each of the 7 major chakras. There are 55 pages devoted to each chakra, covering the meaning of its color, its issues, the age of its manifestation, its traumas, character, excesses, deficiencies and how to balance it by resolving its psychological issues. In addition, there are 10 supplemental charts summarizing the various characteristics of the 7. The book is more analytical than spiritual, more doctrinal than experiential and more dry than emotional.

The 3 things I found mildly useful were the summary charts, its perspective of being able to blend East and West and its ease of reference by being well organized and summarized. At best, an occasionally useful secondary reference. Well suited for a psychologist looking for a new angle. Not well suited for someone looking for spiritual growth.