Customer Reviews

Why People Don't Heal and How They Can

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

We all know people with legitimate illnesses who seem to wallow in their misfortune. However, we all suffer from illnesses, and we all age -- some of us dwell on our ailments, others are stoic to the point of self-neglect. The author is obviously a charlatan, who has positioned herself as the Camille Paglia of New Age Healers.

As others have pointed out,she has no credentials, and isn't even a healer -- she is a professional busy body, telling others where to get off, and it is sad that people have actually gone to her in their desperation. There are plenty of New Age healers who aren't charlatans, who have a genuine gift of love and will to help others.

She basically says that some people need their illnesses for attention or whatever, and that others experience spiritual growth through their physical travails. None of this is exactly news. I just worry that people who come down with cancer or whatever will think it's their own fault if they don't heal, as she seems to think.

This book isn't really a waste of time -- but it is mean spirited, reduces a complex topic to a formula, and is completely lacking in a spiritual element. Which is ironic, because she is preaching spirituality. Scary.

What a waste of time and money! The style is clumsy and unreadable. Myss cannot write. The book makes 5 basic points about why people don't heal i.e they get a pay-off from their illness, but this has already been said in more detail in her book Anatomy of the Spirit (which was a marginally better read). I find Myss rude and abrassive, with an angry and aggressive tenor. May New Age literature improve!

Myss makes a good point when she talk about people wearing their wounds as badges of honor..then proceeds to trash a woman for making a casual comment about her incest support group. The book is too full of these examples of people Myss deems as not ready to heal. Like a lot of fuzzy New Age thinking, her book presents arguments that allow her to have her cake and eat it, too. If you "heal," then it means you have "forgiven," according to Myss. If you don't, it's probably because you aren't ready to heal. Either way, you've bought Myss' book and earned her some money.

My opinion in reading half the book, in segments because it puts me to sleep, is that the author is dealing with some deep seeded problems and taking them out on others. I think she needs to get a life and leave the writing and counseling to caring, helpful people.

These days, people are looking beyond traditional western medicine to realize that there are other systems and traditions of medicine that are also effective. I think this is a good thing, and the more people can become critical about existing methods, and more aware of all of their options, the better.

Indeed, one of the common threads among these non-western medicines is the holistic idea that the body and spirit and mind are intertwined and that any of these elements affects the other. Western scientists are repeatedly proving correlations between outlook, attitude and physical wellness.

Of course, now that the door has opened to new ideas about medicine, it has also opened far enough to allow frauds and snake-oil peddlers a place to prey. The sad thing is, most of the people that are preyed upon are truly ill, and truly desperate. I'm not going to say Ms. Myss is one of these frauds. She'd probably find a way to sue me.

On the other hand, she claims to be a PhD. Has she ever said in what? I've researched it--she is a PhD in Medical Intuition, and get this--from an institution that she started herself! Its not accredited by anyone! She offers this same 'PhD' for others too--after a week-long workshop at her overpriced school.

As for her other degrees, I think she has a graduate degree in anthroplogy or something (sorry, I forget).

She was apparently given her 'special powers' by a Native shaman woman that she met once. Come on, give the native peoples of this hemisphere a break. Isn't it enough that their land and culture was decimated, that they don't have to continue being exploited with the ridiculous New Age stereotypical ideas. Wanna know what some Lakota people think about Ms Myss? Try this page: http://www.aics.org/war.html

I could go on, but in the interest of priority, here is why this book is dangerous: It leads people to beleive they are the cause of their own illness.

While a person can grow and empower themselves by analyzing their lives or reading a good, inspirational book; and while it may be good to try to rid oneself of negative thoughts and misconceptions, desparate people do not always have the ability to deal with things like that on their own. People that are truly ill and desperate are not necessarily going to feel better, they might just end up feeling guilty and even less inclined to seek real help.

Even Chinese medicine accepts that sometimes people 'just get sick'. And practitioners of these older traditions go through a lot more rigorous training than a few days at some seminar. Don't insult them or the Lakota people by reading Caroline Myss or her ilk.

And don't insult yourself either. Find real hope in your life--it exists. Don't get your personal strength from some huckster, find it in yourself. It's there.

I actually bought two copies (one for a friend) in anticipation of this book being as good as Sacred Contracts ... it was! Even if you are not totally into this type of book it offers a lot of insight and may introduce you to a different perspective. I would also recommend it for a "first" book if you are just beginning your search to connect with your "self".

There has been millions of research to justify everything Caroline teaches. She's not critizing the wounded and neither is she arrogant. Facts are facts, and she delivers the facts in a way that people who are not serious about making some changes will easily get affended, because that's the easy thing to do other than looking at themself and saying, "Hey, I brought this on myself. And I could fix it myself." Carolyn is terrific! But if you are not serious about self improvement, don't bother.

To say that those who have been through childhood or other types of trauma, shouldn't read this book is stating that you completely missed the point. The victim role can prohibit one from seeing things clearly, i.e., as a victim. If you know and understand the body of work that is Carolyn Myss, getting out of the "woundology" state is a key point in her work.

I usually just read reviews not write them but for this book I wanted others to know that it is NOT what some of the negative reviewers have presented it to be. This is book is a gift for anyone looking for healing and presents answers if we are WILLING to be open to the ideas. Those who are so negative about the book just, unfortunately, don't get it. Continuing to label yourself as some sort of victim (we all are or have been in some way or another) will keep you just where you are. Actually those who are so anti-this book prove Caroline's point exactly so I guess what she says does work. When we are ready to let go of the victim mentality and take responsibility for our lives in totality (mind, body and spirit) then we are ready to heal. If you are ready for this, then this book is for you. It works, period. Thanks, Caroline for your honesty and your truth.

Therapy had me think about and relive the painful experiences that I have had over and over again. Instead of helping me get better, it just kept the trauma fresh every day.

Dr. Myss' book shows you that you can break free from past trauma and not have it continue to consume your body's physical energy. This leaves you available to live and enjoy your life today with enthusiasm and vitality. I find it continually inspiring. Definitely worth the money.

Another book that supports these theories is "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work" by Ariel & Shya Kane. They also stress that living and being here in the present moment is more important and makes you more alive than constantly looking to your past for problems.