Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing
by Caroline Myss
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Book Summary Information
Author: Caroline MyssEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-08-26
ISBN: 0609800140
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780609800140
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
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Book Reviews of Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing
Book Review: mixed feelings
Summary: 3 Stars
for most of my life, I have felt that a connection exists between our psychological and emotional experiences and the illnesses we develop, that in many ways our illnesses represent a metaphor for the emotional and spiritual crises that we go through. over the course of the last few years I have been exploring different forms of spirituality and healing practices that integrate spirituality with an understanding of the body. in a lot of places I would read references to the idea I described above, of illness as a manifestation of spiritual crises, but no one ever really seemed to go in to the subject at great length. so I was excited when I found Myss's book, as it seemed to delve deeply into this subject, and also explored the relationship between healing and mysticism.
Myss's book is definitely the most throrough discussion of the subject to date. she manages to weave together anecdotes with her discussion of the chakras in a succinct and artful way. she combines narrative with her theories, so you get a really good sense both of the principles she explains and how they manifest in people's lives.
her treatment is heavily drawn from and slanted towards Judeo-Christian traditions. her underlying idea is that personal development is an issue of spiritual power, which you could also call self-respect. Myss sees power as a tangible thing. when we do not keep our word, we lose power. when we are betrayed and do not stand up for ourselves, we lose power. when we master a skill or have a reconciliation with a loved one, we gain power. this concept to a certain extent goes against some people's conceptions of what spirituality is within the context of Christianity and Judaism, as it places the focus of spirituality on the individual and his or her relationship with God, rather than focusing on service and devotion. however, Myss's personal morals show throughout the book, and these are clearly drawn from her own religious upbringing. personal development may be about power, but we gain this power by, basically, being good Christians.
in many places, Myss's tone becomes somewhat preening and arrogant. I like to contrast an anecdote about smoking cessation in this book with one in Donna Eden's Energy Medicine. Myss tells us of a former prostitute attending one of her seminars who continued to smoke one or two cigarettes a day. Myss tells the woman that she is still "losing power" to her addiction as long as she smokes any cigarettes at all. Eden, on the other hand, describes a situation in which a woman discovered the relationship between smoking and anxiety, and used certain techniques to dissociate smoking and anxiety in her own mind. the woman, Eden tells us, continued to smoke one cigarette a day for a number of years "almost like a mantra."
in another instance, Myss tells us that once we have become "spiritual adults," a single act of littering constitutes an ethical choice with complex ramifications. in another instance, she advises a man to reconcile with his family despite years of sexual abuse, even though his family will still not acknowledge wrong-doing on their parts. and in another incident, she describes how she basically tells an incest victim she needs to "get over it" if she wants to grow spiritually. while Myss may have a point, one wonders whether "taking the high ground" was that appropriate in this situation, or if a more gentle approach might have resulted in the woman actually listening to and understanding what Myss had to say.
in essence, my criticism is that while Myss seems to show a great deal of experience with and insight into the nature of spiritual healing, she also seems to let her ego and her own personality get in the way of what she has to say. in the introduction, she advises the reader to accept what he or she finds useful and reject anything that sounds wrong. this seems rather odd for a comment placed at the beginning of three-hundred pages of moralizing, and I am lead to wonder whether she is sincere in that statement or if she just put it there because it seemed like the right kind of thing to say at the beginning of a book about spirituality.
I do recommend this book, as Myss has some very interesting things to say, and the book itself is filled with beautiful, compelling and often heart-breaking stories about a rare subject: the emotional and spiritual lives of "everyday" people. however, Myss's dogmatic style and her own obviously unresolved emotional issues made getting through the book a little trying for me.
Summary of Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing
Anatomy of the Spirit is the boldest presentation to date of energy medicine by one of its premier practitioners, internationally acclaimed medical intuitive Caroline Myss, one of the "hottest new voices in the alternative health/spirituality scene" (Publishers Weekly). Based on fifteen years of research into energy medicine, Dr. Myss's work shows how every illness corresponds to a pattern of emotional and psychological stresses, beliefs, and attitudes that have influenced corresponding areas of the human body.Anatomy of the Spirit also presents Dr. Myss's breakthrough model of the body's seven centers of spiritual and physical power, in which she synthesizes the ancient wisdom of three spiritual traditions-the Hindu chakras, the Christian sacraments, and the Kabbalah's Tree of Life-to demonstrate the seven stages through which everyone must pass in the search for higher consciousness and spiritual maturity. With this model, Dr. Myss shows how you can develop your own latent powers of intuition as you simultaneously cultivate your personal power and spiritual growth.
By teaching you to see your body and spirit in a new way, Anatomy of the Spirit provides you with the tools for spiritual maturity and physical wholeness that will change your life.
What sets Anatomy of the Spirit apart is Carolyn Myss's ability to blend diverse religious and spiritual beliefs into a succinct discussion of health and human anatomy. For example, when describing the seven energy fields of the human body, she fuses Christian sacraments with Hindu chakras and the Kabbalah's Tree of Life. Fortunately, Myss is a skilled writer as well as researcher, able to ground her extensive spiritual and religious discussions by using real-life stories and a tight writing style. Those who are squeamish with the notion of biography affecting biology will find this book a struggle (in one chapter, Myss links pancreatic cancer with a man's refusal to unburden his life and start fulfilling his dreams). Many, however, hail Myss for creating a valuable contribution to the ongoing exploration of spirituality and health. --Gail Hudson
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