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 Candace Pert's book is fascinating! She presents very heavy scientific information in a way that allows laypeople to understand it. This book altered my reality in a way no other book ever has! This scientist came full circle from groundbreaking studies using Western scientific methods to discovering and embracing the more mystical truths of Eastern thought.
Dr Candace Pert is a neuroscientist and she speaks biology, which is a recognised territory for me, since my wife is a scientist as well. At the beginning of her book (which is, more than anything, a novel, a very good novel and very well written) Candace unfolds her scientific history and experience, mainly from a biological point of view but also from an autobiographical one. I was excited to enter her lab, when she invited me in, with her enthusiastic approach towards science and with professional knowledge phrased in words I could understand. Very gradually, she draws you into the basics of information-substances, which create the core of information flow in our bodies, communicating with the outside world and the inner one. With regard to facts - the book is full of them. If you are looking for scientific approval of complementary medicine, of hypnotherapy or any mind-body approach, you will surely find references for it there. It is so heart-warming to find a western scientist who not only acknowledges the unity of mind-body (the body is the unconscious mind, she says), but also further serves the public in the endeavour to shift the old paradigm of separation and move towards a new, integrated one. Candace's future flows right into her past (since information and metaphors are boundless in terms of space and time), creating a shift in her language. She stands on the edge of a new paradigm, explores her own boundaries, with beauty, love, excitement and humble humanity. Personally, I found a lot of the knowledge in the first part of the book irrelevant - when a paradigm changes, it needs a new language, new metaphor, but I acknowledge that we are on the threshold of an exciting shift. Hence, the old language is gradually twisting itself, until barely recognised, before finally moving forward to the new one. Speaking more languages is always better, having more choices is what we aim for - as humans, and as therapists. She takes the reader in a shamanic journey of self-exploration, through the realms of her private life, through the realms of science, as she shapes it with her knowledge. I found myself joining her journey, holding her hand and showing compassion in her difficult moments, happy in her growth, always from within. You really ought to read this book.
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An amazing book that covers both the scientific facts and it's real life applications in parallel. Dr. Pert has an amazing way of explaining deep scientific facts about the chemical and electrical information exchange that goes into our bodies. What makes the theory easier to grasp is that she takes the reader into a journey into what goes on in her mind and body as she evolve emotionally, academically and socially. She also concludes the book with specific program that helps in emotional, mental and health well being. The only problem in this book is that by the last chapter, the writer starts mixing scientifically proven facts with her own experiences and feelings - especially when discussing the "New Age" medicine. All in all it's an excellent book to understand how our brain works, how our body is influenced by our mind and vis versa.
