Law Books

fui de los primeros que obtuvieron el libro cuando salio a la venta, como regalo.
Yo esperaba realmente que esta autora revelara un verdadero"secreto" de los mis terios de la humanidad, pero al leerlo mi desilucion fue creciendo, la autora solo muestra principios mentales y tecnicas aplicadas YA CONOCIDAS por autores anteriores, me da risa como segun ella revela tecnicas de FENG SHUI!!!! como nunca antes conocidas (jajajaja).
Creo que a este libro le pusieron asi solo para dar un golpe publicitario y darle sensacionalismo solo para incrementar las ventas de este mismo.

Este libro no es muy bueno, ni mucho menos novedoso.La tecnica del cheque es muy conocida(lo que hizo Jim Carry).
La verdad el secreto no es mas que la aplicacion del principio de atraccion, pero ahy un libro que es mucho mucho mejor que este, y que en el se basan TODOS pero todos los libros de esta materia es "EL KIBALYON" libro de los egipcios que revela no solo el principio de atraccion sino muchos mas.

El Secreto (The Secret)Es muy interesante aparte de los consejos de vida k te da te hace recordar y valorar las cosas buenas sobre todo ser agradecidos por lo k tenemos, me gusto mucho .

Que descubrir en ti mismo el poder que tienes para hacer que las cosas cambien,...........

Les recomiendo la versión AUDIO MP3 de Piense y Hágase Rico Piense y hagase rico

La escritora australiana Rhonda Byrne logró reunir a grandes maestros, filósofos, escritores, científicos, etc. que comprenden y aplican en sus vidas los principios de la Ley de la Atracción. Estos personajes destacados comparten con nosotros sus conocimientos y experiencias sobre el tema en forma por demás amena e instructiva. La Sra. Byrne incluye, además, pensamientos brillantes que tomó de grandes escritores que vivieron durante los siglos 18, 19 y 20 quienes, afortunadamente, dejaron su obra, o gran parte de ella, escrita en libros que aún se pueden encontrar en algunas tiendas. Robert Collier, Prentice Mulford, Charles Haanel y Charles Fillmore son los nombres de algunos de los pioneros de la citada ley que mas sirvieron de sustento para estructurar El Secreto, sin embargo también podemos encontrar citas de Budha, Henry Ford, Shakespeare, Emerson, etc. Es realmente excepcional el trabajo realizado para la elaboración de este documento que ha servido y servirá para que muchas personas aprendan cuestiones que tienen que ver con la utilización de sus propios recursos personales así como recursos del Universo para lograr una vida mas plena.-

This book gave a lot of details on how to organize your application. Very useful with great recommendations.

I used the previous edition of the book in 2006 (green cover) and it helped me get into a top 5 business school. In fact I got into both the top 5 schools that I had applied to.

My advice to applicants is to pay special attention to essays and recommendation letters. If the writers are too busy, write one up for them (call it a template) and let them edit it. That way you can get them to say what you want them to say more or less.

Spend a LOT of time on the essays, they can make or break you more than the GMAT. Read them over and over again, read them aloud, have someone read them to you and have them reviewed by someone who got into the school you want to get into. The sample essays in the book were great to know what kind of information the admissions committee would look for. I took as much as 30 days of every day work to get my essays in the form that I was happy with.

Montauk's book guides you through this process and that was the only book I used.

This is a huge book, worthwhile and seems complete. I also have the Your MBA Game Plan: Proven Strategies for Getting into the Top Business Schools, and this book is ten times the size. I have yet to read the whole thing and probably will never; however it is easy to find the data I need for my search. I also like the discussions about why and where to go, not just the how like in other books.

I think it's one of the most complete guides for the subject. It covers many different topics in a very sound way which many other books "try to" cover in hundred of pages.

This book is the bible for getting into the top MBA schools. I am currently in the process of applying to some of the top schools and have talked to a lot of current and recent grads, all of whom swear by this book. It walks you through all the steps required and the right way to approach the situation. I had my first round interview last week and knowing how the different schools differ in their approach helped tremendously.

STILL TBD on if I'm successful in my bid for the top schools but so far, I feel I'm getting all the right insider tips from this book.

I've read many of Joe Vitale's other books, but this one is truly different. It is outstanding. It's all about how he came to know about and put into practice the art of Ho'opononono. I really enjoyed it.

This book has transformed my life! I only wish I had read it sooner.
Most amazing.

This book's focus is love, forgiveness, taking responsibility for your life, and living in the present rather than hanging onto regret and recrimination. Most spiritual approaches share these beliefs and the book presents little that is new, except its aloha twist. Author Joe Vitale brings in the Hawaiian perspective of his co-author, Ihaleakala Hew Len, a Hawaiian therapist and Ph.D., who advocates the "//ho'oponopono//" method. The authors' emphasis on cleansing and love is a lot like the repentance and love of Christianity, and the emphasis on the universe existing only in your mind has a neo-Buddhist flavor. Skeptics may find that the recommendation to make a batch of special cleansing water pushes their envelope one notch too far. A larger stumbling block is that although many spiritual leaders teach the emptiness of pursuing money and material wealth, this book makes wealth a goal, and suggests that you can receive riches by ridding yourself of blocked memories. To talk of spirituality as the source of record-breaking sales of luxury sedans seems somewhat self-contradictory, but the book is otherwise straight new-age self-help, though// getAbstract// appreciates its Hawaiian flavor.

Before I bought this book, I read the other reviews. Based on some of the
negative comments, I waited a long time before I actually bought it.
I noticed in one of the reviews by a psychiatrist, he said that Joe was
trying to promote himself. After reading Zero Limits, (three times through
because it was so good), I did not see it this way. I could see that he did make mention of his other books as well as many other authors and their books. He promoted many people in Zero Limits, not just himself. It seemed reasonable to me.
The magic in ho'oponopono is it's utter simplicity. It is so simple that
many people will not like it and not believe it. Due to it's subtleness,
I reread his book several times to pick up all the simple guidance that
Joe and Dr. Len offer. If someone chooses to practice ho'oponopono,
it will change their life. I have so much more peace and acceptance just
by practicing these simple steps. Read the book with an open heart and
an open mind, and experience a quietness that is 'Divine'.

The 4 chants taught in the book are the keys to maintaining a peaceful consciousness that is very difficult to achieve in this world of noise and chaos. Once you get into the habit of chanting the Zero Limit keys, it gets easier to manage your life and takes less and less time to get into zero state which is the God state, or your moving into your center state. Try it. There's nothing to lose by learning something new.

...that was the most surprising thing to come out of buying and reading the book. It's a great read - clearly written and actually entertaining. It gives a very solid foundation of knowledge.

I'm not being law-snobby, I promise.

I bought the book because I was struggling to get my head around remedies, and although it helped, I ended up buying Lexis' "Understanding Contracts," too.

I should disclaim that what follows is based on the remedies section (that's all I used it for). That's a big piece of contracts, but maybe the rest of the book, which I didn't explore, is better.

Okay, here goes:

I found the E&E book to be imprecise with some concepts and vocabulary. It could be my own quirkiness, but to me that imprecision was maddening. In one paragraph, a plaintiff had "moved," "pled" and also "applied" for summary judgement. Applied??? SJ isn't a credit card! And it's not a pleading for that matter, either.

If you find these types of imprecision trivial, the book might be for you. They left me wondering if there were any important issues being confused, as well. We all know that law exams ask us to identify doctrinal issues, weight them, and (if the opportunity presents itself) apply the particular policy analysis that our respective professors find endearing. The extent to which a secondary source like E&E leads us astray on the doctrine is the same extent to which we will be led astray on our exams.

If you are like me, you should buy "Understanding Contracts" from the corporate mongers at Lexis. I felt like the concepts and vocabulary were applied in a more precise, crisp way. It will save you from trying to infer what the author is trying to say from what the author did say, and it will save you from writing snooty remarks and question marks in the margin -- time you could be spending learning Contracts.

Written with candor and clarity, Winning is a must read for senior executives and middle managers. You learn how to create a winning culture, and an environment where those who do their best and are equipped for the job are rewarded. I especialy appreciated Jack's 20/70/10 rule, and his views on how to expand an organization while managing risk. Buy this book and read each and every page.

Do you have the courage to "call it like it is"? So many businesses, and managers struggle with this concept. Often, it seems so much easier to simply gloss over the real issue, managers want to be "liked", have friends and staff that look up to them as leaders they like and that means often not saying what needs to be said, or doing what is difficult. Jack Welch gives it to the reader "like it is", and implores managers to use candor to get the change required to move businesses forward.

Jack doesn't just push managers to use fear to motivate though, in fact, he rightfully points out the concept of 20/70/10. Every business will have 20% at the top, 70% in the middle and 10% at the bottom. GREAT leaders work with the middle 70%, get under their skin and motivate them to love the challenge of coming to work everyday, exhausting their positive output to push staff to be their BEST everyday, and to love doing it. But the bottom 10%, those who would rather text-message and surf the internet than actually work? What to do with them? If you have a candid organization, where dealing with true issues dominates the conversations, these bottom feeders know JUST WHERE THEY STAND, and they either get their act together, or the manager does them a favor by letting them go. It's not mean it's not nice, it's about winning, If you want to out-perform, you need the best players. Such a simple, hardened truth so many manager lose track of - yet Jack reminds us it is the core of performance.

I highly recommend this book for all managers and leaders.

This item arrived quickly and in good condition. Jack Welch is a great leader, but some of his ability and ideas about leading cannot be conveyed on the written page.

This is a pleasant to read book that unfortunately has (almost) nothing to do with corporate reality. A better title for it would have been "Winning in Utopia". Admittedly, I don't have 40 years experience but I changed tack a couple of times yet never found a corporation where Jack's word come even close to describing how it works. Reasoning in "game theory" terms makes me think the vast majority of companies are very, very unlike what Jack describes. Jack himself inadvertently gives this away when recounting the story of the Q&A session with about 5000 HR professionals. In Utopia, the Chief HR sits right next the CEO, but when asked about their companies, only a few out of 5000 Real World Chief HR officers rise their hands acknowledging to having such a privileged position. I am most willing to admit that GE is an exception (that's probably part of why it's one of the most valuable companies in the world).

In the Real World, "candor" gets you stabbed and killed. Because most aspiring leaders know that, nobody takes the risk. Perfoming solidly might earn you "chits" but you can easily squander a year of solid performance by candidly speaking out one truth that proves inconvenient to your boss. On the other hand, sucking up to your boss consistently earns you large amounts of chits with less risk. Bosses are human too, they can't help but be pleased when flattered. In big organizations from the real world, middle managers feel like small cogs, the interests of their immediate boss are much closer to them than those of the distant and fuzzy concept of "Acme, Corp.", the company they are working for and which pays their salaries. Moreover, bosses have bosses too, so promoting "energetic, energizing, edge, execute, passionate" people would involve needless risks. Much better to promote their chums, guys that "get it", made in their image, loyal as they themselves are loyal to their own bosses. When you think of it, this is a proven system, it was called "feudalism" and thrived for several centuries. In our modern world it's the system that makes the various mobs (Cosa Nostra, Camorra, N'drangheta, etc.) compete so successfully. Admittedly, it doesn't work so well when there's fierce competition, but then you can still call on the politicians to protect your industry, which is what happens most of the time ...

So, read this book but for your own sake, make sure you are working for an Utopian company before trying to apply any of Jack's recommendations, or else you're a dead man and you won't be able to sue Jack for it ...

This book can be largely digested by most people out there. You don't need an MBA to pick up on the points that Jack makes. His abrupt, simple-but-thoughtful and clear advice is refreshing and relevant. Very thought provoking and motivating.

When I started The Blade Itself, I had just come off reading Scott Lynch and Brandon Sanderson; in the thralls of a new-authors/good-book high. Joe Abercrombie was recommended to me to continue the streak, so I dove in eagerly.

At first, I found it slow-going, a surprise since I had been told his books were on par with the ones I had just finished. But then I realized I was having the same difficulty with The Blade Itself that I had had years ago, when starting a little tome called The Song of Ice and Fire. And I realized I was in the midst of another vast, character-based fantasy.

Like ASOIAF, The Blade Itself follows several major characters--which is why The Blade Itself begins slowly, because you're building background and introductions for multiple protagonists. And also like ASOIAF, it's worth working through.

You have Logan Ninefingers, who has an alter ego, The Bloody Nine, a blood-thirsty warrior from the North. Then you have Sand Dan Glokta, the crippled torture-survivor-turned-torturer, who is often compared to Tyrion from ASOIAF. Next is Jezal Dan Luthar, an arrogant, selfish young noble who is training for a great fencing contest. You have Ferro, an escaped slave warrior-ess who is hunted, but obsessed with getting vengeance for her enslavement. And, last, you have The First Magi, Bayaz, who turns out to be anything but the friendly, helpful wise wizard. Their stories all come together, though I argue there is no one, major propelling plot force. The plot twists were well-executed and I loved the dialogue--it brought me right back to Lynch's comical wittiness, which I have to say I really missed in Sanderson's books, which are much, much more dark.

Abercrombie likes to take all the archetypal fantasy characters and sort of un-stereotype them. One negative review I read laments the fact that by the end of the trilogy, none of the characters seemed to have grown or changed for the better, and most of them wind up coming off as irredeemable and unlikeable. But I think this is exactly what Abercrombie was going for--a sense of realism in a fantasy world. People don't, really, change fundamentally who they are--the changes that characters undergo in this book are purposely realistic. At the core, they always remain who they were at the beginning. The trick is that Abercrombie lets you believe that his characters ARE the stereotypes at first. Then, through the slow revelation of tiny character flaws or historic details, he destroys those stereotypes--the noble savage Northern warrior turns out to not be so noble afterall. The torturer with the heart of gold really is kind of a jerk. The young, naïve, selfish nobleman remains a coward. This may make the characters seem unlikeable, but are any of the people you like in real life perfect? Do they have entirely noble, unselfish motivations for everything they do? Have they never done something bad or said something hurtful or acted selfishly? Are the heroes we worship really as heroic as we like to believe? Not to digress too much, but look at what we know of a few of the standard heroes of our history books today, like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Christopher Columbus. All those men did epically great things, and all of them also did terrible things.

Another complaint is that the trilogy doesn't have a satisfactory end. I definitely agree on that note. I'm not sure if this is Abercrombie's continued dedication to realism (in real life, stories don't tie up neatly), or if he plans to continue the story at some point. I hope it's the latter because the characters are so compelling, and the story still has plenty of life to give. I know his next book is set in the same world, but not about the same characters and is a one-off-er, so hopefully the one after will continue the tale.

The first book in a new series. Probably the most realistic fantasy Book I have read in years. The main characters are Gritty and slimy, easy to like and easier to hate. almost a character study but the action sequences are splendid. If you enjoyed any of the Dave Eddings books you will enjoy These books. The Second book, "Before they are Hanged" is better in many ways then the first and while the third book is not out yet I have great hopes and even higher expectations. So, I got my copy of "last argument of Kings" and read it in 1/2 a day. At first I was dissapointed, but then as I thought about it I realized that I really liked it. The characters stay true right up until the end, no last minute repreives or deathbed repentence but solid right to the end. A really good series, not great, but really good.

I had to dig quite deeply in a pile of praise before I could get my hands on The Blade Itself, Joe Abercrombie's debut fantasy novel in his debut fantasy trilogy. I had high expectations, both from critics and fellow fantasy enthusiasts, and while I can't exactly say I was blown away, I can't say that I was disappointed. The Blade Itself is an entertaining read that gives more than a few thrills, and is a great first work.

Despite some wonderfully imagined characters, Abercrombie seems to lose a hold of them for sake of the plot in some places. Areas which I felt should have been focused on were glossed over in lieu of snappy internal dialogue or sudden incomprehensible changes, while the reverse also remains true. In particular, the interaction between Collem West and Inquisitor Glokta near the end reeks of afterthought and poor execution; a previously bitter character has a sudden, bewildering change of heart, only to revert back to his former self within a few pages (it seems lost at the opening chapters of Before They Are Hanged). Otherwise, though, his characters are the heart of the story. Complex, dark and gray, Abercrombie is not afraid of showing true portraits of creations and letting the readers decide what to make of them, while at the same time making each one unique and likable.

The action is solid. Abercrombie concerns himself with realism - moments with characters outnumbered and surrounded hint at danger, and never is there a `clean' fight; wounds and blood abound, and no character escapes a bit of a pounding once in a while. That being said, the fights strike a balance between the predictable and the cliché, never quite falling off the deep end of super-heroic characters, but also never putting them into George R.R. Martin-like danger of being suddenly and brutally killed.

The overall plot is classic, but still remains fresh and unique, with Abercrombie's nose for sniffing out political turmoil really shining through in this volume. The Union in particular is well represented as a fetid organization nearing collapse from internal plots and counter-plots, the Old Empire to the west being forshadowed as the same, yet worse, and eventually the plot takes us to the North (where some of the most enjoyable scenes take place), where the Northmen under canny King Bethod grow bolder, and to the south, where fell armies surround Dogoska, a Union stronghold.
I didn't know what to think while I was reading it. I enjoyed it, but not nearly to the extent that I enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora or The Name of the Wind, both of which seemed to have been helmed by a writer less prone to rookie mistakes. So too, the world itself seems to lack the very distinct flavor and depth that both Rothfuss and Lynch bring to the table.

But Abercrombie has room to grow, and his is a book that should be well watered. An excellent debut that brings a new voice to the fantasy genre who I would like to see carve out a niche of his own. I recommend The Blade Itself with honest enthusiasm, and continue to read the series.

Mature, fantasy readers must read this. If you haven't read The First Law trilogy, go buy it. Now. Abercrombie has an amazing style, characters and plot development, and more importantly...the entire series doesn't have a single character or word more than it needs. Absolutely the best I've read, in any genre, for a long time.

There is a species of writer who use their skill the beguile the reader, much like a trout poacher reaches slowly into the water with his hand, "tickles" his prey, then abuses the hapless creature's trust. Joe Abercrombie is such a writer.

Abercrombie creates a world of compelling characters to seduce the curious reader into his narrative. The prospective reader should know that all those characters are made to suffer at the author's hands until, by the time we have reached the end of the third volume, we feel as though our time and sympathies have been quite thoroughly and deliberately wasted. There should be a government-mandated warning about this sort of thing on the book jacket.

If you like the kind of horror story in which the characters evolve from a condition in which optimism is at least thinkable, to attain bleak, abject failure, then this trilogy is for you. In truth, Abercrombie's characters don't really evolve, or even change, over the 1800 or so pages of this opus. Instead, the author carefully rations the information he gives us so that we are misled. We are misled into thinking that this character might have grown wiser, or that another has at last gained some maturity, only to have that impression destroyed by another fact that the author chooses to reveal. This does not happen only once or twice--autorial manipulativeness is the defining characteristic of this work. In the end, all the characters are still what they were at the beginning, before Abercrombie started tossing us crumbs of information about them. Logen the Barbarian is a crazed killer, Mage Bayaz is the Anti-Gandalf, Jezal a mooncalf, and Inquisitor Glokta a saintly torturer, who is at least a little bit funny.

To be sure, Abercrombie is skilled (as any fish-tickler must be). One can hope that he gets over his Gothic obsession and...well, lightens up.

As a child we are free of everything. But develop many beliefs and prejudices as we age. This book again gave me what I needed at the right moment. I would recommend it to anyone. Easy read.

Chopra as a coach shows you seven steps which puts you on a spiritual path that leads you to success and prosperity. Having studied with Deepak Chopra, as I read his books, I can hear his resonant voice revealing the treasures found simply employing spiritual wisdom.

Healing the Rift

There should be no rift between a spiritual path and success and, indeed, Chopra reveals the surest laws of success. But it is a challege to first understand the laws but to practice them will eventually get you to your prize.Healing the Rift: Merging Science and Spirituality

The book may be short and small, but the Spiritual concepts in it are very big. Spirituality has to be practical to have any real meaning in our lives, and most Spiritual books explain concepts in esoteric terms, but give no explanation of how to apply them in our every day lives.

This book gives clear and concise concepts and follows up with how to apply them in your daily life. Not to be missed!

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success have a lot of good concepts to carry the listener through to the approximately hour-long recording on each of two CDs. Chopra talks about developing detachment as a way to obtain the best out of life. One of the many concepts he talks briefly about is that attachment to money will not bring about security and happiness. He doesn't go into too much detail about each of the concepts because then we'd be buying 100 CDs. He does a good job of pulling the important complicated concepts and putting them into everyday words so that I understand what he's talking about.

This CD has a lot of philosophical, abstract concepts, so I listen to it over and over to digest and apply the concepts. In terms of a practical point of view, Chopra's diction is clear and his presentation is neat and well organized.

Overall, I think this CD is worth the cost.

This little book is about creating the affluence effortlessly by unleashing your potential. The capabilities of every human are boundless, including the capabilities to create wealth. Deepak Chopra, the author of this book, is an Indian medical doctor and writer. He has written extensively on spirituality and diverse topics in mind-body medicine. Chopra says that he has been influenced by the teachings of Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita, as well as by Jiddu Krishnamurti, and by the field of quantum physics (although in this particular book there are no references to quantum physics). You can skim through this book regularly to check on how are you succeeding in the following areas:
- non-attribution;
- refraining from judgments;
- cease to defend your point-of-view or your "self-esteem"
- doing things with the least possible efforts,
All the things above mentioned, as well as the other mentioned in this book, lead to wealthy and healthy life.

I also recommend another book by Deepak Chopra: "Creating Affluence", in addition to this book.

This book will be very helpful for some very specific people - those who find themselves having undesired negative emotions, but whose emotions aren't completely overwhelming. The exercises on understanding your conditioning and beliefs can be helpful and powerful, if you take them seriously.

That said, I think that's because the title is somewhat misleading because it implies that we can heal the idea of 'belief' itself. While that may be true, more than likely you will be left with a new set of "better" beliefs to replace the old ones.

Also, the authors' voice comes across as presumptuous at times as he compares our reality to that of a computer. He's so excited about his analogy, and so convinced, that his 'voice' doesn't leave the impression that there is room for the possibility that his model of reality might not be accurate.

The ending also left me unfulfilled and seems like it was thrown on there to get more pages into the book. The book's potentially reality-shattering and life-changing climax goes almost unnoticed because it is so subtle, and so the last part of the book feels like filler instead of really bringing the reader into a new awareness and state of being.

Who would have thought that this technological age that we are in is as ancient as this world we live in. This book shows how "garbage in - garbage out" applies to our lives. Our lives (thoughts, emotions, etc) can be compared to a computer. Very interesting and informative.

This book is among Bruce Lipton, Dawson Church's work Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter, & MiraclesThe Genie in Your Genes: Epigenetic Medicine and the New Biology of Intention and they all must be read IN RELATION to eachother. With my experience and investment of time and energy in this area of study, i have found that there is a lot more going on then just simply intending feeling and visualizing to manifest or spontaneously create reality.

Because quantum particles or energies are very subtle and reside in a lighter (finer) dimensions, its obviously logical that they may be better manipulated or instantaneously controlled by the powerful psychological entities (SOULS, Consciousness or whatever you like calling them) who reside at that level of FINER existence. There are so many resulting things we cant take into account or comprehend while we make personal wishes. Our larger self CAN! Plus our being here as a small self has a purpose... to see certain pains, to be in situations that call for resolve courage and strength etc. If i can do and manifest what i want only... i wouldn't want to experience a single BAD thing... and why should I ...would you? :-)

The story of our world is going to unfold and eventually we will know ourselves as we truly are... cause life (existence) can never remain in this UN-NATURAL state that we have created upon earth for very long... its transitory...

And actually this is a hard fact which we are becoming aware of more and more as our experience with science and spirituality is deepening. On the surface our minds like to think that we are the CO-Creators and what not? Yeah ...sure... But the truth is that things keep happening stubbornly in our world individually, locally and globally that we fail to control or manifest no matter how hard we meditate visualize or intend. The only thing i have seen working is honest surrender and letting GO! Not many people are ready for it. The good news is that for this dimension of existence we need to make an evolutionary JUMP or shift in our psychology and more importantly in our BIOLOGY (BRAIN) where that Veil one day is lifted (by changes happening in the structure of, and chemical composition of the brain) which stops our sensing and knowing of the connection to our larger infinite existence or Whole Self.

It is only from this finer level of Being that we can manipulate the subatomic world of the quantum (and we are doing so as a larger finer Self but not knowing as a small self here). Only when we (this small self) will reach that stage and BE quantum then it will be able to Move quantum to its desires and wishes. Till then we can enjoy reading about it and keep preparing our minds to evolve to that level where we can sense our Whole Being permanently and then probably something strange can begin to happen :)
Hope u do think about this perspective... and it might make sense too!

I found this newer version to be a "part 2" of the book, "The Divine Matrix". The information seemed to repeat everything I learned in that book. That book, "The Diving Matrix", I found fascinating and very interesting. This newer one is a comparable read, but not if you're looking for newer information.

The hard-nosed skeptic will caricature Gregg Braden's "The Spontaneous Healing of Belief" as just another "New Age" book written about how we create our own world by merely believing. I want to defend Braden's book from such criticism, and I invite skeptical readers to study this interesting book with an open mind. It is not that belief provides the easy route to New Age enlightenment, it is that Braden's "belief" involves the hard work of purification as we learn to tune ourselves with something bigger than our narrow self interests. While Braden's treatment is not perfect, it is easy to find what he intends to say in the face of would-be criticism. Negativity will not have the final answer, even when it comes with a pretense of rigor. We must also put our best foot forward in a positive sense.

Braden (page xi) summarizes his understanding of scientific evidence: "Paradigm-shattering experiments published in leading-edge, peer-reviewed journals reveal that we're bathed in a field of intelligent energy that fills what used to be thought of as empty space. Additional discoveries show beyond any reasonable doubt that this field responds to us -it rearranges itself- in the presence of our heart-based feelings and beliefs. And this is the revolution that changes everything."

Braden (page 3) raises a troubling point: "What if we're living our lives shrouded in the false limitations and incorrect assumptions that other people have formed over generations, centuries, or even millennia? Historically, for example, we've been taught that we are insignificant specks of life passing through a brief moment in time, limited by `laws' of space, atoms, and DNA. This view suggest that we'll have little effect on anything during our stay in this world, and when we're gone, the universe will never even notice our absence."

Braden (page 16) writes: "It becomes abundantly clear that something -some intelligent force- is holding the particles of you together right now, as you read the words on this page. That force is what makes our beliefs so powerful. If we can communicate with it, then we can change how the particles of `us' behave in the world. We can rewrite the code of our reality."

Braden (page 20) writes: "The atoms of our reality either exist as matter or they don't. They're either here or not here, `on' or `off'." In the off position, Braden considers particles that are transformed into "invisible waves." Braden (page 21) writes that, "everything boils down to opposites: pluses and minuses, male and female, on and off."

Braden (pages 23-24) writes: "Everything is ultimately made of the same stuff. From the dust of distant stars to you and me, ultimately everything that `is' emerges from the vast soup of quantum energy (what `could be'). And without fail, when it does, it manifests as predictable patterns that follow the rules of nature. Water is a perfect example. When two hydrogen atoms connect to one oxygen atom as a molecule of H2O, the pattern of the bond between them is always 104 degrees. The pattern is predictable. It is reliable - and because it is, water is always water."

Braden (page 28) writes: "A fractal view of the universe implies that everything from a single atom to the entire cosmos is made of just a few natural patterns. While they may combine, repeat, and build themselves on larger scales, even in their complexity they can still be reduced to a few simple forms."

Braden (page 31) relates belief to the universal: "Every day we offer the literal input of our belief-commands to the consciousness of the universe, which translates our personal and collective instructions into the reality of our health, the quality of our relationships, and the peace of our world. How to create the beliefs in our hearts that change the reality of our universe is a great secret, lost in the 4th century, from the most cherished Judeo-Christian traditions."

Braden (page 41) writes on healing: "Beliefs have long been known to have healing powers. The controversy centers around whether or not it's the belief itself that does the healing or if the experience of belief triggers a biological process that ultimately leads to the recovery. For the layperson, the distinction may sound like splitting hairs. While the doctors can't explain precisely why some patients cure themselves through their beliefs, the effect has been documented so many times that at the very least we must accept that there is a correlation between the body's repairing itself and the patient's belief that the healing has taken place."

Braden (page 46) writes: "Just as the belief that we've been given a healing agent can promote our bodies' life-affirming chemistry, the reverse can happen if we believe that we're in a life-threatening situation."

Now it is clear that Braden's "belief" is not any belief, or a statement of faith. Rather, Braden describes belief as a synthesis. Braden (page 52) defines belief: "that it's the acceptance that comes from what we think is true in our minds married with what we feel is true in our hearts." Braden (page 53) writes: "Belief is our acceptance of what we have witnessed, experienced, or know for ourselves."

So there can be wrong beliefs when our reason is not in balance with our emotion, and so to arrive at something self evident (as Braden requires) involves an innate error recognition. It is this way that belief can be tuned with the universal, but this requires discipline. Braden (page 59) writes: "the universal experience that we know as feeling and belief are the names that we give to the body's ability to convert our experiences into electrical and magnetic waves."

Braden (page 74) writes: "Simply hoping, wishing, or saying that a healing is successful may have little effect upon the actual situation. In these experiences, we haven't yet arrived at the belief -the certainty that comes from acceptance of what we think is true, coupled with what we feel is true in our body- that makes the wish a reality."

In is interesting that Braden sees reality as a computer simulation, and it comes with belief codes that act as part of the universal computer program. This admission would seem to delight materialists and science fiction writers that venture similar speculations. But Braden's usage is metaphorical, and there is a serious caveat that permits a break from a mechanistic world view: we are able to re-program our poorly tuned beliefs, because instinctively we know that the simulation is only an illusion. Because we know that an appearance is an illusion we are able to escape the dictates of a computer program, and therefore greater reality cannot be just a simulation. Braden (page 137) writes that, "while our bodies are certainly in this world, the living force that expresses itself through them is actually based somewhere else, as the larger reality that we just can't see from our vantage point."

Braden gives us many helpful hints on how to re-program our beliefs. Braden (page 159) writes: "To make a change in something as powerful as the core beliefs that define our lives, we need a trigger that's equally powerful. We need a reason to jolt us from complacency of one way of thinking into a new, and sometimes revolutionary, way of seeing things."

Because we can break away from the output of a mere computer simulation, Braden's big reality involves a spiritual realm that rediscovers the wisdom of Buddha and Jesus. Braden (page 199) writes: "Jesus taught that we must become in life the very things that we choose to experience in the world." This corresponds to Braden's belief code number 27, and by now I hope you feel the jolt of this remarkable book.