Energy Healing Books

completely inappropriate title. i was hoping for a practical book that gives techniques and wha to expect, since the author has exoperienced awakening of kundalini , i expected rich descriptions of his experiences. instead his experiences are confined to a few paragraphs. the book heavily quotes others , and it is done professionally , with all references quoted mentioned. if you are looking for a scholarly book , then this would do. but if you are looking for a how to book rich with personal experiences, this isn't a good choice. i am looking for a "how to" book written by a snsible author (the author in this book is sensible i must say ...not over the top like some others ...)

Ravindra Kumar, Ph.D. has studied the religions of the world and believes there is "a common thread woven through all of them." He wrote Kundalini for Beginners to explore this common thread and "to show that Kundalini or Sleeping Serpent Power is the common denominator in most cases of awakening, irrespective of the religion or faith of the aspirant."

Kundalini was awakened for Dr. Kumar in 1987. Later he retired from a long career as a mathematics professor and devoted himself to spiritual research. He has lived and worked in dozens of countries. He's written several books and conducts workshops internationally.

Dr. Kumar defines Kundalini as a form of energy residing in every human. For many people, it remains dormant. In a few, it awakens spontaneously. He says that "the awakening of Kundalini causes a transformation and transcendence in life." Kundalini that is awakened prematurely or incorrectly can be frightening, and in some cases, damaging.

He explains how people need to prepare themselves for Kundalini, then details how people can work to arouse their sleeping serpents in a safe manner. He calls his technique the "Integral Path," which he says is "the shortest path to God."

As Kundalini is awakened, it rises through the chakras, which are energy centers located along the length of the spine. Dr. Kumar describes what people should expect as Kundalini continues its upward climb from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, which for most people, is a 12-year journey.

He also discusses the roles of psychic senses, free will, and reincarnation in the journey to self-realization.

As Kundalini progresses, people experience what Dr. Kumar calls the "twin pillars of God," which are Light and Sound. These are experienced on an inner level. People also achieve an inner balance between masculine and feminine aspects, and between instinct and intellectual powers. People for whom Kundalini is fully awakened discover an ability to heal themselves and others.

Kundalini for Beginners is a useful reference for all those interested in learning "how to activate and assist the rise of Kundalini, and channel this energy in transcendent ways."

This book was the "right fit" for me - I found more in it that correlates to my own personal beliefs and experience than ever found before. I thought he did a good job of giving an overview of K and showed how the power and phenomenon of the emerging Kundalini spirit is also found in Christianity, Judasism & other religious traditions. Easy to read, and I liked the way he pulled the basic common truths from these alternate traditions without getting bogged down into belaboring points where they diverge.

I also liked his descriptions of the awakening process in general. So many religious/spiritual teachings are very long on peddling the "Great Truths" they have gathered, but rarely prepare one for the direct experience of God or offer support and guidance to those who find themselves in the throes of awakening.

Let me start out by saying that I was aware that this book did not contain any yogic exercises when I bought it. I gave this book a low rating because, quite frankly, it's crap.

First off, this book could easily be half the size it is if the author would refrain from excessively quoting other sources that are easy to understand and then rephrasing the same ideas in his own words. Second, another half of what remains could be removed if the author could refrain from repeating himself over and over. Now we are left with only 25% of the original text... and even that's not any good! The author simply presents his views of basic eastern metaphysical topics as fact. Then to make matters worse he backs up his evidence of the existence of things like karma, reincarnation, and clairvoyance with some of the worst evidence and stories I have ever heard. Apparently we can prove psychic powers exist because some lady, as she watched the Titanic leave the dock, had a bad feeling that it would sink. Don't get me wrong, I take yoga and occult study seriously, but I certainly do not need someone else's spiritual dogma attached to my practice - especially by someone unable to find any real scientific proof to back his statements.

Basically, all we have here is the same New Age feel-good crap typically published by Llewellyn. If it makes you feel better to believe that all bad things occur because of some past life karma, or you find unfounded stories about Jesus studying yoga in India exciting... well I suppose you'll like this book then. (You will also be able to tell if you will like this if you have ever bought a Llewellyn book and not regretted it). For those who take their occult or metaphysical training more seriously, don't waste your time here.

The title of this book is a bit misleading. It is not a "how to" book. While it is intended as in introduction to the use of Kundalini energy for spiritual awakening, the book deals more with the philosophy underlying the "shortest path to God" than the techniques involved in achieving the transcendent state. The author explains that his purpose in writing the book is to show how common beliefs in most religions of the world have Kundalini energy as their common denominator even though this energy is given different names. It emanates below the base of the spine and then moves upwards through the chakras.

Dr. Kumar, who experienced his Kundalini awakening in 1987, frequently calls on scholars, seekers, seers, sages, swamis, saints, and saviors to confirm or illustrate his points. These include Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, Mohammed, Joan of Arc, Swami Muktananda, Saint Hildegard, Lord Krishna, Mary Baker Eddy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Swami Ramakrishna, Grace Cooke, R. M. Bucke, Edgar Cayce, Deepak Chopra, John of the Cross, Saint Paul, Emmanuel Swedenborg, Carl Jung, and many others, even boxer George Foreman.

As I was not really looking for a "how to" book, I was very pleased to find out the book was much more than that. It hit on all of the four "I's" for me -- interesting, informative, intriguing, and inspiring.

Having trained with Master Ou myself, I can attest to the fact that he is a very high level qigong master. He has cured many of diseases, has body-sensing ability, and can do long-distance healing across thousands of miles. Though this qigong is simple in form, the results are much better if you learn from Master Ou or one of his instructors in person. This is because they actually send you qi during the training to speed your progress. This book makes a great companion to learning the form in person, though I would not use it alone.

It's a wonderful book. It explained the profound Qigong theory in a simple way and introduced a simple but effecient method to improve one's health and energy (Qi) level.
In a nutshell, it really works right away!

This is a pretty awful book for any person who either casually or seriously wants to persue fitness, health or even the spiritual aspects of Taiji or Qigong. I'ts the best example of "snake oil" I have seen in a long time. There are other examples of course. The more people become aware of Qigong, the more the "Do-it-yourself Masters" get out there and publish their "Own Family Secret Qigong". Maybe I should do that too. No prior knowledge of Taiji or Qigong required. This book is a good example of this and is a complete waste of time following the practice and spending the money. Yoga, Pilates, Taiji will do the trick.

Words, Words, Words,....... Love, Love, Love,.........Self promotion, Self promotion, Self promotion.
Absolutely and completely a waste of money. A childish routine that for sure won't hurt anyone but very easy to sell if packed with newage/mistical/oriental/pacefull package. Looks like the manifest of a scientific church (of course to practice correctly and teach you must belong to the "church" or you get lost from the correct pat). Anyway,IN MY OPINION, if you are looking for something (very easy, without any effort, absolutely not demanding) that will keep you in a temporary and false "state of grace" like whatever synthetic commercial new age practice with an nice Oriental flavor, this is the book for you.
If on the contrary you are really looking for knowing Qi Gong,well there are a lot of serious and exaustive Books to buy.

At first I had good feelings about this book, but as I got into it I discovered that it is very shallow in theory and spent a lot of time promoting the author and his products. The forms used in the book are good when practiced daily and would be a nice addition to a more complete Qigong workout, but by themselves they lack completeness. I was especially turned off when the author stated that if you practiced certain things without his approval it could injure you. The particular exercise he was talking about, at the level he was teaching is totally safe and deserves better treatment.

Many resources on Reiki mention a connection between Master Usui's Reiki and Buddhism. Often the comment is made almost in passing, suggesting that the Master studied Buddhist texts and questioned many monks about their healing techniques. Some even delimit this experience by noting that the monks told him that they had lost the ways to physically heal that now their methods only healed at the spiritual level.

Reiki and the Healing Buddha goes beyond the myths that surround Master Usui and his techniques. The author compares important aspects used in Buddhism with the Reiki precepts. She even delves deeper into the Usui story to illustrate that perhaps the happenings show an underlying Buddhist connection. That the founding story actually contains two levels of understanding: a surface story that everyone learns by rote and the hidden symbolism of something more profound.

Beyond being very intriguing reading, I learned some very practical skills from this work. I had always been taught that when drawing symbols, they should be perfect in all ways. However, Reiki and the Healing Buddha discusses the possibility that flaws in the way we draw symbols might actually be used to note particular areas of dis-ease that need to be addressed.

I am both a reiki master and Tibetan buddhist practitioner. Medicine Buddha has been my main devotion and study for several years, so when I saw this book, I found it extremely interesting to think of a connection between reiki and buddhism.

Unfortunately, through well written and thought provoking, the author fails to back up statements such as "Because Reiki comes from Buddhism all symbols within Buddhism must have some relevance to Reiki." That's an interesting statement, but why exactly should I believe it? Who exactly said or proved that reiki comes from buddhism? She includes no footnotes whatsoever, nor does she refer to the facts that would make this statement true. This is one of many statements that are not backed up with clear evidence.

I also found it a little strange that she refers to this deity as the "healing buddha." In buddhist circles, the proper name is Medicine Buddha, Sangye Menla. In all my teachings, I have never heard the term 'healing buddha'. That indicates, to me, that the author did not have much contact with actual buddhist teachers or practitioners when researching the material.

~~~This is a superb book to read in conjunction with Richard Blackwell (Lama Yeshe)'s book Medicine Dharma Reiki. The association of Reiki with the tradition of the Healing, or Medicine, Buddha is even more precisely outlined there.

Despite what one of the reviewers says about Reiki and Buddhism, Maureen Kelly and Richard Blackwell both draw on documents from Reiki's founder, Mikao Usui, and extensively note his teachings in establishing and expanding this connection. Maureen Kelly carefully~~~~ goes through secondary sources on his teachings; Richard Blackwell is fortunate to have primary sources that he translates from the Japanese. He adds his own commentary as well.

This is an outstanding book on its own; I just wanted to mention its connection to this second volume. Both are great books to read together; each is outstanding on its own merits-- spiritual and textual-- as well. I am a Yogi, not a Reiki practitioner, but I have had Reiki and my practitioners all love this book: it~~ enhanced their knowledge and gave them a structure for their own practices.~

As with other reviewers who are both involved with Buddhism and Reiki, this manual is misleading in its content. It might sound good, but it is not based on factual information.

I am a Reiki Master Teacher in both Usui Reiki Ryoho and Usui Shiki Ryoho for over 10 years. I have also been involved with Esoteric Buddhism for well over 20 years. I am also a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist and Bodyworker. I teach Bodywork. I also have a very solid understanding of Eastern Culture & Bodywork, particularly that of Japan. Having great knowledge in these fields, I can speak from fact.

Here is a review of this book that I made for another forum:


Pros
.... Still out on this one

Cons
The book is terribly inaccurate. First, it bases the practice of Reiki on Buddhism, then after acknowledging that the different paths of Buddhism are not the same, she goes on to use various paths of Buddhism to support her idea that Reiki is Buddhist by creating the idea that these various forms of Buddhism are the same. Most of the book itself is based on some sort of Chinese Buddhist representation - not Japanese - definitely not Esoteric Buddhist.

Being a practicing Buddhist - in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism - I can say that Reiki is NOT Buddhist healing. Even though Usui-San was Buddhist, and he did base some of his practices of his spiritual system on Buddhist teachings, the practice of Usui's hands on healing was based more on the application of Kiko (Japanese Qi Gung) and early forms of Shinto hands on healing than anything Buddhist. Various forms of Buddhism does have hands on healing - though it requires faith in (and dedication to) Buddhism for it to work AND it differs greatly from Reiki (See "Kaji - Empowerment and Healing in Esoteric Buddhism" by Oda for more details on this subject).

Second, Kelly not only links Reiki to Buddhism, she goes further and links Reiki with the healing practices of Northern India and Mesopotamia, claiming that they are one and the same thing. Speaking out against this idea, most Eastern cultures have some belief in energy and energy work (as do they have some sort of empowerment / blessing techniques). Most of these cultures also have some form of touch therapy that works with this energy. Interestingly enough, some of these forms of energy work also have a form of blessing/initiation/attunement process. These similar traits, however, do not mean to say that ALL Eastern forms of energy work and hands on healing are the same. Quite the contrary, some cultures may hold very different beliefs altogether - such as India with the 5 element theory of the tattva (Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit) and the Kundalini and Chakras systems vs. the Chinese with a polaric Yin/Yang balance, elemental system of wood, metal, water, fire, & earth and their use of the meridian system (which, I may ad, Kelly also links together).

Simply, there is no direct link to Reiki in any Buddhist text - Japanese or otherwise. What is more interesting, this text links Reiki to Buddhism through representation and comparison, yet, fails to actually show that they are directly linked in any way.

In Conclusion
Reiki is Japanese, plain and simple. It does not come from Tibet, China, India, Mesopotamia, or Sedona Arizona. Reiki is not a Buddhist practice, nor does it hold any esoteric link to Buddhist teachings or scriptures - unless you want to try and relate them yourself. It definitely isn't related to the Chinese Bu ga mandala. Reiki is not related to any other Eastern healing modality - save that of those popular in Japan during Usui's time.

*****

Lastly, the myth that Reiki comes from Tibet is very wrong. Esoteric Buddhism reached Japan before it did Tibet. It could not have originated from some place it didnt even exist yet. See this site for more details.....
[...]

In the Dark Age prophesied by Buddhist and Hindu traditions, false teachings will multiply exponentially, and the ability of beings to discriminate between gold and compost will atrophy in a frightening manner. This book validates this world view.
Whatever the realtive merits or demerits of Reiki might be, it is abhorrant that anyone would co-opt the profound and sacred teachings from the Tibetan tradition to serve their own ends. Not only is there no historical, scientific or traiditonal basic for any kind of "Reiki" in the Tibetan or Indian Buddhist systems, but trying to validate the Reiki system by association shows a remarkable lack of basic ethical development. It is an incredible insult to millions of Buddhists worldwide.
The kind of delusional associations and frankly bizarre connections that the author tries to make are done without even the least scholarship, and apparently without consultation with any Lamas from any Tibetan tradition. From another tradition, Gurdjieff says that there is no greater demerit than leading others astray, spiritually. Buddhist teachings have even more heavy things to say about spiritual charlatanism.
Why dont you leave Buddhism alone and do your own misguided thing without contaminating and misrepresenting valid systems of cultivation and transformation?

I agree with Steve. There is a lot of reduncancy and repetition. There is some pretty good nutritional info, but more preaching than teaching, I feel.

This book is well written. It includes many juice recipies and various health issues and what fruit or veggies will help those issues. This book has quite a bit of information and is laid out for easy reading.

This book has totally helped me in learning all the ins and outs to juicing. Continually I find something new in this book. Of all the books I have seen I love this one!

This has some great recipes. That is the core of what is in this book and it will do the trick if you are looking for a list of great tasting juice recipes.

This book is a rip off. I bought this book for the recipes and was extremely disappointed. Entire pages are dedicated to common sense recipes such as Apple Juice (2-3 apples), Orange Juice (2-3 oranges), Pineapple Juice, Carrot Juice, Cantaloupe Juice, etc., etc. If that wasn't bad enough they waste paper by printing one recipe per page, when they could easily fit 4 recipes per page. I suggest saving your money and searching the internet for better tasting and more expansive recipes.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it gave me much to think about, this is not the book for people wanting to learn about Reiki. The descriptions of some of the events of Takatas life will perhaps seem unbelievable, especially to the Western mind set. Someone with a bit more experience with Reiki who realizes its boundlessness will appreciate this book more fully.

The information given by this book is very poor and the latest earch on Master Mikao Usui says that he was not a catholic priest. It does not matter the region orientation of Mr. Usui but if that information is not correct, how can one trust the rest of the book? Reiki has nothing to do with religion and it it a very beautiful way to connect with the entire universe. Try it!

This book is a fantastic overview of the foundations of Usui System of Reiki. It is easily read, and covers the general principles. I highly reccommend this to anyone who wants to learn about Reiki's beginnings.

It is nice to have this book just to be in touch with the Master, in some way. But do not expect to learn much from it.

I had never heard of Reiki until an advanced Amdahl computer science student of mine demonstrated it for me during a class lab in 1997. I was intrigued. The student told me he was a Level 2 Reiki Student and that one became a Level 1 Reiki Student after only one weekend class. So, I searched through the San Jose CA public library and found that Reiki Classes taught by Ms. Fran Brown were in a nearby town. I went and found that Ms. Brown was using "Living Reiki: Takata's Teachings" as the final teaching tool in her weekend class. This book makes the most sense if one has just recently attended (or will be attending) a Reiki class taught by a live instructor. According to the book, Reiki was "re-discovered" by a Christian seminary professor in Japan during the late 19th century. This professor (Dr. Usui Sensei) was asked by his students to be taught how Jesus did His "laying on of the hands" miracles. Dr. Ursui did not know, but promised to study the question. He did this for the next several years. Dr. Ursui taught many students over the years and chose Dr. Chujira Hayask to carry on the work. At Dr. Chujira's death, he chose Mrs. Hawayo H. Takata (1900-1980) to be his successor. Takata chose twenty-two people to succeed her in carrying on the tradition of manual healing. Mrs. Fran Brown was the seventh "Reiki Master" selected by Takata. So, this book is very close to the original teachers of Reiki and includes many personal recollections of Fran Brown she learned over the years. I highly recommend this book from a scientific and Christian perspective.

Chok Hiew provides a theory of Qigong practice that is unique, and in fact, is somewhat the opposite of traditional Taoist Qigong. Or, perhaps I should say it is advanced, taking the discussion of Qigong farther than most anything I have previously seen, and I have read over 50 books on Qigong. He supports his theory with excellent discussion, including the explanation of how Qi relates to karma and how that in turn affects the body.

While the theory and benefits of Chaoyi Fanhuan Qigong, or CFQ, are explained in great detail over the 159 pages of the book, the book falls disappointingly short in a failure to describe the actual Qigong techniques themselves. He discusses the importance of the Matra assoicated with the practice, but doesn't tell you what it is. So you finish the book thrilled at the potentials of CFQ practice, but frustrated that he does not explain the actual practice. I give the book 3 stars only because of the quality of the discussion on the theory.

There is absolutely no information on this book : no counsel - no explanations - a pinch of a mixed Tao/Buddhist theories. - no lineage. Just an introducing speech to go on the seminars. The art of Wu Wei... but with a price.

The questions of "birth, aging, diseases and death" are always remain the mystic of human intellectual for the past centuries. Over the past, thousands of theories were put forward trying to explain it. Over here, a humble QiQong Master sharing his experiences and would like everyone to discover the answers to the mystic. It is practically impossible to gain the actual understanding by acquiring knowledge in the usual way. This book reveals in tremendous details on the Law of Life Force that governs human being or any other living organisms.

The book explains the relationship between the spirit or "Pure Heart" and the "Karmic Forces" or the human instincts. As explained, Karma is the summation of all experiences of an individual from his/her presence state to his birth and beyond to the infinite time in the past. It governs the "destiny" of an individual including the health, behavior and characteristic, interpretation of hearing, feeling, touching, etc. Cleansing or removing of Karmic forces from the body leads to "intuitive revelation" or "instinctive wisdom" to the understanding of the "birth, aging, diseases and death". The end-stage of karmic force cleaning is the "God-hood" or "budda-hood" or reaching "Nirvana or enlightenment". In the Law of Life Force as explained in this book, it unified all explanation of sickness into one single theory; the tension build-up by inward drawing by Karmic forces leads to all kind of diseases and health problems. Thus, by removing tension forces using "let-go" concept within the body, it will able to cure any health problem and enabling the body to build resistance against all sickness. It is the most simple concept in life. But, ignore by most people. The master has applied the technique of "let-go" or his Energy Meditation technique in reviving many near death cases of his patients to normal health. The master shared many practical life experiences to support the discoveries. It is astonishing book revealing in great details many supernatural phenomenon happen around us. It is a book written beyond psychology, philosophy and religions. It brought about the universal thought of understanding the "Truth" and the way to attain it. Thus, this book should be read with an open mind without preconceived judgement. It is naturally to have conflict with our beliefs because our judgement or interpretation is governed by our Karma. However, it is the first step to the understanding the work of Karmic forces within us......

I ordered and received my book with the greatest of ease. I am very pleased with the service Amazon provides!
Thank you,
Linda Holloway

Master Yap Soon Yeong is a very practical man in the science of QiQong. He speaks truly about his works in practical experience than just words. SiFu Yap takes great pain in explaining the real life and practice and should be commented on his works.

I would personally recommend this book to anyone who wishes to practice this art and to visit Master Yap for his wisdom and guidance.

I personally didn't care for this book. It did have a few good forms in it, but i really didn't like the way it was written. I am a woman, but i really felt like the write would talk down about men and society. I know we don't live in a perfect world, but it was very untasteful in my option.

Looks like a very useful tool for Reiki Teachers. Excited to be able to use when teaching classes. Nice book.

Good manual though it covers the ground that Essential Reiki covers and not too much more. Read the reviews on Essentil Reiki if you haven't read that one then make up your mind which would suit you better.

This is the usual Diane Stein quality, covering the Reiki Class subject in detail. She'll walk you thru the do's and dont's of doing Reiki Attunement classes. If you are ready to start, this will save you time and money. If you need this book, you already know you need it. Order it.

Recommended to all Reiki Masters.

If you already own the first Essential Reiki, you really don't need to purchase the teaching manual. The same handouts and pictures are in both books, just the teaching manual gives information about setting up a practice and how to advertise for classes. I think I was looking for more information like maybe quizzes or tests.

I don't regret my purchase at all, it is still handy.

The Author gives you through the 8 exercices a simple efficient internal work on energy . this book is a must.
Thanks for sharing Mr Olson.

The author obviously doesn't have a clue what Taoism actually is. Look at the book's own description - it claims that he has studied with numerous Taoist masters and then goes on to list as examples a collection of Buddhists and martial artists. Not a single Taoist makes the list. If you want to read about Taoism, try a book written by someone, anyone, who actually knows what it is!

This is one of the very few "how-to" books on Qigong cultivation for serious practioners only. Olson has turned what is mostly an anecdotal practice into both an erudite art and science. The practises (which are very detailed) travel the path from a basic fitness regime, if thats your motive for practice, to the full esoteric exposition of qigong. Study of this type of Qigong is a lifetime commitment. Highly recommended. !

I've always been indifferent to doing the eight brocades as many books that are around are very ill informed about how these ancient practices should be done. However; after studying qigong and taichi for several years I came across this book and it was presented completely differently from any other books on brocades I had seen and for some reason was compelled to buy it. Having read and practiced the exercises along with his book on the 'Jade emperors mind seal classic'; I can assure that Mr Olson has a very good understanding of the three treasures and the practice of qigong; and whats more can convey the information in a readable and interesting way without being pedantic. It is a valued addition to my regime of qigong that I've learnt from other qigong masters and one of the few qigong practices you could safely and competently learn from a book as the movements are simple; and the results speak for themselves.

As pointed out by another reviewer, what we have here is some one who trained as a Buddhist for many years, trying to pass himself off as a daoist. These two traditions have very different methods of training, having been trained in one tradition does not make one qualified to speak on the other tradtion. Reading or translating a book of daoist practice does not make one an expert on daoist practice or qualifed to teach these arts.

i read this book and have to agree with Laura (the first reviewer) - it is misleading for those who think they can learn reiki from a book.

also - there wasn't much detail. if you already do Reiki (like me) and are seriously interested in working with animals, it may help a little. for example, two things i specifically wanted to know were the equivalent chakras on a horse and a set of hand positions. these are in the book, but i feel that i would change the hand positions a little from what clare uses.

this was written from one person's point of view, and nowadays there are many variations on Reiki. it doesn't make her view wrong or right - just different! it's not a waste of time, but it isn't all that i hoped it would be.

on that note - i decided i may try a hand at writing a book on reiki & animals (in particular, horses).

Kate

I am a traditionally trained Reiki Master/Teacher. I am also a horsewoman of many years, and a horse owner. I found this book to be a mixed bag of the good and the not so good.

My main complaint about this book is the inaccurate way Reiki is portrayed. If you buy this book thinking you'll be able to learn how to treat your horse with Reiki after reading it, you'll be sorely disappointed. Reiki can ONLY be learned IN PERSON from a Reiki Master/Teacher (beware of anyone who tells you they can attune you to Reiki over the Internet, they cannot.)

However, if you are already a Reiki practitioner, this book is a moderately useful tool to assist you in learning to treat horses with Reiki. There are other books out there which cover treating animals better than this, but none are specific to horses, so this might be a good addition to your library if you're looking for horse-specific works. But it's not quite what it promises to be, and there is the potential for people to be misled into thinking they can use Reiki on their horses after reading this book.

Please feel free to email me at "laura@duluth.com" if you have any questions about using Reiki on horses (it's a LOT of fun) or learning to channel Reiki yourself.

I bought this book along with "Natural Healing For Animals" by the same author, looking for "Hands On" information. Both could be interesting to read if you have no concept of technique and are just curious, but I am familiar with this in humans and was looking for Flow charts to convert my knowledge to use in horses and cats. This is not a practical guide in any way. Only an introduction to concept. I feel I really wasted my money on both books. There is nothing concrete to work with.

What a great book! I have long been interested in alternative therapy treatment for both humans and animals. This book helped to explain the hows and whys of Reiki and how to apply it to your horse and fellow rider, as well as yourself! The techniques, which are clearly outlined, work amazingly well. I would really recommend this book to anyone with horses.

I knew her, and had the misfortune to believe her claims to build energy efficient affordable homes in East Dallas which we bought and lived in.
Big developer incentives from Dept of Energy in the 90s --for an unscrupulous developer as this -in reality --and thus she hid behind a "Green" cover whilst building cheap..cheap whilst overcharging and poor building skill and selling of an idea not a house. The book is OVERPriced at .54 cents..dont waste your resources.instead contact Austin Green Building at that City's government websites and development permitting to learn more about their decades old Green building documentation and plans.

I had hoped that the book would have helped with specific issues of 'design', as to how to 'create' or 'recreate' a home into one that could heal. While the author writes well, her background in feature articles was evident -- the book lacked continuity. While the introduction held great promise, I had to read well past page 100 to find the sort of 'detail' I was looking for (many pages covered healthy/healing environments which were not specific to a home, as the title would imply). While Barbara covered a number of 'needed' topics, her coverage was not as in-depth as I would have preferred. I often found myself 'scanning' for the meat only to end up in the next chapter.

While appropriate for someone who wants only to 'dabble' in the various topics, her high-level treatment might be appropriate. I was looking for more substance.

... and this book may help you find both. Full of practical knowledge and advice, it looks at the quest for a dream house from a much needed holistic viewpoint. I met the author in the process of doing a television news story about one of her unique projects and got to see firsthand how the principles of energy efficiency outlined in her book really do work. Ultimately, this approach can not only save precious natural resources and save you money, it can also help you find or design a home that is a refuge from stress not a cause of it.

The Healing House provides an excellent overview of how the places where we live can affect the way we live. I would recommend this book to anyone who is considering buying or designing a new home. The most important section of the book contains the "Healing House Design Principles" which explain both what features to look for in a new home and why they are important. Harwood talks about home building from hands-on experience as a builder, yet she has the gift of being able to explain important building concepts in terms that are easy to understand. For people who are more technically minded, there is a technical appendix in the back of the book. Barbara Harwood not only knows what she is talking about, but she strongly believes in what she is saying. Her knowledge, warmth and enthusiasm are likely to change the way many people think about houses.