{"id":1788,"date":"2017-04-02T21:48:53","date_gmt":"2017-04-02T21:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arielsheen.com\/?p=1788"},"modified":"2017-11-02T22:56:03","modified_gmt":"2017-11-02T22:56:03","slug":"review-of-i-am-that-i-am-uncovering-the-truth-of-the-mind-body-and-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/02\/review-of-i-am-that-i-am-uncovering-the-truth-of-the-mind-body-and-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of “I Am That I Am: Uncovering the Truth of the Mind, Body and Spirit”"},"content":{"rendered":"

To be honest I would not have purchased I Am That I Am: Uncovering the Truth of the Mind, Body and Spirit<\/a> based on its cover or back matter. When something claims itself a #1 bestseller but it is clearly not I am suspicious, but not in a way that makes me want to investigate it. The back matter shows me that the author has a similar path as my father and other superlatives made me similarly wary. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a read on someone special\u2019s suggestion and found myself greatly rewarded as a result.<\/p>\n

One of the aspects of the book that I found engaging was the pleasant simplicity of the prose and concepts container therein. Dr. Michael\u2019s descriptions of a wide variety of psychological states, the causes for their crises, analysis of components of the ego, etc. align with similar, more scholastic readings I\u2019ve done. Yet it is presented in a way that engages the reader to be a participant in his excavations of human motivation and the Higher Self (not his term) moreso than mere exegesis of the history of those concepts in various schools of thought (a la Becker).\u00a0There are multiple instances of hypnotic writing therein that are intended to get the reader to explore their own embodiment of love and fear-directed thinking and behavior (Michael\u2019s terms).<\/p>\n

By giving in to feelings of guilt or shame or having an ego that controls rather than a more conscientious form of mind-body-spirit co-management psychic disequilibrium starts to be create. During this period crisis can be relieved or, more often, deepened as the internal contradictions become intensified. But \u201cWhat happens when the reality that you created becomes too much for you to bear?\u201d Dr. Michael asks and responds with, \u201cYou sedate yourself with something stronger to completely alter and escape from your perception of reality.\u201d This can take the form of self-stimming in many forms, addiction to television, gaming, books, as well as alcohol and drug abuse. Freud designated this tendency pattern repetition. While Dr. Michael does not use this term specifically, he does point out that \u201cThe experiences that you did not learn from lead you to continuously repeat the same reality, resulting in guilt, pain and limitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this focus on limitation and examination on how the heart hardens and contracts through examples that sets this books apart from others. While I\u2019ve been studying psychological development and various disciplines to achieve personal empowerment, I\u2019ve often found the discussion either too metaphysical or too clinical. This makes sense as the purpose of the course readings and participatory, experiential based practicing of those materials in groups and one on one settings was to impart technical training. However, the reformulation of the material here is oriented more towards being a component of a spiritual practice.<\/p>\n

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Returning to power<\/a><\/p>\n

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