5 comments about The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.

1. This was a great book that a friend recommended to me and I'm glad she did. Sometimes artists get stuck or stagnant and more than once I have found myself "warring" with myself as we sometimes do. This book opened my eyes to some of my creative blocks. Great reading.



2. I cannot rate this book highly enough. It is one to read over and over again. I stumbled upon a copy years ago and each time I pick it up, I learn something new. Many thanks to Steven Pressfield for writing this very valuable, uplifting, "meaning of life" book.



3. If you are already a motivated person, there is no reason to read this book. If you have trouble dealing with procrastination, this book will definitely help you out! The author pinpoints exactly what keeps creative people from being creative and inspires you to tackle any obstacle in your way. Artists who only work when inspired, or who have trouble committing to a schedule will find this book useful. People who are already hard at work will not find any new ideas that they didn't already know.



4. Steven Pressfield hit the nail on the head in his first non-fiction work. He let's everyone who creates anything know that it's not always easy but it is always worth the effort.
   
   I'd recommend The War of Art to anyone who is in a small business for themselves or thinking of starting their own business. Writers, entrepreneurs, artists, photographers and CEO's will get a LOT out of the wisdom Pressfield shares.



5. I have purchased ten copies of this book, and I imagine I will be ordering more, to give to all of my artist friends. This is a powerful book that inspires the reader to take bold leaps in their creative journeys...it has become my artistic manifesto!

5 comments about Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts.

1. Who wants to admit he was wrong, made a mistake, exercised poor judgment, was misled or conned? None of us do, but most of us are skillful at excusing or justifying those acts. This absorbing book explains why and how we reduce "cognitive dissonance" to maintain a favorable self image in spite of overt misbehavior or failure. Beyond that, the authors show how destructive this tendency can be, not just in terms of social fairness or justice but also in the insidious corrosion of our own beings. There are fascinating examples of the most mind-boggling efforts to justify inexcusable, criminal, inhuman, and hateful behavior. And there are inspiring stories of people, good people who nevertheless state clearly that they blew it, that they were responsible for another person's destruction, loss, freedom, reputation, or life itself. Finally, this book offers real hope in showing an alternative to our culture's perverse fear of making a mistake and even worse, admitting to one. They provide true stories of how such admissions can actually deter litigation instead of inviting it. In an engaging yet logical argument they make a most convincing case for the power and healing potential of personal humility, honesty, and continual self-examination. If this book was widely read and its principles applied I think there would be a lot of unemployed attorneys. And a far better world to live in. I will be re-reading this book soon.



2. This is a book about dissonance and the attempts the mind makes to resolve it. The basic mechanism is: I'm a good person, I did something that a good person wouldn't do, therefore, my perspective on my action changes to something a good person would do.
   
   I think there's a good, lengthy magazine article wanting to come out of this book. There are examples but they feel cut short, and there are interesting asides that aren't explored (example: they say we're more influenced by small gifts than large ones and has a footnote with a reference to a note in a study). It's hard to use as a reference too. For example, the pages do not show the chapter, which makes it quite difficult to look up footnotes...or find my place.



3. This fine book has extensive and substantive footnotes, but the lousy Kindle software doesn't have live links to the footnotes, which makes it MUCH more difficult to move back and forth between the text and the footnotes. The only hope is to add a bookmark to the page you are on, and then move to the footnote section, which starts at location 3638 -- leave a bookmark at the last footnote you looked at, and then when you want to look at the next footnote, you can go back to that bookmark. Then, every now and then, delete the previous bookmarks for the earlier pages/footnotes.



4. I'm not usually a big fan of 'self-help' books, but I was caught by the title and couldn't resist. What a terrific book! Well written and accessible, the authors do a very good job of making their many points about the mechanisms of self-justification (and why we should all care) without sounding accusatory or offending the reader. I highly recommend this book to pretty much anyone and everyone.



5. A note to the authors: PHYSICIAN HEAL THYSELF! I gave up on this book after all the Republican-bashing. And I'm not a Republican. But the bashing made it clear that the authors' take on the subject matter was hardly going to include any meaningful scientific objectivity. I mean, why include for their examples politics at all? Why not stick to areas (like athletics, say) where the data is much more cut-and-dry? I guess mistakes were made. Glad I checked it out of the library and didn't pay for it.

5 comments about Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition; Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

1. of the inner workings of how people think and what makes them do the things they do. A bit of a heady read, though.



2. Conventional wisdom suggests that emotions can be stuffed into a little box when we don't want them to take control of our behavior. Experience suggests otherwise and Emotional Intelligence explains why. It also tells you why it's so important to have a grasp of your emotions and know what you're feeling when and why. It also talks about understanding the emotions of other people. A friend told me about this book long ago and I enjoyed reading it.



3. There is a simple reason why most anyone should be interested in emotional intelligence: it plays a big role in what you achieve in life. Everyone has some idea of how smart they are, even if they've never taken an IQ test, but do you know what your EQ is? Who does? It's hard to know but books like Emotional Intelligence help shed some light on it. A must read.



4. I enjoyed Emotional Intelligence and am fascinated by the EQ concept. However, I must say that I read another book (bought it after seeing it recommended here in another review) that I got more out of, The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book. I suppose the Quick Book is more recent, more straight to the quick and how to in what it teaches, and it includes an online emotional intelligence test which is really cool and a real bonus for just the price of a book.



5. I was the typical all (almost always) A+ grade-getting student, and I thought this would guarantee a successful life... but it wasn't...
   once in college, and 5 yrs after, when I saw my classmates (who usually would not get better than B or C's at school) were getting married and started having happy family life, and when i saw myself still majoring a 2nd and even a 3rd studies (and even oversees)... i realized that it was not all about IQ....
   so 11yrs after i graduated high school, i run into this great book, I had wished I had read it 15 (or 20) yrs ago~!
   I guess that the whole world education system has to switch to this new way of seeing human intelligence... and life...

5 comments about The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Pocketbook Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams (One Hour of Wisdom).

1. 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.



2. 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!



3. 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.



4. 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



5. 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.

5 comments about Co-Active Coaching, 2nd Edition: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and, Life.

1. The CD of the forms is a great help. Book came quickly and is just as the seller described.



2. If you are interested in learning more about coaching someone on how to have a fuller live and/or achieve their goals this is a great book for you. I also strongly recommend taking the Co-Active Coaching classes offered by the Coaches Training Institute. During each level of the classes I felt I had learned so much about coaching, myself and all of the wonderful folks in my classes that even if I wasn't studying to become a coach, this program was so well worth it.



3. I am getting started in coaching, and this book was very helpful to me. I was impressed by the organized methodology, which was easy to follow and use. The methods used to guide thinking, taking action, and engaging in coaching conversations were supported by useful tools. Co-Active coaching techniques were highly useable .



4. THis book was very insightful, informative and interactive. The author's have made an amazing contribution to the world of coaching. The shipment service was excellent!



5. The best book to learn how to practice Co-active coaching. This is a book for coaches or for coaching students . You can hear two sessions of coaching in the CD included.

5 comments about Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment.

1. I had expected more scientific research supporting the book's thesis, than mere happiness surveys or quizzes about how people feel and their moods in specific situations. Soon I realized that my expectations could hardly be met, since fortunately happiness is is one of the most subjective issues and although objective factors like wealth and health have an influence on it, every individual has his personal (maybe genetic or maybe learned) patterns or attitudes towards life.
   
   You can find all the quizzes in the book and answer them yourself to rate your levels of optimism, happiness, etc., which is interesting per se. The author also presents the results of the surveys performed with many people from different countries. This also gives interesting data about which factors have a greater influence on happiness, always showing that specific circumstances alter the results. For example, persons that have had a successful surgery in their recent past (which is a sign of illness) are happier than healthy ones (One might wonder!)
   
   I had first skipped the section on kids, since having no children myself, I had no interest in the topic. I returned to this chapter after reading the rest of the book and I found it extremely interesting, indeed one of the best parts of the book. I would really recommend its reading to parents, although I'm lacking first-hand experience as well as any kind of authority and have never read other literature on the topic. Maybe more experienced persons can refute the author's propositions, as apparently is the case, still I find this section worth reading and worth judging by yourself.
   
   The last chapter is related to finding a meaning in your life, but it is full of tortuous philosophical arguments for a kind of religion without God. I do not believe it will help anybody to find a meaning in life and on top, the arguments are extremely difficult to follow. Better look for meaning somewhere else.
   
   One of the books main thesis is that you can achieve happiness by doing things that make you happy. These are things that have a meaning or ar significant or by "submerging" yourself into an activity to fall in a so called "flow" state. For people interested in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience I will not recommend Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi's book on the topic, because I cannot properly spell his name and because I have not read it yet (although I will, since his book is one of the most quoted by authors of totally different fields). Instead I will recommend First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently and its sequel Now, Discover Your Strengths. These books tell you why sticking to your strengths makes you happier than insisting on doing things in which you are not good at (by achieving flow). Do not expect a scientific demonstration of this, just the results from a series of Gallup surveys that show that most of the times this is what people feel, packed in a management book format.



2. Gives you insights into personality traits and how to authentically be happy. Interesting approach however, my favorite book, Living The Secret Everyday: My Secret Workbook with its wonderful info on the Law of Attraction otherwise known as The mSecret shows you how to be happy through their use of many exercises and a journal.



3. Dr. Seligman's book should be the first read on any list of books to help in finding happiness. Dr.Seligman is one of the recognized world experts on what contributes to happiness. He provides tests in the book and also on the authentichappiness.com website to help the reader identify her/his "signature strengths". They are those characteristics that are our truest strongpoints. He suggests trying to incorporate as many of them as possible into our daily lives and paying less attention to other characteristics that aren't our strong suit.
   
   Naturally, the book is very helpful not only in finding happiness in everyday life, but also as an important tool to guide in career selection. I review the basics concepts of this book with my college management students each semester. Other reviews I've done provide a fuller listing of many excellent happiness and kindness self-help books, but it seems sensible to me to start with this book. It's only logical to identify what our strongest traits are upfront so we can bring them into play in relationship to the wise advice contained in his book and in others I've listed.



4. Definitely on my recommended book list. A must read for women in business.
   
   Susan Bock
   The Success Coach for Women in Business
   www.SusanBockSolutions.com



5. I used this book for a course I took and it was very informative. I enjoyed learning about how to evaluate one's frame of mind and look at things in a more positive light. Using our core strengths is definitely a must, in order to live to our full potential.

5 comments about Stumbling on Happiness.

1. Excellent book!good quality!absolutely no difference with a new one.shipped on time to my house.its just so wonderful



2. Daniel Gilbert takes us through the elusive study of happiness in three phases.
   
   1) He convinces the reader how nearly impossible it is to measure happiness, along with all the falicies of attempts to measure it. He concludes "The best you can do is ask someone how they're feeling at any given moment"
   
   2) He shows many problems with individuals predicting happiness. We tend to overestimate how much we enjoy things, and how long the happiness lasts, as well as overestimating pain from negative occurances. He shows why this happens (one reason is too much focus on recent events) as well as how our memory fails us similar to imagination.
   
   3) He closes with a tentative recommendation on what to do - in general it is not good to ask for advice, but it is relatively reliable to ask people how they are feeling at any given point in time.
   
   The subject is soft and squishy, but Daniel Ong manages to create a book that is readable, enjoyable, and even useful. Well done, and well worth the time!



3. I bought this book because I wanted to know how I could become happy. However, this book turned out to be a long list of psychological experiments that proved how badly human imagination and memories are flawed and follible. Yet the author concludes that nothing is better than our imagination and memories to depend on to predict our future happiness.



4. This book is fabulous. As much as the content informs on the human condition, the frolicking experience of reading it reinforces it. Makes me glad to be human. Highly recommended!
   - kara



5. Gilbert notes that the frontal lobe evolved in order to control the environment in our quest for safety and pleasure (avoid/approach reactions). It does so largely by trying to predict the future. Unfortunately, we often stumble because our predictions are so often based on poor information gleaned from our past and present experiences through the filter of our inaccurate memories. In other words, we tend to repeat false assumptions and often poor decisions when predicting our futures so that when we do actually find happiness, it is often stumbled upon rather than planned.
   
   As Gilbert says, "In order to have a smooth rational-seeming reality, we fill in what we don't know with details that are often wrong and leaving out details that are actually important if we realize them. And we do this seamlessly and largely unconsciously." "We tend to accept the brain's products uncritically and expect the future to unfold with the details- and only with the details- that the brain has imagined" He further states, "What we feel as we imagine the future is often a response to what's happening in the present and we predictably underestimate how different we will feel in the future."
   
   Inaccurate predictions begets poor decision-making which often leads to an unhappy state. We then tend to rationalize our unhappy outcomes to make them more acceptable to ourselves which means we are likely to make the same choices in the future.
   
   
   Any resultant feelings of inadequacy and lower self-worth can lead to even further repetition of poor choices. When in the discontented state, the mind seeks more stability and control. But what does it do? It rationalizes and continues to base its predictions on information from an often inaccurate and unstable past and present and fails to learn from experience.
   
   For example, if you feel inadequate and odd in the sense you don't feel you fit in, you may seek out and depend on others that you see as being similarly inadequate or odd- the very people, if you do depend on them, that are most apt to reinforce your feelings of inadequacy rather than help give you the stability and centeredness that you seek.
   
   Thus, the vicious circle continues as one clings to ones old ways...
   
   So, in the search for stability one may cling to the tottering present in order to seek peace and happiness, but the result is most often a repetition of the past. The myth of Sisyphis comes to mind as one pictures the endless attempts to perform an impossible task such as rolling a boulder part way up a hill that is too heavy to reach the top and doing it over and over again...
   
   But is it impossible to overcome the tendency to embrace failed thoughts and actions so that at least we stumble less and are happier with our lives?
   
   Of course and careful observation of others who have found happiness is one recommendation.
   
   .

5 comments about Choices and Illusions: How Did I Get Where I Am, and How Do I Get Where I Want to Be?.

1. I was disillusioned about subliminal programming and this book has re-opened a door to self-improvement that I shut many years ago because of the mis/disinformation involving subliminals. I am fascinated by the information in the book about blame and forgiving, and "mommy and I are one" and how these phrases as subliminals can change a person. Thanks Eldon Taylor!



2. This book came so highly recommended from so many individuals whom I respect that I couldn't imagine not reading it. I found the book fascinating. I've been a student of spirituality and science my whole life. I loved how the author made the concepts simple and yet very strongly tied them in with the spiritual viewpoint of life which isn't always as easy to grasp. The essence of the Universe and Universal law is the Law of Attraction and the way it is activated is through our thoughts. Mr. Taylor very clearly explains the process and why it works. And Mr. Taylor has found a way, through his many years of research and experience, to expedite that process. I personally know the power and 'magic' of affirmations. But I also know that it's not easy to keep your mind and attention on the affirmations we've chosen and the path we know we would like to direct ourselves to. Mr. Taylor has a line of tapes that compliment and support the concepts in his book. I believe, approached with an open mind, and a willing heart......that there isn't anything you can't accomplish. I plan to purchase several of the tapes and additional copies of the book for myself and for loved ones.



3. I have read many self-improvement books over the last few years, but until I found Choices and Illusions, I had not found a book that was able to finally give me the information I was looking for on how to reprogram the mind successfully. Dr. Taylor has written a book that is easy to read and hard to put down, packed full of research into how our sub-conscious beliefs cause us to limit ourselves, but unlike other books on the subject, provides answers to the question of "now that I know what's wrong, how do I fix it?" Since reading this book the first time, and I will re-read it, I have ordered a sampling of inner Talk CDs and can't wait to get started with them. Thankyou Eldon Taylor for giving me such a pivotal book and the technology I need to finally be able to make the changes I have so long wanted to make. I will also be buying extra copies of this book for gifting, to friends and family. It is a book that I feel every one should read at least once.



4. Choices and Illusions: How Did I Get Where I Am, and How Do I Get Where I Want to Be?
   By Eldon Taylor
   ISBN 1-40191-853-0 (Hay House, 2007)
   
   Nothing is more vital than questioning our beliefs about how we see the world and our relationship to it. Reading Eldon Taylor's book helped me see through many of my self-limiting beliefs and illusions through a very rational and comprehensive approach. Most people are caught in an endless cycle of self-delusion, which only reinforces itself with time because we seek to reinforce previously held beliefs and filter out the rest as irrelevant. If you feel stuck, this book will help.
   
   Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide magazine



5. Parts of the book are difficult to understand because they are written poorly...I found myself re-reading sentences and paragraphs trying to make sense of ideas that didn't hang together. Additionally, the book is basically a marketing tool for the subliminal CDs that are sold through a web site. I would like to know, from an independent source, if the CDs actually have made a difference for people. Until I find independent reviews of the CDs' effectiveness, I will not buy them,nor would I recommend someone spending money on this book.

5 comments about Making a Good Brain Great: The Amen Clinic Program for Achieving and Sustaining Optimal Mental Performance.

1. Good reading for how we can improve our brain power. Lot of medical details (maybe too much for me sometimes). Good information on foods that are good for your brain and also exercise and sports.



2. This book is great. It's a must for anyone who wants to know how to prolong and promote healthy brain functioning. It's full of useful advise on achieving this. It's one of the books that shall be read many more times 'cause it's that informative.



3. This is an excellent book: informative, clear, and packed with practical suggestions. Current brain research coupled with a wealth of individual case studies makes this a valuable guide.



4. This is an outstanding book; easy to read, useful tips, and written in a way that will engage the reader.



5. A thought-provoking an informative book, it provides new insight into the mind-brain system and has made me rethink my own thought processes. Sounds redundant, but it's true! Love the book.

5 comments about The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person.

1. by Rosally Saltsman
   
   Ever wonder why no matter what you do, you can't lose weight? Dr. Beck has the answer - it's because you're not thinking like a thin person.
   
   According to Dr. Beck, the problem isn't the diet you're on. In fact she says her program works with any diet. What's different about her program is that it focuses on cognitive nutrition, about thinking about food and eating in a new way.
   
   For example, a thin person eats till they're full or slightly full and stops. An overweight person keeps on eating even if they're not hungry. Why? Because they perceive food differently.
   
   In a six week program comprising 42 succinct lesson plans, Dr. Beck gives people the tools they need to change their relationship with food so that they can follow a diet, lose weight and keep it off. Using cognitive therapy, she teaches how changing your thoughts changes your behavior. It's simple, it's straightforward and it's easy to implement. Well, not terribly difficult anyway.
   
   Dr. Beck provides techniques, choices and troubleshooting tips to help insure a successful result and continued maintenance once you achieve your goal weight. She also discusses how to set realistic goals.
   
   The Beck Diet Solution isn't about food, it's about food for thought. We mistakenly believe that dieting is about eating less and how long we can stand it. But Dr. Beck provides techniques for life that will keep us - if not reed thin - at least in control of the food we consume and not the other way around. This is a diet plan that works because it's all in the mind. Well, you might have to eat some rice cakes.
   
   An added bonus is that the theory can conceivably work on any bad habit. Though the tools are geared toward weight loss, they can be applied to help quit smoking, overspending or any bad habit because the program works on changing your behavior by changing your mindset.
   
   If you follow the recipe for weight loss in this book and apply the cerebral strategies outlined therein, it is likely you will lose the weight you've been unsuccessfully trying to lose, especially if you haven't been thinking along the right lines. I highly recommend it and that's not to be taken lightly.
   
   [...]
   [...]
   [...]



2. I'm so glad I got this book. I am actually a therapist, and very familiar with CBT, and the idea of applying it to weight loss makes profound sense. I heard Dr. Beck on NPR, and I was not in the mood to listen to what she had to say, but then it made so much sense, I started to take notes! And even though I didn't feel like making an effort to follow a diet, I got the book anyway. And I liked how it went one day at a time, and very slowly. I recommend this book because it's just plain reasonable, useful, and it works. So far I've lost 27 pounds, since the first point in the book where I had to weigh in, so at this point, I've probably actually lost at least 30 pounds. I'm doing this with a friend and she's lost 15 pounds. Before I read this book, I believed I was overweight because I was the wrong kind of person to be thin: too in love with food and addicted to it and I'm too fun and too spontaneous for a diet, etc., etc., but it was encouraging to find out that I can learn how to think like a thin person. Now I know how to "strengthen my resistance muscle and weaken my giving-in muscle" and it's paying off! I look forward to moving along five pounds at a time until I reach my ideal weight. I'm really proud of what I've been able to achieve by following this. I'm using many concepts from this book in my own therapeutic practice for cognitive and behavioral skill-building, also, and finding it helpful in that way, too.



3. I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it clearly has helped some people to succeed at dieting and to lose weight, although there has never been a study on well this works in the long run. (One year is not "the long run"!) On the other hand, I think it promotes some incorrect ideas about what cognitive behavioral therapy is actually for, and what it can accomplish.
   
   In my (informed) opinion, CBT in its original form, as first pioneered by Dr. Aaron Beck, really only works for things like minor depression and adjustment disorders. (Yes, Dr. Beck wrote the foreword, too.) I lead PHP (partial hospitalization groups) for a very large mental health provider. These are designed for people with very serious mental health issues-- bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder.
   
   We use CBT techniques a lot, and it's true that CBT has been proven to show results for people with these serious mental illnesses. The problem, though, is that the way it works in this context is just not the same as the way it works for people who are, say, depressed because they have specific problems in their lives. This is a really important point, because I think it explains why this diet technique isn't any more likely to work for most people than any other technique is.
   
   Nobody with minor, low-level depression has a biological need to think negative thoughts or make negative evaluations of situations. So a therapy like CBT, which is designed to correct these types of thoughts because they tend to lead to negative feelings, will work very well. But there is NO psychotherapy-- whether it's CBT or anything else-- that will work to control the symptoms of severe and persistent mental illnesses all by itself. The reason is that these symptoms ARE biologically based. It would be considered malpractice for any doctor to use only CBT for these mental illnesses. It can help, but there is just too much of a biological reason why the symptoms are there.
   
   Similarly, people DO have a biological need to eat (quite apart from the whole world of psychosocial reasons why people eat how and as they do.) You just can't use CBT to control a biological urge. It doesn't work. If it did, then we wouldn't need drugs like lithium, Lamictal, and Seroquel. But trust me, we do! Some people with mental illnesses really are able to control them with therapies like CBT for a limited amount of time. A good example is a bipolar woman who becomes pregnant and can't take her normal medications. CBT can work in the short term to control her symptoms. (I have to be honest, though-- I've never actually seen this work very well at all.) But in the long run, it just doesn't happen. I have to say it-- I just plain don't believe that this diet works in the long run any more than any other diet does, except for a very small number of people. And I'm afraid that it provides the same setup for failure and self-hatred as all the other diets do. That's my .02 cents, and I'm sticking to it!



4. I'm a neuroscience researcher and a therapist, and I must say that this is the first diet book (of many) that worked for me, and it is the only one I recommend to others. The formula is simple: you must make a 100% commitment to changing your relationship with food. Once that is choice is made, the rest is easy-except for all of the old voices in your head that will tell you to eat the way your old self used to eat. What do you do? You go to war against those voices, devising personal strategies that keep you focused on what you truly want, which for me was to lose the dangerous belly fat that would eventually threaten my health. I won the war; I'm keeping the weight off, and I bow deeply to Dr. Beck for bringing the power of cognitive-behavioral therapy to the world of conscious eating and dieting. And yes, I had to surrender my craving for sweets. Now my wife, dog, and scale are my best friends (and a 40 calorie fudge bar for dessert).



5. I'm on my 2nd 6-week focus. The book hit me hard and I found myself talking myself out of doing the daily assignments. Now, I'm re-reading the book and it's amazing how much I just ignored doing. The words are new to me! It's not easy .. however, the 1st reading allowed me to grasp some aspects that have stuck with me like: NO CHOICE.
   
   The cards are really helping me even though it does seem weird. However, I am finding the words popping up in my head more and more.
   
   I recommend this book for anyone who is an emotional eater. Just be prepared to have to re-read the book and do the exercises repeatedly over and over again. The more you practice them, the easier it gets. And it really does boil down to: eat less, exercise more, and deal with your sabotaging thoughts.