Dr Joe Dispenza “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” (Audible)
First and foremost: books in self-help and non-fiction categories should be read by the authors themselves. Dr. Dispenza is a hypnotist, which is why his guided meditations are so powerful. But this book is read by some dude with a terrible mechanical voice that annoyed the hell out of me for almost 11 hours! Do yourself a favor and read it if you choose to, but don’t listen to it.
As with most self-help books, this one’s way too verbose. The writing is weak and
unimaginative, but the gist is there.The first half of the book reminded me of my favorite Russian joke:
The field mice are fed up with being harassed and hunted, so they decide to ask the Old Owl for advice because he’s an Owl and smart and shit.
“Hey Old Owl! We know you’re old and wise — tell us — how can we have a better life? You know, so we won’t be fucked with and eaten all the time?”
Owl, after pondering it for some time, goes: “Here’s what I suggest. Hedgehogs are generally avoided by nearly all creatures. No one fucks with them; they’re left to roam around freely and have a pretty sweet life. You should turn into hedgehogs and your problems will go away.”
The mice are all excited and, after thanking the owl, they scurry away home. At home, they share the good news with other mice and everyone is happy until the elder mouse interrupts the festivities.
“Become hedgehogs? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? How do we, mice, become hedgehogs?!”
All mice fall silent…
So, the mouse congregation heads back to ask the Old Owl again.
“Hey Old Owl! Thank you for your great advice… But there’s just one problem. We talked it over and it seems no one knows how we become hedgehogs, so no one would fuck with us. Seems like we’re still stuck with the old problem.”
And the Old Owl shrugs and responds: “How would I know? I am a strategist!”
*****
And for the first three-quarters of the text, Dispenza does just that: persuades you to turn into something you are not… yet. But then, closer to the end of the book, the author actually shows you the light. Literally. Because after explaining not just the benefits but the necessity of meditation, he actually tells you how to do it, and once you do get into that sacred place, guess what you see? Yep, you got it — the light!
While his guided meditations are really great, the book could be skipped. It’s especially annoying that the meditations are supposed to be a part of it, but Audible charges you an extra credit for them as they separated them from it.
The premise is very important as this book is about faith. And there’s but one faith: in yourself. So it becomes a self-talk. Every time you talk to God — in fact, you are talking to yourself. With the World’s conscience in you. Because whatever you have/want/can imagine — is already within you. What is not inside you will not appear outside magically.
All religions talk about the same thing: how to live well and happily. But the truly good and happy people can be counted on one hand. We all know them — they emanate a subtle glow. And that’s because they are very comfortable carrying God and the whole World inside them.
The accompanying book — the meditation appendix to “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” — has two guided meditations. The author forewarns that usually people like one but not the other, and that’s very true. I loved the first one and keep using it in my non-guided meditation practice, and I hated the other one, as it was quite uncomfortable (imagining you are sitting in a room gradually filled by water proved rather traumatic to me). You can actually skip the main oeuvre, i.e., the book itself, and get right to the dessert of his meditations.
Now, what helps with the meditation? Microdosing, for sure. Actually, microdosing+ would even be better, as the point of pure microdosing is not to feel the effect except getting rid of negative thoughts and emotions. But if you do it at a rate of 1.5X an hour before your meditation — the process becomes much easier and more profound. Cheating, I know, but I love me my shortcuts!
Comments