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Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon
WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER
The author of the New York Times bestseller You Are the Placebo, as well as Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Evolve Your Brain, draws on research conducted at his advanced workshops since 2012 to explore how common people are doing the uncommon to transform themselves and their lives.
Becoming Supernatural marries the some of the most profound scientific information with ancient wisdom to show how people like you and me can experience a more mystical life.
Readers will learn that we are, quite literally supernatural by nature if given the proper knowledge and instruction, and when we learn how to apply that information through various meditations, we should experience a greater expression of our creative abilities; that we have the capacity to tune in to frequencies beyond our material world and receive more orderly coherent streams of consciousness and energy; that we can intentionally change our brain chemistry to initiate profoundly mystical transcendental experiences; and how, if we do this enough times, we can develop the skill of creating a more efficient, balanced, healthy body, a more unlimited mind, and greater access to the realms of spiritual truth. Topics include:
• Demystifying the body’s 7 energy centers and how you can balance them to heal
• How to free yourself from the past by reconditioning your body to a new mind
• How you can create reality in the generous present moment by changing your energy
• The difference between third-dimension creation and fifth-dimension creation
• The secret science of the pineal gland and its role in accessing mystical realms of reality
• The distinction between Space-Time vs. Time-Space realities
And much more...
The author of the New York Times bestseller You Are the Placebo, as well as Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Evolve Your Brain, draws on research conducted at his advanced workshops since 2012 to explore how common people are doing the uncommon to transform themselves and their lives.
Becoming Supernatural marries the some of the most profound scientific information with ancient wisdom to show how people like you and me can experience a more mystical life.
Readers will learn that we are, quite literally supernatural by nature if given the proper knowledge and instruction, and when we learn how to apply that information through various meditations, we should experience a greater expression of our creative abilities; that we have the capacity to tune in to frequencies beyond our material world and receive more orderly coherent streams of consciousness and energy; that we can intentionally change our brain chemistry to initiate profoundly mystical transcendental experiences; and how, if we do this enough times, we can develop the skill of creating a more efficient, balanced, healthy body, a more unlimited mind, and greater access to the realms of spiritual truth. Topics include:
• Demystifying the body’s 7 energy centers and how you can balance them to heal
• How to free yourself from the past by reconditioning your body to a new mind
• How you can create reality in the generous present moment by changing your energy
• The difference between third-dimension creation and fifth-dimension creation
• The secret science of the pineal gland and its role in accessing mystical realms of reality
• The distinction between Space-Time vs. Time-Space realities
And much more...
375 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2017
About the author
Joe Dispenza
90 books3,061 followersDr Joe Dispenza is an international lecturer, researcher, corporate consultant, author, and educator who has been invited to speak in more than 33 countries on six continents. As a lecturer and educator, he is driven by the conviction that each of us has the potential for greatness and unlimited abilities. In his easy-to-understand, encouraging, and compassionate style, he has educated thousands of people, detailing how they can rewire their brains and recondition their bodies to make lasting changes.
In addition to offering a variety of online courses and teleclasses, he has personally taught three-day Progressive Workshops, five-day Advanced Workshops, and seven-day Week Long Advanced Retreats in the U.S. and abroad. Starting in 2018, his workshops became week-long offerings, and the content of the progressive workshops became available online.
Dr. Joe is also a faculty member at Quantum University in Honolulu, Hawaii; the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, New York; and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He’s also an invited chair of the research committee at Life University in Atlanta, Georgia.
As a researcher, Dr. Joe’s passion can be found at the intersection of the latest findings from the fields of neuroscience, epigenetics, and quantum physics to explore the science behind spontaneous remissions. He uses that knowledge to help people heal themselves of illnesses, chronic conditions, and even terminal diseases so they can enjoy a more fulfilled and happy life, as well as evolve their consciousness. At his advanced workshops around the world, he has partnered with other scientists to perform extensive research on the effects of meditation, including epigenetic testing, brain mapping with electroencephalograms (EEGs), and individual energy field testing with a gas discharge visualization (GDV) machine. His research also includes measuring both heart coherence with HeartMath monitors and the energy present in the workshop environment before, during, and after events with a GDV Sputnik sensor.
As a corporate consultant, Dr. Joe gives on-site lectures and workshops for businesses and corporations interested in using neuroscientific principles to boost employees’ creativity, innovation, productivity, and more. His corporate program also includes private coaching for upper management. Dr. Joe has personally trained and certified a group of more than 70 corporate trainers who teach his model of transformation to companies around the world. He also recently began certifying independent coaches to use his model of change with their own clients.
Dr. Joe received a B.S. from Evergreen State College and his doctor of chiropractic degree from Life University, where he graduated with honors. His postgraduate training covered neurology, neuroscience, brain function and chemistry, cellular biology, memory formation, and aging and longevity. For more information go to www.drjoedispenza.com
In addition to offering a variety of online courses and teleclasses, he has personally taught three-day Progressive Workshops, five-day Advanced Workshops, and seven-day Week Long Advanced Retreats in the U.S. and abroad. Starting in 2018, his workshops became week-long offerings, and the content of the progressive workshops became available online.
Dr. Joe is also a faculty member at Quantum University in Honolulu, Hawaii; the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, New York; and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He’s also an invited chair of the research committee at Life University in Atlanta, Georgia.
As a researcher, Dr. Joe’s passion can be found at the intersection of the latest findings from the fields of neuroscience, epigenetics, and quantum physics to explore the science behind spontaneous remissions. He uses that knowledge to help people heal themselves of illnesses, chronic conditions, and even terminal diseases so they can enjoy a more fulfilled and happy life, as well as evolve their consciousness. At his advanced workshops around the world, he has partnered with other scientists to perform extensive research on the effects of meditation, including epigenetic testing, brain mapping with electroencephalograms (EEGs), and individual energy field testing with a gas discharge visualization (GDV) machine. His research also includes measuring both heart coherence with HeartMath monitors and the energy present in the workshop environment before, during, and after events with a GDV Sputnik sensor.
As a corporate consultant, Dr. Joe gives on-site lectures and workshops for businesses and corporations interested in using neuroscientific principles to boost employees’ creativity, innovation, productivity, and more. His corporate program also includes private coaching for upper management. Dr. Joe has personally trained and certified a group of more than 70 corporate trainers who teach his model of transformation to companies around the world. He also recently began certifying independent coaches to use his model of change with their own clients.
Dr. Joe received a B.S. from Evergreen State College and his doctor of chiropractic degree from Life University, where he graduated with honors. His postgraduate training covered neurology, neuroscience, brain function and chemistry, cellular biology, memory formation, and aging and longevity. For more information go to www.drjoedispenza.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,340 reviews
November 8, 2017
Just finishing the book now, and I have some very mixed feelings about it so far. I have one of the doc's other books, and I do love how he tackles each subject with such focus and detail, and backs it up with science whenever possible. And he does have a lot of data to support his claims, as well as citing some very interesting studies.
First off, I'm surprised to see so many glowing, 5-star reviews. I know a lot of people who've attended his seminars are reviewing the book, but this whole process takes a lot of time and practice. In the book, he makes it sound like this will be a relatively quick, easy process, and I think he is setting up people for frustration and failure. As an experienced meditator myself, I can say I've only achieved the state he says you need to be in to do most of this work, a few times ever. And I've been meditating seriously for 10 years. He says we need to become "pure consciousness. No thing, no one, no where, no time. Completely take our awareness out of our physical bodies." Ohhhh no problem! Sure, I'll do a four day seminar and do that, or I'll read the book and do that. He also says you need to be able to "think greater than you feel." which in context means that, when you are visualizing the future you want, you have to be able to create great feelings of joy, gratitude, etc. which are more powerful than whatever limiting belief or horrible body sensation you may currently be feeling due to disease, depression, etc. Again, WOW. This is a HUGE, HUGE task, and will take a LOT of time to achieve.
In addition, his whole process is very focused on the outcome. You will achieve this or that if you do this meditation or that one. He spends almost no time in the book on talking about the importance of general mindfulness, or meditating just for the process itself, and exploring your own mind. He has, of course, stories of people who've cured themselves of all sorts of horrid illnesses. So how could we, the reader, not be focused on the outcome when he's shoving the outcome down our throats on every page? This is why they rarely talk about stuff like this in buddhism, because then you will be focused on that, and not the process itself. You will get distracted by your new abilities, or frustrated when you don't acquire them.
Now, is everything he's saying in this book possible? Sure, it's POSSIBLE. I can't prove it isn't. And I do believe humans are divine at our core. But is it PROBABLE that it will happen? Not without SERIOUS commitment, time, and determination. For every person who says they achieved amazing results after only one meditation or one weekend seminar, there are probably at least a hundred who didn't.
After spending some time on Joe's forums and his Facebook group, I can see other people agree with me that parts of the book are a little confusing or difficult. I see numerous questions being asked about one of the meditations, alone. I also see a lot of people are frustrated with the process, because it's not working like he says it should. I'm only mentioning all of this because I feel the reviews currently are very one-sided. If you go into this without any perspective, you will be greatly frustrated and disappointed.
With all my doubts and skepticism, I truly hope I am wrong, and I am forced to eat some serious crow. I welcome it. I have a lot of health issues, both mental and physical, that I'm dealing with, so there's plenty of opportunity to use these methods. I will attack this with patience and determination, and will update my review at a later date if appropriate.
First off, I'm surprised to see so many glowing, 5-star reviews. I know a lot of people who've attended his seminars are reviewing the book, but this whole process takes a lot of time and practice. In the book, he makes it sound like this will be a relatively quick, easy process, and I think he is setting up people for frustration and failure. As an experienced meditator myself, I can say I've only achieved the state he says you need to be in to do most of this work, a few times ever. And I've been meditating seriously for 10 years. He says we need to become "pure consciousness. No thing, no one, no where, no time. Completely take our awareness out of our physical bodies." Ohhhh no problem! Sure, I'll do a four day seminar and do that, or I'll read the book and do that. He also says you need to be able to "think greater than you feel." which in context means that, when you are visualizing the future you want, you have to be able to create great feelings of joy, gratitude, etc. which are more powerful than whatever limiting belief or horrible body sensation you may currently be feeling due to disease, depression, etc. Again, WOW. This is a HUGE, HUGE task, and will take a LOT of time to achieve.
In addition, his whole process is very focused on the outcome. You will achieve this or that if you do this meditation or that one. He spends almost no time in the book on talking about the importance of general mindfulness, or meditating just for the process itself, and exploring your own mind. He has, of course, stories of people who've cured themselves of all sorts of horrid illnesses. So how could we, the reader, not be focused on the outcome when he's shoving the outcome down our throats on every page? This is why they rarely talk about stuff like this in buddhism, because then you will be focused on that, and not the process itself. You will get distracted by your new abilities, or frustrated when you don't acquire them.
Now, is everything he's saying in this book possible? Sure, it's POSSIBLE. I can't prove it isn't. And I do believe humans are divine at our core. But is it PROBABLE that it will happen? Not without SERIOUS commitment, time, and determination. For every person who says they achieved amazing results after only one meditation or one weekend seminar, there are probably at least a hundred who didn't.
After spending some time on Joe's forums and his Facebook group, I can see other people agree with me that parts of the book are a little confusing or difficult. I see numerous questions being asked about one of the meditations, alone. I also see a lot of people are frustrated with the process, because it's not working like he says it should. I'm only mentioning all of this because I feel the reviews currently are very one-sided. If you go into this without any perspective, you will be greatly frustrated and disappointed.
With all my doubts and skepticism, I truly hope I am wrong, and I am forced to eat some serious crow. I welcome it. I have a lot of health issues, both mental and physical, that I'm dealing with, so there's plenty of opportunity to use these methods. I will attack this with patience and determination, and will update my review at a later date if appropriate.
June 10, 2018
There are parts of me that really want to buy into Joe’s philosophy which appear to me to claim the ability to control outcomes over life beyond what is realistic or healthy I think. However, no matter how much I’ve tried to entertain it, I always come back to some of same points.
1) The point of life is not to control outcomes but to evolve, awaken, grow and develop more consciousness, compassion, understanding, patience and humility as we are shaped by the outcomes and circumstances of life we cannot control.
2) Thus, to focus on the outcome rather than on being mindful and compassionate on all parts of ourselves that are stimulated or agitated by our circumstances is to miss the point and set ourselves up for disappointment, frustration and disillusionment - not to mention, more likelihood that we’ll repeat the same patterns in our lives until we integrate the parts of ourselves that are unconsciously creating them rather than just focusing on using the subconscious to manipulate and control outcomes.
3) To meditate with the intention to create a certain circumstance in ones life I think promotes and propagates spiritual immaturity and attachment - things that meditation is actually supposed to help remedy ironically. As some have said, “what’s in the way *is* the way.”
So that’s where I get severely tripped up when trying to honestly digest Joe’s philosophy. At the very least, I think Joe’s work serves as a potential bridge from the scientific community to the spiritual community and introduces some of the potential benefits of meditations in a scientific way. However, I think his philosophy overextended itself and actually weakens the message by over-promising and focusing too much on outcomes rather than the process. It thus reads more like an infomercial for meditation than a time-tested spiritual path that can work for many rather than for the few miracle story people whom the stars happen to align for (and may have regardless of their application of Joe’s methods) and all is (of course) reductively attributed their application of Joe’s philosophy and methods.
1) The point of life is not to control outcomes but to evolve, awaken, grow and develop more consciousness, compassion, understanding, patience and humility as we are shaped by the outcomes and circumstances of life we cannot control.
2) Thus, to focus on the outcome rather than on being mindful and compassionate on all parts of ourselves that are stimulated or agitated by our circumstances is to miss the point and set ourselves up for disappointment, frustration and disillusionment - not to mention, more likelihood that we’ll repeat the same patterns in our lives until we integrate the parts of ourselves that are unconsciously creating them rather than just focusing on using the subconscious to manipulate and control outcomes.
3) To meditate with the intention to create a certain circumstance in ones life I think promotes and propagates spiritual immaturity and attachment - things that meditation is actually supposed to help remedy ironically. As some have said, “what’s in the way *is* the way.”
So that’s where I get severely tripped up when trying to honestly digest Joe’s philosophy. At the very least, I think Joe’s work serves as a potential bridge from the scientific community to the spiritual community and introduces some of the potential benefits of meditations in a scientific way. However, I think his philosophy overextended itself and actually weakens the message by over-promising and focusing too much on outcomes rather than the process. It thus reads more like an infomercial for meditation than a time-tested spiritual path that can work for many rather than for the few miracle story people whom the stars happen to align for (and may have regardless of their application of Joe’s methods) and all is (of course) reductively attributed their application of Joe’s philosophy and methods.
November 25, 2020
Summary: You will either love or hate this book, depending on your existing belief system. The title is a bit off, as it talks more about mind healing and mind power vs. just flat out supernatural.
Right off the bat, either you will buy into his concept of energy vs. matter or you will not. I absolutely do, but I know from experience a huge portion of the population will not. If that's not your deal, you can just cross this book off your list until you are more open to the concept.
Now, related to this energy power, it's the idea that we have an energy field. Our minds control that. That vibration is something we can effect and in doing so it affects our reality. Higher vibration/greater control people can do a host of crazy-cool things with that energy power. They can attract the resources they need for sure. This is not so much what this book focuses on, as I think it's attempting to attract those that already believe that and are trying to understand what to do about it, i.e. how would you then given that learn to heal your physical body (Think in terms of how your immune system is impacted by stress... and you have considerably less stressed when you're happy vs miserable).
Lower vibration people are not only going to be unable to do that, but they will be sick b/c they are stuck in the matter world drawing more and more negativity to them. Think about people that are working so hard in unhappy jobs and thereby doing a whole host of activities (poor habits) and non-activities (stressing out) that lead to poor health.
The kicker is that everyone has the ability to change their energy vibration. If you do it, it might take time, it might be difficult, but ultimately, you will be able to have the world you want around you. From there, meditation is a core component/facilitator to learning how to gain this better relationship with your energy.
So all that should be where your head is at in order to understand what Dispenza is saying. And in fairness, if your head is around the things above, it wouldn't even occur to you some of the comments that people have by not understanding the above.
Understanding that:
P. 41 After discussing the biochemistry of stress (a mental state that creates a physical state), he then describes how you can mentally undo all of that and in doing so epigenetically affect your immune system. In other words, he is saying, your mind can impact precisely what DNA is asserting itself. This is VERY profound and you either believe it or you don't. I do.
P. 54 He talks about the importance of moving from Beta to at least Alpha waves via meditation. His point is that you are making the mind stop taking in outside inputs. In context, the point is that if you're reacting to the outside world then you are not source to the thoughts that come into you. Just think about how powerful that is. Homo Sapiens are creatures of thoughts. You are a thought machine, but sometimes... when you are not thinking about it and purposeful, you let other people's thoughts override your thoughts and thereby take your power. You are not in touch with power. Later in the book, this makes more acute sense. We do not go into the meditative state for the sake of it. We go into it so that we can understand the nature of that power. It is a practice. In general, that brain vibration should be happening in waking state as well.
P. 91 This is spoken about in many places, but you get a bit more flavor on how dwelling builds up the stress reaction. The mind is worried and narrowly focused preparing for worst case scenario. But in this section he then talks about what it's not preparing for. The problem in other words is not that people dwell, but it shifts their focus from the world they want to have to the world they are afraid of having. This means the body also prepares for that, i.e. stress/adrenal reaction, etc. Hence, we over stimulate this response.
P. 172 - He talks about his particular meditation practices. There we see the heart and mind affect each other. The idea is that heart irregular or incorrect vibration can be controlled by the mind for the benefit of health.
P. 176 has the images of what he means by heart irregular. Fascinating as it makes so much more image sense what he's saying. It's those momentary stress ideas that come in unexpectedly or even dominate vs. the calm detached state of meditation that drive our bodies in a way that is abnormal. Even for those of us with nerves of steel, this is something we can't necessarily get out of.
P. 258 He describes the methylation process of how the body goes from melatonin to REM and also all the other hormones involved. To me this is where science needs to go, b/c these are the things that make us healthy/mentally able to impact our bodies. This additionally goes with the work I've been researching on sleep.
P. 276... very interesting study on the effect of oxytocin and stress. It's impact on the pituitary and amygdala. I did not know this. Interestingly, from my other research oxytocin is also produced by holding a baby, petting small animals, or also getting good sleep. He does a great job also describing vasopressin's release in similar fashion (also a sleep hormone).
Similarly, he talks about how this biochemistry changes our vibration and allows us to pick up on higher power, higher intelligence thinking. This in turn additionally changes our biochemistry. It's fascinating. I kinda love it.
P. 296 builds on this idea. It talks about this organization (need to investigate further) called the Heartmath Institute. He's been talking about this idea that the heart when it's in harmonious rhythm it sends out a signal that can be picked up by others even animals. I know from experience exactly what this is and it's true. But SOOO awesome, b/c now I know why it happens. His point however is that everyone can do this and if the vibration is awesome it can unify. We are all connected after all. This is very cool but I would start personally in smaller steps, which is just trying to surround myself within this sort of energy field.
P. 317 The afterward is highly relevant b/c I think some might stop and think he's only in the mind. In fact, no. This is reiterated in the afterwards that the point is to experience this in waking life and in our actions. He attempts in this section to tell you what that looks like and means.
Great book. Really thankful it was recommended to me.
Right off the bat, either you will buy into his concept of energy vs. matter or you will not. I absolutely do, but I know from experience a huge portion of the population will not. If that's not your deal, you can just cross this book off your list until you are more open to the concept.
Now, related to this energy power, it's the idea that we have an energy field. Our minds control that. That vibration is something we can effect and in doing so it affects our reality. Higher vibration/greater control people can do a host of crazy-cool things with that energy power. They can attract the resources they need for sure. This is not so much what this book focuses on, as I think it's attempting to attract those that already believe that and are trying to understand what to do about it, i.e. how would you then given that learn to heal your physical body (Think in terms of how your immune system is impacted by stress... and you have considerably less stressed when you're happy vs miserable).
Lower vibration people are not only going to be unable to do that, but they will be sick b/c they are stuck in the matter world drawing more and more negativity to them. Think about people that are working so hard in unhappy jobs and thereby doing a whole host of activities (poor habits) and non-activities (stressing out) that lead to poor health.
The kicker is that everyone has the ability to change their energy vibration. If you do it, it might take time, it might be difficult, but ultimately, you will be able to have the world you want around you. From there, meditation is a core component/facilitator to learning how to gain this better relationship with your energy.
So all that should be where your head is at in order to understand what Dispenza is saying. And in fairness, if your head is around the things above, it wouldn't even occur to you some of the comments that people have by not understanding the above.
Understanding that:
P. 41 After discussing the biochemistry of stress (a mental state that creates a physical state), he then describes how you can mentally undo all of that and in doing so epigenetically affect your immune system. In other words, he is saying, your mind can impact precisely what DNA is asserting itself. This is VERY profound and you either believe it or you don't. I do.
P. 54 He talks about the importance of moving from Beta to at least Alpha waves via meditation. His point is that you are making the mind stop taking in outside inputs. In context, the point is that if you're reacting to the outside world then you are not source to the thoughts that come into you. Just think about how powerful that is. Homo Sapiens are creatures of thoughts. You are a thought machine, but sometimes... when you are not thinking about it and purposeful, you let other people's thoughts override your thoughts and thereby take your power. You are not in touch with power. Later in the book, this makes more acute sense. We do not go into the meditative state for the sake of it. We go into it so that we can understand the nature of that power. It is a practice. In general, that brain vibration should be happening in waking state as well.
P. 91 This is spoken about in many places, but you get a bit more flavor on how dwelling builds up the stress reaction. The mind is worried and narrowly focused preparing for worst case scenario. But in this section he then talks about what it's not preparing for. The problem in other words is not that people dwell, but it shifts their focus from the world they want to have to the world they are afraid of having. This means the body also prepares for that, i.e. stress/adrenal reaction, etc. Hence, we over stimulate this response.
P. 172 - He talks about his particular meditation practices. There we see the heart and mind affect each other. The idea is that heart irregular or incorrect vibration can be controlled by the mind for the benefit of health.
P. 176 has the images of what he means by heart irregular. Fascinating as it makes so much more image sense what he's saying. It's those momentary stress ideas that come in unexpectedly or even dominate vs. the calm detached state of meditation that drive our bodies in a way that is abnormal. Even for those of us with nerves of steel, this is something we can't necessarily get out of.
P. 258 He describes the methylation process of how the body goes from melatonin to REM and also all the other hormones involved. To me this is where science needs to go, b/c these are the things that make us healthy/mentally able to impact our bodies. This additionally goes with the work I've been researching on sleep.
P. 276... very interesting study on the effect of oxytocin and stress. It's impact on the pituitary and amygdala. I did not know this. Interestingly, from my other research oxytocin is also produced by holding a baby, petting small animals, or also getting good sleep. He does a great job also describing vasopressin's release in similar fashion (also a sleep hormone).
Similarly, he talks about how this biochemistry changes our vibration and allows us to pick up on higher power, higher intelligence thinking. This in turn additionally changes our biochemistry. It's fascinating. I kinda love it.
P. 296 builds on this idea. It talks about this organization (need to investigate further) called the Heartmath Institute. He's been talking about this idea that the heart when it's in harmonious rhythm it sends out a signal that can be picked up by others even animals. I know from experience exactly what this is and it's true. But SOOO awesome, b/c now I know why it happens. His point however is that everyone can do this and if the vibration is awesome it can unify. We are all connected after all. This is very cool but I would start personally in smaller steps, which is just trying to surround myself within this sort of energy field.
P. 317 The afterward is highly relevant b/c I think some might stop and think he's only in the mind. In fact, no. This is reiterated in the afterwards that the point is to experience this in waking life and in our actions. He attempts in this section to tell you what that looks like and means.
Great book. Really thankful it was recommended to me.
May 18, 2024
Profound and Poignant ancient wisdom juxtaposed with credible scientific hypotheses and meticulous logical explanations all couched within modern scientific conceptual frameworks. This book in a nutshell teaches the concept that your belief systems create and manifest your individual reality.
As an aside, I picked this book up without reading anything on the author, reviews or anything related to the information contained within except for the title and cover. It came up as a recommendation while browsing for a book somewhere I don't even recall and it immediately grabbed my attention.
Upon finishing, I delved into a text that at a glance one would be hesitant to link to this read, about the not new-to-me concept of Biocentricism and somewhat tangentially, Panpsychism [which is the view that all things have a mind or a mind-like quality. The word itself was coined by the Italian philosopher Francesco Patrizi in the sixteenth century, and derives from the two Greek words pan (all) and psyche (soul or mind), all exquisitely explained in Philip Goff's book, Galileo's Error (highly recommended too)] titled The Grand Biocentric Design by Robert Lanza.
Now, thinking back to Dr. Joe Dispenza's concepts within this text about the Zero-Point Field (also refered to as the Unified Field by Dr. Haramain of the Resonance Institute) makes me feel that some of the more outré theories expounded within this book were not as woo woo as I initially thought.
The text I think strives hard to stay as objective as these types of truths can, while also providing a scientific fulcrum with which he raises his theories and hypotheses. It is well written with expansive case studies cited, and step by step logical explanations given at all times.
A very powerful book indeed for the mindful reader trying to open up the inner realm of the body and I'll highly recommend this to any reader of spirituality, esoterica and ancient mysticism.
2022 Read
As an aside, I picked this book up without reading anything on the author, reviews or anything related to the information contained within except for the title and cover. It came up as a recommendation while browsing for a book somewhere I don't even recall and it immediately grabbed my attention.
Upon finishing, I delved into a text that at a glance one would be hesitant to link to this read, about the not new-to-me concept of Biocentricism and somewhat tangentially, Panpsychism [which is the view that all things have a mind or a mind-like quality. The word itself was coined by the Italian philosopher Francesco Patrizi in the sixteenth century, and derives from the two Greek words pan (all) and psyche (soul or mind), all exquisitely explained in Philip Goff's book, Galileo's Error (highly recommended too)] titled The Grand Biocentric Design by Robert Lanza.
Now, thinking back to Dr. Joe Dispenza's concepts within this text about the Zero-Point Field (also refered to as the Unified Field by Dr. Haramain of the Resonance Institute) makes me feel that some of the more outré theories expounded within this book were not as woo woo as I initially thought.
I want you to understand that there is an invisible field of energy and information that exists beyond this three-dimensional realm of space and time—and that we have access to it. In fact, once you are in the present moment and you’ve entered this realm, which exists beyond your senses, you are now ready to create your intended reality. When you can take all your attention off your body, the people in your life, the objects you own, the places you go, and even time itself, you will literally forget about your identity that has been formed by living as a body in this space and time.Be it your personal finance, health (most especially), anything really, by practicing the meditations and developing the will to implement your belief system, the author invites the individual seeker to take charge and shape or design whatever his desired future state ought to be according to personal wishes and forethought.
It is in this moment that you, as pure consciousness, enter the realm called the quantum field—which exists beyond this space and time. You can’t enter this immaterial place with your problems, your name, your schedules and routines, your pain, or your emotions. You can’t enter as some body—you must enter as no body. In fact, once you know how to move your awareness from the known (the material physical world) to the unknown (the immaterial world of possibility) and you become comfortable there, you can change your energy to match the frequency of any potential in the quantum field that already exists there. (Spoiler alert: Actually, all potential futures exist there, so you can create whatever you want.) When a vibrational match occurs between your energy and the energy of that potential you select in the unified field, you will draw that experience to you.
--- Excerpt from the Introduction
The text I think strives hard to stay as objective as these types of truths can, while also providing a scientific fulcrum with which he raises his theories and hypotheses. It is well written with expansive case studies cited, and step by step logical explanations given at all times.
A very powerful book indeed for the mindful reader trying to open up the inner realm of the body and I'll highly recommend this to any reader of spirituality, esoterica and ancient mysticism.
2022 Read
December 26, 2018
A new coat of paint on a very old pseudoscience, but there are worthwhile nuggets concerning some advanced meditation techniques if you are willing to stomach the self promotion. The text is sprinkled with emotional triggers for those who are already primed to receive them, but they will illicit warning klaxons in the skeptic. Dr. Dispenza is the latest in a long line of clinically trained positive thinking gurus promoting "wholeness", "well being", and world peace using science out of context as fuel for epistemological prestidigitation. Taken as the ravings of a well meaning soul, this book is a fine example of many logical fallacies, and makes a valuable exhibit toward that end.
September 24, 2019
Oof. Where to start?
A friend recommended this book after I suggested she read Altered Traits, a brilliant account of the last 40 years of hard science surrounding meditation as a research topic within the fields of Psychology and Neuroscience. This book is, perhaps, almost the exact opposite.
Science takes time. It's often boring and unpleasant and particularly when it comes to a topic such as consciousness, the very nature of the research topic becomes an exercise in growing the scientific method to incorporate increasingly difficult material. The researchers referenced in Altered Traits have fought to win objective, scientific results. "Dr. Joe" Dispenza takes another approach in Becoming Supernatural: he weaves together legitimate meditation research, high school physics, chemistry, and biology, and his own direct experience... making up connections between the three as he goes along. I would have no objection to a book which tackled any one of these in isolation, but conflating them is at best disingenuous, at worst dangerous.
Here's why. Most of his meditation-focused writing is not too far off the mark and his book would actually be less dangerous if it seemed hokier. Much of what he says holds merit, in isolation. Meditation can help its practitioners lead healthier and happier lives and the strategies he discusses and the benefits he points out are entirely legitimate, to an extent. But he is clearly targeting an audience of beginners and someone beginning a meditation practice should work slowly, carefully, and skeptically. He is suggesting diving in headfirst, with the promise of massive physical and mental health benefits. This is unethical.
The meditation he suggests is a variation on Kundalini Yoga, which has widely-documented and discussed mental health risks. Attention placed on the nervous system can cause very serious trauma to surface in the psyche and the spinal cord is one of the last places a practitioner should choose to make use of attention in this way.
His descriptions of why and how meditation works are undefended by any objective research or reference beyond his own experience — he is within his right to describe the human body as a magnetic torus, if he must, but he should have clearly delineated that unverified idea from the neuroscience which is not his own. He doesn't. He simply flips between hard science and imaginative ideas at the drop of a hat, which makes the sum of the book hard to swallow.
Dispenza makes a final mistake throughout the book, in his delivery of meditation instructions. Meditation instructions such as this, from Chapter 9 (Walking Meditation):
These are barely sentences. They stand on the edge of meaningful grammar yet they are instructions. These are some of the worst "meditation" instructions I've ever read. What is the action or practice he is suggesting the reader attempt, here? Confusing, mystic, nonspecific, non-actionable, and highly subject to interpretation, such instruction serves little to no purpose. Meditation is serious work and instruction should be clear, unambiguous, and devoid of mysticism if it is to be considered ethical by a rational adult.
Last, but least harmful, we get a sense of how little thought Dispenza has applied in authoring the book when we come across imagery like crop circles in the shape of a melatonin molecule and Fibonacci's constant superimposed over the brain, pointing to the pineal gland (Chapter 12: The Pineal Gland). These images are squarely in Hokey Territory and provide ample warning to any sensible reader that perhaps the legitimate science and authentic spiritual experiences found elsewhere in the book are not to be trusted.
A friend recommended this book after I suggested she read Altered Traits, a brilliant account of the last 40 years of hard science surrounding meditation as a research topic within the fields of Psychology and Neuroscience. This book is, perhaps, almost the exact opposite.
Science takes time. It's often boring and unpleasant and particularly when it comes to a topic such as consciousness, the very nature of the research topic becomes an exercise in growing the scientific method to incorporate increasingly difficult material. The researchers referenced in Altered Traits have fought to win objective, scientific results. "Dr. Joe" Dispenza takes another approach in Becoming Supernatural: he weaves together legitimate meditation research, high school physics, chemistry, and biology, and his own direct experience... making up connections between the three as he goes along. I would have no objection to a book which tackled any one of these in isolation, but conflating them is at best disingenuous, at worst dangerous.
Here's why. Most of his meditation-focused writing is not too far off the mark and his book would actually be less dangerous if it seemed hokier. Much of what he says holds merit, in isolation. Meditation can help its practitioners lead healthier and happier lives and the strategies he discusses and the benefits he points out are entirely legitimate, to an extent. But he is clearly targeting an audience of beginners and someone beginning a meditation practice should work slowly, carefully, and skeptically. He is suggesting diving in headfirst, with the promise of massive physical and mental health benefits. This is unethical.
The meditation he suggests is a variation on Kundalini Yoga, which has widely-documented and discussed mental health risks. Attention placed on the nervous system can cause very serious trauma to surface in the psyche and the spinal cord is one of the last places a practitioner should choose to make use of attention in this way.
His descriptions of why and how meditation works are undefended by any objective research or reference beyond his own experience — he is within his right to describe the human body as a magnetic torus, if he must, but he should have clearly delineated that unverified idea from the neuroscience which is not his own. He doesn't. He simply flips between hard science and imaginative ideas at the drop of a hat, which makes the sum of the book hard to swallow.
Dispenza makes a final mistake throughout the book, in his delivery of meditation instructions. Meditation instructions such as this, from Chapter 9 (Walking Meditation):
Raise your energy to its zenith and feel gratitude, appreciation, and thankfulness.
Now acknowledge the divine within you—the energy that powers you and gives rise to all of life. Give thanks for a new life before it's made manifest. Acknowledging the power within you, ask that your life be filled with unexpected wonder, synchronicities, and coincidences that create a joy for existence. Radiate your love while loving your new life into existence.
These are barely sentences. They stand on the edge of meaningful grammar yet they are instructions. These are some of the worst "meditation" instructions I've ever read. What is the action or practice he is suggesting the reader attempt, here? Confusing, mystic, nonspecific, non-actionable, and highly subject to interpretation, such instruction serves little to no purpose. Meditation is serious work and instruction should be clear, unambiguous, and devoid of mysticism if it is to be considered ethical by a rational adult.
Last, but least harmful, we get a sense of how little thought Dispenza has applied in authoring the book when we come across imagery like crop circles in the shape of a melatonin molecule and Fibonacci's constant superimposed over the brain, pointing to the pineal gland (Chapter 12: The Pineal Gland). These images are squarely in Hokey Territory and provide ample warning to any sensible reader that perhaps the legitimate science and authentic spiritual experiences found elsewhere in the book are not to be trusted.
March 22, 2020
اول از همه بگم که خوندن این کتاب رو به هیچ کس توصیه نمی کنم! تجربه های این کتاب شاید اوایل کار کمی خوشایند و هیجان انگیز به نظر برسه اما رفته رفته تبدیل به یه کابوس وحشتناک در زندگی تون میشه
خوندن این کتاب رواز دو ماه پیش شروع کردم. اوایل از سر کنجکاوی شروع به خوندنش کردم. می خواستم ببینم این تجربه هایی که خواننده های این کتاب داشتن واقعی هست یا نه!؟ وقتی شروع به انجام مراقبه ها کردم و بیشتر و بیشتر درگیرش شدم یه چیزی رو متوجه شدم، اینکه اصلا دلم نمی خواد چنین تجربه هایی رو در واقعیت داشته باشم، اینکه شنیدن و خوندن تجربه هایی از این دست زمین تا آسمون با تجربه ی اون در واقعیت فرق میکنه و بیشتر ترسناکه و آزار دهنده ست تا جالب و هیجان انگیز
یه چیزی رو لازمه اینجا بگم چون نمی خوام فکر کنید من زیادی احساسی و عاطفی یا حتی خرافاتی هستم، من رشته ی مهندسی برق الکترونیک خوندم و تقریبا تمام عمرم با منطق و ریاضیات سر و کار داشتم و یادم نمی اد هیچ زمانی در زندگیم در مورد مساله ای احساسی عمل کرده باشم یا تصمیمی گرفته باشم، پس طبیعتا به چنین چیزهای خرافاتی باور ندارم، یا بهتره بگم نداشتم!! اما این مدت با تجربه های خوشایند و ناخوشایندی که داشتم چاره ای به جز باور نیست
امتیازی که به کتاب میدم صرفا به خاطر مطالب علمی ای هست که ساز و کار بدن رو و همین طور اتفاقاتی که دربدن در حالت های مختلف روحی و جسمی اتفاق میوفته رو به بهترین و جالب ترین شکل ممکن توضیح داده
خوندن این کتاب رواز دو ماه پیش شروع کردم. اوایل از سر کنجکاوی شروع به خوندنش کردم. می خواستم ببینم این تجربه هایی که خواننده های این کتاب داشتن واقعی هست یا نه!؟ وقتی شروع به انجام مراقبه ها کردم و بیشتر و بیشتر درگیرش شدم یه چیزی رو متوجه شدم، اینکه اصلا دلم نمی خواد چنین تجربه هایی رو در واقعیت داشته باشم، اینکه شنیدن و خوندن تجربه هایی از این دست زمین تا آسمون با تجربه ی اون در واقعیت فرق میکنه و بیشتر ترسناکه و آزار دهنده ست تا جالب و هیجان انگیز
یه چیزی رو لازمه اینجا بگم چون نمی خوام فکر کنید من زیادی احساسی و عاطفی یا حتی خرافاتی هستم، من رشته ی مهندسی برق الکترونیک خوندم و تقریبا تمام عمرم با منطق و ریاضیات سر و کار داشتم و یادم نمی اد هیچ زمانی در زندگیم در مورد مساله ای احساسی عمل کرده باشم یا تصمیمی گرفته باشم، پس طبیعتا به چنین چیزهای خرافاتی باور ندارم، یا بهتره بگم نداشتم!! اما این مدت با تجربه های خوشایند و ناخوشایندی که داشتم چاره ای به جز باور نیست
امتیازی که به کتاب میدم صرفا به خاطر مطالب علمی ای هست که ساز و کار بدن رو و همین طور اتفاقاتی که دربدن در حالت های مختلف روحی و جسمی اتفاق میوفته رو به بهترین و جالب ترین شکل ممکن توضیح داده
May 24, 2021
No Goodreads review could've convinced me to pick this book up. And the title, becoming supernatural?! I mean give me a break.
Let's be clear, this book was shoved down my throat by a particularly obstinate friend. See I need to say this because I get it. The pseudoscience books that reek of an enlightened pile of motivation and you-can-do-it, because your brain is awesome, DO NOT get me going. I am not the TEDTalk kind. This is not that. Thank you, good friend, for the constant "did-you-start-it-yet". I was unwilling only for the first 20 percent of the book, then I pushed him aside took the book to a corner and devoured it.
For the first 60 percent of the book, it told me nothing new. It was the same positivity spiel. However, it takes a talented man to put a different spin on that and make you sit up and nod obediently. Let's face it, positivity doesn't look the same on you after your early 20s, it starts to wear like delusion. But the real bang for your buck comes at you in the last 40 percent of the book. By the end, I was brimming with all this cool info I just had to keep spewing at unwary folks that crossed my path.
I was curious about what the 1 and 2-star folks didn't like here. Some pointed out that it took them over a decade to reach the supernatural meditative state he's talking about, others pointed out that life shouldn't be about chasing a goal of being supernatural but enjoying the journey and others said its regurgitated stuff. See, after I was done with the book I didn't sit down and meditate expecting to become supernatural over the course of the hour. I mean, I don't think I need that disclaimer. I'm in it for the long run. Secondly, if the book ended with "screw supernatural, the climb is wonderful," I would pitch a fit. Lastly, he clearly mentions that a lot of it is pulled from Vedic sciences, vipassana meditation and everywhere else. I had none of these issues.
However, I didn't particularly enjoy reading this book because a lot of it felt like work, which is what it is. And some of it was repeated so much it got boring. But it deserves a 4 star because it delivers what it promises, which is a tall order in itself. So can this book really help you become supernatural? That depends on your definition of supernatural. Loki, no. A fancy you, yes. But allow me to get back to you in a year after I put this voodoo to practice. I might have a little Loki in me after all.
Let's be clear, this book was shoved down my throat by a particularly obstinate friend. See I need to say this because I get it. The pseudoscience books that reek of an enlightened pile of motivation and you-can-do-it, because your brain is awesome, DO NOT get me going. I am not the TEDTalk kind. This is not that. Thank you, good friend, for the constant "did-you-start-it-yet". I was unwilling only for the first 20 percent of the book, then I pushed him aside took the book to a corner and devoured it.
For the first 60 percent of the book, it told me nothing new. It was the same positivity spiel. However, it takes a talented man to put a different spin on that and make you sit up and nod obediently. Let's face it, positivity doesn't look the same on you after your early 20s, it starts to wear like delusion. But the real bang for your buck comes at you in the last 40 percent of the book. By the end, I was brimming with all this cool info I just had to keep spewing at unwary folks that crossed my path.
I was curious about what the 1 and 2-star folks didn't like here. Some pointed out that it took them over a decade to reach the supernatural meditative state he's talking about, others pointed out that life shouldn't be about chasing a goal of being supernatural but enjoying the journey and others said its regurgitated stuff. See, after I was done with the book I didn't sit down and meditate expecting to become supernatural over the course of the hour. I mean, I don't think I need that disclaimer. I'm in it for the long run. Secondly, if the book ended with "screw supernatural, the climb is wonderful," I would pitch a fit. Lastly, he clearly mentions that a lot of it is pulled from Vedic sciences, vipassana meditation and everywhere else. I had none of these issues.
However, I didn't particularly enjoy reading this book because a lot of it felt like work, which is what it is. And some of it was repeated so much it got boring. But it deserves a 4 star because it delivers what it promises, which is a tall order in itself. So can this book really help you become supernatural? That depends on your definition of supernatural. Loki, no. A fancy you, yes. But allow me to get back to you in a year after I put this voodoo to practice. I might have a little Loki in me after all.
September 24, 2018
My wife got this book for me at Christmas. It sat on the shelf until it needed to be read.
Dr. Joe Dispenza is operating at his 10,000 hours of research in this book. While I’ve been a fan of his previous books this one shows the full breadth of his incredible work.
In this book you’ll learn:
How to break free from past limiting beliefs and recondition the brain into a new coherence.
Why changing that frequency creates a new reality in a present moment that most of us rarely see.
A deep dive into the pineal gland and a series of meditations that activate its potential. I did these meditations and during at least one session I had tears of joy running down my face. No joke.
How to unlock your awareness beyond our limited smartphone world. This area focuses on tapping into the quantum field.
Enjoying becoming supernatural!
Dr. Joe Dispenza is operating at his 10,000 hours of research in this book. While I’ve been a fan of his previous books this one shows the full breadth of his incredible work.
In this book you’ll learn:
How to break free from past limiting beliefs and recondition the brain into a new coherence.
Why changing that frequency creates a new reality in a present moment that most of us rarely see.
A deep dive into the pineal gland and a series of meditations that activate its potential. I did these meditations and during at least one session I had tears of joy running down my face. No joke.
How to unlock your awareness beyond our limited smartphone world. This area focuses on tapping into the quantum field.
Enjoying becoming supernatural!
December 31, 2017
This is a MUST READ
This book blew my mind over and over and over.
Plusses: as an avid reader of self help i appreciated that the message was very simple and promoted going within instead of DO-ing more and more. Technically yes going within is doing something but it is something that actually makes you feel amazing afterward instead of just more busy work to fill your schedule. He uses real scientific info to back up every single claim he makes and provides replicable practices to help you find the amazing results on your own.
Just doing his heart coherence meditation and the energy center blessings has changed my life in measurable ways. As the mom of two under six I am always looking for a way to calm down, relax and yell less. Making these simple meditations my priority helps me sleep better, feel more refreshed after sleeping, have a calmer response to the chaos having kids brings, and has actually made me feel more open to playing with my kids and paying attention to them instead of rushing off to the next thing i have to do "in order to be a good mom". It feels incredible that doing less leads to more comfort, joy, feelings of satiation and wholeness.
My only complaint is the lengthy repetition of some concepts, because it gets a little tedious at times for us who don't quite care that much about the intricacies of the science behind it. But if you can get through all that it is so very worth it. I purchased the mind movie software after reading about it (and I've read about the influence of the subconscious in a bunch of other books too) and i love the software too. Maybe it's an upsell, but it's one I've been looking for a long time and i feel it already opening the doors of possibility. It all comes down to whether you're ready for such an incredible shift of daily narrative. Are you ready to stop being a victim of your life and start creating something you never even dreamed was possible? I believe its possible, and this is where you begin.
This book blew my mind over and over and over.
Plusses: as an avid reader of self help i appreciated that the message was very simple and promoted going within instead of DO-ing more and more. Technically yes going within is doing something but it is something that actually makes you feel amazing afterward instead of just more busy work to fill your schedule. He uses real scientific info to back up every single claim he makes and provides replicable practices to help you find the amazing results on your own.
Just doing his heart coherence meditation and the energy center blessings has changed my life in measurable ways. As the mom of two under six I am always looking for a way to calm down, relax and yell less. Making these simple meditations my priority helps me sleep better, feel more refreshed after sleeping, have a calmer response to the chaos having kids brings, and has actually made me feel more open to playing with my kids and paying attention to them instead of rushing off to the next thing i have to do "in order to be a good mom". It feels incredible that doing less leads to more comfort, joy, feelings of satiation and wholeness.
My only complaint is the lengthy repetition of some concepts, because it gets a little tedious at times for us who don't quite care that much about the intricacies of the science behind it. But if you can get through all that it is so very worth it. I purchased the mind movie software after reading about it (and I've read about the influence of the subconscious in a bunch of other books too) and i love the software too. Maybe it's an upsell, but it's one I've been looking for a long time and i feel it already opening the doors of possibility. It all comes down to whether you're ready for such an incredible shift of daily narrative. Are you ready to stop being a victim of your life and start creating something you never even dreamed was possible? I believe its possible, and this is where you begin.
October 7, 2018
On the positive side, the book links neuroscience, buddhism and psychology together. Kudos for that. On the negative side, my "bullshit sensor" went off already in the very first chapter. It seems like Dr. Dispenza is very busy promoting himself (not only mentioning his events several times, but also his audio-recordings for the meditation sessions, the video thing which name I have forgotten and referring back to his own experiences) ... which I find rather boring and unnecessary. I know he wants to make his material seem legitimate by referring to lots of research and studies, but to me he comes across a bit desperate and "too" eager to prove his point. A wise man once told me "show, don't tell". Dr. Dispenza is doing the opposite of this. Dr. Dispenza boils down some ancient buddhist practices to "imagine the future by meditating on it a couple of times and you will achieve whatever you want". I think he forgot to tell people that 1) the process of meditating is more important than the outcome 2) it requires lots and lots of practice to achieve the heightened spiritual state of mind he is talking about. All in all, not a book I would recommend to anyone, really.
May 3, 2022
First, this book was about 100 pages too long. It was repetitive with a lot techno/woo babble. There was some good information, but towards the last half I skimmed a lot because it was just a lot of stuff that was boring and unnecessary.
Secondly, I didn't realize until after starting that I have read another book by Joe Dispenza, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, and I have the same problem with this book that I had with that one, which is that it heavily shills his other products. This book recommends you buy 5-6 meditations from his website that all cost $25 each, so after spending $15 on the book he expects you to spend another $125-$150. Thankfully all the meditations are on Youtube so I was able to try them (there are better meditations by other people on Youtube tbh), but not everyone will think to look there.
And of course all of his miraculous testimonies took place at his paid events that run $500-$2000.
The more I learn about 'Dr.' Joe Dispenza the more I'm convinced he's a scam artist, he just has that oily vibe to me.
Secondly, I didn't realize until after starting that I have read another book by Joe Dispenza, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, and I have the same problem with this book that I had with that one, which is that it heavily shills his other products. This book recommends you buy 5-6 meditations from his website that all cost $25 each, so after spending $15 on the book he expects you to spend another $125-$150. Thankfully all the meditations are on Youtube so I was able to try them (there are better meditations by other people on Youtube tbh), but not everyone will think to look there.
And of course all of his miraculous testimonies took place at his paid events that run $500-$2000.
The more I learn about 'Dr.' Joe Dispenza the more I'm convinced he's a scam artist, he just has that oily vibe to me.
August 27, 2022
Controversial book alert!
Let me start off by saying this: I do not entirely believe in what he is preaching, but I do not entirely dismiss it either. I believe in the energy around us. I believe your attitude and outlook make a difference. Did listening to this audiobook make me join the cult following of Dr. Joe Dispenza? No. My rating is not related to my personal opinions of the subject matter, but instead, on the execution of the ideas and his blatant pushing of the reader to purchase his guided meditations or attend his workshops (which cost thousands of dollars). ~You can do anything! Here is all this content, oh and buy my meditations and attend my workshops, because you can do anything and your problems are all a result of your vibrational frequency!~
Dr. Joe Dispenza, your privilege is showing. A black single mother working two jobs to support her kids is NOT in the same position as a white male with rich parents who can afford to meditate for hours a day trying to manifest the future they want. I was shocked that there was no acknowledgement of this. Did it not cross his mind, or is he naïve enough to think it doesn’t matter? Even if you subscribe to his thinking and put health privilege aside, financial and racial privilege exist even in his realm of beliefs.
Another big problem is it is WAY too long. The audiobook is just over 14 hours. It could have been less than half, easily. A quarter if you take out the propaganda for his products.
That being said, there are many people who have been healed through his cult like following. That is amazing and I hope this way of approaching life reaches those who would benefit from it. However, I think it puts the blame on the person. If they don’t heal their physical ailments, it’s because they aren’t “doing it right", and that is something I do not support. Some things, unfortunately, just cannot be cured. Ultimately, all we can do is our best. But I think there are numerous other manifestation, meditative, and energy related healing practices that are not as extreme, long, expensive, or cult-ish as his.
Let me start off by saying this: I do not entirely believe in what he is preaching, but I do not entirely dismiss it either. I believe in the energy around us. I believe your attitude and outlook make a difference. Did listening to this audiobook make me join the cult following of Dr. Joe Dispenza? No. My rating is not related to my personal opinions of the subject matter, but instead, on the execution of the ideas and his blatant pushing of the reader to purchase his guided meditations or attend his workshops (which cost thousands of dollars). ~You can do anything! Here is all this content, oh and buy my meditations and attend my workshops, because you can do anything and your problems are all a result of your vibrational frequency!~
Dr. Joe Dispenza, your privilege is showing. A black single mother working two jobs to support her kids is NOT in the same position as a white male with rich parents who can afford to meditate for hours a day trying to manifest the future they want. I was shocked that there was no acknowledgement of this. Did it not cross his mind, or is he naïve enough to think it doesn’t matter? Even if you subscribe to his thinking and put health privilege aside, financial and racial privilege exist even in his realm of beliefs.
Another big problem is it is WAY too long. The audiobook is just over 14 hours. It could have been less than half, easily. A quarter if you take out the propaganda for his products.
That being said, there are many people who have been healed through his cult like following. That is amazing and I hope this way of approaching life reaches those who would benefit from it. However, I think it puts the blame on the person. If they don’t heal their physical ailments, it’s because they aren’t “doing it right", and that is something I do not support. Some things, unfortunately, just cannot be cured. Ultimately, all we can do is our best. But I think there are numerous other manifestation, meditative, and energy related healing practices that are not as extreme, long, expensive, or cult-ish as his.
November 1, 2018
I should not grade this book so harshly, some will find it useful, but I'll never finish it or use it as a reference. My main gripe is that the chakras are presented as if they are not an ancient yogic practice. Same with all the meditations; they have origins - while they don't need to be the focus of the book they most certainly shouldn't be presented as if Joe just discovered them. I may have skipped the section where he covers this and maybe I am being too harsh. I hope. Maybe he is just saying these are the practices that work for him and he hopes they work for others too. Really I just need to do a better job of practicing the meditations I do know and stop looking for a way to make it all so easy.
March 9, 2019
I’ve spent eight months reading this book, chewing on it, discussing it and putting the meditations into practice. According to my own experience, with lots of focus and due diligence, this book can change your life forever in a very positive way.
First thing to note is that this is not a way to achieve greater health, success or anything else overnight. I write that in response to a previous review that expressed some disappointment at the way Dr. Joe pitches this as an easy way to totally turn your mind and life around. I did not get that from the book at all.
Although big life changes certainly can happen in a snap, it almost always takes a great amount of work. This book teaches you to re-wire your brain. Don’t expect to be a world-traveler-yoga-instructor-glowing-health-millionaire by the last page.
I would not say the meditations are difficult. I would say that to get most people to sit down and attempt substantial meditation on the daily is damn near impossible. But that is what’s required for all of us to transcend, so it’s entirely up to the individual.
All that said, my life is changed after experiencing this read. Several of the meditations in this book are among the most effective I’ve practiced in my 20 years meditating, and that was without downloading any of Dr. Joe’s audio - just following the instructions in the book. (Again, please note they do take some practice, even for experienced meditators.) It is a LOT of information, so I finished the last page this morning and will restart on page one this evening. I feel indebted to Dr. Joe for all he’s done in research, study and practice to bring us such incredible information.
First thing to note is that this is not a way to achieve greater health, success or anything else overnight. I write that in response to a previous review that expressed some disappointment at the way Dr. Joe pitches this as an easy way to totally turn your mind and life around. I did not get that from the book at all.
Although big life changes certainly can happen in a snap, it almost always takes a great amount of work. This book teaches you to re-wire your brain. Don’t expect to be a world-traveler-yoga-instructor-glowing-health-millionaire by the last page.
I would not say the meditations are difficult. I would say that to get most people to sit down and attempt substantial meditation on the daily is damn near impossible. But that is what’s required for all of us to transcend, so it’s entirely up to the individual.
All that said, my life is changed after experiencing this read. Several of the meditations in this book are among the most effective I’ve practiced in my 20 years meditating, and that was without downloading any of Dr. Joe’s audio - just following the instructions in the book. (Again, please note they do take some practice, even for experienced meditators.) It is a LOT of information, so I finished the last page this morning and will restart on page one this evening. I feel indebted to Dr. Joe for all he’s done in research, study and practice to bring us such incredible information.
September 15, 2018
Absolutely, wonderfully, life changing. This may just be the most powerful book I have ever read.
February 28, 2020
I'm almost to the end of the book and I give it 4 stars. The content is solid and I say this coz I already know this shit works since my mid 20s - way before I even heard of Joe Dispenza. Somehow I had intuitively come across the same process, but just never really understood how and why it worked and the science behind it. Have I used it regularly since? No, in fact rarely. Meditation does not come naturally for me so unless I'm in a desperate situation or really sick of where I am in life, I don't use this method.
I dropped 1 star because the entire chapter 8 was basically a marketing pitch to buy the Mind Movie program. I do not see how you need that. It's most likely just a slide show - something you can easily make using Power Point, or even your desktop screensaver or Adobe Premier. It doesn't have to be that specific program. And to be honest, the only difference here is you're meditating (in a trance) with your eyes open, instead of closed. You don't need it.
In amazon, a lot of people people gave 3 stars or less coz of all the stuff he's trying to sell in this book, from his workshops to all his different meditation cd's (and there are many!). Truth be told most of his meditations follow the same format and if you've heard one, you've pretty much heard them all. The difference would only be 20%. If you guys don't want to buy check youtube, I found some there a couple of years ago. But if we're talking about manifesting, you don't really need to listen to a CD. You just have to know how to get to alpha or lower (meaning meditate) and then do the visualization combined with elevated emotion thing, that's all you need. And again, there are many free guided meditations on youtube that can help you get to alpha.
His CDs and method would probably be more useful if you're trying to activate your kundalini. I haven't activated mine, if your goal is healing then you could benefit greatly from activating your kundalini.
Lastly, to all the nonbelievers out there, I can assure you that what he's teaching here is nothing new. It's exactly what prayer is. I went to a Catholic school and this is exactly what they said. Pray to God, ask for what you want, then trust that it is done, and thank him for it. Isn't that the same concept? Intention+Gratitude (elevated emotion)
It's exactly what spell casting (in Wicca) is. You cast your spell and then you thank them and say so mote it be. And you shouldn't keep recasting your spell, you should let go (you can't keep on thinking about why is it not happening yet?). It's really the same concept which religions have used and abused to their own benefit. When in fact if you strip religion out of the equation, it will still work.
ADDITIONAL BOOK RECOMMENDATION: For Joe Dispenza fans who practice his breathwork and are interested in kundalini activation and heart orgasms, I highly recommend Kundalini Exposed by SantataGamana. It explains everything in a clear way and presents straight-forward clear instructions on how to go about it.
I dropped 1 star because the entire chapter 8 was basically a marketing pitch to buy the Mind Movie program. I do not see how you need that. It's most likely just a slide show - something you can easily make using Power Point, or even your desktop screensaver or Adobe Premier. It doesn't have to be that specific program. And to be honest, the only difference here is you're meditating (in a trance) with your eyes open, instead of closed. You don't need it.
In amazon, a lot of people people gave 3 stars or less coz of all the stuff he's trying to sell in this book, from his workshops to all his different meditation cd's (and there are many!). Truth be told most of his meditations follow the same format and if you've heard one, you've pretty much heard them all. The difference would only be 20%. If you guys don't want to buy check youtube, I found some there a couple of years ago. But if we're talking about manifesting, you don't really need to listen to a CD. You just have to know how to get to alpha or lower (meaning meditate) and then do the visualization combined with elevated emotion thing, that's all you need. And again, there are many free guided meditations on youtube that can help you get to alpha.
His CDs and method would probably be more useful if you're trying to activate your kundalini. I haven't activated mine, if your goal is healing then you could benefit greatly from activating your kundalini.
Lastly, to all the nonbelievers out there, I can assure you that what he's teaching here is nothing new. It's exactly what prayer is. I went to a Catholic school and this is exactly what they said. Pray to God, ask for what you want, then trust that it is done, and thank him for it. Isn't that the same concept? Intention+Gratitude (elevated emotion)
It's exactly what spell casting (in Wicca) is. You cast your spell and then you thank them and say so mote it be. And you shouldn't keep recasting your spell, you should let go (you can't keep on thinking about why is it not happening yet?). It's really the same concept which religions have used and abused to their own benefit. When in fact if you strip religion out of the equation, it will still work.
ADDITIONAL BOOK RECOMMENDATION: For Joe Dispenza fans who practice his breathwork and are interested in kundalini activation and heart orgasms, I highly recommend Kundalini Exposed by SantataGamana. It explains everything in a clear way and presents straight-forward clear instructions on how to go about it.
May 26, 2019
The author weaves three kinds of ingredients into an entertaining life philosophy that might help some people feel motivated enough to help themselves mainly through harmless (could be beneficial) meditation.
The ingredients are:
- perversion of science and scientific method by means of a completely flawed understanding of what science is and how it works
- misuse of evidence, and language around evidence designed to provide assurance
- establishing of new languge and rituals that walk the line between existing uses of this same language
This is a book designed to make you stupid, you might become happier, and solve your life problems but you will be a terrible scientist.
Science is not what happens when you measure something strange and mysterious, science is what happens when the community of scientists argue and try to find simple reasons to explain that strangeness and eventually find a shared explanation they all agree on. Science is the boring consensus, not the bizarre outlier, despite what popularising science books have been trying to do by adding interesting stories.
An interesting example is the reference to Rene Peoc’h and his baby chick experiment. This is not science until Rene does everything possible to openly share in questioning and finding explanations for the mechanism underlying his presumed ESP. The actual paper by Rene says almost nothing about the detail of its random number generator which is the crux of the reported effect.
A good book for a skeptic to learn the dark arts of white magic in self help like texts...
The ingredients are:
- perversion of science and scientific method by means of a completely flawed understanding of what science is and how it works
- misuse of evidence, and language around evidence designed to provide assurance
- establishing of new languge and rituals that walk the line between existing uses of this same language
This is a book designed to make you stupid, you might become happier, and solve your life problems but you will be a terrible scientist.
Science is not what happens when you measure something strange and mysterious, science is what happens when the community of scientists argue and try to find simple reasons to explain that strangeness and eventually find a shared explanation they all agree on. Science is the boring consensus, not the bizarre outlier, despite what popularising science books have been trying to do by adding interesting stories.
An interesting example is the reference to Rene Peoc’h and his baby chick experiment. This is not science until Rene does everything possible to openly share in questioning and finding explanations for the mechanism underlying his presumed ESP. The actual paper by Rene says almost nothing about the detail of its random number generator which is the crux of the reported effect.
A good book for a skeptic to learn the dark arts of white magic in self help like texts...
September 2, 2023
"Becoming Supernatural" by Dr. Joe Dispenza is a captivating exploration of the connection between our mind, body, and the potential for extraordinary transformation.
In this book, Dr. Dispenza introduces readers to the concept of neuroplasticity and how we can rewire our brains to create profound positive changes in our lives. He offers various meditation and visualization techniques, along with scientific explanations, to guide readers on a path toward self-transformation.
Through real-life stories, case studies, and scientific research, "Becoming Supernatural" encourages readers to break free from limiting beliefs, tap into their innate potential, and access higher states of consciousness. Dr. Dispenza explores the idea of stepping beyond the boundaries of our physical existence and into a realm where healing, abundance, and fulfillment become possible.
While "Becoming Supernatural" dives into complex topics, Dr. Dispenza's writing style makes it accessible and engaging. Readers have reported profound shifts in their mindset, health, and overall well-being after implementing the practices outlined in the book.
If you're seeking to explore the intersection of science, spirituality, and personal growth, "Becoming Supernatural" offers a thought-provoking and transformative journey that may expand your understanding of the power within you to create the life you desire.
In this book, Dr. Dispenza introduces readers to the concept of neuroplasticity and how we can rewire our brains to create profound positive changes in our lives. He offers various meditation and visualization techniques, along with scientific explanations, to guide readers on a path toward self-transformation.
Through real-life stories, case studies, and scientific research, "Becoming Supernatural" encourages readers to break free from limiting beliefs, tap into their innate potential, and access higher states of consciousness. Dr. Dispenza explores the idea of stepping beyond the boundaries of our physical existence and into a realm where healing, abundance, and fulfillment become possible.
While "Becoming Supernatural" dives into complex topics, Dr. Dispenza's writing style makes it accessible and engaging. Readers have reported profound shifts in their mindset, health, and overall well-being after implementing the practices outlined in the book.
If you're seeking to explore the intersection of science, spirituality, and personal growth, "Becoming Supernatural" offers a thought-provoking and transformative journey that may expand your understanding of the power within you to create the life you desire.
May 9, 2018
Long long ago I was indoctrinated into such a pseudoscience and lost a lot due to it. After understanding just one thing - law of large numbers, those beliefs vanished. That doesn't mean we know it all, but things mentioned here are just the consequences of a good imagination.
How to make a pseudoscience and earn from it? Take one bias, let's say, one event, forgetting law of large numbers, then mix it with latest scientific discoveries ("quantum" is best), don't think about it much. For example, forget what that quantum really means, just mix. And then apply that mix to the whole of the world.
Why people believe without proof or prove at the first sight? Well, because it's too complex on brains not to :-D
How to make a pseudoscience and earn from it? Take one bias, let's say, one event, forgetting law of large numbers, then mix it with latest scientific discoveries ("quantum" is best), don't think about it much. For example, forget what that quantum really means, just mix. And then apply that mix to the whole of the world.
Why people believe without proof or prove at the first sight? Well, because it's too complex on brains not to :-D
February 27, 2020
One of the best books I’ve read about the mechanics of healing, meditation and energy medicine in a long time!
December 9, 2020
Warning: this book will trigger the skeptic in you!
I made a picture to describe exactly how I feel about this book:
I made a picture to describe exactly how I feel about this book:
September 21, 2022
This was in the Audible recommendations for my wife. I decided to check it out for her (I don't do audio books.) And, it turned out almost immediately, save her from throwing away time. This might be the biggest load of bunk I’ve seen, and I’ve read Robert Anton Wilson, Emmanuel Velikovsky, Robert Lanza, Eckhart Tolle, Miguel Ruiz, Eben Alexander, Neale Walsch, Pete Egoscue, Bill O’Reilly, Glen Beck and other cranks and charlatans - one should try to read the stuff to see if there is anything of merit, and when shown there is not, to understand what the crazies out there are hawking and buying.
Your first pseudoscience warning is the easiest: he's a chiropracter. Martin Gardner's 1952 analysis of chiropracty in Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science is still the best. Your second could be the first paragraph of Gregg Braden's Foreward (calling some story about the 256 year old Li Ching-Yuen an "account" instead of a wild fantasy; and mentioning the Institute of Noetic Sciences with a straight face). Or it could be Dispenza's Introduction ("It became very clear that those skeptics and rigid scientists who hold their own beliefs about what is possible aren't going to like me or my work no matter what I do.") See Mr. Gardner's book again for the characteristics of a crank.
This book is riddled - littered? - with pseudoscience to enhance its wild tales. It starts in the Introduction:
"Although the instrument we use to measure this is not approved by the scientific community in the United States, it has been acknowledged in other countries, including Russia. [...]
We have also assessed the invisible field of vital energy surrounding the body of thousands of students to determine whether they can increase their own light field."
WTF? And what is this mystery instrument? The last I knew, the "scientific community" is not a governing body and doesn't approve or disapprove of whatever pseudoscience somebody wants to play with.
And then there is this:
"Other centers in your body besides the heart are also under the control of the autonomic nervous system—I call them energy centers. Each has its own frequency, its own intent or consciousness, its own glands, its own hormones, its own chemistry, its own individual little brain, and so its own unique mind.
I share these stories because I want to prime you for what is possible when we leave this realm of space-time (the Newtonian world we learned about in high school science class) and activate our pineal gland so we can move into the realm of time-space (the quantum world)."
Seriously? He's invoking an H.P.Lovecraft story as real? I detest when the pseudoscience purveyors use actual physics terms to try to lend credibility to their flimflam: "...the quantum world—the fifth dimension. I want you to understand that there is an invisible field of energy and information that exists beyond this three-dimensional realm of space and time. [...] Chapter 11 opens your mind to what’s possible in the interdimensional world beyond the senses."
He tells a wacky story about his pineal gland and living "two extended events" in the past and future. Oh, and another about a past incarnation. A woman heals her cancer by meditating. There is a graph of squiggly lines purported to be energy frequencies associated with emotions (lust and pain are survival emotions with really low frequencies, apparently); no scale (although that word is in the graph title), no references. BTW, as far as I can tell, he doesn't mention how he measures the energies - must be that mystery machine.
Now the thing about good purveyors of pseudoscience is that they mix actual science in with their stuff to distract, enhance, imply credibility, sometimes even run the Duane Gish approach so that it is too exhausting checking the veracity of the myriad of claims. I spot check the references (when provided - not surprisingly, the fuzzier claims usually have none). I checked some of Dispenza's sparse cites and some are real studies, some being actually pertinent to how he referenced them. (Note: NIH is a good place to look for a lot of the medical papers that are behind journal paywalls.) Dispenza follows up some explanation of physiological process. All sort of good enough until…
…Chapter 3. He starts talking about physics and he transitions to mystical stuff. Oh dear. Try this: "because once we disconnect from three-dimensional reality, we enter a whole other reality called the quantum, the realm of infinite possibility." The "quantum" ? He's doing that thing where the cranks coopt real science. And then "The quantum (or unified) field is an invisible field of energy and information—or you could say a field of intelligence or consciousness—that exists beyond space and time. " WTAF?
And ... "Sometimes people will say to me that this idea seems a bit unscientific. I always answer them with the same question: What happens after an explosion—order or disorder? Their answer is always that disorder results. Then I ask: So why after the Big Bang, which was the biggest explosion ever, has so much order been created? Some intelligence must be organizing its energy and matter into form and unifying all the forces of nature to create such a masterpiece. That intelligence, that energy, is the quantum or unified field. " No. No. NO!!! Jeez no! …physics tells us about gravity, electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces. No freaking “intelligence”.
More of the pseudoscience: '...how scientists came to discover the quantum universe ..." There is no “quantum universe”. There is this universe (enough science fiction here so don’t bring up a multiverse), in which quantum theories apply to some really small very fast things, relativistic theories to larger and fast things, and Newtonian mechanics are close enough for slow stuff. And don't try apologeticism and explain he meant this universe. He didn't. He's off in his own world.
Okay, the book is full of pseudoscience with a sprinkling of actual science thrown in. Debunking nonsense is exhausting. Sifting through the texts, sorting what's real from what's pseudo, following up on references to determine if they're misused or misunderstood and, even more challenging, finding references (or none) for the wilder claims that go unreferenced by the author... Real scientists don't have the time to debunk every paper/book in which someone conscripts actual sciences for fuzzy, obfuscating purposes...nor should they have to. I’m an engineer philomath with a lifelong interest in science and I’ve taken enough for the team on this one.
So, I'll just pull some of the wilder stuff from each chapter...
Chapter 4 Blessing of the Energy Centers:
“Mind is the brain in action, so if each one of these energy centers has a plexus of neurons, then each has its own individual mind—or better said, each center has a mind of its own.” No, he’s not being figurative.
“If you take that tissue and further develop it into a more specialized function, you form an organ, and an organ also has an invisible field of electromagnetic energy. That organ literally receives information from this invisible energy field. In fact, the memory of the organ actually exists in the field.
The way this can affect transplant patients is fascinating.
[…]{stories about transplants carrying memories of the donors}[…]
So in these cases, that information in the energy field surrounding the transplanted organ changed the expression of the energy field of the individual once the person had a transplant—its different light and different information mixing with the transplant patient’s preexisting field. The recipient can pick up on that information as memory in the field, and it influences their mind and their body. The energy, holding specific information, is influencing matter.” {yes, this “scientific” author said that.}
Chapter 5 Reconditioning the Body to a New Mind:
“The movement of your sacrum back and forth as you slowly breathe in and out, along with the sutures of the skull opening and closing, propagates a wave within the fluid of this closed system, and it slowly pumps that cerebrospinal fluid up your spine all the way to the brain, passing through four chambers called cerebral aqueducts or ventricles. ” {Does he know nothing about anatomy?? Oh. Right. NM. Chiropracty. Then there is…}
“As you contract the intrinsic muscles of your lower body and at the same time take in a slow steady breath through your nose, while placing your attention on the top of your head, you accelerate the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid toward your brain and you begin to run a current through your body and up the central axis of the spine.”
Chapter 6: Case Studies: Living Examples of Truth
{more like Anecdotes of Dubious Veracity
You know the drill “Buy my books. Pay for my seminars. You, too, can magically heal yourself of serious diseases, chronic pain, and more! in just one session! (But you should come back for more. I might give you a slight discount.)”}
Chapter 7: Heart Intelligence
“We know that the heart, beyond its obvious role in sustaining life, is not simply a muscular pump that moves blood throughout our body but an organ capable of influencing feelings and emotions. The heart is a sensory organ that guides our decision-making ability as well as our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.
[…]
You may well be wondering why it is that out of all the organs in the body (such as the spleen, liver, or kidneys), the heart is the only one to have intelligence.”
Okay. That’s enough. It gets worse. Much worse, and I’m reeling just looking at my highlights and comments. Showing a picture of a crop circle that looks like melatonin and asking "maybe some is trying to tell us something. ... Is the crop circle an elaborate hoax? Or is somebody somewhere in another dimension trying to tell us something?" (Yeah, the gullible will believe anything, even things admitted to be a hoax.) You’ll just have to laugh at Chapters 8-14 on your own. But you're better off reading something - anything- else. Rare one-star from me.
Your first pseudoscience warning is the easiest: he's a chiropracter. Martin Gardner's 1952 analysis of chiropracty in Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science is still the best. Your second could be the first paragraph of Gregg Braden's Foreward (calling some story about the 256 year old Li Ching-Yuen an "account" instead of a wild fantasy; and mentioning the Institute of Noetic Sciences with a straight face). Or it could be Dispenza's Introduction ("It became very clear that those skeptics and rigid scientists who hold their own beliefs about what is possible aren't going to like me or my work no matter what I do.") See Mr. Gardner's book again for the characteristics of a crank.
This book is riddled - littered? - with pseudoscience to enhance its wild tales. It starts in the Introduction:
"Although the instrument we use to measure this is not approved by the scientific community in the United States, it has been acknowledged in other countries, including Russia. [...]
We have also assessed the invisible field of vital energy surrounding the body of thousands of students to determine whether they can increase their own light field."
WTF? And what is this mystery instrument? The last I knew, the "scientific community" is not a governing body and doesn't approve or disapprove of whatever pseudoscience somebody wants to play with.
And then there is this:
"Other centers in your body besides the heart are also under the control of the autonomic nervous system—I call them energy centers. Each has its own frequency, its own intent or consciousness, its own glands, its own hormones, its own chemistry, its own individual little brain, and so its own unique mind.
I share these stories because I want to prime you for what is possible when we leave this realm of space-time (the Newtonian world we learned about in high school science class) and activate our pineal gland so we can move into the realm of time-space (the quantum world)."
Seriously? He's invoking an H.P.Lovecraft story as real? I detest when the pseudoscience purveyors use actual physics terms to try to lend credibility to their flimflam: "...the quantum world—the fifth dimension. I want you to understand that there is an invisible field of energy and information that exists beyond this three-dimensional realm of space and time. [...] Chapter 11 opens your mind to what’s possible in the interdimensional world beyond the senses."
He tells a wacky story about his pineal gland and living "two extended events" in the past and future. Oh, and another about a past incarnation. A woman heals her cancer by meditating. There is a graph of squiggly lines purported to be energy frequencies associated with emotions (lust and pain are survival emotions with really low frequencies, apparently); no scale (although that word is in the graph title), no references. BTW, as far as I can tell, he doesn't mention how he measures the energies - must be that mystery machine.
Now the thing about good purveyors of pseudoscience is that they mix actual science in with their stuff to distract, enhance, imply credibility, sometimes even run the Duane Gish approach so that it is too exhausting checking the veracity of the myriad of claims. I spot check the references (when provided - not surprisingly, the fuzzier claims usually have none). I checked some of Dispenza's sparse cites and some are real studies, some being actually pertinent to how he referenced them. (Note: NIH is a good place to look for a lot of the medical papers that are behind journal paywalls.) Dispenza follows up some explanation of physiological process. All sort of good enough until…
…Chapter 3. He starts talking about physics and he transitions to mystical stuff. Oh dear. Try this: "because once we disconnect from three-dimensional reality, we enter a whole other reality called the quantum, the realm of infinite possibility." The "quantum" ? He's doing that thing where the cranks coopt real science. And then "The quantum (or unified) field is an invisible field of energy and information—or you could say a field of intelligence or consciousness—that exists beyond space and time. " WTAF?
And ... "Sometimes people will say to me that this idea seems a bit unscientific. I always answer them with the same question: What happens after an explosion—order or disorder? Their answer is always that disorder results. Then I ask: So why after the Big Bang, which was the biggest explosion ever, has so much order been created? Some intelligence must be organizing its energy and matter into form and unifying all the forces of nature to create such a masterpiece. That intelligence, that energy, is the quantum or unified field. " No. No. NO!!! Jeez no! …physics tells us about gravity, electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces. No freaking “intelligence”.
More of the pseudoscience: '...how scientists came to discover the quantum universe ..." There is no “quantum universe”. There is this universe (enough science fiction here so don’t bring up a multiverse), in which quantum theories apply to some really small very fast things, relativistic theories to larger and fast things, and Newtonian mechanics are close enough for slow stuff. And don't try apologeticism and explain he meant this universe. He didn't. He's off in his own world.
Okay, the book is full of pseudoscience with a sprinkling of actual science thrown in. Debunking nonsense is exhausting. Sifting through the texts, sorting what's real from what's pseudo, following up on references to determine if they're misused or misunderstood and, even more challenging, finding references (or none) for the wilder claims that go unreferenced by the author... Real scientists don't have the time to debunk every paper/book in which someone conscripts actual sciences for fuzzy, obfuscating purposes...nor should they have to. I’m an engineer philomath with a lifelong interest in science and I’ve taken enough for the team on this one.
So, I'll just pull some of the wilder stuff from each chapter...
Chapter 4 Blessing of the Energy Centers:
“Mind is the brain in action, so if each one of these energy centers has a plexus of neurons, then each has its own individual mind—or better said, each center has a mind of its own.” No, he’s not being figurative.
“If you take that tissue and further develop it into a more specialized function, you form an organ, and an organ also has an invisible field of electromagnetic energy. That organ literally receives information from this invisible energy field. In fact, the memory of the organ actually exists in the field.
The way this can affect transplant patients is fascinating.
[…]{stories about transplants carrying memories of the donors}[…]
So in these cases, that information in the energy field surrounding the transplanted organ changed the expression of the energy field of the individual once the person had a transplant—its different light and different information mixing with the transplant patient’s preexisting field. The recipient can pick up on that information as memory in the field, and it influences their mind and their body. The energy, holding specific information, is influencing matter.” {yes, this “scientific” author said that.}
Chapter 5 Reconditioning the Body to a New Mind:
“The movement of your sacrum back and forth as you slowly breathe in and out, along with the sutures of the skull opening and closing, propagates a wave within the fluid of this closed system, and it slowly pumps that cerebrospinal fluid up your spine all the way to the brain, passing through four chambers called cerebral aqueducts or ventricles. ” {Does he know nothing about anatomy?? Oh. Right. NM. Chiropracty. Then there is…}
“As you contract the intrinsic muscles of your lower body and at the same time take in a slow steady breath through your nose, while placing your attention on the top of your head, you accelerate the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid toward your brain and you begin to run a current through your body and up the central axis of the spine.”
Chapter 6: Case Studies: Living Examples of Truth
{more like Anecdotes of Dubious Veracity
You know the drill “Buy my books. Pay for my seminars. You, too, can magically heal yourself of serious diseases, chronic pain, and more! in just one session! (But you should come back for more. I might give you a slight discount.)”}
Chapter 7: Heart Intelligence
“We know that the heart, beyond its obvious role in sustaining life, is not simply a muscular pump that moves blood throughout our body but an organ capable of influencing feelings and emotions. The heart is a sensory organ that guides our decision-making ability as well as our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.
[…]
You may well be wondering why it is that out of all the organs in the body (such as the spleen, liver, or kidneys), the heart is the only one to have intelligence.”
Okay. That’s enough. It gets worse. Much worse, and I’m reeling just looking at my highlights and comments. Showing a picture of a crop circle that looks like melatonin and asking "maybe some is trying to tell us something. ... Is the crop circle an elaborate hoax? Or is somebody somewhere in another dimension trying to tell us something?" (Yeah, the gullible will believe anything, even things admitted to be a hoax.) You’ll just have to laugh at Chapters 8-14 on your own. But you're better off reading something - anything- else. Rare one-star from me.
April 24, 2020
This book tries to be enlightening and scientific at the same time and it fails at both. It lacks the depth of spiritual text or the relevance of scientific research and it pretty much builds a sense of self importance by referencing itself or other services provided by the author again and again and again.
Why would you use 10 pages and 5 graphics to say something that can be perfectly understood from one phrase? I guess we'll never know. But honestly I got sick of hearing about the some body to no body in the unified field (with 3 explained graphics that show the exact same thing). And about the advanced workshops in Tulum where advanced students do the same technique that's been described 20 times before. I guess you could say reading this raised my cortisol levels (which is apparently what everyone thinks about when they encounter sickness or stress, at least in the stories he presents).
Now why it still gets two stars :
1 - the parts where it actually presents interesting information on biology and it presents the way it might link with spiritual knowledge (it would have been truly great if instead of praising his techniques and advanced workshops, he would have used the book to present his hypothesis on that more in depth)
2 - the breathing technique (I really enjoy breathing techniques and I did enjoy this one)
Why would you use 10 pages and 5 graphics to say something that can be perfectly understood from one phrase? I guess we'll never know. But honestly I got sick of hearing about the some body to no body in the unified field (with 3 explained graphics that show the exact same thing). And about the advanced workshops in Tulum where advanced students do the same technique that's been described 20 times before. I guess you could say reading this raised my cortisol levels (which is apparently what everyone thinks about when they encounter sickness or stress, at least in the stories he presents).
Now why it still gets two stars :
1 - the parts where it actually presents interesting information on biology and it presents the way it might link with spiritual knowledge (it would have been truly great if instead of praising his techniques and advanced workshops, he would have used the book to present his hypothesis on that more in depth)
2 - the breathing technique (I really enjoy breathing techniques and I did enjoy this one)
November 25, 2017
Great. As usual.
Very well researched and fascinating. I found it riveting! I'm going to read it again as there was so.much to digest!
Very well researched and fascinating. I found it riveting! I'm going to read it again as there was so.much to digest!
August 22, 2018
some stuff was interesting but i felt that he didn't have very good examples on placebo effects outside of people attending a million of his seminars. This was more of a marketing material for his seminars than an actual good book. I think he just needs to re-write it because there's some great material in it
May 17, 2021
ماورا طبیعی شدن هم علمی توضیح میده هم تکنیک های مراقبه رو یاد میده... برای کسی که به قدرت ذهن و تفکر اعتقاد داره، کتاب مناسبیه.
بنوعی تاثیر ماورای طبیعی رو اثبات میکنه.
مهمترین نکته که از این کتاب یادگرفتم، برقراری ارتباط بین ذهنیات و بقول عرفا عالم وهم با واقعیت بود که میبایست توسط یک حس صورت بگیره.
بنوعی تاثیر ماورای طبیعی رو اثبات میکنه.
مهمترین نکته که از این کتاب یادگرفتم، برقراری ارتباط بین ذهنیات و بقول عرفا عالم وهم با واقعیت بود که میبایست توسط یک حس صورت بگیره.
October 1, 2018
One of my new all time favorites. And looking forward to his intensive online class. This will definitely become a cornerstone in my mental discipline practices.
March 10, 2022
Could not get past all the very obvious "follow my link and purchase more from me " Joe Dispenza had to offer.
April 7, 2022
If you've never heard of Joe Dispenza, I highly recommend looking him up in a quick internet search before reading this review. His self healing journey after a terrible car accident where doctors told him he'd never walk again is amazing. This book, Becoming Supernatural, acts as a guide to the power of the mind and how you can transform your life with meditation and mindfulness practices.
This book has a lot of interesting ideas. Dispenza has a different take on the chakras that I found fascinating and I do want to try many of the meditations he presented. I also enjoyed how Dispenza relates parts back to actual scientific studies and experiences both from his own life and how people that attended his workshop have transformed their lives with using these techniques.
Where the book started to lose me was when it read more like an advertisement for his workshop and other services. I get it, he needs to make a living. I just didn't need to be "sold" continuously. If I really like what I'm reading I'm naturally going to look up more information and will find his workshops. Secondly, the student stories presented give the impression that mastering meditation and self transformation is easy and quick instead of showing the hard work and time that goes into the process. Anyone new to meditation and mindfulness should look for a less advanced book on the subject before jumping in to Becoming Supernatural.
This book has a lot of interesting ideas. Dispenza has a different take on the chakras that I found fascinating and I do want to try many of the meditations he presented. I also enjoyed how Dispenza relates parts back to actual scientific studies and experiences both from his own life and how people that attended his workshop have transformed their lives with using these techniques.
Where the book started to lose me was when it read more like an advertisement for his workshop and other services. I get it, he needs to make a living. I just didn't need to be "sold" continuously. If I really like what I'm reading I'm naturally going to look up more information and will find his workshops. Secondly, the student stories presented give the impression that mastering meditation and self transformation is easy and quick instead of showing the hard work and time that goes into the process. Anyone new to meditation and mindfulness should look for a less advanced book on the subject before jumping in to Becoming Supernatural.
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