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Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One

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Nous ne sommes pas condamnés par nos gènes à vivre une certaine forme d'existence. Une nouvelle science permet à tous les êtres humains de créer la réalité qu'ils souhaitent. Dans ''Rompre avec soi-même'', le docteur Joe Dispenza, auteur, conférencier et chercheur reconnu, unit les domaines de la physique quantique, des neurosciences, de la chimie cérébrale, de la biologie et de la génétique pour nous montrer ce qu'il est vraiment possible de faire. Vous trouverez dans ce livre audio non seulement les connaissances nécessaires pour modifier tout aspect de votre personnalité, mais aussi les instruments permettant de les appliquer afin d'effectuer des changements significatifs dans les différents secteurs de votre vie. Le docteur Joe Dispenza démystifie les fausses croyances et comble le fossé existant entre la science et la spiritualité. Grâce à ses brillantes conférences sur le fonctionnement du cerveau et à ses ateliers intensifs, des milliers de personnes, dans plus de vingt pays, ont suivi ces principes pour changer leur vie du tout au tout. Une fois que l'on a réussi à perdre l'habitude de l'ancienne personnalité et que l'on a véritablement modifié son état d'esprit, la vie n'est plus jamais la même !

329 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 2012

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About the author

Joe Dispenza

88 books3,061 followers
Dr 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

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5 stars
12,367 (46%)
4 stars
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3 stars
3,892 (14%)
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834 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,994 reviews
Profile Image for Joe.
2 reviews27 followers
August 5, 2014
I enjoyed the first book, and I wish I would have stopped there. In this book he finally reveals he is a quack. Don't get me wrong, some of the information is still fascinating and even useful, but it also comes with a fundamental misunderstanding of what 'quantum' means.

By throwing around 'quantum' and other buzzwords, he essentially covers up the fact that what he's really trying to convince you is that you can just wish for whatever you want, and as long as you wish it hard enough, it will happen, exactly the way you wish it. He uses his daughter's summer vacation from college as an example:
He essentially tells her to do his little 'quantum meditating' technique and imagine what she wants to happen regarding this Italy trip. So she says instead of the typical college-student-home-for-the-summer job she wants to work in Italy, visit 6 cities, spend a week in Florence, and only work for the first 6 weeks and be able to spend the rest of her break back home.

He then reminded her that "universal intelligence would orchestrate the way her dream summer would manifest."

Really dude? You might as well have said that little italian dream fairies will answer her prayers, or that Ziltoid the Omniscient can bring her to the 10th dimensional version of Italy beyond time and space, where the pasta actually isn't that great anymore, but the artwork is better.

So she gets a call from her university that she can take an art history summer course in Italy and they'd only have to pay $4,000 for it. So instead of taking the offer, he told her to tell them to shove it up their asses because their quantum intelligent omniversal creator fairies were going to sort out all the details the way that she had originally planned it, and that an Art History course in Italy is only for suckers.

And then we're supposed to believe that she literally did get her perfect dream summer in Italy. Complete with the 6 weeks of working, visiting 6 cities, and spending a week in Florence.


So, first of all, I don't believe this happened. Secondly, if it did happen, it would have been a huge coincidence, and certainly not the result of the fact that she "electromagnetically connected to an intended destiny that existed in the quantum" and that "her body was drawn to the future event."

Bollocks.
Profile Image for Pia Bergqvist.
144 reviews12 followers
October 20, 2013
Some useful ideas about learning meditation. Unfortunately this books falls in a category of books that I always dislike - using random scientific discoveries and theories to justify for example meditation. There is plenty of neuroscientific research supporting the benefits of meditation. Using quantum physics to talk about energies changing the universe is not only annoying, it also makes me think the author is doubting his own ideas and is desperate to prove that he is right.
Profile Image for Kristi.
1 review13 followers
November 11, 2012
This book will blow your mind. It's full of scientific explanation on WHY and HOW the things I believed "work." Anyone that reads this book will feel empowered and excited about what they can create for their lives. I had huge realizations and light-bulb-turning-on moments repeatedly. I only would read a chapter at a time, would have to close the book, and just contemplate the magnitude of what I just read. This isn't a book that you just sit down to read cover-to-cover in one shot. There is so much amazing information that you will want to meditate upon as you read it. I have already recommended this book to everyone I know. WOW!!!!!!! Take your life by the reins with this book!!!!!!!
Profile Image for Margaret.
134 reviews13 followers
March 3, 2018
It's difficult to rate this book. Two thirds is excellent psychology and CBT techniques. The remaining third is utter nonsense/pseudoscience. I wish the author would just avoid going out of his depth, especially with issues pertaining (but not limited) to: evolution, genetics, epigenetics, and quantum physics. It could have been a great book if he'd stuck to his wheelhouse (psychology) and avoided tangents on science that are completely unfounded and absurd. I won't really get into it, but he badly misunderstands the differences between Lamarckism and epigenetics. It's embarrassing to read.
Profile Image for George Jankovic.
140 reviews100 followers
May 19, 2018
What an amazing book!!! If someone told you that you could heal yourself simply by using your mind--even cancer--would you believe or would you laugh? While I've always been a big believer in the power of human mind to do both bad (destroy our body via stress, for instance) and good (to at least reverse that), I would've been suspicious to say the least. But a very close friend of mine recommended this book and bought it for me because stress had been ravaging my body and i've been getting all kinds of things. She has been battling progressive multiple sclerosis for years. She read three of Joe's books and used his meditation techniques for nine months. Her latest MRI results showed no lesions on her spine which she'd had for a very long time. Yes, she managed to change her body!

How is that possible? We've all heard of the placebo effect. You get a sugar pill instead of the real medicine and it works solely because you believe it would. Your mind heals you because you trust the doctor. This book has some literally amazing examples from medical literature. How about this? One group of patients does exercises to strengthen muscles (or practices playing the piano) while the other one does it only in their minds. The result is not identical (unfortunately i have to keep doing the push-ups), but pretty darn close.

So if your mind believes in something strongly, it can do wonders. But how do you make it believe if nobody gives you a pill? This is where meditation comes into play. Actually, i would call this method sort of a self-hypnosis since you are convincing yourself certain things when you are most susceptible (during meditation).

When my friend explained this, my response was, "That is all nice and good, but i've tried meditation several times and i either wanted to fall asleep or my mind kept wandering." My friend convinced me that nobody could be worse than her and that it took a while for her to calm her mind. And there are always ups and downs, even for the author. But it works.

So i plunged in, read two books and started meditating. It proved to be easier than i thought because you are not focused on your breathing, which is hard, but are either listening to Joe on youtube or are talking to yourself. It started out really well for me and kept getting better and then i hurt my back and spent some time in a slump. But it's worth doing. When things were going well, i felt much happier and people told me that i looked healthier and happier without knowing what i had been doing. I would also like to go to a workshop if there is one near me.

This review covers two books:

- You are the placebo

I suggest reading it first because it has a boatload of amazing examples from medical research and trials. It will pump you up. If you know physics, i suggest you skip the quantum mechanics stuff (Joe applies the science of the small to the big and metaphysical). Epigenetics is great.

- Breaking the habit of being yourself

I suggest reading this one second. There is some overlap between the two books but nothing major. And it is much more practical about meditation.

Then you can listen the "You are the placebo" guided meditation on youtube.

I hope i can continue with all this because it is awesome. Sometimes we give up after a while. I hope i won't.

Enjoy!
Profile Image for Anne .
457 reviews407 followers
June 9, 2021
The first part of this book is a very intelligent review of the science of Neuroplasticity, the brain's ability tp change; i.e. to grow new neural networks and, therefore, change one's health/emotions, etc. Neuroplastic change involves focus on one's future goal and a dedication to changing one's habitual thoughts, behaviors and feelings which interfere with this goal. The first part of the book was a great review of the science and ideas I've read about elsewhere. Dispenza discusses a host of physical and emotional health issues plus damage to the body and brain caused by stroke and other traumas and how the science of Neuroplasticity can help or cure these.

However, the second part lost me. For Dispenza, the goals one can reach are unlimited, only capped by one's own imagination and neuroplasticity involves changing one's whole life and personality through what he calls the "quantum field. " Doing so means practicing his very involved meditation program. This discussion strained my credulity as well as my scientific understanding. I listened to part of one of his meditations and have to say that I did not enjoy the experience.

So, first half of book is 5 stars. Second half 1 stars. Overall 3 stars.
Profile Image for Sean Xie.
9 reviews5 followers
February 14, 2016
It can be a life-turning book if the reader is ready. I'm 70% in have already felt tremendous impact on how I preceive life in general. It is a solid upgrade from the popular book/documentary The Secret.
Profile Image for Michael.
506 reviews25 followers
July 5, 2013
I read a book many years ago. I forget the name, but it was about a man with low self-esteem and anxiety who meditated with the intent to access his subconscious mind and change his life, which he did. He called it Life+. I never tried it.

Fast forward. Mix quantum physics applications, with accessing your sub-conscious mind and change yourself and your world. Change your mind completely from what you are and don't want to be, to your ideal self. It's not about perfectionism. It's about being who you are and unloading all that baggage and ALL things in the past that influence your decisions and actions in the now.

This is a hands-on practical guide with meditations included to literally change yourself, thus changing your life. I have read a lot of hocus pocus, new age, airy-fairy books over the years, so I'm schooled in all of that, and this is not that.

This is something every single person on the planet can use to better their lives and existence. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Get into your sub-conscious mind and change it, then be mindful as you go about your day to be your ideal self. You can't do it by simply trying. The subconscious is too powerful and difficult to overcome without help.
Profile Image for Alex Devero.
537 reviews62 followers
July 4, 2018
This book is both, a very good and very bad. It is good because it contains some useful and scientifically valid information about human brain. For example, it explores topics such as neurogenesis, neuroplasticity and different brain waves. Next, it also provides information about meditation and its benefits along with a very simple step-by-step plan on how to start with it and how to use to shape one's personality and habits. Finally, The book offers useful information and tips on how to change and form one's personality and habits through various ways, meditation included.

That being said, the book also contains a lot of nonsense that is not proven by any real science. The author often talks about topics such as quantum fields, quantum entanglement, time and space and other topics. All these thing are real, based on our current knowledge of physics. However, the author is using these terms in a way that serves the book, not the real evidence. Put simply, the author talks about these topics while bending and adjusting facts to fit into his "story". In other words, part of the book is pure fiction and fantasy.

To summarize, this book is partially true and partially a hoax. It contains some good information based on science and it certainly can help. However, it also contains a lot of unproven and invalid information, especially about quantum physics. So, take everything you read with a big dose skepticism.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
487 reviews
April 8, 2024
For three years this has been taking up space on my shelf. Today was the day to decide what to do with it.

"Dr" Joe Dispenza (the quotations are there because Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, Abraham Vergese, Atul Gawande, and Jerome Groopman--all mds-- don't seem to need to ram their titles down your throat) is on a quest for legitimacy in a field that parallels science. I have no problem with the alternative world--actually, it's my world. But I am a little turned off by the Manifestation Mob, particularly because they can be judgmental about failure in that same offensive way that the alternative medicine crowd can be. (Once, during a lecture about health after a 20 year old woman painfully made her way to the front of the room suffering from chronic Rheumatoid arthritis I overheard an acupuncturist murmur under her breath: "It's because she's so angry." That kind of blaming is rife in the medical world--alternative or not.) Are you sick? It's because you're not manifesting health! Stop it!

Actually, this book isn't all that terrible, it's just the same old same old that I've read a hundred times: you are what our think and here's the quantum explanation why. I call it quantum muck. It's the kind of thing that has science wannabes huffing and puffing words like "quackery" and "pseudoscience". Fer good reason.

If you want to change your life, yes do change your thoughts. There's plenty of great studies out there to suggest there's more than a simple correlation in the body-mind connection. But jeez-loueez 340 pages ? It could be easily converted to 25. Wish it had been. By the time I got to chapter 11 and the beginning of the four week "change your life" program I was completely out of patience with this guy and his writing. I had no interest in hanging out with him for five more minutes.

The reasons for this are many and manifold: his writing is uninspired, his sciency-stuff smacks of b.s., his understanding of meditation is Seven-Eleven fare (cheap variety), his understanding of the purlicues of the mind is mere meat and potatoes, and his magical manifestation system is vivisected. What does that mean? Once about five years ago I took a tour of the local Temple of Scottish rites (masons). The guy who led me through it was the most generous tour guide I've ever had--what a great barker for an organization. But I noticed something weird: all the decorative symbolism in the building was masculine in nature: the sun (but not the moon), daylight (but not night.) The aim for glory there felt unhealthily lopsided. There's a cyclicity and a polarity that must be balanced for the universe to be satisfied: all magic needs to be done and undone, all magicians know you need manifesting spells and also banishing spells. With the art of manifestation you have to satisfy the cyclical nature of reality: stuff for self, stuff for others. Without that "other" part you've got growth without decrease, which is basically cancer.

Alas, for me this book goes into the same category as Daniel Amen's book: snooze-fest.
Profile Image for Roberto Ojeda.
26 reviews2 followers
June 8, 2020
El autor habla de 3 tipos de cambios que debemos experimentar para llegar a esa nueva versión de nosotros: ir más allá del tiempo (dejar de creer que la felicidad sólo está en el futuro, olvidándonos del ahora, y mientras no hayamos logrado físicamente aquello que deseamos, seguir sufriendo), más allá del espacio (o entorno y circunstancias, vivir como si ya hubiésemos alcanzado lo deseado, a pesar de que el entorno nos dice lo contrario) y más allá del cuerpo (salir de este círculo vicioso pensamientos-sentimientos-pensamientos que crea una forma de ser o personalidad, para crear esa nueva manera de ser, independiente de nuestros pensamientos habituales y emociones que éstos generan).

Un libro que recomiendo a todo el que desee empezar un verdadero cambio en su vida, que quiera desligarse de esa rutina automática que de forma invisible guía nuestra vida y que desea ir más allá de lo convencional para encontrarse consigo mismo. Eso sí, es un libro muy completo y es de los que se leen despacio, porque hay muchísima información concentrada y aunque se repitan algunas cosas, muchas son de imprimirlas y colgarlas en la pared para no dejar de tenerlas presentes.
Profile Image for Annette.
842 reviews512 followers
August 14, 2023
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself – this book was recommended to me and I wasn’t sure what the title entailed. It quickly became clear and interesting to know that the author, who is a renowned researcher of epigenetics, quantum physics, and neuroscience, shares his findings that it’s not the genes that are responsible for our health, but to be a certain way.

It is our mind and thought that proceeds action. I’ve read it before, but I didn’t connect it with the genes (that we can break away from that kind of thinking). Thus, the title makes more sense.

In a relatable way, the fields of quantum physics, neuroscience, brain chemistry, biology, and genetics are combine to show us true possibility, and how to obtain better health. It’s also about managing your energy to obtain better aspect of yourself and life.

The first half is based more on science, where the second part is more on meditation, and how you can benefit from it.

This book is for those who are interesting in metaphysics and haven’t read much on the subject. I’ve read a lot of books on this subject. So this book didn’t hold my interest as I was already familiar with most of it.
Profile Image for Mark Manderson.
556 reviews26 followers
August 3, 2022
WOW! GAME CHANGER!
This was one of my top reads this year. The takeaway:
Thoughts create pictures in your mind. 

Pictures release chemicals in your brain and body. 

Then you begin to feel the experience and prepare for the experience. 

Thoughts are mind. Feelings are body. 

After years of engraining thoughts and feelings, it becomes automatic. This is what shapes your unconscious and runs your program! 

THE KEY IS TO THINK DIFFERENTLY TO OVERRIDE AUTO-EMOTIONS! 

95% of our feelings have become automatic therefore "feelings" are what run your program. When you think, body says I got this and left unchecked you go to autopilot. 

MUST INTERVENE BY UNLEARNING THE AUTOPILOT AND RELEARNING DESIRED STATES! 

Victimization and blame are the 2 tricks our mind uses to keep us in AUTO-EMOTION! 

This is why we stay stuck! 

Must have mind and body work together to unmemorize emotional states. 

Just like when you are around something irritating and you get used to it if no longer aware it's even there plus something comes and interject. 

When you continually recreate the same emotions in your body, your feelings become the means of your thinking and ultimately creating this addiction to feelings.

Our body settles in memorized emotional states. Think of Pavlov. We can train for the emotions we want. 

Mental reheasral leads to new experiences! This is how you condition a new mind to your body! THIS TAKES YOU FROM INTELECTUALIZNG TO ACTUALLY BEING AND CHANGES YOUR REALITY THROUGH STATE OF BEING! 

Use elevated emotions to fuel your creations! Creating your future! 

We lump experiences into groups unconsciously so feelings become predicted before they happen. 

TECHNOLOGY IS A DISTRACTOR THAT ALLOWS US TO NUMB AND NOT LEARN HOW TO CHANGE MIND/BODY! 

When we share similar experiences, we bond through shared emotions! 

HOW TO MEDITATE:

INDUCTION: Close eyes, surrender. Move from analytical to sun conscious. Focus on body orientation and location. (start at top of scalp and work down). Then the space around body. Then open room. OPEN FOCUS! (MOVE FROM THINKING TO FEELING). Or imagine water feeling up around you and focus on feel. 

RECOGNIZING: Work on one emotion at a time and your physiology linked to it. 

ADMITTING AND DECLARING: Own it with no emotion/jusgement and give it to God. Declare what you want to feel and be! Tell self what you want to be (full honesty). SAY WHAT EKOTION YOU'VE BEEN TIED TO IN ORDER TO SET UR FREE. 

IT IS YOUR EMOTION THAT KEEPS YOU TIED TO STATE. EX: if you hate someone, it is your emotion that keeps you tied to them experiencing that hatred.

Therefore when you allow your emotions to go you are able to experience a different reality. 

When you notice your thoughts laundering say change and redirect your thoughts.

Eventually when you find yourself in a wake State thinking limited beliefs you can take change and your body will follow. 

Recreate your brain by breaking old habits and filling in new ones. 
Profile Image for Aida.
48 reviews5 followers
December 18, 2022
I just read a few of the one star reviews and I’ve gotta say it baffles me just how much people are addicted to their lives being “stuck”. If you read a book titled “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself”, you obviously want to change some habits. So instead of following the instructions outlined in the book whose author has helped literally MILLIONS of people change their habits with his methodology, they judge the book based on their own limited belief systems. GET OVER YOURSELVES, PEOPLE!! These are simple techniques that will not hurt you one bit!! Just try them. You’re doing it in private. Who’s going to know unless you blast it all over social media?? Who gives a dang how you achieved your results?? Just try stuff!! Geez, people!! *sigh*

Anywho... I loved the book.
Profile Image for Cindy Rollins.
Author 23 books2,649 followers
September 10, 2017
Whenever Audible offers a self-help book with good reviews, I am always tempted, mostly to my regret. This book turned out to be about meditation and even had some great ideas about how to do what the Bible calls 'renewing your mind.' Most of those strategies can be gleaned from the book without resorting to speaking of a 'quantum creator.'

It is true that in order to change we have to be able to imagine ourselves as something different. We do have choices and we do not have
to live our lives as victims of circumstances. Those reminders were very helpful. The fact that he shrouded them in quack science and bad theology was a bit too weird for me.

Still, today, I hope I can concentrate on forgetting what lies behind and reaching for the mark of the high calling of Christ Jesus.
Profile Image for Cassandra Kay Silva.
704 reviews300 followers
July 6, 2020
Invoking Quantum mechanics in an effort to prove manifestation in one's life. Psuedoscience nonsense. You don't need to resort to these tactics to see the benefits of meditation and mindfulness.
Profile Image for Cav.
789 reviews157 followers
February 23, 2022
So, I guess Joe Dispenza is not really for me... Too bad, as I was excited to start this one.
I put this one down after the second chapter, which is something I have rarely ever done.

Dispenza's misuse of the term "quantum" early on got too much, and rang alarm bells for me. Dispenza seems to think that you can manifest any reality you want because "quantum."
This brought to mind the pseudoscience ideas peddled in "The Law of Attraction."

The power of meditation and mindfulness practices to one's life are most assuredly beneficial, and are certainly are conducive to establishing a powerful mindset. However, the writing here delved way too far into the realm of pseudoscientific magical thinking and woo-peddling for my tastes...

Specifically, after taking a few previous statements of his with a grain of salt, this one really set off my alarm bells:
"When you hold clear, focused thoughts about your purpose, accompanied by your passionate emotional engagement, you broadcast a stronger electromagnetic signal that pulls you toward a potential reality that matches what you want."
[CITATION MISSING]

-Sorry, Joe, I'm done...

I guess it's good that Dispenza covered the whole "quantum" debacle upfront, instead of me trudging through the rest of his book, and hearing this woo later on.

I'll quote from another review here, which captured my thoughts on this succinctly:
"Basically, Dispenza argues that we can manipulate the matter and, therefore, the world around us through mere thought. His "scientific evidence" for this is a phenomenon from quantum physics known as the Observers Effect. In a nutshell, the Observers Effect states that the act of measuring, or observing, an event can actually alter the outcome of the event. It has been repeatedly observed at the quantum level as researchers have attempted to measure the location of individual electrons. Many in pop culture, including Dispenza, have incorrectly interpreted this to mean that our mere presence or the presence of our thoughts can affect the way matter behaves. He is mistaken.

What most likely happens in these experiments is a matter of measurement and instrumentation. The only instruments that we have available to us for measuring the results of an event require that we observe the event. That doesn't mean that we have to physically observe it with our own eyes (the Observers Effect has been recorded by equipment even if no one is around to watch), it simply means that the event must be observed through some form of light waves. We cannot know what happened if we do not "hit" the event with light in order to observe and make a measurement. In the case of atomic and quantum particles, the mere act of "hitting" them with light requires that photons are introduced to the particles under consideration. These particles are so small that interaction with photons causes them to behave differently than they would have behaved otherwise. Basically, if you shoot a photon at an electron, it is so small that the photon will "bounce" off the electron and change its course. It has nothing to do with our thoughts exerting some sort of telekinetic force on the electron."



************************

As I mentioned at the start of this review, meditation and mindfulness practices are indeed powerful tools that the individual can train, and use to better their lives, as well as their futures.
However, Dispenza's writing here went way out in left field and lost me early on...
I would not recommend this book. There are many other science-based mindset books that I would recommend instead.
1 star.
24 reviews1 follower
February 16, 2012
I found this book utterly fascinating. So much so that I will be shopping for a physical copy of the book since I was given an electronic version to review. This is one I will be referring back to again and again. The look at quantum theory, modern neuroscience and how we can truly change our own minds was riveting. While that might sound like a tough read the author did an excellent job of keeping the topics accessible and easy to understand, readers should not be intimidated. Grab a copy and take a journey though your own brain and see what happens.
Profile Image for Maja.
191 reviews22 followers
November 28, 2022
EDIT: Apparently, this man is a cult leader (allegedly)?!!! Glad to know I recognize bs when I see it lol... be careful out there everyone!

Original review:
If you’ve read anything regarding quantum theory you know this ain’t it.

He basically tells you that if you wish for things enough and do a little meditation it’s gonna come true (applying some quantum theory).

Call me a pessimist but I’m sure that some things will never come true just by wishing, sometimes you have to act.

Also the amount of self promos for his other books/courses was a lot.

Ultimately, this just wasn’t for me
Profile Image for Kat.
292 reviews41 followers
July 16, 2018
This book is all about using meditation to break bad habits and create good ones. I got some interesting ideas from the book, but some stuff I will leave. For example, he advises you build up to an hour of meditation every day, I imagine that would be impossible for very busy people and/or people with kids. Personally I just can't sit that long without fidgeting and having my legs hurt.

The kicker is that he tells you to go to his website for the guided meditations, but they cost more money on top of the cost of the book. He says in the last chapter, just after promoting his other books and seminars, that eventually you'll just feel pure love, stop wanting material things, and be moved to give people gifts, but he sure wants more money from the reader lol. We all have bills to pay but maybe work on that self awareness some more, buddy.
Profile Image for pegah.
110 reviews19 followers
September 22, 2019
All the scientific and logical reasons for meditating everyday. I like the way Dr. Joe describes brain and its abilities and functions although it was difficult for me to understand all details.
Profile Image for Michael Dubakov.
208 reviews139 followers
December 14, 2018
Удивительная книга. Авантюрная смесь квантовой механики, биологии, неврологии, медитации, религии и шизофрении.

Основная идея состоит в том, что материя суть энергия. Мозг тоже генерирует энергию. Следовательно, мы можем через сознание и эмоции управлять матрицей бытия, достигая своих целей. Почему-то одного сознания или одних эмоций недостаточно, нужно именно их сочетание для генерирования когерентных волн (что, по мнению автора, усиливает влияние на мироздание).

Все это доказывается через предельно сумасшедшие эксперименты, результаты которых опубликованы в ненаучных журналах: разворачивание спиралей ДНК мысленным усилием, влияние молитв на исцеление больных сепсисом в *прошлом* (то есть молимся сейчас, а в прошлом больным *становилось* от этого лучше).

Все это снабжается традиционными бытовыми историями и байками, как люди становились богатыми, достигали своих целей и счастья после применения медитативных техник Доктора Джо.

Что любопытно, описываемые техники медитации вполне работают. Если каждый день медитировать около часа, то это даст свои плоды в любом случае. Польза медитации в большинстве случаев — научно доказанный факт. К сожалению, после неплохого начала, медитации превращаются в молитву, когда Доктор Диспенза добавляет шаг 4: “передача проблемы высшим силам”. Надо сформулировать проблему, помолиться, и ждать. Прекрасная стратегия, я считаю.

Доктор Джо Диспенза — великолепный бизнесмен. Книга имеет прекрасные ревью и рейтинги. Вся негативная информация в сети тщательно вычищается. Вы не найдет страницы Wikipedia или чего-то подобного. Продано 4,000,000 копий. Карл Саган ворочается в гробу и скоро восстанет из мертвых, чтобы дать интервью на эту тему.

Я *завидую* людям, которые ставят таким книгам больше одной звезды. Они счастливы. Беззаботны. Им легко жить. Когда нечем думать — всегда легко.
Profile Image for Amanda W Stone.
11 reviews9 followers
April 19, 2019
I’m tired of being told to be grateful. To just be happy and imagine a better life reaaally hard. And if your circumstances don’t magically change by god (the author calls it “the quantum field” as if that makes it sounds scientific... it doesn’t) then you’re just not trying hard enough. The problem is you, not the method. You’re just so flawed and negative, that’s why the universe doesn’t give you what you want.

Maybe life is just hard. And maybe, just maybe, things don’t just happen because you envision them but because you work your ass off. And things don’t happen because you don’t make them happen. There’s no magic to wish away the bad thoughts. Life is hard. We’re all grieving or will be. We’re all afraid. That’s OK. It’s OK to be angry in an insane world. Don’t wish your justified anger away, do something about it.

This book says if you change yourself the world will rearrange itself to cater to you. Anyone who has lost a loved one knows the world keeps on moving regardless of your mood. It is indifferent to your happiness and indifferent to your suffering. It’s up to you to take physical, concrete steps towards your goals. This magical thinking is a waste of all our tine.
Profile Image for Gabriela Vizuet.
31 reviews2 followers
January 9, 2020
Me gusta porque tiene ejemplos muy simples acerca de la física cuántica y de cómo funciona nuestro cerebro, Joe hace excelente referencia a ejemplos del día a día.
Me parece un conferencista y un autor fascinante muy dedicado a lo que hace y a transmitir su mensaje de manera eficiente.
He practicado la meditación para cambiar mi entorno y gratamente he visto resultados no solo en mí sino en la gente que me rodea. Recomiendo ampliamente el libro.
Profile Image for Tim Larison.
90 reviews7 followers
November 14, 2015
Can the average person understand and apply the principles of quantum physics to create a new reality in his or her life? A reality much more creative and fulfilling than the survival patterns most of us are operating out of?

Yes! contends Joe Dispenza in his fascinating new book “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself”. Don’t let the words “quantum physics” scare you away. Early in his book Dispenza gives the best explanation I have read to date of what quantum principles are all about. More importantly, in a detailed step by step manner he explains how we can take this knowledge to implement positive changes in our lives.

“When you and I can connect the dots of what science is discovering about the nature of reality, and when we give ourselves permission to apply those principles in our day-to-day existence, then each of us becomes both a mystic and a scientist in our own life,” Dispenza writes in the introduction. This was exciting to me, and I wanted to read more.

I liked Dispenza’s vulnerability in describing his own learning curve in quantum living. After being featured in the documentary “What The Bleep Do We Know?” Dispenza was in great demand as a lecturer. His problem, he soon realized, was that his daily emotional state depended on the responses he received from his audiences. “I saw that all of my perceived happiness was really just a reaction to stimuli in the external world that made me feel certain ways,” he writes. “I didn’t want to lecture again until I was the living example of everything that I was talking about. I needed to take time for my meditations and to make true change in my life, and I wanted to have joy from within me and not from outside of me.”

Dispenza made these mental adjustments, and he passes on the lessons he learned to his readers. He also gives many examples throughout the book of others who have made similar changes. Rather than reading like a dry physics textbook, Dispenza’s colorful descriptions of the quantum process gave me the confidence that I, too, can operate at this level in my own life.

Towards the end of the book Dispenza gives detailed meditation instructions to shift the reader’s base thought pattern from the draining “survival” mode to a more fulfilling “creation” orientation. I found this a bit overwhelming, so thankfully he also offers a couple of guided meditation audio files on his website to help with the process. I downloaded and followed one of the meditations, and I can already feel a positive shift inside of me regarding a life change I want to make.

“When you have thoughtfully rehearsed a future reality until your brain has physically changed to look like it has had the experience, and you have emotionally embraced a new intention so many times that your body is altered to reflect that it has had the experience, hang on … because this is the moment the event finds you!” Dispenza writes. “And it will arrive in a way that you least expect, which leaves no doubt that it came from your relationship to a greater consciousness – so that it inspires you to do it again and again.”

This is another book review in my partnership with Hay House. I was not financially compensated for this post. I received the book from Hay House for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
Profile Image for LenaExplorer.
71 reviews1 follower
December 18, 2023
🌟3.5 有很好的干货,可以当成“the body keeps the score”的大白话版。但是可能作为营销手段,作者鬼扯上量子物理这类时髦理论(量子物理没错,但作者乱interpret微观理论来扯宏观现象…),就减分很多—这也是这本书评价两极分化的主要原因。
书的部分看完了,接下来要跟练4周的meditation项目!
Profile Image for Narges.
63 reviews13 followers
December 8, 2022
در کل با مسئله ی مراقبه مشکل داشتم!!
خیلی درک نمی‌کردم که این مراقبه کردن به چه دردی میخوره تا اینکه یکی از بچه ها این کتاب رو داد دستم و گفت این رو بخون و سعی کن با مراقبه جلو بری!!!!
از اون کتابهایی هست که قطعا تا یه مدت تو زندگیم نقش پر رنگی خواهد داشت و ازش حرف خواهم زد!!!
میدونین؛ شبه علم یا خود علم. مهم این بود که تونست من رو قانع کنه که مراقبه کردن اگر به شکل درستی انجام بشه کارایی بالایی داره.
شروع کتاب با توضیحاتی از فیزیک کوانتوم بود. مثلا میگه هر الکترون زمانی ظاهر میشود که بیننده ای بر روی مکانش تمرکز کند. بعد میاد میچسبوندش به دنیای واقعی و میگه: اگر بتوانید بر اساس هر یک از آرزوهای شخصی خود، یک رویداد آتی را تصور کنید، این واقعیت از قبل مانند امکانی در حوضه کوانتومی وجود دارد و منتظر شماست که شما آن را مشاهده کنید!!
برای همین ما میتونیم از ذهنمون به عنوان ناظر استفاده کنیم ت�� تعداد زیادی از موج های زیر اتمی را در قالب رویداد فیزیکی دلخواه سازماندهی کنیم( بععععععععع :|) یخورده پیچیده میپیچونه بهم ولی وقتی تو کتاب مطالب رو پشت سر هم میخونی و خیلی سخت نگیری که آیا از نظر علمی حالا درست میگه یا نه، میشه ربطش داد و بهره برد.
ولی نکته ای که بارها و بارها بهش اشاره کرد این بود که برای بوجود اومدن این شرایط باید حتما احساسس و ذهن در راستای هم باشه. نوعی عمل یقین داشتن.
راستش رو بخواین داستان بقا رو در این کتاب بیشتر درک کردم. خیلی ساده بهم گفت: اجدادمون وقتی یه شیر بهشون حمل میکرده میرفتن رو مود بقا، یعنی استرس بهشون وارد میشده از این استرس بدن در حالت آماده باش ��رار میگرفته، یعنی این که قلب شروع میکرده به سریع تر زدن و این داستانا و تهش از انرژی فراوون از دست آقای شیر فرار میکردن و زنده میموندن. حالا در دنیای امروز ما شیر نداریم ولی این عادت اجدادمون رو به ارث بردیم که مثلا وقی استرسی میشیم انگار همون شیر بهمون حمله کرده و در کمینه و باید در بریم ازش، بدن همون واکنش ها رو نشون میده. حالا هی بریم تو این مود، دهن سیستم ایمنی بدن سرویس میشه!!!!!!! این روزها تا استرسی میشم میگم کو حالا اون آقای شیر؟؟؟؟ بذار حمله کنه بعد برم تو مود بقا!!! کمکی که این کتاب برای شرایط استرس من کرد هیچ دکتر و مشاوری نکرد!!! برای همین میگم از اوناست که میشه تا مدت ها ازش حرف زد و بهره برد!!
مطالب کتاب رو بارها در زندگی شخصی تجربه کردیم و میدونیم که تهش چی قرار بگه ولی خوندن یه سری مطالب شبه علمیش باعث آگاه تر شدن میشه
Profile Image for Jimena.
307 reviews114 followers
June 25, 2022
Dispenza explora, en este libro, una teoría acerca del funcionamiento de la psiquis humana y su repercusión en el mundo sensorial a partir de una fuerte base científica que es desarrollada a lo largo de los capítulos con un lenguaje bastante específico pero también bastante claro para hacerlo accesible. Mediante el estudio de la neuroplasticidad y prácticas como la meditación propone un cambio mental que se traduce en un cambio de la realidad misma.

A diferencia de otros textos, no se rige en términos únicamente teóricos sino que incluye técnicas de meditación y meditaciones guiadas para los principiantes en el tema lo que es una virtud a su favor. Sin embargo, no sé si esto compensa el que es su defecto fundamental: la extensión, lo redundante que llega a resultar para trasmitir un mensaje que podría haberse resumido mucho más sin perder por ello efectividad.
Profile Image for Siobhan.
8 reviews7 followers
July 11, 2018
If you're done with the way you always seem to act & react in the same way and you see how it is not actually making your life any better, if you're looking for that one big nudge that will inspire and motivate you to make the change, read this book. It will no doubt blow your mind. Dr. Joe Dispenza makes the bridge between science and spirituality by explaining how you can apply concepts of quantum physics to your own life so you can dream bigger and finally make things happen, beyond what you ever thought was possible.
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