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132 of 142 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent overview of spiritual matters.....Aug 24, 2002
By Dianne Foster
"Di"
In the last part of ANATOMY OF THE SPIRIT, Caroline Myss unites her discussion of three belief systems (Roman Catholic Sacraments, Kabbalah Tree of Life, and Hindu Chakras) within the concept of living in the present moment. Many who have trod the spiritual path Myss describes and faced the Three Big Crises - absence of meaning and purpose; strange new fears; and devotion to something greater than one's self - will appreciate her final words. Suffering produces spiritual rewards. Not everyone will appreciate Myss' book. I would like to send the audio version to my 87-year old aunt who is devoutly Roman Catholic, but I don't think she would like it. My Southern Baptist aunt would probably disown me. My daughter would appreciate it - but she's a fan of Bishop Pike. For a change, Myss has written a book older folks will appreciate more than younger ones. I know something about the sacraments having been raised with them. I've also acquired a great deal of knowledge about the Chakras in the past 40 years (via reading and Hindu friends). I have studied the Kabbalah (it is far more complex than Myss' book indicates). Like Joseph Campbell whom she apparently see as a model, Myss sees a larger truth underlying religious structures and/or tribal systems of belief. Myss is billed as an expert on energy medicine. In the early 1980s, I had the pleasure and privilege of being in Louis Hay's home. I can testify that "whatever your mind can conceive and believe it will achieve." Whenever I have an ailment, I whip out Hays' healing books (Myss cites one of them). Healing takes many forms. Doctors mostly facilitate the process or mess it up. The power of positive thinking, prayer, the laying on of hands, and laughter all work to heal the body-mind-spirit. What Myss shares is not new, but if you haven't heard about it elsewhere you can learn more here. This is a good book. I've heard, read, and/or experienced most of what Myss describes so I can testify to the truthfulness of it. If you are ready to move beyond tribal boundaries and become whole this may be the book for you.
212 of 236 found the following review helpful:
Faith wihout wallsNov 11, 2000
This book allows you to have faith without walls. The book Encounter with A Prophet removes the walls. I recommend both books.
58 of 62 found the following review helpful:
A Master TeacherNov 26, 1999
By deelited2
This was my first Caroline Myss book and I have since read--and heard--most of her others. I have put off writing a review until now, frankly because I wasn't sure if I could convey the tremendous impact her words and teachings have had in my life. (Actually, I think I just did!) You may not agree with every single point she brings up and out, but that is part of it's strength: She makes you think, probe, ponder, contemplate and eventually assimilate her truths, along with so many others that speak the same, into your own life. Caroline is a teacher in the finest sense: Her books, views, thoughts and musings compel one to seek their own truth, to heal one's self, not the easy way, but the BEST way--by tapping into the energy of Spirit and Love all around us. In this sense, she is a provocative Master. One suggestion: If you have trouble getting through her books, her audio tapes are very good and truly relay the passion and commitment she feels in her life, her teachings. Read her books, use what works for you -- and never be the same again.
49 of 54 found the following review helpful:
Into whose hands have you commended your spirit?Dec 05, 1999
By Jackie M. Sthilaire
"Memere Jackie"
There are so many obstacles to keep us from fully living our lives.
Caroline Myss helps us to evaluate exactly where we are heading, whether in a downward, negative path or a more straight forward peaceful path.
Our emotions play a big part and will let us know something has gone array. When we start feeling negative towards ourselves and others, we need to go inward and ask ourselves what's going on? Our bodies also react or respond to the ways we treat it, if we overabuse it, it will get dis ease.
Anatomy of the Spirit is a good tool to help us evaluate ourselves. By using the seven stages that she is offering, one is given a head start. We do not change ourselves overnight, it takes years and years of going into the depths of our being, this is an ongoing journey.
So it's one step at a time and sometimes two or three steps backward. Andrew Weil is another wonderful and knowledgeable author and his book Spontaneous Healing Spontaneous Healing : How to Discover and Embrace Your Body's Natural Ability to Maintain and Heal Itself is well worth the effort in changing some of our destructive tendencies.
36 of 39 found the following review helpful:
 Some problems with her vision of human energy field.......Jul 07, 1999
By Ruth Henriquez Lyon
Carolyn Myss writes about health and illness within the individual human energy system, but dosen't take energy thinking far enough--that's why some of her arguments break down. Her basic thesis is that we bring illness on ourselves by neglecting to deal with soul or emotional issues, that is, by not leading an "authentic" life. Clearly this can be true, for instance in certain forms of cancer or heart disease. But when thinking about any sort of system, human or otherwise, you must consider the smaller energy systems which compose it, as well as the larger systems in which it is embedded. Each system "level" has its own sort of consciousness and imperatives to follow. The "level" at which our conscious egos work is only one piece of the complex puzzle of reality which composes and enfolds us. Thus, from a systems perspective, disease can follow dysfunction on ANY level, from the cellular to the social or environmental (and maybe even the galactic). One example would be cancers caused by pesticides--here, the human collective's disrespect for the planetary environment results in the illness of individuals. There need not be a particular biographical factor in the genesis of such a cancer, for as individuals we are all subject to consequences following our collective actions. Similarly, disease can spring from breakdowns on the cellular level of biological systems--thus, plants and animals fall prey to illness in the wild (as they also do from human-caused habitat destruction and pollution). Would Myss say that these non-human creatures were responsible for their illnesses because they did not do their soul or emotional work? To say that biography is the only (or principal) factor in illness is taking a one-dimensional view of disease and the systems it disrupts. Things are more complicated than that. Yes, in much of our life we do have a choice and do indeed create our realities. But there are other things that come to us unbidden: floods, tornados, accidents, and yes, disease. To imply that we create that suffering to me seems uncompassionate. It is also a form of arrogance--assuming that we can control everything that comes to us in life. Furthermore, there is the question of people who are born with congenital illnesses. Myss, who believes that before we are born, we enter into a contract about what life challenges to take on, would probably say that such people choose the challenge of such illnesses as part of their pre-birth "contract." But I think that many people with such illnesses would find that hypothesis offensive. Myss also oversimplifies in her comparison of the Christian sacraments, the Hindu chakra system, and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. These ways of seeing the human spirit-path are similar only on the surface--it would take years of study and personal practice of each of these traditions to understand each one, much less to undertake a "compare and contrast" exercise. Yes, there is a "perennial philosophy" that underlies the world religions, but there are also many fundamental differences as well. Focussing on the chakras and the human energy system is indeed a start for understanding the energetics of human disease. But for an even more in-depth understanding of energy healing I would recommend reading some of the books out on systems thinking, especially as it pertains to biology. Also, any books which explore sub-systems within the human psyche (depth psychology) pertain to this field, as any ego-self wishing to heal will have to do business with the "others" which exist within and which have their own energies and axes to grind.
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