BOOK REVIEW: Why Quantum Physicists Don't Get Fat

This was a different read. It was an interesting take on diet and unwanted weight from a quantum physics perspective. I found it interesting, while being also a little absurd. All in all, though, still an interesting and informative read. It describes how our belief systems are what essentially manifest things into existence, through our thoughts and emotions. How we feel about what we eat or do not eat or how we move our bodies, according to Kuhn, is what will determine the outcome.

The author first explains the difference between classical physics and quantum physics. He describes the first scientific revolution as the action-based paradigm and says the rules for most diets you were taught come from this paradigm. He suggests you shift your paradigms and embrace the laws of quantum physics, which are the energy-based paradigm and the holistic paradigm. Our bodies aren't machines, but rather a group of complex systems that are greater than the sum of their parts.

A lot of this is Law of Attraction stuff, which if you think about it, is quantum physics, but most of this book deals with your thoughts and feelings. The author talks about the "stories" that we tell ourselves about things. Nothing in and of itself is ever "bad", per se, it is the story that we tell ourselves about the event that determines how we perceive it. Basically, in an energy-based paradigm, what we give off is what we take in, so if we feel fat we will, essentially, become fat. If we think and tell ourselves food is going to make us gain weight, then it most likely will. 

One of the most interesting things in this book was when the author cited the work of Dr. Candice Pert, who discovered evidence in the 1990's that our bodies are really a unified whole. She found that are thoughts really are physical things in that they each have a unique neuropeptide associated with them and each time we have a thought or emotion, our brains produce these neuropeptides and our blood stream is flooded with them. These neuropeptides are then assimilated by your body's cells, inserting themselves into special receptors on the cell's membrane, essentially being absorbed into the cells of your body. Overtime, your cells begin to crave the neuropeptides that they are most often exposed to. So your cells actually start telling your brain to produce these thoughts or emotions, and we essentially become addicted to certain ways of thinking or emotional states. This explains why changing your way of thinking can be one of the most difficult endeavors there is. 

The author's solution is basically to change your way of thinking and feeling by changing the stories that you tell yourself. As in LOA systems, he suggests feeling the state of success before it has arrived and by the laws of physics, through the quantum field, you will draw it to you. He highlights the importance of gratitude and meditation. It is thought provoking, having these concepts applied to eating and exercise, but it does make sense, I'll give him that. It isn't magic, but if you change the way you perceive things, you could potentially have better results from more assistance from the quantum field. It's really one of those easier said than done deals. Change your mind, change your life. 

BOOK REVIEW: E-Squared

E-Squared by Pam Grout is an interesting little read. Whether you believe in this shit or not, well, basically matters because what you believe determines the results. If you think manifestation is complete bullshit, you will not want to read this book. The open minded will probably enjoy it. Simply put, this is a book of nine different experiments to prove the malleability of reality.

I enjoyed this book. No, all of the experiments didn't work, but some of them did. I believe our thoughts do shape reality but the author gives each experiment only a 48 hour time frame to manifest because she says time is irrelevant. This may be true, but if someone doesn't have the ability to control their mind and thoughts with the laser like precision of Jesus Christ, wouldn't it take a little longer to accomplish? Perhaps. That could be part of the problem. Why the time frame? 

If you disregard the experiments in this book it would still be an informative read. Grout sites everything from Newton's classic laws of physics to the works of Dr. Masaru Emoto who discovered that our thoughts, words, and emotions affect the shape of the ice crystals that form in water when frozen (amazing stuff all on its own). She provides a good deal of anecdotal evidence and delivers her information with a good amount of humor. Each experiment is given a fun name, such as "Experiment #1, The Dude Abides Principle". 

I really dug this book and would like to give it another read through sometime when I am not reading anything else simultaneously. I think perhaps had I given some experiments more mental attention I may have had different results. I also saw Pam Grout has an E3 book out, which I would like to read also. The rules of quantum physics state that we are all energy, pieces of the same quantum "field of potentiality" as Grout calls it and this book simply provides a way to prove it. The trick is in training your mind to believe it. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Game of Life and How to Play It

The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn is considered a "prosperity classic". This is a short read I added into the line of books I am currently reading just to get a break from the therapeutic mental work. I was intrigued because this book was originally published in 1925, so I wanted to see how it compared to other "prosperity" writings I have read. This book was obviously a source for many modern writers, but also offered some new insights to me and information on spiritual law.

If you have read Rhonda Byrne's The Secret and enjoyed it, you would probably enjoy this book. If you think The Secret is a bunch of garbage you actually might still enjoy this book. To me, The Secret was a commercialized rip off of ancient teachings, squeezed into a cheesy package for average Americans. It talks solely of the Law of Attraction and how to "manifest" things into your life. It came off as fairly superficial and tacky. I still liked its message of "you get what you put out", although most of its stories or examples were of people wanting a Lamborghini or other material trappings, which didn't seem very spiritual to me at all, or maybe that was simply because of who the target audience was? Who knows. Regardless, this book, in contrast, is even more simplistic while at the same time being much more informative and dare I say "real" to me.

Florence Scoval Shinn not only talks about the Law of Attraction like Byrne, but other "spiritual laws" such as the laws of Prosperity, Nonresistance, Karma and Forgiveness. She explains about the Power of the Word, stating the importance of our spoken words in bringing us what we declare. She explains the game of life as a "game of boomerangs", declaring "man's thoughts, deeds, or words, return to him sooner or later, with astounding accuracy." She says giving opens up the way to receiving and people must trust their intuition or their inner guidance. To me, all of these things are truth.

She speaks of Love as God in manifestation, the "strongest magnetic force in the universe". She quotes the Bible quite often, explaining from an energetic stand point what Jesus actually meant by many of his teachings. I kind of enjoyed this. I enjoyed her usage of terms like Infinite Spirit for the Divine, as well as her talk of divine design, "Divine right" and Divine selections. Although much of what was in this book was repetition for me, it all gave a different yet similar spin to things I have already read, believed, and felt. I also gained a new understanding of the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve eating from the tree of "the knowledge of good and evil" because of this book, seeing it now as symbolic of the birth of Ego and the shift away from unity consciousness into dualistic thinking. The way I took it, our "banishment" was more of a birth into third dimensional consciousness, shifting away from the unity of the fourth dimensional "God" space. I don't know why I never saw it like this before from other readings, etc. but this made so much sense to me that I had a mini "Aha" moment. (PSA: The Bible utilizes symbolism and is not literal.)

While the book was God heavy, I didn't mind this, but some might. I personally think there is a morsel of wisdom in everything if we can keep from being offended long enough to consume it. The author basically explains how the Universe, being Infinite Spirit (or just an energetic field of potentiality depending on how you look at it...i.e. The Force), responds to our words and thoughts with amazing accuracy. Thoughts ARE things (read Thoughts Are Things by Prentice Mulford, written in 1889, it's another old as shit book about manifestation and the power of thought.) This infinite field can be manipulated if we are aware of our "boomerangs" and the actual language we are using to "communicate" our desires. As within, so without. As above, so below. To every action (thought, word, deed) there is an equal and opposite reaction (manifestation). This isn't just spiritual law, it's physics.