You are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter

It’s about healing your life and life changing book. Still reading. The cover and delivery was soo perfect! Love it

In Dr. Dispenza’s newest book, "You are the Placebo" we are provided with the life-affirming knowledge that our thoughts and expectations can transform our lives by helping us overcome illness, disease, and numerous other afflictions that limit our ability to enjoy life to the fullest. I do not read medical journals, so I can’t make this statement with certainty; however, I would suggest that this book is likely one of the most up-to-date and exhaustive works on the Placebo Effect available today. Furthermore, for those that do not enjoy overly technical books, I would say that in spite of the fact that the nature of this book requires medical and scientific terminology to be used, this is still a very readable book. In my own words, in very simple terms, I see the essence of the placebo effect as: mind over matter. Our minds have the power to overcome disease, depression and a vast number of negative situations that manifest in our body. Our thoughts, combined with expectation, can remedy heart disease & cancer, reduce pain, and even simulate the benefits of an actual operation. Perhaps it sounds too good to be true; however, the placebo effect has been rigorously studied throughout history and continues to fascinate/confound scientists to this day. In order to better acquaint the reader with the workings of the Placebo Effect, Dr. Dispenza uses the first part of the book to recount numerous scientific studies that illustrate how our minds can physically change our bodies, simply through what we think and what we expect. A doctor using saline water as a replacement for morphine in the late stages of the war, people suffering from depression feeling uplifted by simple sugar pills, even patients who underwent simulated knee surgery feeling less pain and being able to walk properly again – all the result of the a placebo being used. There is also the negative side of the placebo, referred to as the nocebo, wherein a person believes that they are ill, will die, or that they are suffering from the ill intentions of another person. For example, in some cultures where people believe in the ability for a person to be “cursed” by a witch doctor, there is the potential for negative beliefs and expectations to due substantial harm. The “curse” thought is implanted in the mind of the individual who then believes in the “curse”, which then eventually manifests in physical form. People have been admitted to hospital and, even under medical supervision, with no detectible illness, have died because of their negative expectations and beliefs. After the initial discussion and the sharing of the scientific research on the placebo effect, Dr. Dispenza goes on to the most important part of the book: how we can make use of the placebo in our personal lives. By providing actual, coloured, brain scans and EEG scans Dr. Dispenza illustrates that by altering our thoughts and beliefs we actually alter our physical bodies. This part of the book is very detailed and a cursory discussion would not do it justice, but I think this quote from the book will emphasize the essence of what is being said, “…we direct the formation of new neural pathways and the destruction of old ones through the quality of the experiences we cultivate…The goal here is to change our beliefs and perceptions about your life at a biological level so that you are, in essence, loving a new future into concrete material existence.” This then leads into the final portion of the book wherein Dr. Dispenza provides information on a meditation that will assist us in making use of the placebo effect. With over 300 pages in this book, there is certainly a lot of detail and information for anyone simply interested in learning more about the placebo effect. More importantly though, if one truly grasps the essence of what is being shared, that our thoughts and beliefs have a vast potential to heal or harm us, then a person becomes empowered and they can then more consciously create a life in line with their desires. In a very real, physical sense, the placebo effect proves that we can change our reality with our thoughts and expectations: what information could be more empowering than that? ** While this book can be read independently of Dr. Dispenza’s previous book, "Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself" I would suggest that reading it prior to, "You are the Placebo" would be worthwhile.**

Perfect quality!! lightning fast delivery))

I read two of Dr. Dispenza's other books, "Evolve Your Brain" and "Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself" and I loved them both, so I had to buy his newest book, too. It's true what some reviewers noted, the book does repeat a lot of information found in his previous books, but I didn't mind it much because it served as a reminder for me, and there was plenty of new material, so it wasn't just rehashed material. Still those of you who have read his other books, be prepared for some repeated material. Another thing is that he cites the fire-walkers and strychnine swallowing ministers as people who are using an altered state of mind to accomplish something amazing. I read that it's nothing so amazing, there's a trick to it, and I think the strychnine-swallowing ministers are phonies - there is no proof to prove they actually drank strychnine, it's likely just a show, sleight of hand. Sometimes these books cite "miracles" which I doubt, even though I do believe extraordinary miraculous events occur frequently, and I do believe the stories of healing during his workshops noted in his book. Overall, the book provides much hope, and I really enjoyed it. I dogeared many pages to reread later, and plan to implement this in my life. I'll update my review in the future if I'm able to make any astounding changes in my body. So far I haven't done the "meditations" enough times to say (I've only done them twice so far). As for meditations, they are not. The scripts are hypnosis scripts, including an induction into the hypnotic state, after which the positive suggestions for self-transformation are introduced. It's absolutely, 100% hypnosis. He is basically introducing you to the meditative state (which is extremely hard to achieve, personally I suck at it) via hypnosis. Using hypnosis to help you get to the meditative state. Which is an interesting idea, as meditation is quite difficult and can be frustrating, as it's very tricky to do for any extended period of time (more on that in a moment - for anyone who isn't already familiar with meditation). Anyway, to clarify my point, Dr. Dispenza has a hypnotherapy diploma from the same college of Hypnotherapy that I do, HMI, which is located in Tarzania, California. It's a reputable, accredited college of Hypnotherapy, and Dr. Dispenza is trained as a hypnotherapist. I read this in his own account so I know it to be true. The script he uses is definitely hypnosis, (although there are many forms and styles of hypnosis). I don't say this as a criticism at all. Hypnosis is extremely useful in healing, and self-transformation. I just don't understand why it's called "meditation". Hypnosis and meditation are very similar in some ways, but in hypnosis, we do an induction to get the client into a state of relaxation (as Dispenza explains, the altered brain wave state) and then we introduce suggestions specific to the change the person wishes to accomplish. In meditation, you must clear your mind of ANY thoughts and attempt to keep thoughts of any kind at bay, to find the "gap" between the thoughts. It's very difficult NOT to think, as our brains are used to thinking constantly. The hypnotic state is not as difficult to get into, if you know self-hypnosis or are working with a hypnotist or using a recorded hypnosis. But meditation and hypnosis are not the same. Also, meditation has become very accepted in the mainstream, even hospitals will tell people meditation is good for you - hundreds of studies, including clinical studies, have been done on the benefits of meditation. Hypnosis remains somewhat on the fringe, despite some studies showing remarkable benefits from hypnosis, it is NOT as accepted as meditation, and when it IS used in healthcare settings, they often use silly terms such as "guided visualization" or "guided meditation" to keep from frightening people from the word "hypnosis" which is PRECISELY what it is. This is because many people still see hypnosis as "mind control" or "making someone get on stage and quack like a duck" it is still seen by many as frightening, suspicious, fake, or ridiculous. Hypnosis is none of those things. In the hands of a competent practitioner, hypnosis is an extraordinary tool for healing, changing habits, and improved mental and emotional health. It's great that Dr. Dispenza is using hypnosis to help people reach the meditative state, access the quantum field, and heal their minds and bodies. I don't understand why he doesn't call a spade a spade though, and call it what it is: hypnosis. The only thing I can think is that it's perhaps to avoid turning some people off or garnering ridicule. Readers can either buy his hypnosis recording online for a small fee, or they can record the script he includes in the book. He graciously provides the reader the option to record their own version and not purchase his - which is more than many authors do these days, they usually try to make you buy their add-ons and don't provide free options as Dr. Dispenza has done. Personally I prefer recording my own, as I did with his other book, as I'm familiar with recording hypnosis recordings for my clients. I purchased his recording on the last book, but ended up recording it myself anyway as I preferred my recording over his (simply a matter of personal preference, not saying that mine was better than his). Any reader can use his script to record their own free copy of his hypnosis session. All in all, Dr. Dispenza's work is very encouraging and it would be great to see the medical world begin to use people's minds to heal themselves. It's extraordinary that so little research has been done into something as important as the "placebo effect" and I thank Dr. Dispenza for taking it upon himself to do this. It's very clever, and the potential, if this can be mastered, is extraordinary.

Good book

The book arrived quickly. Their packaging was really good and the book was great too.