Review: Sound Health, Sound Wealth

For a while, I’ve thought about including an occasional review on this blog.

Recently, someone approached me suggesting that I review Sound Health, Sound Wealth by Dr. Luanne Oakes.

So I checked out her reputation, and looked at recommendations from people like Deepak Chopra, John Gray, and Tony Robbins, and decided that reviewing this book was a good idea.

As I began to read the book and did some work, I listened to the CD that accompanies the book.

Dr. Oakes produces many products that use sound to relax and heal, but this is the first of those that I’ve experienced.

This CD is beautiful and relaxing, about an hour long.

I listened to it twice, and enjoyed it even more the second time. I came away refreshed and alert.

What is a Review?

One of my beliefs is that there is no such thing as a completely objective review. A good review expresses the personality, talents, and belief system of the reviewer as much as the work under review.

There are many types of reviews.

The most common reviews probably answer one or more of these questions:

Do I like it?

What is the subject matter of this book?

Is it well organized, and easy to understand?

Does it entertain and/or inform me?

If it makes promises, does it deliver on those promises?

Is it worth my time to read this book?

The more objective parts of a review tell me what the subject is, and if the material is clearly presented.

But there are no absolutes in a review.

What’s clear to you may not be clear to me.

We have different experiences, and come to any book with different beliefs, likes, and dislikes.

I may like a certain author’s style, and you may not.

I may like the way an author uses language, and you may not.

For example, Dr. Oakes likes to make up new phrases to describe the ideas that she writes about. There are many authors who do this.

Sometimes familiar words and phrases are burdened with old, limited associations.

New phrases can be a wonderful way to explore an unfamiliar mindset. The unfamiliar terms tell me that I’m walking into the unknown. I take a breath, and prepare to learn something new.

I can’t so easily slip into those very dangerous three words: “I know that.”

Some of my favorite of her terms are future memories, action-based faith, and first and second thoughts and feelings.

Future Memories

If you are familiar with the law of attraction, manifestation, or visualization techniques, then you’ve heard of visualizing a desired future state in full emotional and sensory detail.

But she puts a slightly new spin on it, by also relating to that experience as a future memory.

I love that idea.

Action-based Faith

Action-based faith, asserts that belief in a desired future is expressed through every thought, word, and action. The more that belief is expressed in our thoughts, words, and actions, the more power that belief has to shape our reality.

First and Second Thoughts and Feelings

Dr. Oakes writes that we cannot always find the presence of mind to respond to a situation with the thoughts and feelings that we would like to. Our first thoughts and feelings may flow too quickly.

But, she writes, it is much easier to choose our second thoughts and feelings. We can choose to replace our initial thoughts and feelings with ones that more powerfully represent who we want to be.

Hunting for Ideas

Some people may not like her new language.

I don’t resonate with all of the terms myself.

But, I’m a bit of an idea hunter.

I look for ideas that will shake up my thinking, and enable me to live in a bigger world, and understand more of it.

One powerful idea is often worth more to me than a well constructed, easy to understand discussion of ideas that I’m already familiar with.

And I’ve found many such ideas here.

Certainly the book is well organized, and covers a number of fascinating subjects such as manifestation, beliefs about what is possible, our relationship with time, saying no, welcoming resistance as a sign of change, health, and wealth.

This book may be a bit too ambitious at times, and some of the topics deserve a more lengthy treatment.

Conclusion

Above I discussed some questions that book reviews typically answer.

There are two more questions that I want to add to that list.

These are the questions that I personally want to see answered in a review, and they are the ones that I’ve focused on in this review:

Is there something new in this book?

Does it introduce ideas that enable me to think about my world and myself in new ways?

The answer to these questions, for me, is a resounding yes.

(Dr Oakes’ book is available in the usual places such as amazon.com, and her website is Sound Health, Sound Wealth.)