This Month's Book Reviews

POSITIVE ENERGY: TEN EXTRAORDINARY PRESCRIPTIONS FOR TRANSFORMING FATIGUE, STRESS, AND FEAR INTO VIBRANCE, STRENGTH AND LOVE
by Judith Orloff, MD, Three Rivers Press, 2005. ISBN 1400082161, 384 pages. $14.

Positive Energy is destined to become a classic in the field of energy medicine and health because author Dr. Judith Orloff is meeting the needs of a culture that is rapidly becoming more intuitively and energetically aware. In her book, she shows you how to tap into the positive energy flow in your body and in your life as well as how to protect yourself from “energy vampires” who can sap you dry.

As an energy psychiatrist who is also a medical intuitive, Orloff draws upon years of clinical experience and a rich interior life to map out the many kinds of energy that impact our lives. Positive Energy presents ten chapters that Orloff calls “prescriptions,” each one focused on a central life current, such as creativity, sexuality, relationships and expanding personal intuitive practices. Throughout the book, she describes her practice of energy psychiatry, a field Orloff has pioneered which incorporates intuition, the body’s subtle energies and mainstream medicine to provide fresh solutions for everything from depression to “technodespair,” a term Orloff coined to describe burnout from emails, faxes and phones. Woven into every chapter are case histories of patients Orloff has worked in addition to intimate examples from her personal life – including lessons learned from her own energy crash. Plus there are grounded suggestions for self-care. It’s very easy to offer advice in a book – try this, do that and with a little determination – poof, all is well. In contrast, Orloff’s approach is compassionately demanding. First she defines each category of energy. Then she clearly describes how easily a person can become energetically depleted by the stresses of life and discusses the emotional and psychological consequences. Nearly every page has an exercise or concrete suggestion that draws the reader into self-examination and perhaps more importantly, into action.

Of particular interest are Dr. Orloff’s descriptions of “intuitive empaths.” These are people who, like herself, are often labeled as “overly sensitive” from childhood and tend to absorb the negative energy and pain of others into their bodies. This can cause tremendous exhaustion, chronic fatigue and depression. As Orloff states, the problem is that traditional physicians have no knowledge of subtle energy—so they can’t accurately diagnose this relevant medical issue. Some empaths become obese to protect themselves from negative vibes; others experience panic attacks in crowds because of the intense energetic overload. Empaths are often labeled as “hypochondriacs” and run from doctor to doctor with “mystery symptoms” without getting help. In addition Orloff says that empaths often have trouble with intimate relationships because they easily feel engulfed by a partner’s needs or energy field – that’s why so many stay single. Positive Energy gives empaths practical solutions in the areas of health and relationships. It teaches them techniques to safeguard their personal space and energy fields so they don’t absorb negative vibes like a sponge or feel constantly overwhelmed by a partner or the world.

Orloff also devotes a section of Positive Energy to energy vampires, those people who drain our energy. Here’s the scenario: You’re talking to one, then suddenly you start feeling sapped, anxious or sick. We’ve all known our share of energy vampires. Orloff describes the sob sister, the drama queen, the blamer, the go-for-the carotid type. But it’s not enough to know who they are. Orloff gives you strategies for dealing with each type such as setting boundaries, shielding yourself with light and breathing negative energy out the back of your spine. Learning these skills are essential if you want to keep your energy high.

Following each chapter in the book are interviews that Orloff conducted with celebrities such as Naomi Judd and Larry King, who offer their own wisdom about the chapter’s topic. Naomi Judd confronted Hepatitis C, for example and describes her healing journey with tremendous warmth and inspiration. Quincy Jones tells how his intuition expanded after two brain surgeries. Jamie Lee Curtis shares how she protects herself from energy vampires. These interviews are great fun and give you an inside look into the care with which these well known people treat their energy.

For everyone interested in energetic health and well-being, Positive Energy is a must read. You can read it cover to cover or go specifically to chapters that address your immediate energy needs. In the end, this book fulfills its promise by teaching you to “transform fatigue, stress and fear into vibrance, strength, and love.” It is a comprehensive energetic text book that speaks to our contemporary evolving energetic culture. For more information about Dr. Orloff and Positive Energy visit www.drjudithorloff.com.

Reviewed by Caroline Myss

Spirit Orb Phenomena: Fact or Fiction?
by Anthony Kevan Sercombe, BookSurge Publishing, 89 pages, ISBN 1-4196-0292-6, $39.99.

Ghosts have always fascinated humans if only because they have offered the possibility of finding out more about life on the other side. Spirit Orbs, though are less known, Anthony Kevan Sercombe’s Spirit Orb Phenomena: Fact or Fiction? is a pioneering work in this field.

Put simply, spirit orbs are images of humans which can be captured with camera. The writer takes the trouble of sharing how easily spirit orbs can be easily confused with reflected light on camera and other natural anomalies, however it made clear that spirit orbs images are definitely different to some tricks of the light.

The many illustrations (98 color photographs) offer, at least interesting if not compelling evidence of this phenomena. Readers will be able to judge for themselves what spirits orbs actually are. The author himself found spirit orbs appeared more as he wrote the book and looking at the illustrations one is struck by sheer personality which comes through in certain images. Perhaps the most appealing fact about this phenomena is that all it takes is a digital camera for anyone to possibly capture such intriguing images.

Anthony Kevan Sercombe’s book offers a fascinating introduction and explanations to a little known topic. Not only that, but readers will find it also provides a doorway into the mysterious world of the spiritual afterlife.
The book is available from www.booksurge.com or www.amazon.com.

Book review by Paul Vassallo

Past phenomeNEWS Book Reviews