Emotional Alchemy: How the Mind Can Heal the Heart Paperback – January 22, 2002

I became so excited about this book that I wanted to see what other people thought about it. While the reviews in the book itself were positive the ones I read here were disappointing. I wanted to write a review that would encourage people to read this book because I found a lot of answers for my personal dilemmas in Tara's book. I was so pleased with the information I got from the book that I bought the CD even though the review I read here for the CD was not positive. I loved her voice and the background music. I identified with the tea ceremony because some one once told me how concentrating on the act of making tea in a teapot added to the relaxation one is usually seeking when stopping to have a cup of tea. I am replaying the CD over and over because my mind wants to resist the enlightenment I experience each time I hear it. I even found a schema that is particularly troublesome for me when listening to the cd that I did not see when I was reading the book. That proved to me how my schemas want to keep me deluded about my true feelings. I have had similar experiences to most of the examples in the book and I got great ideas for addressing them. I particularly got the part about the quarter second opportunity to make a different choice. Now when I get a feeling of dis-ease I turn my awareness on it and begin dialoging with myself about what I am feeling. Now I find that most of the time if I will not react a better outcome will result. I am not willing to do long meditation retreats but i am very interested in meditating more in order to experience that gap where real peace resides. I know it is there and I have felt it in the past and hope to achieve it on a regular basis. I believe we all have the ability to experience it. I do not believe you have to be a Zen monk to achieve the tranquility she speaks of. I am glad I did not read the reviews until after I read the book. If you are co-dependent like I have been it is one of the best explanations for why we are co-dependant and what to do about becoming interdependent like we were supposed to be. I want to thank the Author for writing this book. I especially like the index and Notes. I am grateful to have found this book.

Wow. Just wow. Everyone I know is tired of listening to me talk about how transformative this book can be. I've even convinced a therapist friend she needs to add it to her shelves. Tara gives you the science behind what she's telling you - and then gives you practical application and mindfulness instructions on how to make it work for you. It IS work. But if you'll take the time to do the work, it's truly something special. She's also very thoughtful in separating and explaining what of this practice is spiritual if you're interested in the buddhist side of it, and what is the scientific side if you belong to another religion, but would like to apply these techniques to your life to regain your presence and non-reactive stance on life.

There's probably not a lot I can say about this book that hasn't been better said already. However, I just want to add my opinion to those who have praised the humanity, intelligence, and usefulness of this book. Having studied Buddhism for quite a few years, I can attest that the author's use of ideas from this domain reflects years of solid training on her part. This is not new age, feel-good fluff, not by any stretch of the imagination. It is an imaginative - and in my mind, brilliant - combination of buddhist thought and more recent parallel ideas from cognitive therapy, neuropsychology, etc. I think it had just the right blend of theoretical, explanatory power (so you really get the sense that there's some there, there) and ideas for practical application.This is a book that can add great value to anyone's life. Very highly recommended.

This is a book essentially about turning adversity into advantage and it's written with good linguistic skills and beautuful ideas. However, the practical aim of the book is to help readers ride out their storms and gain as much as possible in the process but the content is delivered in a rather literary and technical manner. As a self-help book, simplicity is the key because most readers who turn to books of this genre hanker after precise and concise words and messages. Thus, the main and perhaps only demerit of this book is the message of the book and the way it is delivered are not perfectly attuned to one another. That said, as a self-help book, it is not of first choice. But as a book in general, it's a good-quality and highly readable book.

Okay, I have to agree with others that this book is very disorganized, tedious, repetitious and long-winded at times. However, the insights that she offers were extremely powerful to me. If you give the book a chance and can get past the very beginning, the book opens into a wonderful conversation about how the mind works. Maybe the disorganization and incoherence is there for a reason, that is, to try to get us out of the controlling mindset. Perhaps the analytic mind, the one that needs organization, needs to relinquish some space to the emotional side to experience. Whatever it is, it works for me and I hope it works for you.And now to get to work on these lessons.

Great book. Really practical, clear, balanced and logical. I've read a lot of books in this area of study lately and it is unquestionably one of the best. A good balance using the most pertinent information from cognitive behavioral, psychotherapy and spiritual studies. The case studies are great. It's nicely grounded. I underlined many passages and find it helpful to just go back and read the underlines. It's been helpful both personally and in my work with clients. It's a book I've recommended to many people already.

This book was an enjoyable read, informative in some ways, but not much different than other stuff. The writer repeats the same point often. It is worth the read, but perhaps get it at a library. I don't feel like I need to own it.