Rating: 
Summary: Great book!
Review: Good principles to use and to think about. I will read it again shortly to ingrain the new principles and ideas. I really like Richard Carlson's books. Every one that I have read has been very helpful to me in enjoying my life more. Easy to read too.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent primer for understanding how beliefs control us.
Review: I agree with the criticisms made by the reader from Chicago, IL , October 13, 1998. Taking those points into account however the book is an excellent starting point for beginning to understand how our beliefs and thought systems often control us - mentally, emotionally and physically.What a shame there isn't a book that takes it to the end point as simply and clearly - although Non Violent Communication is also a wonderfully helpful book.
Rating:
Summary: Simple, yet insightful
Review: I bought this book having just finished the wonderful "Manifest Your Destiny..." by Wayne Dyer, thinking Wayne was one of the authors of this book and hence trusting it would be worthwhile reading. I ended up being surprised twice: (i) Wayne Dyer is not a co-author, but simply a reviewer; (ii) (the best surprise) Richard Carlson has done a great job explaining simple and down-to-earth situations in life that cause problems in the lives and relationships of so many of us, yet these are all problems that can be easily avoided by just keeping one's flow of thoughts in check. I will resist the temptation to give you concrete examples - the book has many of them. Go for it and take your time reading!
Rating:
Summary: Wary of self-help books, like me? This book makes sense!
Review: I can only add a few words to the mostly positive reviews already posted. The reader from Chicago unfortunately missed the point. Life does not have to be a self-improvement course. We _do_ have the tools we need to live a happy life, but so often deny ourselves, out of a notion that life is only meaningful if we "struggle for clarity", and earn our well-being. Over the years I've taken myself to task for mistakes,choices,relationships, in order to consider myself "worthy' of a happy existence. The concepts in this book _are_ simple, but not stupid. Carlson's metaphor for living in the moment; the image of a motor boat, and it's wake, couldn't be easier to understand. We stand at the back of the boat, studying the wake, but it's the engine that moves us forward! As it is with our past, we can examine it, but like the wake, it's not going to get us anywhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Too simple
Review: I found a lot of contradictions in this book. For example, author argues that thoughts are not important, and thinking is only a function. Nevertheless, thoughts control who we are and how we feel. Same with the past. Don't think about the past, it's not important, though past forms our behavior and attitude to life, and it shapes the way we understand this world and ourselves. Well, thoughts and past can't be unimportant if they have a great control over us.
I tend to agree with the reader from Chicago - if you have serious psychological problems or if you are deep into thinking about who you are and where you belong in this world, you'll find this book way way too simple.
Still, I'm giving this book two stars and not one because first, I liked the discussion about separate realities (the only chapter I really liked), second, there are a lot of people who clearly benefited from this book and wrote excellent reviews. I believe that the effort is not wasted if the author helped so many people feel a bit happier.
And finally, I wish you peace and harmony you're seeking, whether you'll find it in this book or from any other source (such as within yourself).
Rating:
Summary: It is very helpful.
Review: I loved it. It was very helpful for me, and it is still...I can read it now and then, and it will remind me of the information that I need sometimes in my life. It is simple to read and understand, and it seems that it is all about what I was looking for..... It is great, I am going to read again and try to get some notes or urderline, the tips for me... I am looking for some books from the same author to learn more about personal growth, that it is so important to me.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellant information, Dry presentation
Review: I must admit the information in this program is exceptional. It brings to light common mistakes we all make in recognizing the differance between what is real and what is thought. Sadly the down side of this program is that the delivery of the information is dry and boring. Its actually hard to listen to more than one or two chapters at a time. I think you would be better served if you got the paperback book or if you really want to study this line of thinking on CD. try the CD's from Dr. Wayne Dyer. He keeps you up and motivated with a very well done presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Learning Not To Think!
Review: I picked up the audio version of this book at my local library and found it to be immediately helpful. The logic of our thoughts stimulating moods and feelings and thus controlling our life perspective, and the concept of "not thinking" as being the neutral state of calm is so startlingly simple that I wonder why we are not taught this as a fundamental life tool for maintaining equilibrium of mind in the same way we are taught hygiene for keeping the body clean, and exercise for keeping it physically healthy. I am purchasing the printed version for myself and for family members.
Rating: 
Summary: Not much here
Review: I say this book is aggravating because it takes away all justification for the bouts of self-pity that can be so enjoyable and enticing. Realizing that happiness is entirely up to me through the perceptions and thoughts I CHOOOSE to have about a troubling situation is very empowering but also carries a challenge and responsibility. I am an alcoholism/addiction counselor and have utilized Carlson's ideas with many of my patients who, like most of us, can prefer to think that bad feelings are caused by others or just come from out of the clear blue. Considering instead that feelings, good or bad, come from our beliefs and perceptions creates new possibilities for growth, change and HAPPINESS. I also find his idea regarding wisdom to be quite compelling. That our true answers come not from the analyzing, information-crunching computer part of our brain but from our wisdom, which works after we've "processed" and when we are no longer "thinking" about an answer, seems obvious after reading his description of it, but would not be self-evident to most people. I've given this book to almost everyone I love; whether in the end they agree with the ideas or not, it always causes them to think about things differently than before.
Rating:
Summary: Aggravating But True
Review: I say this book is aggravating because it takes away all justification for the bouts of self-pity that can be so enjoyable and enticing. Realizing that happiness is entirely up to me through the perceptions and thoughts I CHOOOSE to have about a troubling situation is very empowering but also carries a challenge and responsibility. I am an alcoholism/addiction counselor and have utilized Carlson's ideas with many of my patients who, like most of us, can prefer to think that bad feelings are caused by others or just come from out of the clear blue. Considering instead that feelings, good or bad, come from our beliefs and perceptions creates new possibilities for growth, change and HAPPINESS. I also find his idea regarding wisdom to be quite compelling. That our true answers come not from the analyzing, information-crunching computer part of our brain but from our wisdom, which works after we've "processed" and when we are no longer "thinking" about an answer, seems obvious after reading his description of it, but would not be self-evident to most people. I've given this book to almost everyone I love; whether in the end they agree with the ideas or not, it always causes them to think about things differently than before.
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