Rating: 
Summary: Great information, but it is there anything new here?
Review: The message of this book could be summarized as "Relaxation is good for your health. You can relax by 1)Finding a quiet place 2) Sitting in a comfortable position/posture that will keep you alert but won't lead you to sleep 3) choosing a mental device that will let you concentrate 4) maintaining a passive attitude during this period". The rest of this book goes into the health dangers of stress (as understood in 1975),the health benefits of relaxation and how it differs from sleep, different ways to evoke the relaxation response, and how the relaxation response has been evoked throughout history in the context of various cultures and religions. I think this book is of great historical interest because it was one of the first attempts to expose the dangers of stress in a clear way (I found his discussion on how high blood pressure leads to heart disease particularly illustrating) and gave scientific validity to age-old ways of treating it without involving the methods traditionally sanctioned by Western medicine such as surgery and high-priced pills. His findings are based on research he performed with Transcendental Meditation followers, so he spends much effort on qualifying his conclusions, adding disclaimers, and otherwise protecting himself from possible attacks because of his work with such a fringe group. I think this limits the practical usefulness of the book and makes it somewhat dated, particularly since no one today questions that stress is bad and relaxation good. I think a more appropriate revision of this book should include not just a new introduction by the author, but also references to current research on which meditation techniques or approaches bring the most tangible health benefits and how they differ from placebos. A new assesment on the advantages of modern medicine vs. alternative therapies for preventing heart disease would also be in place. By being properly updated, a book of this nature would be very influential in setting a balance between the new age crowd that has little regard for science in medicine, and the medical establishment that has a vested interest in the status quo and thus rejects alternative medicine as a whole.
Rating:
Summary: Great information, but it is there anything new here?
Review: The message of this book could be summarized as "Relaxation is good for your health. You can relax by 1)Finding a quiet place 2) Sitting in a comfortable position/posture that will keep you alert but won't lead you to sleep 3) choosing a mental device that will let you concentrate 4) maintaining a passive attitude during this period". The rest of this book goes into the health dangers of stress (as understood in 1975),the health benefits of relaxation and how it differs from sleep, different ways to evoke the relaxation response, and how the relaxation response has been evoked throughout history in the context of various cultures and religions. I think this book is of great historical interest because it was one of the first attempts to expose the dangers of stress in a clear way (I found his discussion on how high blood pressure leads to heart disease particularly illustrating) and gave scientific validity to age-old ways of treating it without involving the methods traditionally sanctioned by Western medicine such as surgery and high-priced pills. His findings are based on research he performed with Transcendental Meditation followers, so he spends much effort on qualifying his conclusions, adding disclaimers, and otherwise protecting himself from possible attacks because of his work with such a fringe group. I think this limits the practical usefulness of the book and makes it somewhat dated, particularly since no one today questions that stress is bad and relaxation good. I think a more appropriate revision of this book should include not just a new introduction by the author, but also references to current research on which meditation techniques or approaches bring the most tangible health benefits and how they differ from placebos. A new assesment on the advantages of modern medicine vs. alternative therapies for preventing heart disease would also be in place. By being properly updated, a book of this nature would be very influential in setting a balance between the new age crowd that has little regard for science in medicine, and the medical establishment that has a vested interest in the status quo and thus rejects alternative medicine as a whole.
Rating:
Summary: good but not absolutely convincing
Review: This book is certainly an alternative to Transcendental Meditation. A person reading and mastering this book no longer has to spend the money to be taught by a TM teacher. Moreover, it clears up all the mysteries surrounding TM. TM is a good and effective way to invoke the power and wisdom of the subconscious mind and not infallible magic.
The most significant part of this book is the part dealing with the rules of eliciting Relaxation Response. The rest deals with basic medical and phisiological knowledge concerning stress and its related problems together with the test results the author used to justify the techniques he advocated.
I agree with him 100% but I am not sure if these theories and results can convince readers from all walks of life.
To me, poring over Charles Haanel's 'Master Key' and practicing the techniques in this book will be absolutely great and convincing.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Golly Miss Molly!!
Review: This book will teach you a simple technique you can do anywhere that puts your body in a state of relaxation. The best part? It is very well researched and documented and really works! I give it 5 stars easy. Other self-help books I liked include "Treat Your Own Knees."
Rating:
Summary: Standing the test of time....'very well !
Review: This is a book which I personally bought in it's original hardback form around about 1975 and it is amazing to see that this book and it's 'teachings' have stood the test of time, and even today in this the new millennium, we can still find a book which is capable of explaining more about a simple yet powerful technique than all of the electronic multimedia devices ever could. It's a tribute to Herbert Benson himself, but it's also a work of great significance and when I read it way back all those years ago, somehow I just knew that it was destined for greatness and would be around for a very long time to come. I am glad to see that I was not wrong! This book is a necessity in this day and age probably even more so than it was in the mid-seventies of the last century as it shows you just how it is that you can come to a state of true relaxation and explains the effects of medititation on the mind and body, the benefits of which are worth more than anything I can think of in this hectic, fast-paced world in which we live. Never mind the date of the first edition, just buy this book and I can tell you right now that it will be the most worthwhile investment you will ever make in your entire life. You're life and your world will be so much better for having read it! Believe it, it's all true! George Blades.
Rating:
Summary: Please read this before buying the book.
Review: This is truly a great book that teaches you how to get your body to relax. The technique is easy to do and has been proven to help a bunch of medical conditions. Also liked "Treat Your Own Knees" if you have knee pain.
Rating:
Summary: Woo Hoo!
Review: This is worth the money to own -- it's so, so worth it... I did another review once for a somewhat similar book -- "The Quiet Mind," by White Eagle. That is a more explicitly "spiritual" book than this one, full of little aphoristic sayings that often refer to God, or "the light"... I still like that book, but I wanted to speak up in favor of this approach to having a quiet mind, also. "The Relaxation Response" is really quite short and to-the-point, and has a fundamentally Western, rational, scientific feel to it. The end goal is very similar to White Eagle's book, however. Herbert Benson helps us to know the value of taking just ten or fifteen minutes each day to breathe, to say your private mantra over and over, and to simply Be... I think a lot of people out there have some pretty flaky mental associations with the word "mantra." People immediately think of the Beatles saying "heavy, man" and binging in a huge way on LSD-laced mandarin oranges, or some similar image. Benson shows that meditation need not be like this. A mantra could be basically any simple, calming phrase -- anything that doesn't provoke fitful spasms of hysterical laughter is probably fine. One example of a poor choice of a mantra would be "get... get... get... out... out... out..." like hockey mask-wearing Jason in the "Friday the Thirteenth" movies. A better one might be something calming, such as "decaf for me, please... decaf for me, please... decaf for me, please..." or, better still, the name of a beloved childhood pet. That's what I use, the name of the dog we owned when I was a kid, and it works for me. You can use a pleasant-sounding nonsense word if you want, also. Furthermore, it isn't necessary to be given a mantra in a personalized, ritualistic fashion by a personal guru, like many TM practioners used to advocate in the 70s. It's okay to pick your own, whatever works for you, a lot of those gurus were just a bunch of frauds. This book is worth owning, for the further calming effect of being able to view the author's helpfully compiled graphs, and his discussions of the experimental sessions that led to his understanding of the essence of meditation. What he is basically going to tell you to do, however, is simply to take a few minutes a day to sit comfortably, breathe in and out, chant quietly, and try to let your mind empty itself out. Emptying the mind of extraneous thoughts is not meant to feel like wringing water out of a wet washcloth, either -- it should feel like leaving the washcloth hanging loosely over a clothesline, and letting the water, the thoughts, drip to the ground below of their own, unhurried accord, for just fifteen tranquil minutes a day. I wish I had discovered this book years ago. Two mellow thumbs up -- check this one out.
Rating:
Summary: Woo Hoo!
Review: This is worth the money to own -- it's so, so worth it... I did another review once for a somewhat similar book -- "The Quiet Mind," by White Eagle. That is a more explicitly "spiritual" book than this one, full of little aphoristic sayings that often refer to God, or "the light"... I still like that book, but I wanted to speak up in favor of this approach to having a quiet mind, also. "The Relaxation Response" is really quite short and to-the-point, and has a fundamentally Western, rational, scientific feel to it. The end goal is very similar to White Eagle's book, however. Herbert Benson helps us to know the value of taking just ten or fifteen minutes each day to breathe, to say your private mantra over and over, and to simply Be... I think a lot of people out there have some pretty flaky mental associations with the word "mantra." People immediately think of the Beatles saying "heavy, man" and binging in a huge way on LSD-laced mandarin oranges, or some similar image. Benson shows that meditation need not be like this. A mantra could be basically any simple, calming phrase -- anything that doesn't provoke fitful spasms of hysterical laughter is probably fine. One example of a poor choice of a mantra would be "get... get... get... out... out... out..." like hockey mask-wearing Jason in the "Friday the Thirteenth" movies. A better one might be something calming, such as "decaf for me, please... decaf for me, please... decaf for me, please..." or, better still, the name of a beloved childhood pet. That's what I use, the name of the dog we owned when I was a kid, and it works for me. You can use a pleasant-sounding nonsense word if you want, also. Furthermore, it isn't necessary to be given a mantra in a personalized, ritualistic fashion by a personal guru, like many TM practioners used to advocate in the 70s. It's okay to pick your own, whatever works for you, a lot of those gurus were just a bunch of frauds. This book is worth owning, for the further calming effect of being able to view the author's helpfully compiled graphs, and his discussions of the experimental sessions that led to his understanding of the essence of meditation. What he is basically going to tell you to do, however, is simply to take a few minutes a day to sit comfortably, breathe in and out, chant quietly, and try to let your mind empty itself out. Emptying the mind of extraneous thoughts is not meant to feel like wringing water out of a wet washcloth, either -- it should feel like leaving the washcloth hanging loosely over a clothesline, and letting the water, the thoughts, drip to the ground below of their own, unhurried accord, for just fifteen tranquil minutes a day. I wish I had discovered this book years ago. Two mellow thumbs up -- check this one out.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT information and practical guide to the exercise!
Review: Top notch book on producing a meditative state, called here the relaxation response. Good information also about various traditions of producing the relaxation response. For arguably the best book on reducing stress and improving relaxation (and actually a lot more too) check out EFFORTLESS WELLBEING by Evan Finer. Amazing would be an understatement for that book. The Relaxation Response is a classic and should be read if you have not. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! CLASSIC!
Rating:
Summary: Woo Hoo!
Review: Truly a remarkable book. I'd been curious about meditation for years and it was Benson's book that finally got me to sit down and do it. I didn't understand what he was talking about -- all the science and stuff -- and my sleep has suffered tremendously. I cut out coffee, but still, after practicing these techniques I can now only get about 1-2 hours of sleep at the most. You can just imagine what this did for me. Yee gads. I feel more relaxed and at peace, something traditional religion had never given me. My co-workers have noticed a definite difference, and I've only been at it for a few years. My most recent employee evaluation was not a good one. I'm not sure if it's related, but my skin dried up soon after I began meditating. It's almost spooky how rapidly things begin to change. I'm definitely going to continue!
|
