Rating: 
Summary: TRUTH, but not for everyone
Review: First off, I think that it is important for potential readers to understand that Caroline Myss does not pamper the ego. She works on spirit...and she obviously isn't for everyone. I was surprised at the reveiws that seriously critisized this book and emphatically stated not to buy it. I highly recommend it.This is not Spirit101 stuff. It's for people that have already dived quite deeply into their Spirit. It isn't ego talk. I don't believe everything she says for myself, but so what? The idea of understanding the sacred work that we are each here to do is so well explained and easily accessed here,that she has helped me incredibly. Yes, at times it is too heady for me, but I work with it slowly. Physics is heady too, but wonderful! It needs to be digested slowly. If you just want a quick "let me be enlightened" read, of course you'll be disappointed and find this overwhelming. People that complained that it was too much work for so little understanding are working from the ego side. 'cause quite honestly, if you just read it lightly, hoping to get some quotable spirit talk, you won't find what you are looking for. But IT IS SPIRIT WORK FOR THE SERIOUS SPIRIT STUDENT. If you like to go about your soul work in a kind of academic way, it will probably teach much TRUTH in a language you appreciate. If you like a more nonanalytic way to approach spirit, then you may get really sick of this stuff. And, of course, if you are still working on your ego and boosting up your ego(self-help/psychoanalysis talk), then this won't say anything to you. As for me,on my path, I love this book and am thankful to be able to uncover parts of my spirit with its help.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Mix of Ideas That Follows a Path Into Illusion
Review: Caroline Myss writes well and has collected many interesting ideas from diverse sources to blend them into an interesting premise. Ideas are harvested from old legends, cultural traditions, religions, and psychology. From psychology, Jung's archetypes are raided (as did Bly in "Iron John"). One problem: As with many books on self-discovery, philosophy, and religion, it seeks a preexisting answer that doesn't (pre-)exist. It acts as if it were having people find the answer from within, in a sacred contract for life made by the soul before birth. But, made by who? Were we preexisting people who decided our reincarnated lives? Did someone else preprogram us? Are we divinely preprogrammed? Free will seems to get lost in the shuffle. The truth that I have found, through the fires of tragedy, is that there is no external, or internally preexisting Meaning of Life for us to find and follow. We are not travelers along someone else's paths! The Meaning of Life comes into existence as we create it, through the nature of our interactions with other people and our environment. Of course, our choices are influenced by DNA, society, who we know, and archetypes, but the choices are still ours. To say otherwise lifts the burden of responsibility, but also abdicates our freedom and our right to be responsible for ourselves. Running from responsibility, while coveting freedom, is a common problem in our society. Delegating responsibility for who we are to a preordained, predetermined contract by the soul, is another delegation or abdication of personal responsibility. To abdicate responsibility is to relinquish freedom. I don't, and won't, buy the book's premise! The cost is too dear to me. I'll take my freedom, and the lumps that go along with it.
Rating:
Summary: Sacred Contracts
Review: Definitely not for casual reading!! You will want to spend time and energy and will be rewarded for your efforts. It's a very indepth, complicated book. Work with another person so you can provide feedback to each other. It's difficult to do alone as our perceptions of ourselves may not be as accurate as we think.
Once my contract was established I felt empowered to persue my dreams!
Rating: 
Summary: Different from the audio tape, some parts better, some parts
Review: I LOVE Caroline Myss and I have everything she's written. FOr this title, I started with the Audio of SACRED CONTRACTS. I found the language and set up to be intriguing and concise (albeit condensed). The book is much more comprehensive and absolutely necessary for those wishing to workshop this tremendous idea, but I found the references to Western religion tedious and lopsided (Eastern religions, mysticism, and other forms of spirituality just glanced over, which is not Caroline's usual style). I got tired of the phrase 'one of the world's great spiritual traditions' being attributed only to Judiasm, Christianity, or Islam and found it detracting from the text as a whole. The clinical examples of her patients were much more effective than the biblical allegories. THAT SAID, this book is instrumental on the journey of self discovery. You will be amazed with the things you learn about yourself and how your perspective will change. YOU WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS BOOK WHEN YOU SPEND THE TIME TO WORKSHOP YOUR ARCHETYPES. EXTREMELY VALUABLE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THIS BOOK! THanks, Caroline!
Rating:
Summary: Superb - if you're the Myss type
Review: This is just the latest in a long series of Myss books that have profoundly affected my life. But, don't start with this one. If her style and message speak to you, start with her earlier works and build. Many others teach the same/similar spiritual/psychological material, and I enjoyed exploring their works. But, no one fit me as well as Carolyn -for whatever reason. Perhaps it's because I'm similar to her - educated, intelligent, experienced, not afraid to be different, not afraid to speak up, not afraid of the truth, a little off the wall, a little brash, not bland. . .
Rating: 
Summary: "MYSS" alot of details
Review: If I can ask for a refund I will. the book gives a list of archetypes which didn't really make sense to me. The most disappointing was trying to make up my chakra wheel. I just wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I didn't get anything useful or enlightening out of it.
Rating:
Summary: Great book-if you have the time and determination to use it.
Review: Marcus Aurelius once wrote, "Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there." A piece of advice that is long on sagacity and devoid of practical suggestions as to the mechanics of the process of looking well into oneself. If mechanics is what you are after, Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential by Caroline Myss is your book. Ms. Myss essentially takes a very wide-ranging and extraordinarily detailed vision of Jungian Archetypical analysis, sprinkled with an assortment of other standard psychological analytical paradigms and has constructed a very comprehensive tool for self-examination. Her philosophical motivation for this effort is a personal belief that every individual has a specific, inborn purpose-a Divine Contract with the Creator-in this life, which one is obligated to discover and pursue. Whatever you think of the philosophical basis, the fact nevertheless remains that this book stands a marvelous tool for self-examination and personal discovery and understanding. The buyer is forewarned that to really use this book requires a pretty daunting commitment of time and energy-the book is chock full of exercises and assignments, most of which are very detailed and time consuming to undertake. My recommendation is you take a long look at this prior to purchasing, as it will be money wasted if you aren't going to use the book the way it's designed, but, on the other hand, simple statements of fact as this don't really impress the potential reader with the demands and complexity of the text. Whether or not you buy into the particular philosophical and spiritual orientation and predispositions of the author, the book is a useful and meaningful tool for introspection--a process so many of us want to engage in yet a process so many of us haven't a clue about in actuality, as so much we have been exposed to by preachers, teachers and others usually is more dictates on how to live our lives by other's precepts and beliefs rather than helping us to determine our own.
Rating:
Summary: Poppycock
Review: "Sacred Contracts" awakened within me an awareness of a lack of divine inspiration. Caroline Myss has written a book that combines all world religions in a watered down, warm-fuzzy way. As she insults our intelligence with phrases like "she was a housewife from the Midwest, so this information meant nothing to her," we are talked down to. What's wrong with Midwestern women? Myss implies they're stupid, naive, close-minded and aren't in tune with truth. Of course, she is sure to imply as well she has the truth these women lack. I felt as if I was reading a Tony Robbins-meets-Oral Roberts-meets-the Dali Lama, with a dash of Deepak Chopra meaningless philosophy thrown in. It seems this book was written for women who are not happy and want to break free of their fears. However, not all women will enjoy this. Well-educated woman, especially ones with a spiritual foundation not based on generalities might likely reject Myss's assertions. In reading anecdote after anecdote, I wondered if the book was merely a glorified plug for a workshop. While reading, I felt used. Buy "Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential" if you are into horoscopes and Oprah-wisdom. Otherwise, explore something with substance. Anthony Trendl
Rating: 
Summary: Someone had to "put it all together"...
Review: I give Dr. Myss her props. For years I felt one's natal horoscope was a "sacred contract" of sorts. Having only heard her audio CD, the major problem(s) I have with her approach to casting the archetypical wheel is that astrology has ALREADY perfected the method of determining the best archetypes in one's horoscope. It's called the ascendant and the house system (Placidus, Koch, Equal, etc.) Quite simply, one only has to input his birth date, birth time, and location of birth into a decent astrology program and generate a wheel that would project all of his major archetypes accurately. This would eliminate the hit-or-miss/divination approach that Myss calls for in casting the archetypical wheel. On the subject of archetypes, I believe Dr. Myss has done a superb job in fleshing out Jung's ideas even to the point of developing plausible modern variations on Jung's theme. Currently her website taunts 80+ archetypes and counting. (And I sense a future book in all this research. $$$) If marketing wasn't a motive here, she could have translated them all into the 12 existing signs of the zodiac--for example, 'prophet' and 'martyr' could both fit snugly into the sign of Pisces...-- and in the process, provide the astrological community a very valuable tool of connecting Jungian/modern archetypes to the ever expanding meanings of zodiacal signs. But instead, it appears she wants to take credit for all this work and make it exclusive to her confusing divination method. And that's why I gave her CD 3 stars. I simply got the notion she's trying to formulate her own approach to EVERYTHING (rename the animals, so to speak) and in the process, ignore centuries of practice and development. Again, if marketing wasn't the motive, she'd only have to add to the knowledge, instead of trying to recreate it, thereby forcing the reader to adopt her methods, accept her approaches and buy her books. For those who have studied horoscopes for a few years, someone ought to take what she's done (modern archetypes, sacred contracts)and adapt it for astrological research. I'm glad she brought these concepts to the reader's attention. I'd only wish she'd improve upon what already exists and humbly back away...
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I couldn't believe how many lightbulbs popped on in my mind as I read just the first few chapters of this book. The author is masterful in her linkage of myths and psychology to spirituality and the individual quest for one's purpose in life. She weaves her own experiences with stories shared by others to illustrate their connection to the larger patterns at work our lives. I highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking for their path, trying to heal, or trying to make sense of change in their lives.
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