The Biology of Love

Rating:
Summary: You may agree or disagree but you'll be effected
Review: "A hug or a kiss raises dopamine levels," says Dr. Janov, and on he goes blending psychology and neuro-science. Whether or not you "believe" in primal scream, so much of what he writes about just rings true to common sense. One reason what he writes is hard to take, I think, is that some things about birthing are so beyond our control, even if we're a caring parent, e.g., if you have to have a baby by c-section, you have to. But there's still all the time of infancy and onward -- "Touching a child allows for greater density of synapses in the developing brain," he writes, "the more dense the synapses the more information the brain can handle." Whether you agree with what he says, or you don't, he makes his point (and it's extremely well annotated) and you won't walk away untouched. Read the chapter called "The Gate-Control Theory." Wow!

Rating:
Summary: Another amazing book, but does it hold up?
Review: "A hug or a kiss raises dopamine levels," says Dr. Janov, and on he goes blending psychology and neuro-science. Whether or not you "believe" in primal scream, so much of what he writes about just rings true to common sense. One reason what he writes is hard to take, I think, is that some things about birthing are so beyond our control, even if we're a caring parent, e.g., if you have to have a baby by c-section, you have to. But there's still all the time of infancy and onward -- "Touching a child allows for greater density of synapses in the developing brain," he writes, "the more dense the synapses the more information the brain can handle." Whether you agree with what he says, or you don't, he makes his point (and it's extremely well annotated) and you won't walk away untouched. Read the chapter called "The Gate-Control Theory." Wow!

Rating:
Summary: Janov is still alive!
Review: First he writes the awesome The Primal Scream. How is progress possible after he's achieved this high a level? Maybe the following books are not "better," but 'only' "different." They don't have to reach the level The Primal Scream reached, because The Primal Scream already reached it. What he writes now is "more." Having learned the new, having longer to have studied the old, Janov is able to make his lines maybe more direct, and more imaginative. I don't know, my memory isn't good enough to remember all i need to remember to be objective. Janov's been accused of being repetitive. I think its inevitable and even necessary when dealing with feelings. When have we felt a feeling enough? When do we no longer need to look at a place? When have we memorized the lessons of reality, and don't need to be reminded again? Reading Janov, you become part of a community of the caring. Yes, its possible to care without reading him, but its quite probable that one's sophistication of sensuality will be goodly improved by exploring the world Janov has both discovered and helped create. Its a question of style. Shall your life include the primal style?

Rating:
Summary: THE MOST IMPORATNT BOOK OF THE CENTURY?
Review: I think so. First, because I could not put it down. Dr. Janov has written a sophisticated and scientific book about the human psyche, how the brain can change as the result of lack of love.

Sophisticated and yet accessible to the lay person of which I am.

I was fascinated to read the latest available research in neurology; and how we treat our children affects their brain and who they are forever. So much of it makes total sense. It is brilliant to be able to understand how it all works. Of course, a child treated with respect and love through gestation, birth and childhood.

Dr. Janov says loving a child is making sure it doesn't suffer anoxia at birth (a common occurence in the way our children are born these days), making sure mothers treat themselves - their future baby - with respect, that they don't smoke, that they take care of themselves...while creating a new human being in this world.

Dr. Janov's book is all about love and how to love our children.

I read with amazement a professional review accusing THE BIOLOGY OF LOVE of laying guilt on poor mothers. What a pathetic way to read this book. But to deprive future children of the incredible data this book provides is doing great harm. Dr. Janov has put together in a powerful framework the first unifying theory that at last makes sense of the human sciences, neurology, biology and psychology.

Isn't it crucial to know how to become a fully integrated human being that won't be plagued by psychosomatic illness, will have no need to drink and take drugs? And of course the right definition of love for a child is to give them what they need, physiologically, as well as psychologically so that they don't suffer traumas at all stages of their development.

Dr. Janov is giving us the formidable tool to understand through research what we can do to make sure our children have all the chances for a life free of neurosis later on.

Witness research like:

"A MOTHER'S LOOK AT A CHILD CAN REGULATE BLOOD FLOW TO HIS BRAIN (CORTEX) AND IMPACT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT BRAIN."

"TOUCHING A CHILD ALLOWS FOR GREATER DENSITY OF SYNAPSES IN THE DEVELOPING BRAIN: THE MORE DENSE THE SYNAPSES THE MORE INFORMATION THE BRAIN CAN HANDLE."

"EARLY TOUCH AND A MOTHER'S LOVE PRODUCE ENDOGENOUS PAIN KILLERS THAT STAY FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES AND HELP KEEP US COMFORTABLE AND FREE OF ANXIETY."

"STRESS AND ABUSE ALTER THE STRUCTURE OF A CHILD'S BRAIN (IMPAIRS CELLS IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS WHICH REGISTERS EMOTIONAL FACTS)."

"A FETUS REGISTERS PAIN AND MAKES CRYING MOTIONS IN THE WOMB."

"STRESS IN A CARRYING MOTHER CAN ALTER THE SEXUAL HORMONES OF THE OFFSPRING AND THEREBY ALTER LATER SEXUAL PROCLIVITIES."

Rating:
Summary: What the world should know
Review: In just the first section of the book, Dr. Janov says so much of what needs to be said. As a Primal patient, I wish the world would heed what is in this book. He is the only professional to effectively unite the disciplines of psychology with the neurological sciences. If one is divorced from the other, the theory will be incomplete and any treatment will fail. Dr. Janov explains more about the nervous system than in his previous books. He also empahsizes how pre-natal experience affects a person's state of being, including his or her state of feeling, thought and behavior.He says what we as patients need the world to hear:"Feelings are not businesses to be 'managed.' They are meant to be felt.""We need access to our feelings to lead an intelligent life.""Feeling is what makes us human."Dr. Janov again assures us that to delve into the deepest levels of conciousness is not at all scary, but that it is necessary to connect to, release and resolve old imprinted pain. As a Primal person, I have enjoyed the benefits of doing this and look forward to delving ever deeper.

Rating:
Summary: be watchful for black & white thinking
Review: In this book,Dr.Janov shows what love and -contrarily- lack of love means in the different phases (womblife,birth,infancy) of our early lives.
The experiences of our early lives affect our brains in a multi-
ple manner,and if these experiences are traumatic they will remain,with all their original power,in the subcortical networks
of our brains and determine the quality of our adult lives.

Janov offers a therapy enabling suffering people to return to the beginnings of their lives and resolve those early and deeply hidden pain which is responsible for a wide spectrum of symptoms
and will finally shorten life.
It is not easy to get there.So it is important to be put on the right track.And it is not easy to go through these traumata.So it is important to have somebody standing by us during the difficult phases of this process.
When the levels of consciousness (page 106 in this book) can com-
municate with each other without interference (see page 231 "The
Gate-Control Theory") we come to be feeling creatures again.

After all it is a completely natural process.We help the brain (which will find its own rhythm)get rid of something having in-
vaded like an alien force and keeping hidden.It is an ancient,
evolutionary phenomenon (see THE NEW PRIMAL SCREAM by Dr.Janov,
page 25,"The Nature of Emotional memory")

THE BIOLOGY OF LOVE comprises a fullness of technical informa-
tion.Janov presents a lot of material from scientific research
which substantiates his theory.The weight of evidence is over-
whelming.The paradigm of primal theory,the concept of the early
imprint and its lasting effects,stands as firmly as a rock.
Janov`s antagonists in the field of psychology having so far pre-
vented primal theory from being on offer in the curricula of most
universities will have increasing difficulties in ignoring or
discrediting this new paradigm.
HOW TO DISCREDIT A PHENOMENON THAT HAS ACCOMPANIED AND INFLU-
ENCED HUMAN EVOLUTION FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS ??? A scientist who
has lost the connection to his personal (ontogenetic) history ,
can no longer recognize the inner truths of our conditio humana.

Having understood the message of this book, we are able to spare
the following generations a tremendous lot of pain.As hard as it may be,we must understand now that womblife,birth and infancy are
the most crucial phases of our lives.In these phases,we are most
vulnerable and may be damaged worst of all.It is not all the same
if a pregnant woman is smoking and drinking or if she is not.It
is not all the same whether birth happens on conditions of anesthesia or not.
Janov says that heavy lack of oxygen (anoxia) is a central element of most birth traumata he has observed in his therapeutic
practice.On page 253 in his book he provides an exellent descrip-
tion and explanation of what happens to the mother and the baby
in the drugged birth.In the western world,the great majority of all birth processes goes under such circumstances.The conse-
quences for the psychophysical state of health of the adult pop-
ulation are anything but positive.
THE WAY WE GIVE BIRTH TO OUR CHILDREN IS THE WAY WE PERPETUATE
NEUROSIS TO THE END OF TIME !
I wonder whether the structures and institutions of neurotic
societies may be changed in the foreseeable future.However,I know
for sure that we can create microcosms making life a precious good.The smallest and yet most unsheakable of these microcosms
is our own deeply feeling self.
I have experienced the symptom-reducing,life-saving benefits of
primal therapy.A long,long journey along the chain of pain into
the deepest deposits of my history is coming to an end.I`m look-
ing forward to an entirely new consciousness and quality of life.

Janov`s book is well written like all of his former books. As a
lay person,I recommend it without reservation.

Rating:
Summary: I have Mixed Feelings about Janov's Books
Review: The information Dr Janov gives is so crucial to avoid pain in the next generation. It is simple as that. It more important than people seem to grasp. For years I've been at a miss as to why his discoveries are not more widely taught in psychology, and in the general culture. I think his work should provide the groundwork for further study in psychology, as Newton"s did in Physics. It is truely incredible, especially for readers new to Janov. Primal therapy must continue, hopefully people will be encouraged by this book to become therapists, certified Primal Therapists that takes many years. It is worth it, it can change people, and in a incremental way it can change society. For the better. The book is well written as always, and has the Janov determination running through it. Well done Art, you have done well.

Rating:
Summary: be watchful for black & white thinking
Review: there seems to be a tendancy among some people to take in this case, dr. janov's assertions in the biology of love, to be his be all end all solution to human development, and that he is ignoring other factors like genetics. in the case of this book, is it really necessary for the focus to be on that which has already written about? maybe it is a bit presump tious of janov to assume we all dont need to read about these other factors, but clearly his intention in writing this book was to disseminate important findings based on his continued experience and research. i cant imagine janov denying the con crete evidence that genetics, etc. play in our physiological, biological, neurological and psychological evolution. however, in the biology of love he has something to add that may well be just as important if not more so. at this time genetics cant be changed, but through primal therapy, et al, brain chemistry can be altered thus sending a ripple effect throughout the entire organism hopefully bringing a sense of peace and wholeness to us, possibly never known before.