Ms. Gawain offers insightful information about the importance of balance in one's life, but how many books does it take to deliver that message. Her work is largely redundant. Her obvious arrogance, which she touched upon in a recently updated edition of an earlier book, also wears thin. Contradictions in her work run rampant. It seems, too, running as an undercurrent through this book and her other work, that Ms. Gawain may be trying to work out her own "issues" about having made so much money, and her own life choices. On the one hand, she tells her reader that not everyone is destined to make money in this lifetime. That appears to be fine, according to the author. On the other hand, Gawain states, "There are many people in this world who are highly developed . . . [but] they often have a difficult time developing a successful career, earning money, or handling their finances appropriately. Often, their surroundings are chaotic, or they are somewhat spaced out, having trouble keeping agreements or appointments." If this applies to the reader, Gawain suggests maybe they believe that life on earth is a painful place where needs cannot be met. Many people in the world are extremely "successful" but do not have money. Many artists (writers, painters, musicians, dancers)I know would neatly fit into that "mismanaged affairs" catagory but they are nonetheless productive, creative and isn't it just a bit judgemental to assume they are not successful. If they are following their passion and the reward is in the making of art or dance or poetry, who is she to suggest they might not have achieved success. Many of Gawain's references suggest that money is the measure of achievement. Doesn't that contradict much of her writing which says that money is not a measure of prosperity and certainly doesn't lead us to the inner calm and balance we so desire? I think this woman needs guidance as much, if not more than her reader. While aspects of her work are helpful, the reader must be careful to pick the few delicious pieces of ripe fruit from the bushel basket and leave the abundance of spoil behind.

Teacher and best-selling author Shakti Gawain says that "it has helped me greatly to understand that there are four very different aspects of life--the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. Each of these areas needs to be healed and developed in specific, and sometimes very different, ways." In The Four Levels Of Healing, she describes the techniques needed to heal each of those aspects, or levels of life. She starts by defining each aspect and the rewards of developing it. For example, the spiritual aspect is the "inner essence, our soul, the part of us that exists beyond space and time." It's the foundation for the other levels. The mental aspect is the ability to think, the emotional aspect deals with feeling; and the physical aspect is the body. Gawain says that "all four of these levels are equally important. In the long run, we can't afford to neglect any of them." She finishes the general discussion with a simple exercise designed to help individuals determine which of their levels are the most developed and which need healing. Each level then has its own chapter, in which she fully explains what happens when that aspect of life isn't fully developed. For example, many people have learned to fear their emotions, and "have learned, to one degree or another, to hide and deny our feelings--even from ourselves." She says that denial never works. Each chapter includes a discussion of how healing is achieved, and exercises to help accomplish self- healing. Gawain has also written meditations designed specifically for spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical healing. She also provides suggestions for healing through journal writing and sample questions that individuals can ask themselves and answer in their journals. Gawain encourages people to "look at the areas of our lives in which we may be out of balance, and take steps to develop the aspects of ourselves we haven't yet explored or fully expressed." In The Four Levels Of Healing, she provides readers with all the tools they need to accomplish this.

Sandra I. Smith, Reviewer

This is boring, inane drivel. It literally put me to sleep. There is nothing here that should be revelatory to anyone who can think for him or herself. It's as phony as her name. Do you think this crap would sell if she used her "real" name? It's all a racket! There's a sucker born every minute......

"Relationships as Mirrors" is fantastic -- if you do any inner work then it's nothing new, but either way it's a powerful reminder. I listen to the tape in the car and it's especially helpful when I'm stressed about work or relationships. Also, Shakti is so articulate and at times funny, so that what she has to say is very accessible to anyone who listens. This is better than a workshop in helping you "get it" -- how relationships work and show us parts of ourselves, and serve as teachers that we've appointed.

Ms. Gawain offers the open-minded reader some interesting and provocative, if a bit vague, ideas for approaching the journey of life in a healthy and balanced way. She addresses the need of every individual to generate an equilibrium among the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual components of his life. The grammar contained in this book is, however, dreadful and offensive. As a lover of the English language, I found the random substitution of the third person plural pronoun for the third person singular after such terms as someone and everyone, the improper use of the subjective who in place of the objective whom, and the continual use of contractions and various other colloquialisms to be rather distracting. Someone please find this woman an editor.

I bought these cassettes expecting guided meditations from a woman who is considered to be a "master" in the field of meditation. During the first listening of the first tape, I had to wait while Shakti talked for nearly fifteen minutes about meditation, and nothing she said during this introduction was very earth-shaking. I don't have time to listen to the same lengthy introduction every day, so I have to fast-forward through it, which is inconvenient. She has a nice voice, but I found several things distracting. First, it's apparent that she was working without a script (I never expected this from a writer!). She hesitated often, indicating that she was trying to think of the next thing to say. Second, she was apparently nervous because I could detect her voice shaking a bit and her mouth was dry. I understand nervousness very well, but hearing it definitely strained my meditation! Her tone of voice was not focused; sometimes it had a "sing-song" quality that undermined the importance of what she was saying. And, throughout the tapes, I can hear her swallowing between phrases, and I can hear what I can only describe as "mouth noises"; it seems she had the microphone much too close to her mouth. These surely cannot be the best meditation tapes available. (As a side note, I am enjoying reading Shakti Gawain's book, "Creative Visualization".)