The author may be an excellent teacher/practitioner of aikido but flounders, as have many others, when attempting to translate the experience into print. He describes aikido as process. True and process doesn't lend itself to easy description. Meandering,repetitive, and vague. ( and a little misleading, eg. it would be a very exceptional student who would achieve black belt status after 'four or five years of practice' ). Try Mitsugi Saotome or Richard Heckler for better reads.

Dr. Wrobel provides the reader with true insite into the experiene of Aikido. As a beginer, I found the work to be inspirational.

I just finished reading Stan Wrobel's "Aikido for Self-Discovery"
and enjoyed it tremendously. While I am not a martial artist, I am interested in self-discovery. This book taught me that the awareness and quality of each moment and each movement is what brings about an exciting and new experience. This is certainly what we forget in our rushing about every day. The author says, "Our movements proclaim who we are and how we want to interact with the external world." How many of us are REALLY aware of what we are doing at each moment? For Martial Artists, the book offers suggestions on using oneself with total awareness and effortless action. Excellent book...I recommend it to everyone who is interested in the art of discovering themselves.

I had to re-wind a few sections to get down the instructions for the qigong exercises right. It may be better if there was a diagram to show what you should really be doing. Not for the audio-impaired learner or for the visual-learner, but it is quite interesting and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it! It might just be easier to practice yoga or go to the gym to energize your body, but I believe activating your qi is far more beneficial, provided that you're able to follow the instructions and don't fall asleep while listening to the tape.

Though this was my first experience in Qigong, I found the tapes clear and easy to follow. A good source of meditation material for self-help as well as for teaching others.

The Book is good only for and education but not for Reiki practition. Because in this book describe reiki in very general Review. In this book doesn't specify which reiki she will describe Western Reiki or Eastern Reiki. All the message in the book are mixed up and for the Reiki Pactitioner will confuse when read it. Is it OK for the common people , but after they know the truth about Reiki , they will whats right and whats wrong.
For The technique & illustration , I will give 4 star
But the review to shortly , people must have to read another book.

I think that this book serves as a very good and encompasing overview of Reiki. It does not mention a specific Reiki, but it covers all areas of Reiki. It covers from what Reiki is, how to use it, how the levels of Reiki differ, healthy lifestyle, healthy food recommendations and 27 hand positions and their significance. I have more Reiki books, and this is Reiki in a nutshell. Very colourfull pictures on everything it says, and shows pictures to further the explanation. This book is a healthy 4 starts.

Reiki practitioner David F. Vennells wrote Reiki for Beginners: Mastering Natural Healing Techniques out of a wish "to share the good health, sense of personal fulfillment, and deeper appreciation of life that I have gained from Reiki." Vennells starts with the story of how his years of suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome were ended with Reiki treatments.

He then explains that "Reiki is the name given to a simple yet profound system of natural healing for body and mind." The name means "life force energy" in Japanese. Although he is a Buddhist, he emphasizes that "there are no belief systems or dogma attached to Reiki." It's a tool that can be used for physical healing, or spiritual growth, depending upon individual needs.

Vennells describes how Reiki was introduced to the Western world, offering brief biographies of the key Masters. He then explains how people can learn Reiki--it's taught personally by a Master to students--focusing on First Degree Reiki. This is the beginning level, and can be quickly learned. Those with First Degree certificates are able to use Reiki for self-treatment and basic healing of others.

He offers numerous suggestions in which Reiki may be used in healing. The twelve basic positions for the hands are described and illustrated. He also explains how Reiki may be used for healing at a distance. Additionally, Vennells provides guidelines for those who plan to go into professional practice.

As well as the actual physical aspects of Reiki, Vennells discusses the five principles, which include "be grateful today" and "be kind to others today," and how to integrate them into daily practice. He talks about the causes and nature of disease, including karma. One chapter includes stories from other practitioners about how they've used Reiki to heal themselves, friends, and clients. He finishes with meditations and visualizations.

An appendix lists sources for finding a Master and various Reiki groups. While Vennells offers tips for preparing to become attuned to practice Reiki and provides guidelines for using it after attunement, people can only obtain their attunement and certificates from a Reiki master, not from his book.

Vennells says that "whatever your spiritual path, or path of personal growth, Reiki can enrich it and bring you closer to your full potential as a human being." Beginners Guide to Reiki is an excellent reference for anyone interested in hands-on healing.

When I was introduced to Reiki last year, I found this book helpful and insightful. I am currently Reiki II and will be taking the Master class this weekend. I have given this book to others as a general introduction to reiki.

Thank you Mr. Vennells. May everything be auspicious!

I'm not sure why this book isn't more popular. It's a thorough and kind introduction to Reiki that is the perfect introduction for beginners. As a Reiki master, I encourage my students to keep this book handy as they learn and practice. David Vennells also offers a nice chapter on Reiki meditations that is a good guide for infusing Reiki into your meditation practices. There's a nice emphasis on self-healing (sadly missing in many Reiki books today)and a caring chapter on the 5 Reiki precepts. A good solid introduction for anyone learning -- or interested in learning -- the healing art of Reiki.

2,400 years ago, the Chinese sage Mo Tzu taught that there were three kinds of spirits in the world - the spirits of heaven, the ghosts of men and the spirits of mountains and rivers. In this sequel to 'The Magus of Java', Kosta describes his encounter with the spirits of a mountain. The reader is also provided with a history of nei kung (inner power) practices that existed in various cultures around the world, as well as entertaining stories from the authors' teacher and other Mo-Pai students. This book is not an instruction manual on the levels of Mo-Pai training, as tradition does not permit this. However, the author has shown a set of safe meditational exercises that will benefit anyone wishing to start nei kung training.

An excellent book, written precisely as it should be for a book with such sensitive material. An easy but intelligent read, that keeps you in your seat for the whole night, from start to finish. It provides knowledge, humour, insight...all without disclosing any information that could make it dangerous. The specific reasons that I liked this book are:

a) Mr. Danaos is an excellent author and has shown it in both his books. Witty, intelligent and knowledgeable.

b) The book does not FULLY show any of the training techniques for Mo-Pai Nei Kung. This is an excellent point rather than a negative one. It keeps any dangerous individuals from making themselves even more dangerous as well as making sure that no 'dabblers' can get their hands on information that is potentially hazardous to their health. (Many other authors provide techniques in their books to attract people, risking the health of those individuals due to the fact that they will most probably do something wrong and harm themselves.) Maybe this should be thought of, before people start demanding the techniques of Mo-Pai. At least this author has the integrity not to sell dangerous or false training methods.

c) The author provides more than enough information to get in contact with the Mo-Pai, its training methods as well as himself. He provides his location as well as a web-site. If people do not have the desire or drive to make more of a commitment than buying a ...book, then maybe they should ask themselves if they really deserve the training methods. Make the trip to Greece and maybe you will be accepted...(I am speaking from experience).

And finally, whenever a new idea, innovative concept or esoteric and restricted (not secret) training present themselves, people first say - 'No way, not possible, not true'. Then they say, - 'Well...maybe, but probably not.' And finally, after those pioneers who fight with skeptics prove the truth of their ideas, people say - 'Well, of course, we knew it all along.' (Cliche, but just look at Einstein). And this is what people are doing with Master Chang and Mr. Danaos. Excellent book, and Mr. Danaos, I trust in your good judgement to show us what we need to know, when we need to know it...

The book is more that I have expected!
If want to know about the theoretical part of neikung and Mo Pai this is the book for you. Don't expect to learn the secret teachings, after reading i understand why he is not writing about the practice of neikung and MoPai . Its like a F1 driver write a book about racing driving if you don't know how to drive you will die or kill someone else. I'm writing these because i have read a lot of bad reviews that i don't agree with. Hey guys i wish you could read the books before Magus of Java and Neikung that Danaos has write...

I have read this book and have to answer the reviewer who is upset the book has gotten bad reviews. This person stated: "Observe the vehemence and the obvious evil intent behind the reaction to these works--and some of these reviews, and any who seek life and health will understand what is truely afoot."

So everyone who reviews this book and finds it lacking has "evil intent"?

For goodness sake, what's "afoot" is that it is a lousy book. People are giving the book poor reviews because it is not a very well written or informative book. It's simply just not a very good book. I have read this book, and believe me, I have nothing against it. For goodness sake, its just not a very good book.

I don't give beans about the astral planes. I teach computer science in Washington State. No, I don't want freaky e-mails. This book, and the others by G. Travels are of great acedemic interest-containing embedded within the text some of the most sophisticated encryption sub-routines I've ever seen. Why anyone would go through all the trouble to do this is beyond me-but it's worth anyone's while to try to bust the code and get the freaky latin subtext!

I must say that the read of this book has completely changed my life. I was raised in a family that practiced many of the darker forms of the occult, and I mistakenly read this book thinking I was going to learn more about my tradition. I was wrong. What I encountered was a discipline unknown to me--but rumored to exist, written in the honesty and candor of one who knows their subject matter so thoroughly as to be casual. Initially, I was offended by the material, as it was seriously against my own veiws, but the forceful style of the book and the integrity of the position made me question what I believe so intently that I now renounce my earlier beliefs.

So much of what the book counters is the nature of denial within humanity. That is to say that the reality that people are drawn to the occult and to topics of this nature is that thier personal lives are less than satisfying. Often magic is facilitated to increase this personal fantasy, and it lends itself well to this usage. Next, magic is employed to reinforce this self-destructive view in others, and in ones familily, and dangerous forces can spread, even under very benevolent forms. I now know what I have done in the past to be evil, and I have repentance to make. I have found myself embraced by the astral warrior community and what is now known by the Astral Alliance, and have found strong hand helping to lead me along the right path. One who goes by the name of Soth and can be found in various topic related web forums is particularly helpful--and a true warrior, responsible for the capture of the Staff of Ixitipec in the last several years--some of you will be aware of the existence of this object. Lest anyone misunderstand, astral combat only takes place half on the astral planes. This staff is a material object, and its capture was made by material means.

(...)

This book is a serious disapointment to the student of Taoism. This author is attempting to make himself a guru, instead of teaching and sharing the ways of the Tao.

Some interesting stories and informations are in this book, but not practical exercises (for this you must take a course). Author uses too many times words "I", "My mom", "My dad"
Author never read a holy bible, but he made a conclusion like "If Jesus knew bad times - years, days, months (from Chinese Astrology) he could avoid death on the cross". The fact is that Jesus intentionaly died on the cross...

Dispite opinion to the contrary, Internal Alchemy contains many treasures. Search them out for yourself and make you own decision as to its validity.

I was disappointed. While the author is clearly well-intentioned, there simply isn't enough new information here to justify buying this book. Anyone with an hour or two to kill can get all the information presented in this book for free on the web.

If there had been something more useful on joining the disciplines of Reiki and Aikido(+Ki training, kiatsu), this could have been a very exciting and useful intermediate to advanced book for people on either path, even if it's a short one. Unfortunately, it's exactly what it says it is, a very basic book for beginners. So basic it's really not worth the trouble.

There are *lots* of Reiki books on the market these days. Many of them are expensive--a hefty investment for someone just interested in learning some fundamental basics of the "Ki & Reiki" subject. This book is a great, useful outline of important facts. The outline is not superficial information, however. The author has a clear understanding of the esoteric nature of his subject. This book fills an important niche in the Reiki book market.

If you believe this, it is not bad info. I have a hard time imagining the author in a tub dictating these messages. He is also rather condemning of other holistic workers. How do we know Emery's ideas are truthful? We don't. We are to just accept that he has special information. I am not that gullible. The ideas are not so bad, but the book is overpriced for so little. Why promote this as Wei Chi's laws> Is Emery afraid to stand on his own merit?

The book is brief and overpriced, even for a self-published title. It's silly, really. Emery is afraid to speak his truth about Usui Reiki, so he masks and hypes his views by "channeling" a 5,000 year old ("approximately") Tibetan "monk". Of course when the information is inaccurate, unfair, or just doesn't work, Emery avoids any responsibility or accountability. You see, Emery is not wrong, it is Wei Chi's spirit that is somehow wrong.

Is it that hard to say, "My inner voice tells me..."? Are we that insecure that we rely on fabrications to convinve fellow seekers? Too bad, because the information has some value, regardless of the source...

In reading the "not so good" reviews below, I could swear that I hear a little entrenched dogma rearing it's head.

Having been in various forms of energetic healing now, including Reiki (3rd degree), and having taken the time to compare, I did find Reiki to be "missing something"... and that "something" (lack of client participation) is zeroed in on like a laser in this book. (Do Reiki "masters" really just want clients to walk in, lay down, remain silent, and leave as soon as the session is over? What about the client making conscious decisions and participating in their own recovery... gaining the experience of finding out how to empower themselves in the process...?) It's a simple concept, which takes only a few words to explain, which is why this book is so short.

As much as I like what the book has to say in that regard, I'm not a trusting fan of channeled information, having seen some real "quacks" channel. So you'll get no polyanna "it's celestial!" from me. And I found myself skimming over most of the "enthusiastic criticism" of current Reiki by "Wei Chi". (The truly enlightened people I've met stay focused on the good and let the "bad" fall by the wayside...)

So, I'm not so sure about the authenticity of the "source"... but the message speaks volumes that all energy workers would benefit from paying attention to.

This book has a beautiful cover and lots of useful pictures inside. It also offers information about complementary forms of natural healing and Reiki healing techniques for specific conditions or organs. However, it is focused on maintaining exclusivity for Reiki healers and relies on the Takata/Samdahl stories and lineage, which distort the universality of Reiki healing. Reiki healing is a set of practices for connecting to and transmitting high frequency spiritual/subtle energy, and is not exclusive to any particular Reiki organization or lineage. A Reiki student can develop or NOT develop power and skill as a healer regardless of who taught them. I would make an analogy to establishment education, where people go to colleges and follow a curriculum, and upon completing their coursework some become very skillful and gifted at a profession while others don't. Meanwhile, many people have been quite gifted and accomplished in a field solely through self-education and effort, or innate talent. Expensive and lengthy Reiki courses may garner a higher frequency of commitment (within those taking the course), but they do this by discouraging some people who would otherwise pursue this healing path. There seems to be a fear that quickie Reiki courses will minimize the Reiki profession/art, rather than an appreciation for the spread of interest and availability for basic Reiki training, which benefits many people.

This book gives a more balanced picture of Reiki. It is based on many personal conversations with Virginia Samdahl, the first Reiki Master trained by Madame Takada. Those people complaining about the price of direct linage Reiki would also like to buy a black belt in Karate.

The reviewers heated discussion over the historical facts of the Reiki tradition in "Reiki: Hands That Heal" by Joyce Morris made me believe that this book presented a distorted history of the Reiki tradition. So I bought it as a contraversial history book and discovered that between the covers, there was something else -- a great handbook on natural healing. Page by page -- by the way, superbly designed -- the reader receives detailed instruction on how to tune into universal healing energies, and for God's sake -- to help himself to become more energized, optimistic, vital, and more positive, in other words -- fit to handle daily pressure, emotional and mental challenges.

The reviewers tell that out there are better books about Reiki. If one has interest in Reiki history, yes, it would make sense to buy all of them and compare facts. But if someone is looking for a practical guide how to learn to trust your own healing power, to enforce it through alignment with Reiki, or universal healing force, I cannot recommend a better book than this one. The presentation is beautiful and clear, but most importantly -- it stresses over and over again the simplest truth that we tend to forget -- that health and prosperity stem from faith and purity of our thoughts and intentions. Cleanse your heart, and Reiki will cleanse your body for you!

Sometimes, there is nothing better than a poor review! In the present case, it guided me to a great book that encouraged me to count on the healing power on my own heart. What an idea! Why take my word for it? You may wish to find it out on your own.