- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Element; New edition (Reissue) edition (7 Jan 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007165102
- ISBN-13: 978-0007165100
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
94,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #86 in Books > Science & Nature > Medicine > Diseases & Disorders > Mental Diseases & Disorders > Depression
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Barefoot Doctor's Liberation, as its sub-title suggests, claims to be "the perfect holistic antidote to stress, depression and other unhealthy states of mind". It is a delightful paradox of our culture that we are increasingly sceptical of anything supernatural while we are, at the same time, increasingly fond of bizarre therapies, fortune telling, astrology and New Age religion. There seems to be an inverse proportion in the relationship between the decline of traditional religion and the growth of alternative beliefs. So popes and archbishops must fall, but a Buddhist, Taoist Shaman calling himself the Barefoot Doctor seems to be perfectly normal and acceptable. You might come to this book with this view, but you'll be won over in the end.
The Barefoot Doctor writes well in a punchy, funny and easy style. In 54 short chapters he tells us how to be liberated from all that troubles us from cynicism to cosmic suffering. Happily, even though he clearly believes in his wacky cures, the Barefoot Doctor doesn't take himself too seriously. His approach is to mix a dollop of common sense advice with a big portion of Eastern theories about the soul-body relationship. Deep breathing, positive thinking and a sensible approach to diet and exercise are combined with advice on how to "warm your liver", to defeat depression and how to motivate your spleen to conquer anger problems. There's some acu-pressure stuff thrown in as well as some moderate massage and reflexology. This is a fun book with a lightweight inspirational self-help message. As the author himself says, take it all with a pinch of salt and it might do you some good. --Dwight Longenecker --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Barefoot Doctor is the modern day equivalent of a nomadic healer (but he's also got) enough charm and humour to make palatable at least some of the pseudospiritual psychobabble his vocation involves" DAILY TELEGRAPH
"A charismatic figure with a calming way (of helping his charges) … one to catch." TIME OUT
"(After one hour of healing), the sense of lifted spirits and serenity is overwhelming" VOGUE
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This practical guide is divided into sections for easy reference to find the treatment of specific problems and conditions. The problems selected and their solutions are highly relevant to modern life and discussed with lots of quirky humour and insight.
Although written from a Taoist perspective, the Doctor includes insights from other Western and Eastern spiritual philosophies underpinned by common sense. His prescriptions are designed to liberate the flow of the life force for every organ and for the mind in order to attune them to health and to re-establish right thinking.
The treatments include affirmations, visualisation, breathing exercises, stimulating the pressure points, massage, a sensible diet and exercise. In this way the author provides the perfect antidotes for a host of problems like depression, fear, loneliness and worry by showing the reader the way to find freedom within.
He writes with wit and elegance and his words convey a love and sincerity that is rare nowadays. I highly recommend this book to those who wish to transform their lives into something more meaningful and worthwhile by getting rid of the small stuff that sometimes makes our life a misery. However it's not a matter of just reading the book; study and commitment are of cardinal importance.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This remarkable book is divided into sections for easy reference to find the treatment of particular problems. The problems and the solutions are highly relevant to our modern world and discussed with lots of quirky humour and insight. In fact, his writing style is quite addictive and engaging, similar to another Taoist-inspired author, Stuart Wilde. But the Doctor is more specific and practical than Wilde. Although written from a Taoist perspective, the Doctor includes insights from other Western and Eastern spiritual philosophies underpinned by common sense. His prescriptions are designed to liberate the flow of the life force for every organ and for the mind in order to attune them to health and to re-establish right thinking. They include affirmations, visualisation, breathing exercises, stimulating the pressure points, massage, a sensible diet and exercise. In this way he provides the perfect antidotes for a host of problems like depression, fear, loneliness and worry, showing the reader the way to find freedom within. He writes with wit and elegance and his words convey a love and sincerity that is rare nowadays. I highly recommend this book to those who wish to transform their lives into something more meaningful and worthwhile by getting rid of the small stuff that sometimes makes our life a misery. Liberation is a truly liberating book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fun book written in a very wry stream of consciousness style and, I'd guess, not to be taken too, too seriously. As self help gurus go, the author comes across to me as having his (bare) feet pretty well on the ground. I haven't read any other books by this author but gather from some other reviews they cover similar territory- basically using accupressure points to "tweak" moods and general feelings to get the most out of life. I live in Australia so have not heard the author's radio programmes but can imagine they would be great fun. I gather the author comes from a martial arts training and psych-counselling background though I didn't see any mention of formal qualifications, much less a medical degree, which I initially expected when I first picked up the book. I was looking more for diet and exercise information and didn't get that from this book, but once I got reading it I couldn't help getting into the spirit of it. I gave it 3 stars because it wasn't quite what I was looking for, but I none the less enjoyed it for what it was.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Self development or self indulgence
I bought this book in a charity shop and quickly realised how lucky I was not to have paid full price for it in Waterstones or similar. Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2009 by Moby
Humorous, Enjoyable, Wise....
The general antidote to what ails us, according to the Barefoot Doctor, lies in the ability to stimulate our main organs - heart, liver, spleen, kidneys - via acupressure using... Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2007 by Kieran Byrne
AMAZING!
I bought this book two years ago when I needed a serious pick-me-up. The book made me dig deep for some inner peace and confidence which had been lost amongst growing pains and the... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2007 by Ms. Neelam Bhalla
refreshing
I like his attitude towards the bigger and smaller issues of life.
Published on 9 Mar 2005 by Nish Pfister
Great read!
I found this book only a few days ago and I am addicted to it. It is very amusing and sometimes I just can't stop laughing. Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2004
Self Help with Humour!
This book contains a variety of treatments for all manner of ailments of the mind (e.g. Stress, low self esteem etc.). Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2003 by Lee Shuttlewood
Good for a quick browse.
This book is great if you want a quick remedy to a particular problem. It's split into lots of small sections, each addressing a particular worry or issue you might have. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2002 by Dr. R. Jardine
Good for a quick browse.
This book is great if you want a quick remedy to a particular problem. It's split into lots of small sections, each addressing a particular worry or issue you might have. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2002 by Dr. R. Jardine
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