David R. Hamilton

The big news is that I finally finished Why Woo Woo Works after several months. David R. Hamilton explores the science behind various practices such as meditation and reiki. It was interesting if not all that surprising to me as I have been poking around "pseudo-science" for awhile, especially meditation.

Hamilton makes two conclusions that stood out to me. The first is that any practice, whether modern medicine or ancient practice, works better when the person believes in its efficacy. He spent a fair amount of time on the placebo effect, where patients who weren't taking the actual drug got better anyway.

His second conclusion is more about the general practice of science and scientists attitudes towards parapsychology, in particular. I agree with Hamilton when he suggests that those exploring these kinds of areas should declare themselves sheeps or goats: in other words, whether they harbor a particular attitude that would impact the research. I was asked to do this as part of my doctoral dissertation so it only makes sense that others should do so, especially if they are examining something that is viewed with skepticism.

Hamilton ends with the recommendation that these complementary practices should be considered as part of conventional medicine. I concur, even if the most you can say is that meditation won't hurt.… (more)

Many years ago I was having lunch with a friend. I was talking about how we are connected by consciousness. I knew I had read some studies connected to quantum physics but I was doing a really bad job of explaining. At the end, he said to me, "I just want you to fall in love with the science."

That's why I got this book. There's 15 pages of references to studies at the back of the book. Each chapter looks at an area that has been dubbed "woo woo" and looks at the studies done by acknowledged research institutes which show how these things may be possible. The author has a PhD in organic chemistry and was working for a pharmaceutical company when he became interested in the placebo effect and that led him down this area of research. More recently, he went back to study mathematics and physics to be able to more broadly be able to talk about these topics. He also creates a "consciousness equation" which completely went over my head but extrapolates from what has been discovered so far by researchers.

After reading chapter 2, I felt vindicated as to why I believed I needed so few painkillers after my 2 recent surgeries. After chapter 5, I felt vindicated in my use of complementary medicine. After chapter 9, I had the studies I was unable to articulate to my friend. And after the conclusion, where the author pleads that we accept that these phenomena are real, albeit on a small scale, and focus research as to what are the factors that enhance/create these abilities, I cheered.

So my friend, I have the science. Now you need to read the book.… (more)

Without sounding super woo woo, this year has been one in which I've become increasingly interested in personal growth, which has led me to be more conscious of areas where I'd like to be doing better. Self-confidence has never been my strong point, so I was interested in a title which might point me in the right direction on being a bit kinder to myself.

Hamilton's book is.... OK. I liked that he put himself into the book, and his journey on becoming happier in his own skin was a nice way to frame the content, but there was nothing particularly astounding in his tips. He includes various exercises with each chapter, and perhaps I'd have got more out of it if I'd bothered to do more of them.

On the positive, I did like his reinforcement towards the end of the point 'I am', and that that's enough.

3 stars - nothing special.… (more)

David Hamilton is one of my favourite authors and the subject of this book is an important one – loving yourself. It is the basis of success in life and the ability to attract abundance. Love is the essence of the universe and we are at the centre of our universe. (This is my comment, not David´s.)

The book has been blessed with a foreword by the amazing Anita Moorjani.

The book is well-written, which is a must for me, and very readable.

The author is completely open, honest and unguarded, and does not write the book from a stance of being further on on the path than ourselves, but confesses that it was difficult to write it, since he first had to do the work of learning how to love himself.

He recounts various situations from his own life when he came up short owing to a lack of a feeling of self-worth, but found strategies by which to overcome this feeling and these challenges.

We are introduced to David´s Labrador puppy, Oscar, who “played a massive part” in his growth in self-love. Oscar gave David the gift of knowing he was worthy of love, and loved him so much it was impossible not to accept it. When Oscar passed on, David realized that Oscar had opened his heart so very wide that he had “a simmering affection” for everyone.

There are three stages in self-love. You are born full of self-love, but lose it gradually in the first six or seven years of your life. Then the lack of self-love becomes normal for you and becomes wired into your brain.

Stage 1 is feeling “I´m not enough”. Here David tells us of his time at school, where he was bullied. Stage 2 is “I´ve had enough” – had enough of being bullied, feeling small, feeling scared. He shares an episode about the time when, as an adult, he was holding a talk for a group of schoolteachers, and was bullied by five persons in the audience. He was just about to tell the bullies what he thought of them and leave, when the situation was resolved with the help of a young girl in the audience. David´s stories are enlightening and entertaining.

Stage 3 is “I am enough”. At this stage we don´t feel any need to prove our worth or agree with anyone, nor do we need people to like us.

A valuable part of the book is what David terms “The Self-Love Gym” – a series of exercises to increase our self-love. These exercises are sprinkled throughout the book.

Chapter Two deals with how we lose our self-love/sense of self-worth as children by being shamed, being criticized, and through observation. On reading this most of us will get flashbacks of painful episodes from our own childhood.

David teaches us how to use our body to change how we feel. We learn to fake it and make it – the Harvard Power Pose. We learn to put on a big smile and make ourselves bigger by adopting a “confident, ´high-power´ posture. This pose produces confidence. A weak pose induces fear. It is a fact that how we function is affected by how we hold our body, Doing a power pose in your head will also have the same effect. When you stand as though you´re enough, you will wire your brain networks.

The “I am enough” pose is one of the most valuable exercises in the Self-Love gym.

We learn the three rules of mental practice – Repetition! Repetition!, Repetition We learn to become a Self-Love Olympian by mental practice/visualization.

This is a great book, and it gets better and better. We learn about what the author calls “Extracting the I am” – noting a list of things we are ashamed of, and ending by transforming these into a positive ”I am” statement, e.g. I am intelligent, good with money or whatever.

We also learn David´s celebratory dance, his victory dance. He calls this “Dancing the shame away”.

All this should be enough for you to get a good idea of the benefits offered by this book.

We all need more self-love, as self-love is the basis on which we can build a successful life. I strongly advise you to read this rewarding book penned by this articulate and lovable author.… (more)