There is no doubt the the New Age movement is a group to be reckoned with. Last year my wife and I were invited to attend an event, and I was amazed at the turnout. Oh, this was no rave, everyone was dressed in their very best, and expensive jewelry was everywhere. As I recall Jan and I left at half time, there were too many Om’s for my liking.
Mantra’s are fine, and I love the Sitar, it is one of the most alluring musical instruments ever invented. The problem I had was that event had a certain falseness about it. The Yogurt and Yoga group (Y&Y) were dressed in their Sunday best, but was it real? Were the Y&Y just trying to out do their friends?
With all this in the back of my mind I tackled The Power Of Soul by Dr. Zhi Gang Sha.
It certainly is true that medical miracles happen, cancer can go into remission for no apparent reason, and certainly not due to any chemo or other drugs. I do however have some doubts that endlessly chanting:
Soul of my liver orders my liver to heal
will have the desired effect. However, it is also true that there is a preponderance of anecdotal data that shows that having a positive attitude does seem to have some effects on the healing process.
My wife and I are currently watching a close family member die from cancer, and unfortunately mantras are not the answer!
Now, that is not to say that what Dr. Zhi Gang Sha is preaching quackery, and I certainly would not wish to do that. I am sure that The Power Of Soul will fit nicely on the bookshelves of the Y&Y crowd.
I walked away from this book with a less than happy disposition. Almost every chapter contained the useful information that we should find a quiet space and recite:
Lu Lu Lu La Li
Lu Lu Lu La La Li
Lu La Lu La Li Lu La
Lu La Li Lu La
Lu La Li Lu La
Oh, and you have to do this endlessly!
Now, that said, there are a few redeeming features in The Power Of The Soul, I guess we could call them specks of gold in a mud bath. When Dr. Sha is not offering the ‘Lu Lu’ advice he does actually make some sense, even though it is common sense. Conflict is bad, I know, I live in it daily as the editor of this site. Conflict comes out of walls, it oozes its way. The best way to deal with it though is to talk it through rather than keep it bottled up till you explode.
I was talking to a fellow book reviewer a while back, specifically how to handle an author who’s book you did not particularly enjoy, the answer was a good one, and I am going to use it here. Reviewers have very different criteria, and just because I didn’t like it, it does not mean that you will not. In fact there are over a hundred short reviews of this book on Amazon and the vast majority are positive.
You can get your copy of The Power Of Soul from Amazon.
Simon Barrett
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackbackeven the “Y&Y crowd” should beware Dr Sha….the most recent postings on the wired article blog: http://blog.wired.com/articlecomment/2007/04/dr_sha_a_healer.html
and the other forums it links to - tell the story more than can be said here.
eg here is my review:
It is with mixed feelings that I write this- The world DOES need a soul movement – and Dr. Sha’s teachings are based on some basic truths and provide empowering tools that can provide benefit…
But, I’m just not sure it needs the ultra-organized commercialized dogma of the Dr.Sha “Mission”:
First of all, similar to his previous books, don’t be duped by the “best seller” status or 5 star ratings:
1) members of the Mission contribute thousands of dollars in lieu of ‘blessings’ from Master Sha as a part of a ‘book campaign’ – these funds are used directly by Master Sha’s institute to internally buy books from retailers 2 or 3 at a time to falsely and unethically stage the book’s popularity (Google “Dr Sha book campaign” if you don’t believe me)
2) members of the Mission are urged to write positive reviews about Master Sha’s books, and get discounts for it…thus all the prosaic 5 star reviews.
It’s not really that they want to sell lots of books – they want to attract more members to the Mission- i.e. to join the Sunday Blessings and the Retreats….which is where the real money is made. It’s not that unlike this story: google “Did dirty tricks create a best-seller”
Sure, the members deeply believe that they are promoting truth (indeed, other religions have done much worse in the name of God)…but personally, I don’t find these methods to be all that ‘saintly’(it might even be karmic)… if there are real truths in the book and the Mission it would sell itself on its own merit like most best sellers do.
And what ‘services’ does Master Sha offer at his blessings and retreats? Well, Master Sha believes that he is a “Channel” of the Divine, and he (and only he) has been given special powers. So he (and only he) can offer you- via the “Dr Sha dot com” channel (check it out for yourself):
- Divine Protection against every imaginable hazard
- clear your Karma for $2000. just like that – no followup or practice or nothing…even Dr, Sha calls it a “short cut”
- Transplants for diseased organs
- Body Soul Transplant for $5000 (not explicitly listed in the web site, but it is a prerequisite, among others, to be come a Master Teacher Healer)
- Etc.
(actually, you can usually get the blessings for less because there is always a last minute special to appeal to the “shoppers”)
What is a Body Soul Transplant? You current soul leaves you and a new soul (a saint) chooses you. Its sad that some people are so down they feel they need a brand new soul….and I guess all the poor folks have little chance at becoming a saint…how exclusive.
By the way, for the higher services, you aren’t told the cost of these until you apply first, in which Dr. Sha receives Divine guidance in whether he should accept you. Imagine trying to say no after the Divine supposedly accepted you (but of course, these are “priceless treasures”).
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg…the later chapters of his books speak of the higher Soul Transformations etc. The “highest” downloads for the ‘chosen’ ones are offered only at the “invitation only” retreats (i.e. for those who have ‘passed’ the previous courses)…
Dr Sha’s Sunday blessings are as follows:
He offers a free blessing (download). Then his top assistants (the “professionals” on “dr sha dot com” who have gone through the full Soul transformation and have received all the highest downloads so that their souls reside in their highest chakra and they can see with their third eye- paid for either with $ or Universal Service™ to the Mission) describe what they saw. Then all the people who have registered get their downloads. That’s it.
Yes, the downloads might feel empowering, but inevitably you are left wanting more…if the top assistants can really see with their third eye, wouldn’t you want that too? Well you can get there by getting the downloads, becoming indoctrinated through the courses and practice practice practice (the practice e.g. chanting, empowering statements etc can make you feel good) – till you believe it (or some would say become deluded?)
So inevitably, most are drawn to take the courses and to become a Universal Servant (requires you to volunteer time to the non-profit Institute that does all the ‘work’ – whereas payments go to Dr Zhi Gang Sha LLC.). The courses all link together and coax you higher and higher, with the light at the end of the tunnel that eventually you might be able to charge for your services, like the “Professionals” on the web site - it’s the classic pyramid marketing scheme.
But here is the hard part for me: people DO feel better… faith in the empowerments can help heal. But any one will feel better if they spend time getting out of their thinking brain and doing some chanting, setting good intentions, and having faith that they are empowered to make choices to make their lives better. And the collective energy at (any) group retreats is very powerful and healing. Why not rejoice in that - it might be the piece some people really need…
But when that collective energy at the retreat is highest, and people are feeling their best, that is when Dr. Sha ‘suggests’ that his downloads can make you even better….which is made so easily done by sticking your personal barcode on a form (& voila, your credit card is charged). It’s so effective that retreat registrants have to sign a legal disclaimer saying that all though the downloads are ‘priceless’, they must spend ‘within their means”. From my experience, few of the faithful do, unless you call credit card bills and liquidation of savings as ‘within your means”. (many retreat attendees spend 10’s of thousands)
Seems like Dr. Sha is selling water to people standing in a river. It’s a shame that our consumerist society thinks we can ‘buy’ everything. Its part of the reason we need a true soul movement.
Members of the Mission have made a huge leap of faith to jump on these tracks. But the light at the end of the tunnel might just be an oncoming train. After investing so much, it might take an even bigger leap of faith to get off…
I have attended one of Dr. Sha’s healing sessions (not a retreat) and didn’t find it unethical. He is using an alernative method of Chinese medicine for healing in conjunction with Reiki treatments. The latter is now being used in some hospitals with good results. The reason some people cannot go forward with the levels toward enlightenment is because of the amount of karma debt they carry from this lifetime and past lives. The person has to go through their challenges and tests to learn their lessons. Money doesn’t buy everything.
Karmic debt is mentioned in the Bible via the Book of Life: Malachi 3:16-18.
As to the cost of Reiki treatment at the various levels it has always been expensive especially with the higher levels, though some practitioners do have reasonably priced sessions of $20 or less. Dr. Sha charges these high prices because he is a Grand Master in Reiki. Now I have not paid Dr. Sha’s high prices, nor do I intend to because there isn’t any need to. I will go to an alternative Reiki practitioner if need be. Besides, in the Bible ‘laying on of hands’ is well documented for blessing, healing, transferring one’s guilt, etc. As for those with limited funds, Dr. Sha does offer ‘free healing’ every Tuesday and some other days, which is the method I use. So it doesn’t have to be expensive, though the journey may take longer.
As for the chanting, this has to do with eastern meditation practices which have been around for the last 5,000 years. This certainly precludes any methodology from modern science or psychology. Although I’m Christian, I find it offensive when anyone mocks the practices of other religions or beliefs. In this case, you are mocking the Divine and that’s dangerous ground to be on.
As for opening the ‘third eye’ Dr. Sha is not the only person able to do this for others. Anyone can do it themselves with various methods, all of which work.
The soul transplants mentioned, as far as I can ascertain, relate to the different areas of the body which fall under Chinese medical tradition and the different chakras within the body. They are not the identity soul of the person, but others within. I admit that this took a bit of getting used to, but as I have chronic pain in certain joints and to be relieved of that pain through chanting whereas our modern painkillers do nothing for me. Don’t knock the procedure if you haven’t had to deal with horrendous pain day after day and then find something that seems a bit strange to actually work. This is like healing yourself, just as Jesus Christ says.
If a person wants to heal and be a servant of the Divine, they don’t have to join Dr. Sha’s organization. They just go out and do it. The Divine will help that person if requested to do so.
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