Judith OrloffReseñas

Let me start by saying, I'm not a big fan of self help books. I've read a few in my life that had interesting and helpful points, but wading through the unrealistically positive twaddle is hard to take. This book was very different. She gets right to the heart of human nature and paints a beautiful picture of the path to recovery from the human condition.

If you are introspective and want to grow, read this and you'll be glad you did. If you aren't introspective, you probably need to read it even more, and your life will be significantly enhanced. :-)

The scientific foundation of the book could have easily stood on its own, but I really appreciated her including intuition. Some times the reading went a little slow, seeming to belabor a point, but I appreciated this on the segments covering what I most needed to improve. It got the point across.

This is my newest deck and it's very simple to use yet very profound. A good daily reminder on what to let go.

What I read of this, in audiobook form, it had some true and important ideas. But also some that were a little too out there - it wasn't necessary. I love her determination to support our sensitivity and empathy - giving these attributes their due.½

1 Fictional Lemonade Stand
1 Workbook Format
Accounting Principles Broken Down
1 Certificate of Completion (Yay!)

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Orloff-Liberte-emotionnelle/797797

> Cette auteure guide le lecteur dans ce qui ressemble à un véritable manuel de bien-être émotionnel. Elle fait référence à sa propre histoire afin d'illustrer son propos et se rendre accessible. Elle donne au lecteur des astuces pour utiliser son intuition. Les stratégies expliquées impliquent la personne entière, à savoir : la biologie, l'énergie, la spiritualité et la psychologie.
—Danieljean (Babelio)

Let me start by saying, I'm not a big fan of self help books. I've read a few in my life that had interesting and helpful points, but wading through the unrealistically positive twaddle is hard to take. This book was very different. She gets right to the heart of human nature and paints a beautiful picture of the path to recovery from the human condition.

If you are introspective and want to grow, read this and you'll be glad you did. If you aren't introspective, you probably need to read it even more, and your life will be significantly enhanced. :-)

The scientific foundation of the book could have easily stood on its own, but I really appreciated her including intuition. Some times the reading went a little slow, seeming to belabor a point, but I appreciated this on the segments covering what I most needed to improve. It got the point across.

This is an excellent book about all aspects of being an empath.

The author, a psychiatrist and herself an empath, compares empaths to Highly Sensitive People (HSPs). Some of their traits are “a low threshold for stimulation, the need for alone time, sensitivity to light, sound and smell, and an aversion to large groups”. She fails to mention, however, that these traits are also found on those on the autism spectrum.

She explains that empaths, as opposed to HSPs, absorb other people’s energies and have profound spiritual and intuitive experiences.

There are various types of empaths, physical empaths, emotional empaths, intuitive empaths, telepathic empaths and so on, and the author provides full descriptions of all these types.

Since I too am an empath, the book elucidates many things for me, including why I never have been able to stand, or participate in, small talk.

The book made me feel understood.

One patient told the author; “Only one-to-one contact with people is bearable.”

Judith gives us a shielding visualization for empaths, which only takes five minutes or so and helps us to block out toxic energy. By this means we can put ourselves in a safe bubble where we won’t be drained.
We need to ground and earth – again, a visualization is provided.

It is a blessing to be an empath. Our presence, our sweetness, our tender appreciation for people and all of life are gifts. We should appreciate ourselves, our openness and our ability to feel.

We are special and perfect.

Here is one of the author’s empath affirmations:

“I vow to honor my sensitivities and treat myself lovingly as I explore what it means to be an empath and embrace my gifts. I will appreciate myself every day.”

We are provided with valuable chapters about relationships, addictions, protection from narcissists and other energy vampires, parenting, work, etc etc.

I highly recommend that you read/purchase this book if you suspect you might be an empath, or know that you are. Five stars.

For those of us who identify as highly sensitive and/or empathic, we now have another great resource to add to our bookshelf. Author Judith Orloff offers self-care tips for every day of the year. Most of the things we probably know we "should" do, but Orloff reminds us why it's necessary. Each step is small enough to not be overwhelming but with practice each will help deal with daily overwhelm. I was highlighting my way through this book - I can't offer higher praise than that!

Leven met hooggevoeligheid. Tips voor de empathische persoonlijkheid. Door Judith Orloff.

Orloff is arts en zelf empaat en dat merk je in dit boek, ze weet waarover ze praat. Dit is niet het zoveelste boek voor hooggevoelige (hsp) personen, het richt zich daarnaast ook op mensen met een empathische persoonlijkheid. Zij hebben veel eigenschappen gemeen met hsp’ers maar daarnaast nemen zij ook nog eens de (positieve en negatieve) energieën van hun omgeving op in hun lichaam. Dit kan tot allerlei klachten leiden waar de reguliere wetenschap geen oplossingen voor kan bieden. De tips uit dit boek kunnen deze mensen wél helpen. Het gaat om praktisch toepasbare tips verspreid over levensgebieden zoals werk, relaties, kinderen, verslavingen,…

In het begin maakt Orloff een opdeling tussen fysieke en emotionele empaten. Met behulp van een test kan je achterhalen tot welke groep (of beide) je behoort. (Ik ben beide.)
Per soort empathie geeft ze concrete tips en hulpmiddelen en die zijn heel toepasbaar. Later in het boek maakt ze ook onderscheid tussen (onder andere): telepatische, precognitieve, droom,… -empaten. Daar ben ik een beetje afgehaakt wegens totaal niet herkenbaar voor mij.

Al bij al is dit een praktisch en opbeurend boek vol tips en trics om je hooggevoeligheid/empathie te zien als wat ze is: geen last maar een gave. Door middel van oefeningen, affirmaties, voedingstips en kennis leer je jezelf beter kennen én helpen.
Echt een hart onder de riem voor iedereen die ‘last’ heeft van hooggevoeligheid en/of empathie.

After reading this I am even further convienced that I am not sensitive. However, I had a better understanding of what an empath actually is. It is not NECESSARILY a bunch of tree-hugging-hippie crap, but some of it is, the idea that a black crystal held close to you will help you makes it so far out there that I really wanted to through out the baby with the bath water.

I hae had a number of relationships that have claimed to be empaths, including my wife. Based on Dr. Orioff's description I may well be an "energy vampire" making it even more struggling that I would be attracted to ladies like this. I know it is part of the whole opposites attract. I suspect that if Judith were our consular she would recommend we divorce. Luck for me my wife is even more committed to the sacrament of matrimony than I am.

This book is certainly aimed at the sensitive. But there is some value in the loved one of HSPs reading this as well. It isn't easy reading, it is hard not to just dismiss Orioff as a whack-job, but ya do what ya can.

"Sensitive" here in the same sense as in Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), that is folks who are more sensitive than some to stimuli. HSPs (I am one) get overloaded easily in environments with harsh or excessive stimuli--so, crowds might bother them, or intense smells and sounds, or irritating fabrics and so on. According to Orloff, empaths are similar to HSPs (a person can be one but not the other, or both) but the sensitivity in the case of empaths is to do with picking up on other people's emotions and reacting to them, sometimes as if they were your own. If you find embarrassing scenes on TV excruciating or get anxious if you walk into a room where someone is angry or get choked up when an entire basketball stadium leaps to its feet in joy at a buzzer beater, you might be an empath.

Orloff explains what empaths are, offers some techniques for embracing and managing this sensitivity, and gives advice geared for general situations (how to thrive as an empathic parent, how to raise an empathic child, how to thrive at work as an empath, and so on). The worth of this book for me was two-fold: 1) the "it's you; it's real; it's okay" bit--it's always nice to get confirmation that you aren't imagining things and that you aren't alone and that there's nothing wrong with you--and 2) the exercises and meditations for embracing and managing empathic tendencies. She provides some meditations that I think will be really helpful. Some of Orloff's suggestions are a bit "new age" (do we still say that? crystals and premonitions and the like), and I don't personally find that sort of thing helpful. If you do, that aspect is here for you along with the rest. If you don't, but you want some help putting a barrier between other people's emotions and your own, there is definitely a core of non-crystalline advice here.½

I agree with previous reviewers who said (paraphrased)--"Yes, but the point is that someone who is emotionally stuck doesn't know how to do what this author suggests." I did get that vibe from this book more than once and it was one of the reasons it made it to my "didn't finish wall of shame" list.

Yet that doesn't make the content unusable.

The author is a practicing psychiatrist who, from my reading, knows that what she's describing takes time and is a lifelong process.

Sometimes the best value of a book is as a primer. It may not change drastically change my life right away, but as it marinates in the back of my mind...

Maybe that's where all the magic happens anyway--in the background where I don't THINK. (smiles)

If today is mostly better than yesterday, I call that A Win.


PS Added 12/6/2012: The early section on dreaming and especially "how to sleep well," were very well done. She gave sleep a flavor and it is delicious!

This had some great ideas in it. I listened to it mainly in the car so I couldn't take notes. I might have read a physical book instead. But it was good. Good examples. I had several ah ha moments listening. I will implement some of the exercises.

A simple approach to learning traditional financial accounting by using a lemonade stand. Colorful book.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find this book particularly readable at first, which is why I didn’t manage to get it finished before I had to return it to the library.

However its theme/message is of utmost importance. We all need to let go, to surrender our personal will to the Divine Will, and to be in the moment.

Life becomes easier when you learn to let go. “Burdens will lift or lessen.” Surrendering “involves reprogramming old habits and being willing to let go of the drama.”

Dr. Orloff has seen the transformative effects of surrender on her patients’ health as well as on her own. She asserts that surrender is a secret to health and beauty.

We need to practice both intellectual, emotional, physical/sensual and spiritual surrender.

The author divides the book into 13 parts, the 13 surrenders.

The 1st surrender deals with redefining true success, power and happiness. Stop comparing yourself to others and build self-esteem.

The chapter on the 2nd surrender comprises four vital insights into power and letting go. 1) We need to break the trance of the reptilian brain and surrender old behaviours and ineffective communication styles. 2) We need to surrender to our spiritual power, using soft power instead of hard power, i.e. activating endorphins, the feel-good hormones, oxytocin, the love or cuddle hormone and serotonin, the happiness hormone, instead of adrenalin, the fight-or-flight hormone, testosterone, the sex and power hormone and dopamine, the pleasure hormone. We must get out of our mind and into our heart. 3) We need to wield light powers, not shadow powers. 4) We must learn when to practice power versus powerlessness.

The 3rd surrender consists of manifesting the heart of money: seeing beyond material seduction and fear. We are given three strategies to transform our relationship with money. With regard to money, we are divided into three types. The Warrior, the Procrastinator and the Spending Addict.

The 4th surrender is learning the art of reading people. Here we surrender to new forms of knowing. The 5th surrender is cultivating impeccable communication. This is a surrender because you learn to know when to be assertive and when to let go. This chapter includes a useful section on how to communicate with anger addicts, passive aggressive people, narcissists, guilt trippers and gossips.

The 6th surrender is about honouring soul mates, soul friends and animal companions. Intimate relationships challenge us to open our heart and become a more confident and more giving person.

The 7th surrender relates to exploring the divinity of your body and sexuality. This chapter includes keys to a positive body image and weight.

Igniting your sexual power is the 8th surrender. It comprises basic strategies of sexual surrender, one section about claiming your sexual power and one about surrendering to the ecstasy of orgasms and exploring “sacred play”.

The 9th surrender deals with discovering the sensual essence of the natural world and includes a section about surrender to the Earth and meeting your power animals and messengers.

The 10th surrender is about harmonizing with illness and pain. Surrender doesn’t mean giving in or giving up. Illness can wake you up physically, emotionally and spiritually. ”Surrender means knowing you are not just your diagnosis, your genes, your pain, your addiction or even your body. You are a radiant soul.” The surrender the author suggests is to harmonize with illness and pain, not to resist them. “Resistance can amplify suffering whereas flowing with symptoms diminishes them.”

The 11th surrender is experiencing radiant aging: the secret of slowing down time, while the 12th surrender is making peace with death and the afterlife.

Much of this is fascinating, invaluable. The author asks the question: “What is your perfect death?” No, 6 is “Having an orgasm”. No. 7 is “Death by chocolate”. Ha, ha!

Each chapter contains useful exercises, various tests and a surrender affirmation.

Finally, she offers us this prayer of love for the planet:

“Bless all of the earth’s creatures, light, dark, or struggling. Bless all the twinkling beings in and around us. Love is large enough to hold us all. Joy is expansive without limit, leaving no one out. May our surrender, or bliss, come from loving ourselves, each other and the earth.”

This is a valuable, well-written book, and I would absolutely recommend that you read it. You may need to read it a couple of times in order to integrate its content. The book will help you lead your life easily and effortlessly.

I feel that I am always trying to become a better person and live a more satisfying life...not by acquiring more possessions, but by being a happier person. I never pass up a chance to read a book that will help me accomplish that goal. This book is jam packed with so much great information to help you let go and empower yourself to be a better and happier person. It is not only about how to help make yourself better, but to learn to deal with others in a more productive way. This is a book I will continue to read and refer to on a regular basis. It is an AMAZING book and I give it 4.5 stars.

Let me begin by saying that i am in no way shape or form a math person, nor am I really good at it. It is just one of those subjects that has evaded me most of my life. That said, my husband bought me this book to help with a legal accounting course. What a life-saver!!!!

While it is a very basic story - setting up a lemonade stand in your front yard, this book breaks down every part of accounting and balance sheets into easy to understand concepts. The childish drawings add to the story but the charts are very useful. I found the short chapters perfect for handling one concept at a time. Gradually the book builds upon itself utilizing the previous chapters to establish important background. Extremely easy to follow, read, and understand;, it actually made accounting fun for me to learn!

It's ok. Not very many ah ha moments. Very hippish ideas. Some good ones. Doesn't explain how to cultivate "intuition" or where it comes from and (in my opinion) is a off on how to tell the difference between intuition and wishing. She tends to bend religious and philosophical ideas to fit her own.

Fascinating description of Dr Orloff's journey from a child with gifts to a mainstream psychiatrist to a psychiatrist who once again uses her gifts to heal.

A psychiatrist and intuitive empath, Dr. Orloff writes, "Creativity is the mother of all energies, nurturer of your most alive self. When you're plugged in, a spontaneous combustion occurs that 'artists' don't have a monopoly on." In an interview we did a few years ago, she noted, "The psychic forces or the creative forces come through in exactly the same way, in that you have to be open and receptive to them, rather than effort or force anything."

In "Positive Energy" she details approaches to "protect our energy so that we can stay centered in dealing with the stresses that arise" and thus help protect our creative sensitivities without having to wall off and shut down. Naomi Judd, Quincy Jones and a number of other talented people relate how these energy medicine approaches are helpful.

I got this book not to learn accounting but as an Instructional Designer to experience the use of simple metaphors for teaching/learning. Topics like accounting that can get little complicated was made interesting and fun to learn using simple ,known idea of lemonade stand.

There is so much to say about this book but simply - it will change the way you look at things and the things you look at - yourself - will change½