A review by jimmyjams
You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter by Joe Dispenza

inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.0

My mom recommended this book to me. I think the overall message is good although I think it has some issues. I don't personally question some of the things presented:

• We know the placebo effect is real -- it's why we have placebo-controlled studies. We also know it can be very powerful. Why not try to harness that? 
• I think it's also pretty clear that psychosomatic conditions are real. 
• We also know the brain can be conditioned to associate certain stimuli with certain experiences.
• We know that things like meditation can change the structure of our brains.
• Given the above, it's logical that our attitudes and beliefs can affect our reality.

The author presents a lot of ideas in this book as if they're facts, and he doesn't present any evidence aside from anecdotes, most of which are anonymized. It seems like he expects the reader to just accept them at face value. I would like to hear from some people who were actually "cured" by one of his workshops. Anecdotes, while a weak form of scientific evidence, are still evidence. When people's names are changed though, how can we be assured these stories aren't all fabricated?

I'm not sure I would call the exercises described as meditation, at least in the traditional sense. They seem like more of a mixture of guided meditation and hypnosis. I have a decent amount of experience with meditation, so I plan on trying it. If I somehow cure my health issues, I'll update my review.