5 out of 5
stars
Hindered or helped by our minds
Hannah Lane
is seven years old and lives in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She has terrible asthma and has learned to
think of herself as not much good at most of what she sets out to do in
life. She does, however, have an active
imagination and has been interested in fairies for quite some time. She has a collection of fairy dolls which she
plays with often. Imagine her surprise,
though, when one day she finds Brenda, a
fairy, in her garden. Brenda is not so
convinced that Hannah is without talent.
She sets about guiding Hannah to a wiser and happier life. Hannah’s 11 year old brother Harvey thinks
she is a little “crazy” (Book 1, Ch. 2) and that Brenda’s advice is a bit
beyond belief. Is Hannah crazy and will
she ever really improve her life?
Particularly
as children, but also through most of our life, we all have secret wishes and
hidden dreams about the person we would like to be. Remember that fantasy career you longed for
but never went after? We convince
ourselves that we are not good enough to achieve these goals, that we are
unrealistically aiming too high, and perhaps that we do not really deserve such
fulfilment. It is not unusual to reach
40 years and ask, “What happened?” and “Does what I have done really mean
anything to me?” If you are in this
situation Don De Lene’s book is specifically for you. The book is subtitled “a beginner’s guide to lasting happiness”’ and is filled with
interesting, surprising and useful advice on how to achieve exactly that. This book is part novel, part
self-development manual and part spiritual philosophy. Those who are “open-minded” (Book 1, Ch. 6)
and have “a little willingness to believe” (Book1, Ch. 4) will benefit the
most. The book is aimed at children and
youth, but adults can certainly enjoy it and benefit; indeed, perhaps more so.
De Lene’s
book was originally written as a trilogy and is still divided into three books,
however, the text very much hangs together as one unit, being very united in
content development and plot progression: the ideas and the story progresses
neatly from beginning to end. At the end
of each “Book” the reader may want to put the text aside for a short period in
order to digest the content. It is best,
though, to pick the book up again soon as what first seem like simple ideas are
elaborated and expanded later in the text.
Criticisms of De Lene’s ideas, for example, which at first may occur to
the reader are often dealt with in the next “Book”.
Book 1 Hannah’s
Power deals with the title character, and concentrates on the problem of
the conflict between fear and happiness.
It introduces the idea of “the power in our own minds” (Bk. 1, Ch. 2) to
handle every situation that arises in a positive way. Harvey is the main character in Book 2 Harvey’s
Miracle. This section of the text
takes a more complex look at the general subject of happiness. It examines the problem in terms of the
conflict between the “ego”, that is “the self-centered” part of ourselves (Bk.
2, Ch. 6), and the “Self” (Book 1, Ch. Ch. 13), a ‘higher’ part of ourselves
referred to throughout the whole book as “the power”. This section of the text concentrates very
much on disbelief and counter arguments.
Book 3 Jonathan’s Dream once again takes Harvey as the main
character and looks again at the basic question of happiness in the same terms
as Book 2, that is ego/power. This last
book, though, very much examines the real life implications of the ideas, dramatizing
how choosing one or the other side of our selves, can result in life taking a
very different course. This is the least
‘instructional’ part of the text and most narrative driven.
The
characters in the novel are very likable and we immediately associate with them
and wish the best for them. Hannah does
not have a good opinion of herself, but is cheerful and good natured. Harvey is outwardly boisterous and has a
level head. He is by nature cautious and
the reader likes him because he expresses many of our own questions and doubts
about the personal development ideas contained in the book. Brenda is both wise and funny. In one incident her “garland of flowers” (Bk.
1, Ch. 4) repeatedly goes awry. Caesar,
a talking German Shepard and Harvey’s advisor, is both gentle and stern. We like him, as we would like any pet, but we
also respect the advice he gives. Hannah
and Harvey both very much have an arc of development and the novel leaves us
with a feeling that we have truly gone somewhere. Of course people are not necessarily exactly
what we think they are and De Lene plays with the varying point of view of the
novel to surprise us and keep us interested.
One point of
criticism is that the plot of Book 1 is at times slightly unrealistic. We expect Hannah to learn about life, but she
learns just a little too well. In one
incident, for example, she goes from being the slowest runner in her class to
suddenly beating all the girls. Surely
it is more likely that there would be an intermediate state, and perhaps it
would be more believable if she simply improved rather than came first? No doubt De Lene would accuse us of ego
driven self-limiting doubt, but that is exactly what the book is about and
these are the thoughts of his readers.
Perhaps children are more open to such ideas and so more likely to
actually excel with them, and perhaps not.
Interestingly this sudden outstanding achievement is not the case with Harvey,
for example with his bad spelling (Bk. 3, Ch.4), and indeed Books 1 & 2 do
much to make up for the slightly exaggerated ethos of Book 1. Plot wise Book 3 is certainly the most
interesting and imaginative as the story takes a more surrealistic turn with
alternate futures, shifts back and forth in time and a slightly science fiction twist. There is in this last book one truly ‘Oh my
God’ moment to grip us and keep us turning the pages. The whole book is set mainly in Australia;
however, readers from other counties will not have any cultural difficulty or
misunderstandings reading it. This story
could take place anywhere, at least in the European world.
As I have
already said, the book is part self-development manual and De Lene has used
various techniques to emphasise his ideas.
We see direct instruction from Brenda and Caesar, and repetition of this
instruction with further elaboration. We
see important points written in italics. We see some of the instructive points
illustrated by dramatic events. In Book
1 Chapter 5, for example, Hannah acts out her ego driven fear by literally building
a ‘fort’. On occasions we also see more
symbolic elements which illustrate on a more unconscious level. The most obvious symbolic element is of
course the idea of fairies who stand for the intuitive, ‘magic’ part of our
mind. Interestingly all the techniques I
have just listed are used in hypnosis.
Milton H. Erickson, an eminently successful hypnotist, maintained that
trance “is a common, everyday occurrence” that occurs, for example, when
“reading” (Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_H._Erickson). Erickson
recommended the use of “story” and “metaphor” (Wikipedia). Christopher Hyatt and Calvin Iwema in their
book Energized Hypnosis (New Falcon
Publications, 2005), which is in essence a hypnotic induction script, use
italics to add emphasis to critical wording.
De Lene, in his book, specifically recommends the hypnotic techniques of
deep breathing and mantra like repeated phrases to induce personal change (Bk.1
Ch. 13 & following).
The core
message of De Lene’s book is summed up in the words:
“Don’t resist life’s’ experiences. Embrace them with the willingness to learn
from them.” (Bk.1, Ch.1)
This is an
essentially Eastern idea. It is, for
example, also the key notion in Chris Prentiss’ Zen And The Art Of Happiness (Power Press, c2006). Beyond this De
Lene advises the reader to: (1) be aware of your personal circumstance, (2) remember
that wrong thinking causes problems, and (3) ask the power within your mind
(your higher self) to help you (Bk.1, Ch.4 & following). Awareness is a key notion in Eastern personal
development theory. Awareness: the key to living balance by Osho (St. Martin’s Griffin,
2001), for example, is one of many books on this approach to life. Observation is of course also the first step
in the scientific method. Correcting
wrong thoughts is the key notion of cognitive therapy (Albert Ellis. How To Keep People From Pushing Your Buttons:
Citadel Press, c1994, Ch.1). Martialling
our natural, inner resources of relaxation and focused concentration, that is
“the power within” (Stanley Fisher & James Ellison. Discovering The Power Of Self-Hypnosis: 2nd ed.:
Newmarket Press, 2000, Ch. 1), is a central aim of hypnosis. Carl Jung proposed that the human mind
(including its resources) was comprised of more than what we are consciously
aware of (M.-L. von Franz. The
Process Of Individuation, in Carl G. Jung, ed. Man And His Symbols: Doubleday, c1964, p. 161-163) and also
maintained that there are parts of it that are independent, like personalities
that can be addressed by our consciousness (Anthony Stevens. Jung: a very short introduction: Oxford
University Press, 2001, p. 13 & 17).
Of course De
Lene’s book contains much more advice than what we have noted above. What I have tried to indicate is that his
ideas have a strong background in both spirituality and psychology. To provide just one more example of the
psychological accuracy of the book it should be noted that De Lene includes a
good description of the physiological responses associated with “resistance”
(Bk. 1, Ch. 6). The wandering mind and
sleepiness which Harvey feels in response to Caesar’s advice (which he does not
want to believe) are close to “demifugue” which is essentially stress response,
that is, an inbuilt capacity to ignore, to in essence ‘fly away’ from a problem
in our mind (Martha Stout. The Myth Of
Sanity: divided consciousness and the promise of awareness: Penguin, 2001,
p. 35-36). Stout gives specific examples
of this exact sleepiness (Stout, Ch. 10).
Some readers
may be a little worried by the ‘spiritual’ aspects of the book, however, it
should be noted that De Lene takes a mainly practical, rather than religious
approach to those facets. It is true
that Hindu reincarnation is mentioned, but this is not a necessary or key part
of the main thesis. Intuition, for
example, is simply described as knowing something which is not really obvious
from the 5 senses (Bk.1, Ch. 4) and “the power of knowing or understanding
something immediately, without reasoning or being taught” (Bk. 1, Ch. 8). As Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking
(Penguin, 2005) points out, scientists have known about swift unconscious
thought for quite some time.
Synchronicity is another apparently mystical idea which De Lene refers
to, however, much of it is simply explained by the notion that things occur to
a pattern and that elements of this patter repeat, so we experience similar
events to those we have experienced before (Bk.1 Ch. 10). As James Gleik describes in Chaos: Making A New Science (Penguin:
rev. ed.: 2008) even chaotic events have a form of order and this order includes
repeating patterns in a fractal like structure.
As has been
mentioned this book is written primarily with children in mind, though that
certainly is not the limit of the possible audience. As a consequence De Lene makes simple
statements without going into too complicated a discussion. This may at first lead parents and adult
readers to conclude that the book is misleading. In Book 1 Chapter 6, for example, Hannah is
encouraged by Brenda to do what she really wants, but we may well object that
some people’s inner prompting are hardly the ‘right’ thing to do even when they
think they are right. Brenda’s advice to
“follow your heart” (Bk.1, Ch. 9) seems naive.
The problem of evil is certainly very real in the world, even in
children’s lives. De Lene certainly
realizes this and it is best to keep reading as deeper issues like this are
dealt with later in the text. Books 2
and 3 certainly detail the emotive ego-traps we can fall into, which we can
mistake as our “heart” and which can lead us into deep trouble.
Of course De
Lene’s novel contains much more than could possibly be summed up in this review. The author has written a simple story which
contains much, and which a child will discover in increasing degrees as they
grow older. A child of Hannah’s age, 7
years, may only read the first book, but an adolescent of 15 or 16 will gain
much from the whole book. As I have
indicated adults, also, will certainly be entertained and learn much. This is truly a multi-levelled book.
In The Power, The Miracle and The Dream De
Lene has written a novel which is both (1) endearing and entertaining, and (2)
deep and insightful. While containing
‘spiritual’ elements it is not deeply religious. The book has a strong background in both
psychology and eastern philosophy, but these ideas are put to the reader in a
very agreeable manner. This is not at
all a dry, scholarly tome. At just 240
pages it is a quick read: ideal for children and excellent for busy
adults. De Lene’s novel was truly a
delight to read and I am happy to rate it as 5 stars out of 5.
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