THE SECOND FORCE: Redirecting Your Resistance to Success

by Gary & Pat Emery Emery ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 1990

Has psychotherapist Emery (Rapid Relief from Emotional Distress, with James Campbell, M.D., 1986; Own Your Own Life, 1982) discovered a new principle of personal growth? It may seem so from his curious, if rather woozy, discussion of three forces that he says make up our psychology: the first is desire; the second is resistance to what we want; the third--his ace in the hole--""reconciles"" desire and resistance, and manifests as ""good feelings."" By cultivating the third force, he argues, we can free ourselves from conditioned habits and ""ascend to a higher level of perception and functioning""; Emery's lessons include general advice on mastering rhythm, being true to oneself, accepting one's ordinariness, and so on. It all makes some sort of sense; but readers should glance at the author's acknowledgments, which mentions indebtedness to many including J.G. Bennett, Robert S. deRopp, Maurice Nicoll, P.D. Ouspensky, and so on--all disciples of the Russian mystic G.I. Gurdjieff, also acknowledged. Readers familiar with the works of these men will find Emery's words a kind of tasteless applesauce made of the original, firm fruit; far better to read Ouspensky's In Search of the Miraculous or the works of Gurdjieff than to flounder within Emery's pop rehash.

Pub Date: Aug. 30, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1990

Categories: NONFICTION