Energy Work by R.B (to those who have read it already)

[boris]

Review please.......

any good?

new material or just reworded and repackaged for the bookshops?

[Korpo]

To me this is surely new material, in a very concise manner. I have read the first pages and the complete "Blockages" chapter, and it has been a marvellous read, adding in detail what I experienced myself, though not necessarily through the same method or using it the same way.

I found it very interesting how Robert mixes the teachings of Indian, Chinese, Hermetic and other origins and of course his own findings without confusing us with a barge load of terminology. I will read on, definitely.

I think buying it will surely pay off more than fully - it already has started.

Oliver

[Flash_hound]

I thought it wasn't out for another month in a half...

[Korpo]

Having now read most of it I can say it expands the materials from AD, MAP and the tutorials quite a bit. A lot of good stuff.

Very good information on the energy body, but also a lot of new visualisation techniques, and also applications of Hermetic element concepts.

What I personally found very, very interesting is what Robert wrote about Grounding and Energy Blockages, expanding on his former explanations. Supported by more details on the Base Chakra structure and how the Earth element can balance out the effects of becoming ungrounded - good stuff! :)

Oliver

[orygbus]

I got mine today at the local bookstore (Barnes & Noble in USA) I finished 1/3 of the book which was a review on NEW with a few new stuff (click on the "demonstration" to see http://astraldynamics.com/tutorials/?BoardID=18 )....I'm looking forward to the rest of the book, I should be finished with the book by tomorrow, two days max....I write a follow up then....

[orygbus]

I got mine today at the local bookstore (Barnes & Noble in USA) I finished 1/3 of the book which was a review on NEW with a few new stuff (click on the "demonstration" to see http://astraldynamics.com/tutorials/?BoardID=18 )....I'm looking forward to the rest of the book, I should be finished with the book by tomorrow, two days max....I write a follow up then....

Update: (A review as it relates to me) The majority of the book was basically about NEW and Healing with the Heart. If anyone is familiar with Bruce's work than there isn't much information that is new. Although he did provide some new info about NEW (most can be seen in the link above), the majority of it was not new. The rest of the book is about energy construct, for those who are familiar with Psi and Psi construct, this is very little new info to learn. As someone who is familiar with Bruce work on NEW and Healing with the Heart, and as someone who is also familiar with Psi, this book provide little new information, and was a bit of a disappointment. Bruce's work on NEW and Healing with the Heart is free on his website and another good source for energy construct/psi can be found at Psipog.net; For me, it was not worth the investment.

On the otherhand, if you are not familiar with NEW or Healing with the Heart or Psi, than this book is a good start for beginners.

[Rhone]

I had quite a rough time getting my hands on Energy Work, as it was disappointingly absent from the four or five Barnes and Nobles stores I checked. I finally found it at the second Borders I tried.

The first Borders had it in their possession when I checked on June 13th, but it hadn't been unpacked and shelved yet. So I reserved it, but it turned out instead of reserving it they ordered me a separate copy (and the copy they had went out on the shelf days later and was purchased by someone else). I have called five times since then and every time they tell me the copy I ordered hasn't arrived yet, should be here any day now, don't worry we'll call you when it gets here. It's been over a month now. It's funny, because my desire to get the book ASAP is what kept me from just ordering it from Amazon. ;)

Anyway, today I finished reading the copy I got from the second Borders, so I'll throw in my own review for anyone who is reading this thread and trying to decide whether or not to buy it.

For what it is--a book about energy work and using energy work for healing and spiritual development--Energy Work is a very good book. It tells you pretty much everything you need to know about effectively developing your energy body and chakras ("primary energy centers" in Bruce's jargon-free terminology), including information about clearing blockages and healing yourself and others. If I knew someone who was just getting into "this metaphysical stuff", Energy Work would now be the first book I would recommend to him. I would also highly recommend it to anyone struggling to get results from visualization-based systems, and basically anyone who isn't already familiar with Robert Bruce's material.

It's the other group--those of us who've already read Robert Bruce's previous books and on-line material--who might be a bit disappointed by it. It's not for any lack of veracity or usefulness of the information, but mostly because, as orygbus pointed out, it's all pretty familiar. Much of it is familiar from Bruce's own previous writings; some of it isn't what we're used to seeing from Bruce, but is, nonetheless, stuff that most people with a strong interest in metaphysical topics have learned about somewhere, at some point.

The book also, to me, felt more concise and narrow in scope than Bruce's previous books. The size of the book is dwarfed by Astral Dynamics and Mastering Astral Projection, and it's noticeably thinner than Practical Psychic Self Defense as well. Bruce's previous books are full of interesting and intriguing personal experiences; Energy Work is not. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as the book clearly aims to be clear and concise to encourage the reader to finish reading and get right down to doing actual energy work as soon as possible. I find myself missing the personal anecdotes, though; I bought Astral Dynamics within months after it was first released, and still occasionally pick it up and open up to a random page, knowing that I will find something interesting to read.

As for what the book actually contains, there are chapters on the basic NEW system most of us are already familiar with (with some visual additions, like using colored energy with the chakras and using blue or white energy balls as a primary means of stimulating the energy body). There is information on charging energy with intent (which is a topic I haven't seen Bruce cover before), including using colors, energetic constructs, and elements. (The stuff on elements looks heavily influenced by Bardon's Initiation into Hermetics.) Methods for shielding yourself, cleansing the area around you, and grounding yourself are included. The book concludes with chapters on clearing blockages and healing yourself and others.

I was hoping the book would include more information on Kundalini, the higher self, and developing specific abilities (e.g. clairvoyance and clairaudience). I get the impression that Bruce may be purposefully saving those topics for future books.

Despite it not having the same excitement for me as Bruce's previous books, I certainly don't regret purchasing it. It takes all the essential information about NEW, expands on it, and puts it into one compact book. Also, the lack of novelty in the book is due primarily to Robert Bruce being thorough enough to include his NEW system in his astral projection books, and having the generosity to provide so much information freely on-line. I haven't forgotten how much I appreciated his Treatise on Astral Projection, way back when I was young and jobless and couldn't have just waltzed into a book store to buy Astral Dynamics (which hadn't been published yet anyway).