Review of The MISOGI Method
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Review of The MISOGI Method
[Following is a volunteer review of "The MISOGI Method" by Jody B. Miller.]
The title page of the book The Misogi Method by Jodi B. Miller promises to show us the way to 'lasting happiness and success.'
Misogi is a Japanese ritual traditionally performed before a religious service or during a visit to a Shinto shrine. A person usually spends some time fasting and praying or undergoing vigorous physical activity. After this, the person calls the spirits and stands under a freezing waterfall to be cleansed of all impurities and to welcome a 'new, positive, life-changing spirit.' The author says that this practice of exposing the body to extreme cold has numerous health benefits but is more interested in the psychological and mental changes it would incur.
A conversation the author had with some star athletes in a gym introduced her first to Misogi. She overhears them talking about their upcoming Misogi and wonders why someone would want to do something as seemingly insane as climb up forty-four flights of stairs or run five miles underwater with rocks. The trainer tells her that a Misogi is a practice of taking on a challenge well outside one's comfort zone. When she asked the trainer how one would benefit, he said that doing something as demanding as a Misogi makes one see 'what is possible in your life.'
Intrigued, Ms. Miller starts researching the ritual and realizes how valuable a modern-day variant would be. When choosing a Misogi, one takes on an enormous challenge that instills fear and has an element of risk but has extraordinary transformative powers. One can become more confident, happier, more at peace with oneself and the world. One breaks through the barriers one has constructed around oneself and consequently one sees unlimited possibilities.
In modern times, one doesn't do a Misogi the traditional way, but the principle is the same. Most of us resist change and often stagnate, functioning at a level much below our optimum. Going through a Misogi would raise our self-confidence because we attempt the seemingly impossible, and in stretching ourselves we make our lives more meaningful and fulfilling.
The author narrates three occasions when 'time stopped' for her: moments of epiphany when she had to do something life-changing. Each time she decided to do a Misogi.
Jodi Miller uses several techniques to reiterate her message. Each chapter has takeaways at the end. The book is structured so that the reader first looks at herself, recognizes the need for a Misogi in her life, and is then guided to choose her Misogi.
Towards the end of the book, the author presents transcripts of several interviews she had taken of people who have been very successful in their lives. She starts with welcoming the speaker to the 'Misogi Method--Breaking through Barriers to Find Meaning, Success, and Happiness that Lasts.' All the speakers had broken barriers and boundaries and faced disapproval and ridicule, but were able to succeed because of the passion they had to bring their ideas to fruition. In the real sense, each of them, according to Ms.Miller, did a Misogi.
The author is clear and concise in her writing, and the book efficiently conveys her belief that a Misogi could change one's life. How convinced the reader is would depend on her willingness to listen and her motivation to change. The style is colloquial and conversational and sounds more like a talk. Some repetitions and takeaways could have been avoided. As this is a book, the writing needs to be less informal and more nuanced. The book is also carelessly edited and has many spelling and grammatical errors.
For the above reasons, I would rate the book 2 out of 4. I would recommend it to readers who like self-help books and those interested in the Misogi Method. I hope that people who need a dramatic change in their lives read this and that they benefit as much as the book promises they will.
******
The MISOGI Method
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The title page of the book The Misogi Method by Jodi B. Miller promises to show us the way to 'lasting happiness and success.'
Misogi is a Japanese ritual traditionally performed before a religious service or during a visit to a Shinto shrine. A person usually spends some time fasting and praying or undergoing vigorous physical activity. After this, the person calls the spirits and stands under a freezing waterfall to be cleansed of all impurities and to welcome a 'new, positive, life-changing spirit.' The author says that this practice of exposing the body to extreme cold has numerous health benefits but is more interested in the psychological and mental changes it would incur.
A conversation the author had with some star athletes in a gym introduced her first to Misogi. She overhears them talking about their upcoming Misogi and wonders why someone would want to do something as seemingly insane as climb up forty-four flights of stairs or run five miles underwater with rocks. The trainer tells her that a Misogi is a practice of taking on a challenge well outside one's comfort zone. When she asked the trainer how one would benefit, he said that doing something as demanding as a Misogi makes one see 'what is possible in your life.'
Intrigued, Ms. Miller starts researching the ritual and realizes how valuable a modern-day variant would be. When choosing a Misogi, one takes on an enormous challenge that instills fear and has an element of risk but has extraordinary transformative powers. One can become more confident, happier, more at peace with oneself and the world. One breaks through the barriers one has constructed around oneself and consequently one sees unlimited possibilities.
In modern times, one doesn't do a Misogi the traditional way, but the principle is the same. Most of us resist change and often stagnate, functioning at a level much below our optimum. Going through a Misogi would raise our self-confidence because we attempt the seemingly impossible, and in stretching ourselves we make our lives more meaningful and fulfilling.
The author narrates three occasions when 'time stopped' for her: moments of epiphany when she had to do something life-changing. Each time she decided to do a Misogi.
Jodi Miller uses several techniques to reiterate her message. Each chapter has takeaways at the end. The book is structured so that the reader first looks at herself, recognizes the need for a Misogi in her life, and is then guided to choose her Misogi.
Towards the end of the book, the author presents transcripts of several interviews she had taken of people who have been very successful in their lives. She starts with welcoming the speaker to the 'Misogi Method--Breaking through Barriers to Find Meaning, Success, and Happiness that Lasts.' All the speakers had broken barriers and boundaries and faced disapproval and ridicule, but were able to succeed because of the passion they had to bring their ideas to fruition. In the real sense, each of them, according to Ms.Miller, did a Misogi.
The author is clear and concise in her writing, and the book efficiently conveys her belief that a Misogi could change one's life. How convinced the reader is would depend on her willingness to listen and her motivation to change. The style is colloquial and conversational and sounds more like a talk. Some repetitions and takeaways could have been avoided. As this is a book, the writing needs to be less informal and more nuanced. The book is also carelessly edited and has many spelling and grammatical errors.
For the above reasons, I would rate the book 2 out of 4. I would recommend it to readers who like self-help books and those interested in the Misogi Method. I hope that people who need a dramatic change in their lives read this and that they benefit as much as the book promises they will.
******
The MISOGI Method
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
