Friday, February 11, 2011

A Return to Abundance, Book 1: Money and happiness, abundance and prosperity, money and the unconscious mind: a mythological, psychological, historical, and family of origin look at money & its power

I have a shameful secret. Despite 25 years working in the financial industry, I can’t handle money. I live paycheck to paycheck like many Americans. I have mortgage and credit card debt like many Americans. Unlike many Americans, I know that I shouldn’t be living this way. I know the correct way to spend and save my money yet somehow I am unable to put any of my knowledge into practice.

Paul Gubany offers a way out of this situation. He claims that people like me suffer from an unhealthy relationship with money. He claims that he can help us to “see” this unhealthy relationship and then change it to a healthy relationship.

I think not.

All he is offering is a bunch of psychobabble based on wrong information and twisted interpretations of western philosophy.

For instance, explaining the origins of money he says “around the time prehistoric peoples advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers living together in villages of approximately one hundred or so, the symbolic faculty of the brain emerged.” It is a well-known fact that Neanderthals had “symbolic faculties” while living in caves, not villages. Ditto our own human ancestors who also lived in caves.

He claims that money “defeated” feudalism. Feudalism was “defeated” by bubonic plague, knowledge brought from the Near East by returning crusaders and the spread of that knowledge thanks to the invention of the printing press.

I could go on and on.

He cites Karl Marx over and over in support of his (Gubany) theories on money and consumption. He seems oblivious to the fact that Marx’s theories were disproven decades ago. Also according to Gubany, those of us who thought Carl Jung wrote about psychology and religion were completely wrong. In Gubany’s world, Jung actually was writing about money.

What Gubany really is writing about are his own issues with money. He also has some serious issues with his mother. He erroneously assumes that the rest of us suffer from identical complexes.

I am just as appalled as anyone else when extremists burn books, but I have finally found an exception. This book is not just an extreme exercise in narcissism but it is also dangerous. People with no knowledge of psychology, philosophy or history who read this book and believe the “facts” as presented in this book will be seriously misled, not helped.

Review copy courtesy of the author

Monday, February 7, 2011

Elder Abuse: A Family Guide

Most of us will eventually be responsible for moving an elderly relative into a nursing home or ourselves become a patient in a nursing home. These are wrenching decisions and enormous lifestyle changes, yet how much do any of us know about nursing homes?

Thankfully there is now a source of information as well as guidance on where to find information about this vital topic. Inspired by her mother’s death which was hastened by a brutal beating in a nursing home, Diane Sandell has compiled a much-needed guide to nursing homes and nursing home care.

This thorough guide offers advice on caring for the elderly in your home, how to make the decision to move to a nursing home, what to look for and what questions to ask when looking for a nursing home and most importantly, how to monitor the care that patients receive, how to advocate for them if their needs are not being met and what to do if you suspect that your elderly loved one is being abused.

Just that information alone is invaluable, but Ms. Sandell doesn’t stop there. She offers guidance on how you can form a task force to work with your legislator(s) to pass laws regulating nursing homes and enforcing existing regulations.

Ms. Sandell writes in an engaging style, rendering complex situations and laws understandable to anyone going through these difficult circumstances. Most importantly, she stresses that you are not alone. Many people are going through the same thing or have gone through it in the past. She points out the importance of caring for the caregivers, of reaching out to others for help or just a shoulder to lean on.

This is an invaluable guide to a stage of life that all us will be facing, either ourselves or our loved ones.

Review copy courtesy of QED Press