Awakening the Mind: A Guide to Harnessing the Power of Your Brainwaves: A Guide of Mastering the Power of Your Brain Waves [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

She has removed some of the material found in the previous book, notably the graphs about brainwaves which, although they are a bit useful from a theoretical point of view, are mostly useless to those who don't own an EEG. In their place are a lot more guided meditations and many more personal stories. In particular, I think the addition of the anecdotes rather good since they help show that there are many possible paths besides just EEG; this should be obvious since many of the other disciplines (Zen and Taoism/Qigong for instance) have been around for a very long time.

This is a great advancement in the continuing quest to start to reconcile the differences between Western medicine/scientific method and Eastern disciplines. Wise notes that some Qigong masters she monitored during healing exhibited Delta brainwaves in excess of 50 times a "normal" person; she takes this as further evidence of great movements of energy since this could not likely be produced by the brain alone. Wow, well, this is what the Qigong masters have been saying for thousands of years!

The only weak points of the book concern holistic views. That is, Wise focuses on the brainwaves only when no solution is going to come only from work in one area. That is, meditation based on a diet of softdrinks, chips and other junk is probably not going to help you that much; you need a holistic view and methodology. Of course, this has been preached by many Eastern traditions for quite a while and I think Wise probably should have commented on this aspect.

Anyway, despite a couple of weak points this is an excellent place to start for anyone starting to work on his/her lifestyle. Check out the old classics "Mindfulness in Plain English", "Zen Training" and perhaps "Scholar Warrior" and start on the road to centering yourself.

Her decades of experience as a master teacher, and her serious commitment to pursuit of training from her own teachers has enabled her to write a clear, easily followed book that makes it so much easier to find what so many people used to go to the Himalayas to seek-- inner wisdom, peace, higher consciousness.

After thirty years in this field myself, I don't recall any other book that has done such a good job of providing the exercises and techniques you can use to "Get there."

As a speaker at my Futurehealth Winter Brain Meeting, Anna has always been a favorite among the cognoscenti-- the people who are experts themselves. Her heartful insights and wisdom shine through in this book.
You might also want to try out her book High Performance Mind, or her CD set which she did with Andrew Wile, on Meditation.

It suggests many effective techniques for taming the "monkey mind" and deepening meditation. It shows ways to access healing energy, personal insight, and greater creativity. It is filled with meditations that help one lead a richer every day life.

At the same time, it is much more than a "how to" book. "Awakening the Mind" also provides many guided meditations that are poetic and revelatory. When practiced with care, they can lead to profoundly meaningful and transcendent experiences.

For several years I have had the privilege of studying with Anna Wise in person, participating in her workshops, working with her individually, and training to do her work using biofeedback to help gain mastery of states of consciousness. I have also used Anna Wise's excellent set of CD's, entitled "High Performance Mind", along with her previous book of the same title. I cannot begin to express how much my life has been enriched by this work and by knowing her.

I highly recommend "Awakening the Mind" and the CD set to anyone interested in exploring the further reaches of consciousness and in awakening to their full potential.