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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2017
Aleister Crowley wrote that there is nothing quite like the thrill of being hurled across the temple by a spirit that one only half believed to be real. Despite the fact that yoga teachers (and Crowley himself) constantly remind us that paranormal side effects are simply a distraction and should never be hankered after, the occasional overwhelming magical experience does help to encourage us on the path. I had that in mind many years ago at an IOT conference in Austria when I demonstrated a breathing technique called Vivation, or Rebirthing. Like most chaos magicians at that time, I had been a bit scornful about wishy-washy New Age talk about “healing energies” and so on, until a friend had dragged me to a re-birthing workshop. The experience blew my mind. Here was a simple, though laborious, technique that led to direct physical experience of surging body energy as pure sensation. Chi was no longer just a nice metaphor – it had almost hurled me across the temple.
Reading this book, I feel proud. Because that demonstration in Austria was one of the triggers that led David Lee to take up the study of breathwork and become a professional practitioner with decades of experience in a subject that I had merely dabbled in.
Life Force is a distillation of that experience, and it is also much more. Firstly it is an excellent introduction to breathwork. I am sure there are other good introductions, but they mostly focus within one particular school, such as Vivation, Holotropic Breathing or Taoist Alchemy. This book provides a comparative overview of the whole range of related techniques to help readers decide for themselves what path to follow. At the same time it manages to be thoroughly down to earth, with basic practical exercises clearly explained.
Secondly, in best chaos magic tradition, the book establishes breathwork’s place in the broader magical and spiritual traditions – with reference to tantra, Norse lore, Taoist alchemy, pranayama yoga, Colin Wison, Wilhelm Reich, Gurdjieff, Robert Anton Wilson and others. There are interesting comparisons between the different magic models – energy, spirit, information and levels of weirdness – and discussion of breathwork’s potential for the chaos magician.
With its clear, practical exercises, advice, FAQ and references, Life Force is a great way to get a feel for magic’s energy model and its practical benefits. Although the book does introduce simple pranayama techniques, we are also reminded that breathwork is best not practiced alone. This is not just for safety but also for encouraging persistence. As suggested, Vivation and Holotropic breathing are hard work and, until the effects are first experienced, you do need someone to persuade you that it will be worth the struggle. At the very least you should have a small, motivated group to provide mutual support and encouragement but, when it comes to connected breathing, a professionally trained coach is essential because the initial impact can be so overwhelming. The book includes advice on this, with many recommended online and paper resources for further study.
If you are having serious doubts about whether Chi, orgone, chakras, subtle bodies, prana etc actually exist, and you feel ready for a white knuckle energy experience, then you should take a look at Life Force.
Reading this book, I feel proud. Because that demonstration in Austria was one of the triggers that led David Lee to take up the study of breathwork and become a professional practitioner with decades of experience in a subject that I had merely dabbled in.
Life Force is a distillation of that experience, and it is also much more. Firstly it is an excellent introduction to breathwork. I am sure there are other good introductions, but they mostly focus within one particular school, such as Vivation, Holotropic Breathing or Taoist Alchemy. This book provides a comparative overview of the whole range of related techniques to help readers decide for themselves what path to follow. At the same time it manages to be thoroughly down to earth, with basic practical exercises clearly explained.
Secondly, in best chaos magic tradition, the book establishes breathwork’s place in the broader magical and spiritual traditions – with reference to tantra, Norse lore, Taoist alchemy, pranayama yoga, Colin Wison, Wilhelm Reich, Gurdjieff, Robert Anton Wilson and others. There are interesting comparisons between the different magic models – energy, spirit, information and levels of weirdness – and discussion of breathwork’s potential for the chaos magician.
With its clear, practical exercises, advice, FAQ and references, Life Force is a great way to get a feel for magic’s energy model and its practical benefits. Although the book does introduce simple pranayama techniques, we are also reminded that breathwork is best not practiced alone. This is not just for safety but also for encouraging persistence. As suggested, Vivation and Holotropic breathing are hard work and, until the effects are first experienced, you do need someone to persuade you that it will be worth the struggle. At the very least you should have a small, motivated group to provide mutual support and encouragement but, when it comes to connected breathing, a professionally trained coach is essential because the initial impact can be so overwhelming. The book includes advice on this, with many recommended online and paper resources for further study.
If you are having serious doubts about whether Chi, orgone, chakras, subtle bodies, prana etc actually exist, and you feel ready for a white knuckle energy experience, then you should take a look at Life Force.
