Seat of the Soul
Book: “The Seat of the Soul” by Gary Zukav
Book Review by Mary Mikawoz
I read the “Seat of the Soul” many years ago. I remember liking it very much as I remember having a lot of “Ah Ha” moments. I did not have my copy with me so I borrowed somebody else’s copy to read again. This time I found myself less impressed. I am not sure if it is because I have read many books since and I dealing with this subject matter from an entirely different perspective or that the points he makes are not new to me. Nonetheless, I found myself more critical this time.
It did not help that the person who owned this book wrote in the margins comments and added question marks to what they did not know or understand. This made me more critical too. I began to wonder what exactly was Gary Zukav trying to say.
The book covers many great areas such as evolution, karma, reverance, heart and so forth into intuition, light, relationships, souls, power and trust. It is though provoking and I am sure it would make an excellent book or literature circle book. I came to challenge a few concepts. One of the first ones is Gary Zukav’s use of the word “personality” which I personally would change out with the word “ego.” This to me, is a better indication of what he was more likely saying although perhaps this would be too much of a psychological word for him.
The second thing that I take issue with is his assertion that pets and other animals don’t have personal or individual souls. He believes that animals belong to the group soul. So, a cat or dog does not have his own personality or soul. From my observation of our pets, they definitely have their own personality and are able to tell if you are sad. There is cognition on the part of some animals because they do have the ability to understand what is going on. Maybe they do not understand everything but they are certainly capable of more than we give them credit for. I understand that many religions and thought processes would agree with Gary Zukav but I do not.
There are many fine points such as that there are five-sensory people and there are multiple-sensory people. He talks about karma, reincarnation and illusions. He indicates how the law of attraction will bring to you that which you are exhibiting. If you are being negative, negative situations and people will appear in your life. He talks about the only thing that is real is to be loved and loving.
Finally, Zukav makes the point that we are a soul with a body not a body with a soul and that we are struggling to achieve authentic power in our lives. Spiritual psychology will be able to explain psychological problems in terms of a splintered soul and not only from a strictly medical model.
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