What do you think?
Rate this book
The 7 Myths About Love...Actually! The Journey from Your Head to the Heart of Your Soul
Do you know love? Have you discovered love? If you think you have this book will make you think again. So what is LOVE exactly and why are we so confused? Mike George takes you on a journey to the very heart of your life where love lives and has always lived. Along the way he dispels the myths about love, clearly defines and locates love, and reveals exactly why we are all so ?emotionally confused? about love.
- GenresPersonal Development
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 21, 2012
Millions obsess over it. Thousands have died for it. Few will find it. Even fewer will live it. You don't do it. You won't ever see it. You can't even 'make it'. It is LOVE. Infinite and yet indestructible, it is only when you understand LOVE that you will understand your life. Unlimited and yet invisible, it is only when you know LOVE that you will know your power. Do you know love? Have you discovered love? If you think you have this book will make you think again. So what is LOVE exactly and why are we so confused? Mike George takes you on a journey to the very heart of your life where love lives and has always lived. Along the way he dispels the myths about love, clearly defines and locates love, and reveals exactly why we are all so 'emotionally confused' about love.
January 4, 2013
I started the book, assuming it was a discussion on relationships and the myths that surrounded them. However, this was not the case. While the author did discuss myths in relationships, the book rang true to its title and dealt more with the meaning of love in our society, it's "true" meaning (a decent one), and love within oneself. It definitely cheered me up and added a bit of confidence, but I did not take it too seriously and towards the end felt it was informative in an awkward, uncool-but-genuinely-sweet-uncle sort of way. Read it if you wish!
February 26, 2013
really nice wrk by Mike, actually we r love & this books help me to remove the blockages which i create by labeling myself with many things & how i bloack of flow of my i.e love by putting condition to the self which ultimately hurt me... thanks mike for such a nice insights in vry sweet way
February 15, 2014
Loving it.
January 9, 2013
What Love really is?...
August 12, 2019
Did you ever get the feeling that the inside of your head is like some kind of a maze and that if you want to get to a particular experience you need some kind of guide around that maze?
For example - I'm having the experience of head-ache inside my head now. It's easy to tell that it's in my head, because it's right there - in the exact region of my head. I want to get to the experience of head-peace.
Another experience I'm having inside my head is hunger. It's a little trickier to tell that hunger is inside my head because it seems to be located in my stomach, which is about a 15 inches away from my head, but nonetheless, the experience is inside my head.
Another word for inside-my-head is mind.
There are (at least) a couple of ways of moving from an experience of hunger to an experience of stomach-peace. The most obvious is to eat something. You might think that this is the optimal thing to do - the most natural response to hunger - but is it really? Think for a moment about the levels of obesity these days and the number of diets etc. springing up to deal with obesity and ask yourself - is eating something always the best approach to hunger?
I did a Psychology 'A'-Level a long time ago and one of the most interesting and practical things I read is that hunger is a feeling that comes around on a schedule. When a person gets into a habit of eating at 12 noon, the mind gets into the habit of setting an alert for the person. The alert goes off at 12 noon each day and takes the form of a particular feeling in the stomach of that person - a feeling that we call hunger. The feeling of hunger does not necessarily mean that the body needs food - it can also mean that the time at which we normally eat has come around and the mind is alerting us to that fact.
So - is eating always the best way to respond to hunger? No.
This brings us to the second way of moving from an experience of hunger to an experience of stomach-peace: use the mind.
By realising that the feeling of hunger can be generated by the mind and so is, in a sense, inside the head, I realise that all I have to do to find the experience of stomach-peace is to find an accurate route to it through the maze of my mind.
This is how it goes - concentrate on something - anything will do so long as it is simple enough. Examples are a metronome, the ticking of a clock, a candle flame, the feeling of your breath moving in and out, the high-pitched sound in your ears, your heartbeat or something similar of your own making.
If you want to find the most suitable object of concentration for you, then get yourself a stopwatch, and time how long it takes, for each of the objects of concentration, between when you start the timer and the first time a thought pops into your mind that has nothing to do with either stopwatches or the thing you are currently concentrating on. Then choose the method with the longest gap.
Then widen the gap. Use the stopwatch if you want to chart your progress.
You'll notice that when you start watching for thoughts - the first ones that come along are easy to identity. They are things like 'did I remember to get milk', 'my bum is going numb', 'this is silly' or 'what is that dog barking for?'
As you go on, the thoughts will get subtler and quieter - more like whispers than voices - and when they get beyond a certain threshold, you'll be tempted to think that they aren't there and that you don't have to stop the stopwatch - and you'll be right.
Thoughts never really stop - they just slip out of the reach of consciousness - and for the purposes of this exercise that's what we want. Don't worry - you won't lose the ability to think, all you're doing is finding a route past the most intrusive thoughts to a particular experience of your choice.
If you practice enough, you'll find that you become good enough at it to be sneak past your thoughts without using props. For example, you'll be able to visualise your flame instead of lighting a candle, or you'll be able to internalise your experience of breathing (N.B. this does not mean you can stop breathing).
So with the volume control on thoughts now being under your control, what are you going to do with all that peace and quiet?
The simple answer is - find friends for it.
Peace and Love are good friends (man).
Love and Happiness get on very well.
Happiness brings all sorts of friends to the table - joy, bliss, contentment.
Just look around - see what you can find.
Then what?
Give all your new friends away.
What?
Yes - give them all away and you'll find that instead of losing or diminishing them, you'll get them back - with interest! If you love people - they will love you back - even if they don't want to, they have to - it's the law.
None of the above is in this book.
But what the book does do is help you to find routes from one experience of Love to another. Once you find Love inside you and increase the amount of it by concentrating on it, you'll come to the natural conclusion that all you are is Love - that you made of Love - that you are Love.
When your Love and everybody else's Love get together then the world will become - better.
That part is in the book.
Some parts of this book blissed me out and others skipped across the top of my mind like pebbles - but eventually they sunk in, and I can still feel them in there now.
The one experience that this book doesn't take you to is that of finding God.
But it's a good preparation for it.
Now where did I put that packet of pain-killers?
Ah, there it is next to my cheese sandwich.
Yum.
For example - I'm having the experience of head-ache inside my head now. It's easy to tell that it's in my head, because it's right there - in the exact region of my head. I want to get to the experience of head-peace.
Another experience I'm having inside my head is hunger. It's a little trickier to tell that hunger is inside my head because it seems to be located in my stomach, which is about a 15 inches away from my head, but nonetheless, the experience is inside my head.
Another word for inside-my-head is mind.
There are (at least) a couple of ways of moving from an experience of hunger to an experience of stomach-peace. The most obvious is to eat something. You might think that this is the optimal thing to do - the most natural response to hunger - but is it really? Think for a moment about the levels of obesity these days and the number of diets etc. springing up to deal with obesity and ask yourself - is eating something always the best approach to hunger?
I did a Psychology 'A'-Level a long time ago and one of the most interesting and practical things I read is that hunger is a feeling that comes around on a schedule. When a person gets into a habit of eating at 12 noon, the mind gets into the habit of setting an alert for the person. The alert goes off at 12 noon each day and takes the form of a particular feeling in the stomach of that person - a feeling that we call hunger. The feeling of hunger does not necessarily mean that the body needs food - it can also mean that the time at which we normally eat has come around and the mind is alerting us to that fact.
So - is eating always the best way to respond to hunger? No.
This brings us to the second way of moving from an experience of hunger to an experience of stomach-peace: use the mind.
By realising that the feeling of hunger can be generated by the mind and so is, in a sense, inside the head, I realise that all I have to do to find the experience of stomach-peace is to find an accurate route to it through the maze of my mind.
This is how it goes - concentrate on something - anything will do so long as it is simple enough. Examples are a metronome, the ticking of a clock, a candle flame, the feeling of your breath moving in and out, the high-pitched sound in your ears, your heartbeat or something similar of your own making.
If you want to find the most suitable object of concentration for you, then get yourself a stopwatch, and time how long it takes, for each of the objects of concentration, between when you start the timer and the first time a thought pops into your mind that has nothing to do with either stopwatches or the thing you are currently concentrating on. Then choose the method with the longest gap.
Then widen the gap. Use the stopwatch if you want to chart your progress.
You'll notice that when you start watching for thoughts - the first ones that come along are easy to identity. They are things like 'did I remember to get milk', 'my bum is going numb', 'this is silly' or 'what is that dog barking for?'
As you go on, the thoughts will get subtler and quieter - more like whispers than voices - and when they get beyond a certain threshold, you'll be tempted to think that they aren't there and that you don't have to stop the stopwatch - and you'll be right.
Thoughts never really stop - they just slip out of the reach of consciousness - and for the purposes of this exercise that's what we want. Don't worry - you won't lose the ability to think, all you're doing is finding a route past the most intrusive thoughts to a particular experience of your choice.
If you practice enough, you'll find that you become good enough at it to be sneak past your thoughts without using props. For example, you'll be able to visualise your flame instead of lighting a candle, or you'll be able to internalise your experience of breathing (N.B. this does not mean you can stop breathing).
So with the volume control on thoughts now being under your control, what are you going to do with all that peace and quiet?
The simple answer is - find friends for it.
Peace and Love are good friends (man).
Love and Happiness get on very well.
Happiness brings all sorts of friends to the table - joy, bliss, contentment.
Just look around - see what you can find.
Then what?
Give all your new friends away.
What?
Yes - give them all away and you'll find that instead of losing or diminishing them, you'll get them back - with interest! If you love people - they will love you back - even if they don't want to, they have to - it's the law.
None of the above is in this book.
But what the book does do is help you to find routes from one experience of Love to another. Once you find Love inside you and increase the amount of it by concentrating on it, you'll come to the natural conclusion that all you are is Love - that you made of Love - that you are Love.
When your Love and everybody else's Love get together then the world will become - better.
That part is in the book.
Some parts of this book blissed me out and others skipped across the top of my mind like pebbles - but eventually they sunk in, and I can still feel them in there now.
The one experience that this book doesn't take you to is that of finding God.
But it's a good preparation for it.
Now where did I put that packet of pain-killers?
Ah, there it is next to my cheese sandwich.
Yum.
December 29, 2017
recommended
September 9, 2014
I really like the headlines because people who haven't found the true meaning of love will mistakenly read it hoping it is a book on how to find a quick fix in a relationship, thinking that it would make them happier, and this is the only way to make them read it and maybe try to find a deeper sense of love :).
I really liked the book, Mike was my teacher on Personal Development module on my MBA classes and I could say it was one of the best lectures I ever had because it gives you answers if you are on a soul searching-meaning of life path. He describes logically how we have miss abused the meaning of the word love and the roots of all our suffering, which comes from the wrong beliefs and ego.
He also gives a solution on how to fix this and be happier. Of course, you wont be cured after reading just one book but it will definitely set you in the right direction. I would also recommend his book Don't Get mad Get Wise, and to continuously develop yourself and pursue your happiness.
I really liked the book, Mike was my teacher on Personal Development module on my MBA classes and I could say it was one of the best lectures I ever had because it gives you answers if you are on a soul searching-meaning of life path. He describes logically how we have miss abused the meaning of the word love and the roots of all our suffering, which comes from the wrong beliefs and ego.
He also gives a solution on how to fix this and be happier. Of course, you wont be cured after reading just one book but it will definitely set you in the right direction. I would also recommend his book Don't Get mad Get Wise, and to continuously develop yourself and pursue your happiness.
June 15, 2017
The 7 Myths about Love…Actually by Mike George is an examination of common misconceptions about love, happiness, our identities and our world. The book is structured into three parts. Part 1 is entitled “A Love Story” in which Mr. George discusses the myths about love and debunks each myth. Part 2 is entitled “A True Story” in which the author discusses the labels in which we identify ourselves by and as well as why those labels are wrong or not necessary. He calls these labels “Pretends.” Part 3 is entitled “A Happy Story” in which Mr. George discusses thirteen myths about happiness and what happiness truly is. How can someone truly love and be happy in today’s world?
I was interested in this book when I saw the title. I was eager to see these love myths as I know many people who believe so desperately in them. However, the book I read wasn’t what I anticipated. It is a self-help book to help readers become self-realized. Self-realization is the fulfilment by oneself of the possibilities of one’s character or personality. It is a term often used in psychology, philosophy, spirituality and Eastern religions. While I agreed with some of Mr. George’s premises, I found myself rolling my eyes and disagreeing with many of his statements. In his introduction, he tells the reader to not to believe a word. He urges readers to “believe nothing but examine everything.” I agree with this statement, do not believe simply because someone told you; however, I did not agree with his statement that all beliefs are lies. There are things in life that one must take on faith and your belief is rewarded or not later. While I did not agree with many statements made in this book, I am recommending it to those who are seeking why they often lose in love or are unhappy. The one main truth in this book is love and happiness is found within and once you have it there, you will find it in the world.
The 7 Myths about Love…Actually
is available on Amazon
in paperback and on the Kindle
I was interested in this book when I saw the title. I was eager to see these love myths as I know many people who believe so desperately in them. However, the book I read wasn’t what I anticipated. It is a self-help book to help readers become self-realized. Self-realization is the fulfilment by oneself of the possibilities of one’s character or personality. It is a term often used in psychology, philosophy, spirituality and Eastern religions. While I agreed with some of Mr. George’s premises, I found myself rolling my eyes and disagreeing with many of his statements. In his introduction, he tells the reader to not to believe a word. He urges readers to “believe nothing but examine everything.” I agree with this statement, do not believe simply because someone told you; however, I did not agree with his statement that all beliefs are lies. There are things in life that one must take on faith and your belief is rewarded or not later. While I did not agree with many statements made in this book, I am recommending it to those who are seeking why they often lose in love or are unhappy. The one main truth in this book is love and happiness is found within and once you have it there, you will find it in the world.
The 7 Myths about Love…Actually
is available on Amazon
in paperback and on the Kindle
May 30, 2019
What a wonderful book! I slurped up every word as if it was a cold drink on a hot day. Mike George talks about love from all aspects involved in spirituality. He teaches you how to incorporate love into your meditation and lifestyle and how to eliminate ego throughout the process.
His down to earth and concise writing style is easy to follow and he gives great new insight for spiritualists who already know the basics. Mike George never disappoints.
His down to earth and concise writing style is easy to follow and he gives great new insight for spiritualists who already know the basics. Mike George never disappoints.
August 28, 2018
Reading this was joyful. The book is highly 'in-sight'ful. It is up to the reader to look at the depth of the fields (of love) that Mike has covered - do you reach so far...? I reached so I found it positive, true to life.
August 25, 2017
Puiki knyga, viena mano pirmųjų, pakeitusi požiūrį iš pagrindų ir pagydžiusi pirmos meilės depresijas.:D
Rašoma labai labai daug apie ego, paskaitęs suvoki, kad nėra čia ko pergyventi. :)
Rašoma labai labai daug apie ego, paskaitęs suvoki, kad nėra čia ko pergyventi. :)
March 8, 2020
Excellent book
May 28, 2020
LOVED IT!!
August 30, 2015
I would definitely recommend this book as well as others by the same author. A great read for anyone who is ready to think about life, love and is ready to be critical about themselves.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews