55 pages 1 hour read

You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2014

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AfterwordChapter Summaries & Analyses

Afterword Summary

In the afterword, Dispenza states that his critics sometimes categorize his work as “faith healing.” He agrees that the accusation may be fair, since faith could be defined as believing in the power of an abstract, intangible force like thought. He claims that thought is essentially “unmanifested emotion” which needs to be embraced emotionally in order to become real in the body. He believes that the power of thought provides the ability to overcome limitations and see the world as “a pragmatist, instead of a victim” (300).

He argues that successfully accomplishing this would make a person “supernatural,” allowing them the ability to rise above their basic human nature on an emotional level. Other human beings, witnessing this, will also feel emboldened to do the same.

He warns, however, that there are many pitfalls in this process. Trying too hard to manifest intentions can lead to self-sabotage and not trying enough can lead to laziness and apathy. But when a person can balance their own clear intention with trust in the universe, Dispenza argues, they can accomplish remarkable, even inexplicable things.

Dispenza ends the afterword by claiming that if “hundreds, thousands, or even millions of human beings” (303) accomplish the act of becoming their own blurred text
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