Afterwards, You're a Genius: Faith, Medicine, and the Metaphysics of Healing

I read this book several years ago. Now I realize it remains one of my all-time favorites. It is written in a quirky, humorous, personal philosophic style. It's not a cut-and-dry book about energy healing. It is funny, beautifully written and provocative. Read it and enjoy!

Finally! An intelligent, thoughtful book on energetic healing and new age philosophy that doesn't sound like it was written by a 10-year-old. Well-researched, insightful, and awe-inspiring. A must-read for skeptics and non-skeptics alike...and especially recommended for those of you intellectuals who believe but feel guilty about it. This book will enlighten you. :-)

Chip Brown is a journalist. He isn't taken in by mumbojumbo. He starts off quizzically, wondering if all this new age stuff is really mumbo jumbo. But he has the openess to allow himself to be moved, to become involved but never to be entirely taken in. His writing is lyrical and beautiful, his take on this late 90s subject is humourous, intelligent and so raw in its honesty I was really moved. Rarely do men allow themselves to be this exposed. A book to convince women that men who are thoughtful, truthful and brave do exist.

Chip Brown's journey is one that many have undertaken, but the account of his particular route paves the way for those who have wanted to "go there" but have not done so for fear of appearing foolish. This reader has spent several decades exploring body/mind questions, eastern religions, and other metaphysical mysteries. My quest has been green from the start, but my method too often yellow. (Thanks to Brown's translation, one can finally speak aloud the color language of chakras and their corresponding wave patterns which healers have long used to communicate with each other.) I have furtively visited several of the exotic lands he describes, and despite the thrills -- and chills -- of my travels, I don't show my slides at dinner parties for fear of invitations "drying up," as he so amusingly puts it. However, after twelve years of study with the "Lady Lama" in his story, I can attest to the accuracy of his account. In addition to much much more, I have learned from her that healing begins in the heart which is fueled by compassion, courage, and, yes, humor. Brown's book is replete with these qualities and it will go a long way toward helping some on the journey to come out of the closet, and others to just lighten up. Medicine is about to take a huge leap forward and Brown's narrative will serve as a compass for those who have the courage to go.

The role of the mind in healing the body is only one of many fascinating questions the author addresses in a journey to the mist-shrouded regions beyond the borders of the scientifically knowable. The journey takes him from conventions of psychics to operating rooms where prayer and the manipulation of patients' energy 'auras' is part of the surgical regimen. Astounding anecdotes abound, salted with Brown's personal experiences with noted healers. He manages to maintain a skeptical reserve without losing his openness and enthusiasm for the wonders he observes, His skill in relating his findings to his own life is a brilliant tour-de-force which adds still more interest to an immensely readable story.