Positive Health Online

The stunningness, originality and self-discovery surprises contained within this latest creation of Malcolm Godwin must be seen to be experienced; this review ought only be construed as an invitation to enter into a world of amazing exercises in exploration of self and others.

It would be difficult to name a bodywork, psychological, philosophical, spiritual, mystical or religious tradition which has not been incorporated in some way into Who are You? Reich, Lowen, Chinese astrology, Jung, Freud, Adler, Buddha, Allah, Millarepa, Jesus, Gurdjieff, Osho and Rumi; these are but a selection of traditions and individuals, distilled into a book which literally consists of 101 "Assessments" or tests designed to help the reader discover his or her real orientation on many dimensions.

Each of the 101 Assessments contains a meaningful history and introduction, fantastically illustrated, and a selection of questions designed to help you identify your strengths, clarify your real beliefs or feelings, or point you toward a greater understanding of how you function within yourself and interact with others.

The book is divided into four main types, which encompass huge spans within each section:

Body types: endomorph-mesomorph-ectomorph, yin-yang, male-female, body mass index, body splits, character types, physiognomy, palmistry, astrology, Five elements, Ayurvedic doshas, humours, stress response, left/right brain hemispheres and dominance;

Feeling types: emotional brain and awareness, neurotransmitters, chemical regions of the brain, happiness and depression, Goddesses, male and female archetypes, extroverts/introverts, coping with stress, letting go, imagination, trust;

Thinking types: brain locations for faculties, verbal, perceptual, mechanical, spatial, numerical and analytical reasoning, male/female aspects, behavioural tests, enneagram, intelligence and humour types;

Spiritual types: types of consciousness, openness to unorthodox philosophies and religions, chakras and bodies, types of believers and nonbelievers, mysticism and psychic paths, spiritual paths – yogi, ascetic, dervish, devotee, prayer, lover, philosopher sage, thinking.

The mind-expanding, clever and beautiful graphics and illustrations in this book alone, co-designed by the author and his wife, are a visual and sensual treat for the reader. Malcolm Godwin is an acclaimed artist of works which have appeared in museums around the world, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York and The Tate Gallery, London, as well as the author of a number of equally creative books, including Unknown Man, The Lucid Dreamer and Angels: An Endangered Species and The Holy Grail. He also designed and created the artwork for Stephen Hawking's The Illustrated Brief History of Time and Rita Carter's Mapping the Mind. Trained as an architect and painter, he also lived and worked within a truly body/mind expanding spiritual community in India during the 1970s; to its enlightened master he hugely acknowledges his immeasurable debt.

It is rare to see neurological science, mathematics and reasoning integrated with insights into the spiritual and religious domains. I leave you with the winning poem, from a story out of seventh-century China, in which a dying Patriarch announced a contest: whoever of his monks wrote the best verse showing what they had learned while with him would receive the robe as the next Patriarch. Here is that winning poem:

There never was a Bodhi tree.

Nor a bright mirror standing,In essence, no-mind exists,So where is the dust to gather?