Reclaiming Vitality and Presence: Sensory Awareness as a Practice for Life

Meeting Charlotte Selver through these books has been a major happening for me this past six months. Just reading Reclaiming Vitality, even without doing any of the suggested experiments, was life-changing. Selver was born in Germany where she was fortunate to study with Elsa Gindler before fleeing Hitler for the U.S. in 1938. When Selver went on to teach, she named her work, “Sensory Awareness.” She was a teacher to many who later became luminaries: Erich Fromm, Fritz Perls, and Alan Watts, for examples. She died in 2003 at 102 and was still traveling the world leading workshops through her hundredth year. Selver emphasized learning from inside, distinguishing our actual experience from our thoughts and fantasies, and becoming your own authority.

I have not finished this book just yet,but I find the idea of being fully aware of what your body is doing, quite interesting. It really is about mindfulness, even being aware of the ground under your feet and truly mindful of how that feels. Nice practice, but hard to maintain I imagine without lots of practice.

Great material well p[resented

GREAT pack and FAST SHIP! TOP NOTCH FOLKS!

Although I have known him to be an excellent teacher of sensory awareness, I have to say I am not moved by the words of Charles Brooks I have thus far read in this book.However, the words of Charlotte Selver bring me quickly into the awareness of the richness and depth possible in my own immediate experience. They are like diamonds sprinkled throughout the book. I find myself relishing the discovery of the next pages in italics (Selver's words). One gets a clear grasp of the subtle power and depth of her teaching.For those who have not experienced Charlotte Selver as a teacher, this book is a must. And for those who have been to her workshops "Reclaiming Vitality and Presence" is a treasure chest of teachings for connecting with that which alive in us.

The aliveness of the Charlotte Selver's words speak right into my heart. It is as though she is speaking to me as I read "Reclaiming Vitality and Presence." When she writes that "there is something in us whch can teach us constantly how to go about things," I can feel the possibility of being informed from within about how life wants to live in me.This book gives valuable ways of coming in touch with myself to the extent that I can begin to feel how life wants to be in a particular moment. For me, this is the heart of the message from Selver and Brooks. This book can be rewarding for the novice as well as a lifelong seeker! I heartily recommend digesting and living a few pages each day.

I was looking forward to reading this book and the content that Selever and Brooks provides is very helpful. However, certain chapters are formatted entirely in italics. I think it was to provide the reader with an indication that there is a change in author but it makes it hard to read and distracts from the content.