detox your heart

“...She writes with simple boldness and candor so much so, that you sense off the pages of her book the sheer force of her desire to be free of her toxic heart full of pain and suffering, and the inspired momentum to help others to do the same...She admits she grew up angry and whilst her life story, masterfully integrated as a teaching device, arouses spontaneous compassion, it took until she was 29 to recognize that she needed to change on the inside in order to heal from the pain of loveless, abuse and abandonment from her childhood... Years of holding on to a hardness of heart, closed around layers of toxic feelings takes gentle, consistent loving kindness and compassion for oneself and others to be able to soften, open and detoxify...There is a need for tools to heal and tools to deal with the fear of healing, and letting go that arises from a deep and often overwhelming sense of vulnerability...Valerie Mason- John gives you the tools and they work. Whatever your story, and it doesn’t have to be abuse, if you do what she says, you too will discover that the power to heal is inside you.’

Positive Health UK

Most of us will be familiar with the principle of detox - the process of cleansing the body so that its natural healing energies can circulate and restore harmony. However, it is just as important to cleanse the mind and spirit, and this book is a guide to doing just that.

The author is an ordained member of the western Buddhist Order and her experience and teachings are found in the short and helpful exercises that flow through this book. She also works as an anger management trainer, and all the skills she has developed are reflected in the personal and other stories which illustrate the teachings.

The author invites us to "Liberate our heart" through creativity, kindness and compassion, pointing out that these qualities are the building blocks of the spiritual life. With her gentle and caring help, we are able to face the toxins of these negative emotions, and find release and healing.

This is a most worthwhile book, containing both theory and practice. It will amply repay those who are willing to work with the techniques she advocates.

Beyond, The Magazine of the Seekers Trust, December 2005

Offers readers both the inspiration and the insight to work on themselves... C. Titmuss, author, Transforming Our Terror

This is a passionate and lively self-help book offering insight and practical exercises to support and challenge the reader to face and process their personal pain.... Mason-John intersperses her knowledge and practical exercises with fable, stories and illustrations from her own history, which is powerful and moving - and I found these the most engaging parts of the book. Her evidence of her hard experience adds weight to her teachings and helps soften the didactic style that can be characteristic of self-help books.... The energy in her writing and the imaginative stories she tells help to make this a very readable book. Karen Minikin, Therapy Today, April 2006

While some of the ideas in Detox Your Heart are familiar from other self-development books, Valerie Mason-John has many unique insights to offer. Unlike some authors in the field, she has a gentle way with her when making suggestions for personal change. The author uses her own life-story of recovering from childhood abuse, drug use and eating disorders as an example. A Buddhist, she presents simple exercises which use techniques from meditation, without assuming that the reader has learnt meditation or is any good at it.

Recommended for anyone who wants to deal with difficult feelings, Detox Your Heart is unusual for the New Age bookshelf in talking about racism and touching on homophobia.

Diva Magazine December 2005