Freedom From Failure

From Publishers Weekly

Sussman's guide to the visualization techniques of "eidetic imaging" is an intriguing addition to the surplus of you-can-heal-yourself manuals.

Eidetic images-"the emotionally charged record of events that shaped us into the person we are today"-tell us who we are, help us cope with life's challenges and make possible the release of "a treasure trove of energy, abilities, and power," Sussman (Images of Desire) argues.

Covering everything from a lousy love life and poor parenting to a
blocked career and creative stagnation, the author-who for 20 years has been guiding clients to self-actualization using mythic and personal images-tells readers how they can cure it all, because "peace emanates from the inner person" and "all the answers to the quest lie within us." Although these nuggets are standard New Age fare, Sussman does have a unique angle, namely her dedicated focus on recalling "primary" images: "pictures" that are coded in our brains but subsequently hidden because of negative experiences.

If readers can unblock these images, they're on their way to health and happiness, says Sussman. She shows readers how to access their inner powers with exercises that ask them, for example, to imagine the body heat of their parents, see themselves as a "running stream" and focus on the power of "the messages of the future" in their bodies.

Sussman beefs up her advice with plenty of case studies, but to fully extract this book's lessons, readers will need dedication and fortitude to swim through the dense 35 chapters.

Images of Desire

--Library Journal

“This provocative title does not disappoint. Psychotherapist Sussman, director of the National and International Imagery Association, defines sensuality as "the inner warmth that radiates from some people and makes them objects of desire"; it is vastly different from the soulless and shameful conception of sex that the mass media, organized religion, and misinformed parents disseminate. Via Sussman's 40 exercises with eidetic imagery (visions locked in the subconscious), men and women of all ages can reverse the negative effects of those forces by replacing negative images with positive ones to tap their "original sensuality." Throughout, Sussman cites mythological gods and goddesses to illustrate why people act the way they do.. An Appendix of Images is also included. Despite the lack of an extensive list of references, this work is a worthwhile addition to the field of sexuality. Recommended for self-help collections in public libraries.

--from NAPRA ReView

“Sussman has worked with thousands of people with intimacy issues, the author speaks with knowledge and understanding of a prime contemporary dilemma - we are constantly bombarded with sexual images while all too many men and women remain cut off from their native sensuality and are emotionally unfulfilled. The basic premise of the book is that people are sensual when they feel sensual. Sensuality is an inner warmth that not only feels pleasurable, but attracts others to us; it is something that we are all born with, but it becomes covered over by the images and beliefs instilled in us through our upbringing and environment. The aim of the book is to restore this natural sensuality through a series of exercises in eidetic imagery - a process explained as having three components: an image or mental picture, a somatic response (physical and emotional sensation), and an associated “message” or meaning. Sussman explains that “with imaging the person is able to see a situation clearly, experience the emotions connected to it, and have an immediate understanding of themselves by evoking and seeing images of the situation.” The exercises presented in the text can also be accessed in an appendix conveniently arranged in order from “Aphrodite to Zeus.”