Description
Aura D. McClain used to be fixated on all that was wrong with her life. Then McClain spent time learning about the power of positive thinking, harnessing the pure energy of her thoughts and her connection to God to turn her life around. And she believes you can, too!
Happiness in Quantum Leaps: De-Stressing Without Drugs is divided into three sections: God/Universe, Mind, and Body. In the first section, McClain jumps right into one of the most prominent ideas in the entire book, which is the presence of God in everyone and everything. McClain claims that, based on the laws of physics, our thoughts must be a (scientifically unrecognized) form of energy, which makes them quite powerful.
The second section of the book discusses how getting stuck in negative thinking patterns leads to unhappiness, as well as topics like gratitude, and unconditional love. The third section of the book deals with creating happiness in your life and tapping into the spiritual energy of the universe.
Happiness in Quantum Leaps sounds great in theory, but it’s hard to not be critical of some of the author’s ideas. McClain eschews modern medicine and firmly believes that we are capable of healing our minds and bodies by tapping into “God’s spiritual energy.” While everyone is entitled to their own personal beliefs about pharmaceutical products in medicine, it’s hard to recommend a book that tells readers they can heal cancer simply by believing in God.
McClain also believes that simply embracing positive thinking will lead to lower rates of mental illness, suicide, and divorce. According to her, if you learn to think differently, you can be healed of mental illness. This, quite frankly, is a dangerous assertion. People who are struggling with mental illness often need professional help. McClain’s words serve only to contribute to the stigma far too many people already face regarding mental health treatments.
While McClain claims her words are for everyone, non-Christians may struggle with this book. Aside from her assertion that all gods are one God, and that God is in everyone and everything (concepts she pushes forcefully, sometimes even angrily: “If you want to keep believing and living a lie that you are not part of God’s invisible universal energy and you want to keep being stuck with all your mental craziness in your brain… just keep doing what you’re doing”), she backs up many of her ideas with biblical verses. Some readers will find this encouraging, but others may find it off-putting.
Finally, it’s worth noting that this book could benefit from a copyeditor. Grammar and punctuation errors detract from the reading experience, and the book’s structure is confusing at times. Additionally, the author’s use of images pulled from the internet, including screenshots of articles, is troubling, as it’s hard to discern whether she has obtained permission to reprint them.
I wanted to like Happiness in Quantum Leaps, and there were many ideas that McClain discusses that resonate with me on one level or another, but the book’s troubling parts outweigh any good, and I can’t recommend this book to anyone in good conscience.
