Thriving in the Eye of the Hurricane

December 13, 2021
Clinical psychologist Bailey (Slowing Down to the Speed of Life) writes in this bewildering treatment that “the world is in a mess” and that humans are “fertile for another major leap in our evolution,” via what he terms “Three Principles Psychology.” The work largely consists of unanchored accounts of the successful implementation of these vaguely summarized principles (largely meta-thinking and recognizing thoughts as thoughts, which the author calls “thought experiences”). A doctor overcomes burnout after attending a seminar, for example, though details of the seminar are not divulged (much of the book reads like advertisement, including for a consulting firm called Insight Principles, whose CEO is quoted touting its services). Other stories include a community effort to improve public housing, people coming to common ground over political divides, and nurses reawakening their resilience. The author, meanwhile, claims to have alleviated the symptoms of his own Lyme disease through the power of thought, a suggestion that reads as dangerous given the current climate of heightened medical confusion due to the pandemic. The result reads like a rather confusing brochure, and is just as easily set aside.