Book picks similar to
Getting your head around the brain by Amanda Ellison
non-fiction
psychology
science
non-fiction-stuff
Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart
James R. Doty - 2016
Today he is the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, of which the Dalai Lama is a founding benefactor. But back then his life was at a dead end until at twelve he wandered into a magic shop looking for a plastic thumb. Instead he met Ruth, a woman who taught him a series of exercises to ease his own suffering and manifest his greatest desires. Her final mandate was that he keep his heart open and teach these techniques to others. She gave him his first glimpse of the unique relationship between the brain and the heart.Doty would go on to put Ruth’s practices to work with extraordinary results—power and wealth that he could only imagine as a twelve-year-old, riding his orange Sting-Ray bike. But he neglects Ruth’s most important lesson, to keep his heart open, with disastrous results—until he has the opportunity to make a spectacular charitable contribution that will virtually ruin him. Part memoir, part science, part inspiration, and part practical instruction, Into the Magic Shop shows us how we can fundamentally change our lives by first changing our brains and our hearts.
Rediscover Your Sparkle: Revive the Real You and Be Rebelliously Happy Every Day
Julie Schooler - 2019
and still feel something is missing? - When you look back, do you wonder where all that enthusiasm went? This short and engaging book has all the ingredients YOU need to create a delicious and simple recipe to rediscover your sparkle.It is brimming with wisdom from top personal development gurus, positive psychology researchers and intuitive ways of living from happy souls who naturally embrace these concepts every single day.'Rediscover Your Sparkle' shows how a few simple tweaks to your physiology, mindset and language have the power to take your daily life from tired, stressed and overwhelmed to being full of fun, love and energy.It distils an avalanche of advice into 'sparkle strategies' designed to help busy people just like you and me to uncover our inner sparkle and remember how to love our lives once again.This guide also cuts through the confusion around meditation, provides compelling reasons why a gratitude practice is a game changer and explains why being extraordinary is your birthright, something you are meant to be.Just think how great it will be when you rediscover your sparkle. There are so many benefits. You will:- Bounce out of bed each morning with a zest for life - Feel like you are in touch with your true self once again - Gain tools to use language in a more powerful and positive manner - Uncover how breathing the right way can change your life (yes, really!) - Create more happiness in your life without changing a thing on the outside - Improve relationships with those around you from your positive interactions - Reclaim all that fun, love and energy you know you still have deep inside you In less than a couple of hours, this book gives you dozens of no- or low-cost, simple and practical tips to rediscover your sparkle. In doing so, you will revive the real you - the joyful soul that you know is in there but has been suppressed by the seriousness that you have taken on just to get through each day.When you rediscover your sparkle, you become a lighthouse for those around you. You won't have to say anything directly. They will notice that your interactions are warmer. They will see that you laugh more readily and heartily. They will want to know the secret to your newfound happiness.Think of this book as a low-cost luxury, a simple way to rediscover that sparkle you once had. And know that with this tiny luxury comes a bonus: the wisdom in these pages will help you be aware of how meaningful and exciting life can be, right now and for the rest of your life.What's stopping you from being the happy person you want to be? Not when the 'time is right', but today.Read this book and you will immediately start to feel more light, energized and playful. Add some much-needed fun, love and energy back into your life and read this book today!
Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and Relationships
Camilla Pang - 2020
Desperate for a solution, Camilla asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. But, without the blueprint to life, she was hoping for, Camilla began to create her own. Now armed with a PhD in biochemistry, Camilla dismantles our obscure social customs and identifies what it really means to be human using her unique expertise and a language she knows best: science.Through a set of scientific principles, this book examines life's everyday interactions including:- Decisions and the route we take to make them;- Conflict and how we can avoid it;- Relationships and how we establish them;- Etiquette and how we conform to it.Explaining Humans is an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms, written from the outside looking in. Camilla's unique perspective of the world, in turn, tells us so much about ourselves - about who we are and why we do it - and is a fascinating guide on how to lead a more connected, happier life.
Leah Remini: Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology
SummaRead Books - 2015
Remini is widely known for her work in the comedy TV series The King of Queens.In this memoir, Remini goes into great details about all aspects of her life, including, but not limited to, how she was introduced to the church, how she coped with raising a family, how she handled her acting career as well as her interactions with other celebrities who were also involved in the Church of Scientology.SummaReads Features:* Chapter Summaries: Clear, concise and easy to understand descriptions, key concepts and important details.* Chapter Key Takeaways and Points: The most important concepts of each chapter containing at least four specific bullet points.Advantages of SummaReads:* Spend less time reading and more time enjoying and understanding your favorite books.* Discover important detailed analysis you may have missed the first time.* Learn key concepts in simple and efficient manner.* Use as a "cheat sheet" and reference to quickly access important information.* Focus on critical information and eliminate unnecessary details.* Can be used as an effective study aid.
The Sleeping Beauties
Suzanne O'Sullivan - 2021
Suzanne O'Sullivan's THE SLEEPING BEAUTIES, an exploration of different aspects of psychosomatic disorders, mass hysteria, culture bound syndromes (a set of symptoms that exist only within a particular society), using as its starting point a particular case of more than 400 migrant children in Sweden who have fallen into a "waking coma", to Dan Frank at Pantheon, in a pre-empt.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Body: Use Your Brain to Get and Keep the Body You Have Always Wanted
Daniel G. Amen - 2010
Based on the latest medical research, as well as on Dr. Amen’s two decades of clinical practice at the renowned Amen Clinics, where Dr. Amen and his associates pioneered the use of the most advanced brain imaging technology, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body shows you how to take the very best care of your brain.With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to:* Reach and maintain your ideal weight* Soothe and smooth your skin at any age * Reduce the stress that can impair your immune system* Sharpen your memory* Increase willpower and eliminate the cravings that keep you from achieving your exercise and diet goals* Enhance sexual desire and performance* Lower your blood pressure without medication* Avoid depression and elevate the enjoyment you take in life’s pleasures.Whether you’re just coming to realize that it’s time to get your body into shape, or are already fit and want to take it to the next level, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body is all you need to start putting the power of the brain-body connection to work for you today.
Raising Girls Who Like Themselves
Kasey Edwards - 2021
Packed with practical, evidence-based advice, it is the indispensable guide to raising a girl who is happy and confident in herself.Free of parental guilt and grounded in research, Raising Girls Who Like Themselves is imbued with the warmth and wit of a mum and dad who are in the same parenting trenches as you, fighting for their daughters’ futures.
The Frog Who Croaked Blue: Synesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses
Jamie Ward - 2008
Edgar, like many other people, has synesthesia - a fascinating condition in which music can have color, words can have taste, and time and numbers float through space.Everyone will be closely acquainted with at least 6 or 7 people who have synesthesia but you may not yet know who they are because, until very recently, synesthesia was largely hidden and unknown. Now science is uncovering its secrets and the findings are leading to a radical rethink about how our senses are organized. In this timely and thought-provoking book, Jamie Ward argues that sensory mixing is the norm even though only a few of us cross the barrier into the realms of synesthesia.How is it possible to experience color when no color is there? Why do some people experience touch when they see someone else being touched? Can blind people be made to see again by using their other senses? Why do scientists no longer believe that there are five senses? How does the food industry exploit the links that exist between our senses? Does synesthesia have a function? The Frog Who Croaked Blue explores all these questions in a lucid and entertaining way, making it fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the intriguing workings of the mind.
Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias
Pragya Agarwal - 2020
Experiments have shown that our brains categorize people by race in less than one-tenth of a second, about 50 milliseconds before determining sex. This means that we are labeling people by race and associating certain characteristics to them without even hearing them speak or getting to know them. This subtle cognitive process starts in the amygdala, the area of the brain associated with strong emotions.Does this mean that unconscious biases are hardwired into our brains as an evolutionary response, or do they emerge from assimilating information that we see around us? In Sway, author Pragya Agarwal uncovers the science behind our "unintentional" biases. Using real world stories underpinned by scientific theories and research, this book unravels the way our unconscious biases are affecting the way we communicate, make decisions and perceive the world. A wide range of implicit biases are covered, including left-handedness, age-ism, sexism and aversive racism, and by using research and theories from a wide range of disciplines, including social science, psychology, biology and neuroscience, readers learn how these biases manifest and whether there is anything we can do about them. Beginning with an introduction to what unconscious bias actually is, each chapter answers questions such as:-Do our roots for prejudice lie in our evolutionary past?-What happens in our brains when our biases are activated?-How has bias affected technology? -Can we ever completely get rid of unconscious bias?At a time when race politics, the gender pay gap and diversity and inclusivity in the workplace are dominating our conversations, understanding how unconscious bias functions within all of us is more important than ever. The book encourages readers to think, understand and evaluate their own biases in a scientific and non-judgmental way.
TIME Mindfulness: The New Science of Health and Happiness
TIME Magazine - 2016
The practice of meditation—which includes living in the moment and being in touch with your emotions—can change your body and brain, keeping them fit, flexible and resilient as you age. TIME’s special edition offers:
Mindfulness tips for everyone, from the novice to the lifetime meditator
The latest research on mindfulness, heart health and sleep
How to bring mindfulness into your day without having to sit still on a cushion
Healing from Infidelity: The Divorce Busting Guide to Rebuilding Your Marriage After an Affair
Michele Weiner-Davis - 2017
Shocked, devastated and overwhelmed, couples often hit stalemates as they struggle to get past intense emotional pain, mistrust, resentment and never-ending arguments about the betrayal. From the bestselling author of DIVORCE BUSTING and THE SEX-STARVED MARRIAGE, renowned therapist, and TEDx speaker, Michele Weiner-Davis, comes a powerful blueprint for helping couples rebuild trust and mend their marriages following the crisis of discovery of an affair through forgiveness and beyond. Based on over three decades of experience helping couples recover from betrayal and save their marriages, Weiner-Davis offers a step-by-step program to help readers: · Deal with traumatic feelings after the discovery · Respond to questions about the affair · Talk about intense emotions without arguing · End the affair · Offer apologies that are sincere and healing · Overcome flashbacks and painful memories · Rebuild trust and accountability · Make their marriage stronger than before the affair · Find forgiveness · Reconnect sexually This book is filled with case vignettes of couples whose lives were shattered by betrayal but have eventually recovered and thrived. With the publication of HEALING FROM INFIDELITY, the practical advice available to her clients will be made accessible to millions more who desperately want to move through the pain of infidelity and restore their love. ADVANCE PRAISE for HEALING FROM INFIDELITY: "Rebuilding a marriage after an affair is one of life's biggest hurts and challenges. Weiner-Davis' no-nonsense advice is clear, insightful, and can save your marriage." Daniel G. Amen, MD Founder, Amen Clinics, Co-author of The Brain Warrior's Way "In a paradoxical sense, Healing from Infidelity, another brilliant book by Michele Weiner-Davis, is a call for fidelity to marriage regardless of commitment challenges. Filled with wisdom from years of clinical experience, case histories that document the healing process and practical guidance for all the stages on the journey to recovery, this book will be useful to every couple who has experienced an affair and therapists who want to help them." Harville Hendrix, Ph. D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph. D, co-authors of Making Marriage Simple “I know of no better person to guide you through the toughest relationship issues than Michele Weiner-Davis. Her skill, knowledge, and proven track record put her in the rare class of the most successful therapists in the world.” Pat Love, Ph.D Author of Hot Monogamy "This book can be used as a standalone for couples, as well as an adjunct to therapy. Its even-handed orientation will appeal to both the unfaithful partner and the injured spouse. It is book of “how to;” not a book about “why.”... There is a path to success, and as a tireless advocate of marriage, Michele Weiner-Davis provides a roadmap to recovery in Healing from Infidelity." Jeff Zeig, PhD. Founder and Director of the Milton H. Erickson Foundation "In Healing from Infidelity, esteemed therapist Michele Weiner-Davis takes couples through the arduous task of recovery from betrayal of trust. ....A wiser and more experienced voice for restoring faith in relationship would be hard for afflicted couples to find." Steven Stosny, Ph.D., author of Soar Above: How to Use the Most Profound Part of the Brian under Any Kind of Stress
Suicidal: Why We Kill Ourselves
Jesse Bering - 2018
He was a successful psychologist and writer, with books to his name and bylines in major magazines. But none of that mattered. The impulse to take his own life remained. At times it felt all but inescapable. Bering survived. And in addition to relief, the fading of his suicidal thoughts brought curiosity. Where had they come from? Would they return? Is the suicidal impulse found in other animals? Or is our vulnerability to suicide a uniquely human evolutionary development? In Suicidal, Bering answers all these questions and more, taking us through the science and psychology of suicide, revealing its cognitive secrets and the subtle tricks our minds play on us when we’re easy emotional prey. Scientific studies, personal stories, and remarkable cross-species comparisons come together to help readers critically analyze their own doomsday thoughts while gaining broad insight into a problem that, tragically, will most likely touch all of us at some point in our lives. But while the subject is certainly a heavy one, Bering’s touch is light. Having been through this himself, he knows that sometimes the most effective response to our darkest moments is a gentle humor, one that, while not denying the seriousness of suffering, at the same time acknowledges our complicated, flawed, and yet precious existence. Authoritative, accessible, personal, profound—there’s never been a book on suicide like this. It will help you understand yourself and your loved ones, and it will change the way you think about this most vexing of human problems.
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
Jill Bolte Taylor - 2006
Through the eyes of a curious scientist, she watched her mind deteriorate whereby she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Because of her understanding of the brain, her respect for the cells in her body, and an amazing mother, Jill completely recovered. In My Stroke of Insight, she shares her recommendations for recovery and the insight she gained into the unique functions of the two halves of her brain. When she lost the skills of her left brain, her consciousness shifted away from normal reality where she felt "at one with the universe." Taylor helps others not only rebuild their brains from trauma, but helps those of us with normal brains better understand how we can consciously influence the neural circuitry underlying what we think, how we feel and how we react to life's circumstances.
Teen Brain
David Gillespie - 2019
What few parents will know is that what we think of as the most typical addictions and problematic teen behaviours - smoking, drinking, drug-taking, sex leading to teenage pregnancy - are on the decline.The bad news is that a whole raft of addictions has taken their place. Whereas once the dopamine-hungry brain of a teenager got its fix from smoking a joint or sculling a Bundy and coke, it is now turning to electronic devices for the pleasure jolt that typically comes from playing online games (if you're a boy) and engaging with social media (if you're a girl).What is even more troubling is that, unlike drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, electronic devices are not illicit. Quite the contrary. They are liberally distributed by schools and parents, with few restrictions placed on their use.However, all is not lost. In Teen Brain, David sets out clear, reasonable and effective rules to help you confidently manage your kids' use of screens at this critical point in their lives.
Imagine: How Creativity Works
Jonah Lehrer - 2012
Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,” Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively.Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.You’ll learn about Bob Dylan’s writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. You’ll meet a Manhattan bartender who thinks like a chemist, and an autistic surfer who invented an entirely new surfing move. You’ll see why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar’s office space is designed to spark the next big leap in animation.Collapsing the layers separating the neuron from the finished symphony, Imagine reveals the deep inventiveness of the human mind, and its essential role in our increasingly complex world. http://www.jonahlehrer.com/