The Man Who Tasted Shapes


Richard E. Cytowic - 1993
    This offbeat comment in 1980 launched Cytowic's exploration into the oddity called synesthesia. He is one of the few world authorities on the subject. Sharing a root with anesthesia (no sensation), synesthesia means joined sensation, whereby a voice, for example, is not only heard but also seen, felt, or tasted. The trait is involuntary, hereditary, and fairly common. It stayed a scientific mystery for two centuries until Cytowic's original experiments led to a neurological explanation--and to a new concept of brain organization that accentuates emotion over reason. That chicken dinner two decades ago led Cytowic to explore a deeper reality that, he argues, exists in everyone but is often just below the surface of awareness (which is why finding meaning in our lives can be elusive). In this medical detective adventure, Cytowic shows how synesthesia, far from being a mere curiosity, illuminates a wide swath of mental life and leads to a new view of what is means to be human--a view that turns upside down conventional ideas about reason, emotional knowledge, and self-understanding. This 2003 edition features a new afterword.

Thank My Lucky Scars


Ward Foley - 2006
    But it was through the death of a close friend that he learned a profound lesson and discovered a secret that changed his life forever. This is a story about finding what you want most, in the most unlikely places, and usually right under your nose. Share the joy of seeing your own life–and everything around you–in bold new ways.

The Power Source: The Hidden Key to Ignite Your Core, Empower Your Body, Release Stress, and Realign Your Life


Lauren Roxburgh - 2019
    We're constantly distracted by ailments we can't quite seem to fix. Body alignment expert Lauren Roxburgh believes that all of these problems can be solved by first unlocking the foundation of your mental and physical health: the pelvic floor. Located at the root of our pelvis, it determines how firm our core is, how we handle stress, and how much energy reaches the rest of our body. Without addressing the health of our pelvic floor, we are all missing out on a powerful key component of our overall physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Roxburgh presents an entirely new approach to building well-being--one based on a strong pelvic floor, open energy channels, and a clear mind.The Power Source offers a deep understanding of how to cultivate this strength by following a holistic, multisensory program. Starting with the pelvic floor, Roxburgh focuses on the five power centers that can be harnessed throughout the body:The pelvic floorThe deep coreThe upper coreThe heart and shouldersThe head, neck, and jawWith targeted exercises to encourage healing movement, nourishing recipes--from a Confidence-Boosting Tonic to Root-Rejuvenating Bone Broth--and holistic therapies that include visualizations, aromatherapy, and more, Roxburgh gives a full toolbox to realign your body and your life.

The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?


David Brin - 1998
    Huge commercial databases track your finances and sell that information to anyone willing to pay. Host sites on the World Wide Web record every page you view, and “smart” toll roads know where you drive. Every day, new technology nibbles at our privacy. Does that make you nervous?David Brin is worried, but not just about privacy. He fears that society will overreact to these technologies by restricting the flow of information, frantically enforcing a reign of secrecy. Such measures, he warns, won’t really preserve our privacy. Governments, the wealthy, criminals, and the techno-elite will still find ways to watch us. But we’ll have fewer ways to watch them. We’ll lose the key to a free society: accountability.The Transparent Society is a call for “reciprocal transparency.” If police cameras watch us, shouldn’t we be able to watch police stations? If credit bureaus sell our data, shouldn't we know who buys it? Rather than cling to an illusion of anonymity - a historical anomaly, given our origins in close-knit villages - we should focus on guarding the most important forms of privacy and preserving mutual accountability. The biggest threat to our freedom, Brin warns, is that surveillance technology will be used by too few people, now by too many.A society of glass houses may seem too fragile. Fearing technology-aided crime, governments seek to restrict online anonymity; fearing technology-aided tyranny, citizens call for encrypting all data. Brins shows how, contrary to both approaches, windows offer us much better protection than walls; after all, the strongest deterrent against snooping has always been the fear of being spotted. Furthermore, Brin argues, Western culture now encourages eccentricity - we’re programmed to rebel! That gives our society a natural protection against error and wrong-doing, like a body’s immune system. But “social T-cells” need openness to spot trouble and get the word out.The Transparent Society is full of such provocative and far-reaching analysis. The inescapable rush of technology is forcing us to make new choices about how we want to live. This daring book reminds us that an open society is more robust and flexible than one where secrecy reigns. In an era of gnat-sized cameras, universal databases, and clothes-penetrating radar, it will be more vital than ever for us to be able to watch the watchers. With reciprocal transparency we can detect dangers early and expose wrong-doers. We can gauge the credibility of pundits and politicians. We can share technological advances and news. But all of these benefits depend on the free, two-way flow of information.

Overcoming Addictions: The Spiritual Solution


Deepak Chopra - 1997
    One of the architects of the new medicine is Dr. Chopra, a credentialed, respected physician who has 'paid his dues' as a modern doctor."Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Healing Words"Deepak Chopra is being hailed as a modern-day Hippocrates for his novel approach of combining ancient healing traditions with modern research."Irv Kupcinet, Chicago Sun-Times"We can't help wishing he lived close enough to make house calls."Judith Hooper, New York Times Book Review"Dr. Chopra's writing has great beauty, great power, great delight, and much common sense"Courtney Johnson, author of Henry James and the Evolution of Consciousness "Dr. Chopra presents us with information that can help us live long, healthy lives."Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine and Miracles

Fooled By Randomness & The Black Swan: Two Books In One


Nassim Nicholas Taleb - 2008
    The hidden role of of chance in life and in the markets.The impact of the highly improbable

A Roald Dahl Selection


Roald Dahl - 1980
    Includes:Man from the South, Lamb to the Slaughter, The Landlady, The champion of the World, Galloping Foxley, Mrs Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, The Ratcatcher and The Hitchhiker.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali


Patañjali
    Yoga is from the Sanskrit root meaning “union,” and a sutra is a thread or aphoristic verse. The basic questions “Who am I?” “Where am I going?” “What is the purpose of life?” are asked by each new generation, and Patanjali’s answers form one of the oldest and most vibrant spiritual texts in the world. He explains what yoga is, how it works, and exactly how to purify the mind and let it settle into absolute stillness. This stillness is our own Self. It is the indispensable ground for Enlightenment, which is the ultimate goal of all our aspirations.Alistair Shearer’s lucid introduction and superb translation, fully preserving Patanjali’s jewel-like style, bring these ancient but vital teachings to those who seek the path of self-knowledge today.Bell Tower’s series, Sacred Teachings, offers essential spiritual classics from all traditions. May each book become a trusted companion on the way of truth, encouraging readers to study the wisdom of the ages and put it into practice each day.

Sigmund Freud's Mission


Erich Fromm - 1959
    World PerspectivesFreud's Passion for Truth & His CourageHis Relationship to His Mother; Self-confidence & InsecurityFreud's Relationship to Women; LoveHis Dependence on MenHis Relationship to His FatherFreud's AuthoritarianismFreud, the World ReformerThe Quasi-political Character of the Psychoanaly- tic MovementFreud's Religious & Political ConvictionsSummary & Conclusions

Plato, Not Prozac!: Applying Eternal Wisdom to Everyday Problems


Lou Marinoff - 1999
    From Kirkegaard's thoughts on coping with death to the I Ching's guidelines on adapting to change, Plato, Not Prozac! makes philosophy accessible and shows you how to use it to solve your everyday problems.Gone is the need for expensive therapists, medication, and lengthy analysis. Clearly organized by common problems to help you tailor Dr. Lou Marinoff's advice to your own needs, this is an intelligent, effective, and persuasive prescription for self-healing therapy that is giving psychotherapy a run for its money.

Eliminating Stress, Finding Inner Peace


Brian L. Weiss - 2003
    Stress kills, there’s no doubt. Stress eats away at our happiness and joy, as well as our stomach lining. Stress raises blood pressure and directly harms our cardiovascular system. Stress depresses our immune system and allows chronic illnesses to overwhelm us, causing pain, disability, and even death. Basically, stress robs us of happiness and joy. Stress is a mental state that can cause severe negative emotional and physical consequences. It can be entirely eliminated, or at least greatly lessened, by adjusting our understanding and attitudes, and by learning simple yet pervasive mental and bodily relaxation. This book and its accompanying stress-reduction CD will help you deeply relax. It will enable you to release the acute and chronic stress we constantly carry in our bodies and our minds. It can help you remove the blocks and obstacles to your inner peace and joy, and prevent and heal stress-related illness and disease. To heal yourself in this manner is a profoundly loving act. It is an act of self-love, because you are taking the time and expending the energy to heal yourself physically and emotionally, and to bring more happiness into your life. Regular practice with the CD will produce deep, long-lasting results.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man and Other Stories


Fyodor Dostoevsky - 1877
    The first-rate collection includes "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man," "Bobok," "The Christmas Tree and the Wedding," and five other short masterpieces.

The Happiness Industry: How the Government and Big Business Sold Us Well-Being


William Davies - 2015
    In anecdotes that include the Buddhist monk who lectured the business leaders of the world at Davos, why the Nike Fuel band makes us more worried about our fitness, how parts of our city are being rebuilt in response to scientific studies of oxytocin levels in our brain, and what a survey from Radisson hotels—that proves that 62% of us believe that well-being is a luxury worth more than work or a good relationship—really tells us about the way we measure ourselves, and continually find ourselves wanting. The pursuit of happiness only makes us sad—and the rise in depression and anxiety proves it.

Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships


Daniel Goleman - 2006
    Now, once again, Daniel Goleman has written a groundbreaking synthesis of the latest findings in biology and brain science, revealing that we are “wired to connect” and the surprisingly deep impact of our relationships on every aspect of our lives.Far more than we are consciously aware, our daily encounters with parents, spouses, bosses, and even strangers shape our brains and affect cells throughout our bodies—down to the level of our genes—for good or ill. In Social Intelligence, Daniel Goleman explores an emerging new science with startling implications for our interpersonal world. Its most fundamental discovery: we are designed for sociability, constantly engaged in a “neural ballet” that connects us brain to brain with those around us.Our reactions to others, and theirs to us, have a far-reaching biological impact, sending out cascades of hormones that regulate everything from our hearts to our immune systems, making good relationships act like vitamins—and bad relationships like poisons. We can “catch” other people’s emotions the way we catch a cold, and the consequences of isolation or relentless social stress can be life-shortening. Goleman explains the surprising accuracy of first impressions, the basis of charisma and emotional power, the complexity of sexual attraction, and how we detect lies. He describes the “dark side” of social intelligence, from narcissism to Machiavellianism and psychopathy. He also reveals our astonishing capacity for “mindsight,” as well as the tragedy of those, like autistic children, whose mindsight is impaired.Is there a way to raise our children to be happy? What is the basis of a nourishing marriage? How can business leaders and teachers inspire the best in those they lead and teach? How can groups divided by prejudice and hatred come to live together in peace? The answers to these questions may not be as elusive as we once thought. And Goleman delivers his most heartening news with powerful conviction: we humans have a built-in bias toward empathy, cooperation, and altruism–provided we develop the social intelligence to nurture these capacities in ourselves and others.From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge


Peter L. Berger - 1966
    In it, Berger and Luckmann reformulate the task of the sociological subdicipline that, since Max Scheler, has been known as the sociology of knowledge.