I recently completed the audiobook version of Mindsight by Dr. Dan Siegel. He provided the reading and, fortunately, possesses a wonderfully soothing and engaging speaking voice. Dr. Siegel is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, neurobiologist, researcher, lecturer, author, and professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. I’ve seen Dr. Siegel present a number of times and, along …Read More
“Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius – Book Recommendation
Jan 26, 2011
A former client of mine recommended that I read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. He was the Roman emperor from A.D. 161-180 (he being Marcus A., not my client, heh). Aurelius was a Stoic philosopher and considered to be one of Rome’s “good” emperors. Meditations isn’t a cohesive book from start to finish – it reads more …Read More
“Living Without Stress or Fear” by Thich Nhat Hanh- Audiobook Recommendation
Nov 29, 2010
I recently enjoyed listening to the audiobook Living Without Stress or Fear by renowned Buddhist monk, teacher, author, and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh. I’ve read several of his books and listened to some podcast interviews, but this was the first audiobook that I’ve listened to of his. First, this isn’t really an audio “book” …Read More
“Ram Dass, Fierce Grace” – Documentary Film Recommendation
Nov 10, 2010
Ram Dass, who is formerly known as Dr. Richard Alpert, is a spiritual teacher out of a Hindu tradition. (And yes, Richard Alpert from the Lost TV series is a nod to Ram Dass.) He was a Harvard professor of psychology in the 1960s, where he became a friend and colleague of Dr. Timothy Leary. …Read More
“Practicing Peace in Times of War” – Book Recommendation
Nov 2, 2010
Our world seems to be filled with aggression, violence, and war. Especially now, during election time, we are bombarded with ads on TV, the radio, and the internet, that are scientifically designed to arouse fear and hatred in us. There is war all around the world, and the possibility of peace can seem very remote. …Read More
“Ruling Your World” – Book Recommendation
Oct 16, 2010
In the book “Ruling Your World” Sakyong Mipham describes ancient strategies to help the reader achieve mastery over their mind and over their life. Although the strategies and metaphors he describes are very old, they are surprisingly relevant and useful in today’s society. The author of the book is Buddhist, and many of the metaphors …Read More
Turning the Mind Into an Ally – Book Recommendation
Aug 27, 2010
This is a book about the “nuts and bolts” of meditation. Meditation has been a hot topic for the last decade or so in neuropsychological research. Scientific studies of the brains of experienced and novice meditators show that practicing meditation on a regular basis produces changes in the brain’s activity and even in the structure …Read More
Revisiting the “The Catcher in the Rye”
Jul 17, 2010
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is one of my favorite books of all time. I read it my junior year of high school and loved it immediately, which I can’t say for many of the other books which I was required to read (yes, I’m talking to you Silas Marner). If you …Read More
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (Book & Media Rec)
Jun 12, 2010
I recently finished the unabridged audiobook of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink (read by the author). Although much of the information I had run across from other sources, Mr. Pink does an outstanding job of explaining how much of what businesses, educators, and parents have been using to …Read More
The True Nature of Happiness
Jun 9, 2010
I recently read an interview with Daniel Gilbert, Ph.D., author of “Stumbling on Happiness” and Harvard professor of psychology, where he discussed his personal journey to researching happiness. He discussed that he first became interested in researching happiness after he experienced a lot of personal difficulties (problems with family, friends as well as deaths of …Read More