If there’s one thing that visitors to Left Brain Buddha have in common, it’s that we’re thinkers. And that means we love the books that make us THINK — we devour the latest publications full of new ideas, fascinating research, and timeless wisdom.
It’s been a while since I’ve shared what I’ve been reading with you, so today I present to you my list of Books That Will Make You Think!
The Man Who Wasn’t There: Investigations into the Strange New Science of the Self by Anil Ananthaswamy
What is the self? Who is the “I” that knows it is a self??
I told you these books would make you think!
We probably have our own intuitive understanding of what the “self” is, but when neuroscientists and psychiatrists and researchers try to pinpoint exactly what is meant by “Self,” they end up… well, a bit beside themselves!
Is the self a narrative of our memories leading up to this moment and carrying us on into a projected future? Or is it the narrator of the story? Ananthaswamy’s The Man Who Wasn’t There dives into these powerful questions, exploring the brain regions involved in our sense of self, and researching what happens when our sense of self is disturbed.
Ananthaswamy explores many of the mental disorders and conditions that disrupt our sense of self. He interviews people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia (having thoughts one thinks aren’t one’s own), autism (having trouble relating one’s self to other selves), bodily integrity disorder (feeling some parts of one’s body aren’t one’s own), Alzheimers (losing the narrative self entirely), and Cotard’s syndrome (thinking one doesn’t exist at all). Wow.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Who am I?” and then wondered, “Who just asked that question?” — you (or the thing you call “you”) will love this book!
The Martian by Andy Weir
Maybe you’ve already seen the movie, but this novel is certainly worth the read. I’m no rocket scientist, but every review I read said that this is one of the most scientifically accurate sci-fi works out there. I learned so much about NASA protocols, Martian terrain, and space travel — and the book is intelligently funny and well-written.
If you’re not familiar with the story, The Martian is about astronaut Mark Watney, who is inadvertently left behind by his crew on NASA’s first human mission to Mars and must find a way to survive until a rescue is possible. It’s fascinating to read — and to ponder what it would be like to be THE ONLY PERSON ON THE PLANET!
{I also think it is so cool that Weir originally published this for free on his blog, and then people begged him to self-publish it as an e-book so they could more easily read it … and now it’s a best-seller AND a movie starring Matt Damon. Perhaps that’s the most unbelievable-but-so-amazingly-inspiring thing about this book!}
Lest you think it’s all nerdy space and science stuff (and there’s a good deal of that), there’s some gorgeous emotion and compassion stuff in here too. I LOVED this passage, in which Mark reflects on the collective efforts to save him:
If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do.”
And in case you don’t believe that, read…
Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World by Matthew Ricard
Even though we truly ARE wired for compassion and kindness and connection, we still cling to the collective myth that we are assholes who are only in it for ourselves and we just don’t care about others. And if we DO happen to do something nice, well, it was just so we could get the free gift with our donation or so we could feel good about ourselves or impress someone….
Buddhist monk and researcher Matthieu Ricard will certainly convince you (with over 800 pages to back him up!) that you are not a jerk. As much as we cling to our capitalist ethos that preaches the value of self-interest and the innate selfishness of humanity, it is just not borne out by the research!
We’re happier when we give money away than when we win it for ourselves. The news is full of stories of people who intervene to help others, even when it comes at a cost to themselves. We have neural pathways in the brain that reward us with pleasure when we assist others.
How can we cultivate compassion and altruistic behavior? Well, you probably won’t be surprised to know that meditation is very helpful! Ricard states that “experienced meditators are both more sensitive to and more concerned by others’ sufferings and … they react not by experiencing increased distress, but by feeling compassion, and … one can ‘train’ in acquiring these states of mind.”
You can learn some practices for doing that in …
The Happiness Track by Emma Seppala
I love reading pretty much anything about happiness and joyful living. I am fascinated that so much of the research in this field points to the core practice of mindfulness.
Case in point: Emma Seppala’s The Happiness Track. Seppala is the science director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (OMG I want to go there!) at Stanford. Seppala describes how “overextension” has become our way of life — we work crazy hours on the job, we fill our weekends with even more stuff to do, and worst of all, we’ve convinced ourselves that if we AREN’T doing it this way, we’re somehow doing it wrong!
Seppala challenges our traditional beliefs about success and happiness, and argues that the path to both of those destinations consists of six key practices. They are:
- Live (or work) in the moment
- Tap into your resilience (by training your nervous system to rebound from difficulty)
- Manage your energy by remaining calm and centered
- Do nothing (take a break for day-dreaming and fun!)
- Be good to yourself — practice self-compassion
- Be good to others — practice compassion!
If you know anything about mindfulness, you know that those are all big components of it! Seppala outlines the extensive research supporting these practices, and then provides lots of do-able suggestions for incorporating them into your life.
I especially loved the chapter about remaining calm. Seppala argues that we should stop worrying about managing our TIME, and manage our ENERGY instead. If we can focus on the present moment, and approach the world from a place of calm (rather than fueled by the intense adrenaline rush and/or venti latte we usually depend on), we’ll actually get more done, and do it better!
I loved this book so much I contacted the publisher and asked if they would be willing to provide a copy of the book for one of my readers… and they happily agreed! 🙂 Enter the giveaway below to win a copy of The Happiness Track!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
I saw this book on many must-read lists, but ignored it for a while because I thought it was all about Medicare and end-of-life decisions.
Which it is… but it’s about so much more. It’s about, as Gawande’s subtitle indicates, what really matters in the end. “This is a book,” he writes, “about the modern experience of mortality– about what it’s like to be creatures who age and die…”
It’s an interrogation of what modern medicine should ultimately be about– is it for extending life, or enhancing it? Gawande argues that doctors must have courageous conversations with their patients about what treatments actually entail (what he calls “breakpoint discussions”), that “sort out when they need to switch from fighting for time to fighting for the other things that people value — being with family or traveling or enjoying chocolate ice cream.”
Though the subject of our mortality may not be a necessarily pleasant one, it’s an important one, and one that, yes, we should probably spend some time thinking about.
So, my dear readers, get your thinking caps on and ponder the self, the stars, the good, the joy, and life itself!
I’d love to know… what are YOU reading and enjoying and thinking about these days? Let me know in the comments below!
- A Mindful Approach to New Year’s Resolutions - January 13, 2020
- Just This Next Step - December 16, 2019
- WAIT: A Mindfulness Practice for Waiting in Line - December 9, 2019
