We can restore our inherent connection to nature, each other, our ancestors, and ourselves, and remember our fundamental gift of belonging. The eighth book in the bestselling Mindfulness Essentials series, a back-to-basics collection from world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh that introduces everyone to the essentials of mindfulness practice. "We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness."—Thich Nhat Hanh With our world experiencing the deep effects of loneliness, environmental detachment, and digital overload, this pocket-sized How To book reminds us of our crucial need to connect to ourselves, our ancestors, and our planet. Written with characteristic simplicity and kindness, these wise meditations teach us how to remember, at any time, our fundamental gift of belonging. Illustrated with playful sumi-ink drawings by California artist Jason DeAntonis.
Celebrated scientists Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler explain the amazing power of social networks and our profound influence on one another's lives. Your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence one another are revealed in the studies of Dr. Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front-page news nationwide. In Connected, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, Connected overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. It will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.
We are profoundly social creatures--more than we know. In Social, renowned psychologist Matthew Lieberman explores groundbreaking research in social neuroscience revealing that our need to connect with other people is even more fundamental, more basic, than our need for food or shelter. Because of this, our brain uses its spare time to learn about the social world--other people and our relation to them. It is believed that we must commit 10,000 hours to master a skill. According to Lieberman, each of us has spent 10,000 hours learning to make sense of people and groups by the time we are ten. Social argues that our need to reach out to and connect with others is a primary driver behind our behavior. We believe that pain and pleasure alone guide our actions. Yet, new research using fMRI--including a great deal of original research conducted by Lieberman and his UCLA lab--shows that our brains react to social pain and pleasure in much the same way as they do to physical pain and pleasure. Fortunately, the brain has evolved sophisticated mechanisms for securing our place in the social world. We have a unique ability to read other people’s minds, to figure out their hopes, fears, and motivations, allowing us to effectively coordinate our lives with one another. And our most private sense of who we are is intimately linked to the important people and groups in our lives. This wiring often leads us to restrain our selfish impulses for the greater good. These mechanisms lead to behavior that might seem irrational, but is really just the result of our deep social wiring and necessary for our success as a species. Based on the latest cutting edge research, the findings in Social have important real-world implications. Our schools and businesses, for example, attempt to minimalize social distractions. But this is exactly the wrong thing to do to encourage engagement and learning, and literally shuts down the social brain, leaving powerful neuro-cognitive resources untapped. The insights revealed in this pioneering book suggest ways to improve learning in schools, make the workplace more productive, and improve our overall well-being.
What accounts for the remarkable ability to get inside another person's head—to know what they're thinking and feeling? "Mind reading" is the very heart of what it means to be human, creating a bridge between self and others that is fundamental to the development of culture and society. But until recently, scientists didn't understand what in the brain makes it possible. This has all changed in the last decade. Marco Iacoboni, a leading neuroscientist whose work has been covered in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal, explains the groundbreaking research into mirror neurons, the "smart cells" in our brain that allow us to understand others. From imitation to morality, from learning to addiction, from political affiliations to consumer choices, mirror neurons seem to have properties that are relevant to all these aspects of social cognition. As The New York Times reports: "The discovery is shaking up numerous scientific disciplines, shifting the understanding of culture, empathy, philosophy, language, imitation, autism and psychotherapy." Mirroring People is the first book for the general reader on this revolutionary new science.
Kristina Kaine invites the reader into the riches of becoming a participant-observer in the life of soul and spirit. Her book goes beyond describing "the way it is" and encourages the reader to discover how the gaps in meaning that we all experience are caused by a lack of contact with the inner life. Nevertheless, this is not a book of meditative practices that one does in the confines of one's room, only to find that such practices don't seem to measure up to the requirements of real life. Rather, her book helps us sense the inner qualitative nature of subjective experiences at the center of our busy and practical lives--though they frequently go unnoticed. By gaining an abiding interest in the rich texture of inner life, one begins to notice that something--some presence like wisdom--illuminates that inner life, individualizing it so that one feels personally, though not egoistically, connected with the inner mysteries. This more permanent core of our being gives us our sense of destiny and purpose in life, directing us toward a more meaningful future. I Connecting and the clear practices suggested help the reader make a shift toward being more present, more available, and more open. "Kristina Kaine has distilled from the profound wisdom of masters and of her own considerable experience a guidebook of immense value in pursuing the pearl of great price, the name that no one knows except the one who receives it, the I Am." Every human soul stands in need of this name, and our world cries out for the ennoblement of those who make this quest." --Edward Reaugh Smith, author, The Burning Bush and The Soul's Long Journey "This book is amazing It has clarified so much for me that I have been struggling to comprehend. Her simple and clear way of describing concepts and practices has allowed me to put many of them into immediate practice in my life. This book is essential reading." --Amanda Gore, motivational speaker and author, You Can Be Happy: The Essential Guide to a Healthy Body, Mind and Soul "Kristina Kaine has the marvelous ability to express clearly and concisely the inner human mystery in a most practical and experiential way. I recommend her book to anyone with a sincere desire to explore and expand their own soul." --Andrew Flaxman, founder, Educate Yourself for Tomorrow
International Psychic Medium Rev. Martina Schmidt teaches you everything she knows on being a medium. Learn to speak with your loved ones who have crossed over and also how to be a communicator for others!
By explaining how to understand and use shared life-experiences; develop and use greater awareness; and with an unprecedented collection of communication and presenting insights, readers follow a path that leads to establishing effective, personal communication connections with anyone. A book that provides an enduring foundation for how to interact with, speak and present to people effectively.
Essential techniques to help you connect with Mahavatar Babaji - Includes sanskrit calligraphies, focus techniques, energy building techniques, inspiration, core mindsets to help you raise your vibration and align your frequency with your deep potential. May these techniques bring answers and clarity in your mystical awakening.
What is revealed when you authentically connect with the people around you?In Ask Powerful Questions, Will Wise explains how the questions we traditionally ask are virtually meaningless when it comes to establishing connection. Introducing a set of practical tools for accessing and understanding others by changing the way we ask questions, Will shows how to transform "How are you?-I'm fine, thanks" into a conversation that changes not only how you lead, but who you are as a person. It took years of research, university teaching, and hundreds of client projects for Will to formulate his concept behind the art of asking powerful questions. In his book, Will breaks it down into six simple steps for all of us to be able to understand. The Asking Powerful Questions Pyramid(tm) shows you how to build: Intention Rapport Openness Listening Empathy Business professionals, personal coaches, teachers and anyone in a position of leadership will relate to the personal successes and failures Will shares as he unpacks the art of asking questions that elicit unconventional answers. Powerful questions can be used everywhere: from the board room to the city park, the dinner table to the grocery store. If you want to connect with employees at a team building retreat, hone your leadership skills as a new boss, improve the company culture where you work...this book is for you. If you want to navigate difficult conversations with your spouse or a friend, or practice presence-based listening with your kids...this book is for you. If you want to become a better educator and facilitate an ice breaker conversation with colleagues...this book is for you. Ask Powerful Questions invites the reader on a journey that explores: the clarity of intent, connecting through rapport, creating openness, reflective listening, and empathy. How can we explore the space between ourselves and others, and exchange meaningful perspectives? Just ask-powerfully.
