Good Reads

When we’re open to serendipity this is what can happen:

While working for the Dept of Conservation/NZ Alpine Club at Aspiring Hut. In the National Park of the same name, I met a couple of lovely families. They had a great holiday in some good weather. One of them made the journey in by electric wheel chair, which he’d designed himself. On both counts a huge achievement!

We became FaceBook friends later. Since I post lots of images on that platform he noticed one, and asked if I’d supply a copy as a cover for a new book coming out. I was happy to donate it.

Recommended Reading…

Very useful and fascinating information for the beginning of my wellness journey! And written only for eBook (as far as I know), in his 80th or so year. Shortly after he passed.

I first came across him as a teenager when he was the subject of a TV doco series. Then more recently, his teachings, on a writing course.

His chapter on art is fascinating. And concepts of mythology can help us predict our future even.

◀Available at Apple’s iBook and perhaps for Kindle (no I’m not on a commission!)

The Hero With a Thousand Faces, and The Hero’s Journey, are two of his most well known works.

So I started reading a lot!

Apart from being very useful I found this to be a delightful read. And thoroughly recommend it…

“The hardest choices are also the most consequential. So why do we know so little about how to get them right?”

< Available at Apple’s iBook and perhaps for Kindle (no I’m not on a commission!)

Somewhere along the way placebos and nocebos grabbed my attention. As being a very important factor. It was time to learn about the possibilities.

I perceived this as a “fashionable” read. But is was very useful. What was best for me though was it taught me a lot about meditation. It helped me begin what is now a well established habit. A part of my healing!

You Are the Placebo by Dr. Joe Dispenza.

But if you really want to understand placebos this is the book!

Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body by Jo Marchant.

A rigorous, skeptical, deeply reported look at the new science behind the mind’s surprising ability to heal the body.

Later in my journey a friend recommended it. This coming from a highly qualified nano technology businessman, who actually knew of her when visiting Oxford Uni. (and her robust grasp of science), was very helpful.

Published: 1st May 2017
ISBN: 9781925498462 and available as an Apple iBook download. Probably Kindle also.

My health had reached a Tipping Point. This book gives some very astute examples. Not health related, but there are parallels.

My reason for including this recommended reading is that sometimes massive change can be effected by a very small change, or a series of. If life is looked upon as a trajectory then just one astute change can alter it.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference is the debut book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little, Brown in 2000. Gladwell defines a tipping point as “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.” The book seeks to explain and describe the “mysterious” sociological changes that mark everyday life. As Gladwell states: “Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do.”The examples of such changes in his book include the rise in popularity and sales of Hush Puppies shoes in the mid-1990s and the steep drop in New York City’s crime rate after 1990.

From Wikipedia.

The author’s website >>

Up until treatment was underway, my sense of health progression had been decidedly linear. But then it changed. And this amazing story outlines probabilities and possibilities for us all. One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. Memorable!

God’s Hotel. By Victoria Sweet.

San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital was the last almshouse in the country, a descendant of the Hôtel-Dieu (God’s Hotel) that cared for the sick in the Middle Ages. Ballet dancers and rock musicians, professors and thieves — “anyone who had fallen, or, often, leapt, onto hard times” and needed extended medical care — ended up there. Dr. Sweet ended up there herself, as a physician. And though she came for only a two-month stay, she remained for twenty years.

The author’s website >>

I wanted my son to have a copy of this book for Christmas, but it was not readily available in New Zealand. However the University Bookshop in Dunedin imported a copy for me.

I found this to be a very interesting and useful read.

No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you’re not breathing properly.

There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. In Breath, journalist James Nestor travels the world to discover the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and Tummo, to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

Breath by James Nestor

I loved how every topic has references back to the research.

Best Health Book of 2018 – American Book Fest. Best Science Books of 2018 – Bookbub. Every creation begins as a thought, from a symphony to a marriage to an ice cream cone to a rocket launch. When we have an intention, a complex chain of events begins in our brains. Thoughts travel as electrical impulses along neural pathways. When neurons fire together they wire together, creating electromagnetic fields. These fields are invisible energy, yet they influence the molecules of matter around us the way a magnet organizes iron filings. In Mind to Matter, award-winning researcher Dawson Church explains the science showing how our minds create matter.

By Dawson Church

This is a book that I plan to reread, and come back to often as an inspiration.

The New York Times bestseller everyone is talking about.

By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.

The Untethered Soul begins by walking you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping you uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It then delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness. Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of your innermost being.

By Michael A. Singer

An outstanding book recommended by my psychologist!

“The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” is a book by psychiatrist and trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. The book explores the ways in which trauma can affect the body, brain, and mind, and offers insights into how individuals can heal from traumatic experiences.

Through a combination of research, case studies, and personal anecdotes, Dr. van der Kolk explains how trauma can lead to a range of physical and mental health problems, including chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and addiction. He also describes how traumatic experiences can impact the way the brain processes information, leading to issues with memory, emotional regulation, and interpersonal relationships.

In “The Body Keeps the Score,” Dr. van der Kolk offers a holistic approach to trauma treatment, drawing on a variety of techniques including neurofeedback, mindfulness, and body-based therapies. He emphasizes the importance of developing a sense of safety, re-establishing connections with others, and finding ways to move beyond the trauma and create a new sense of self.

Overall, “The Body Keeps the Score” is a thought-provoking and informative book that offers a unique perspective on the impact of trauma on the body and mind, and provides guidance on how to heal from these experiences.

A Penguin Book ISBN: 9780141978611

This book inspired me to try writing the like of the Miriam tale above as a short story

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders review – rules for good writing, and more.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about ourselves—and our world today.

Penguin Random House NZ

ISBN 9781984856036

All about ADHD in depth

Scattered Minds explodes the myth of attention deficit disorder as genetically based – and offers real hope and advice for children and adults who live with the condition. Gabor Mate is a revered physician who specializes in neurology, psychiatry and psychology – and himself has ADD.

PaperPlus NZ

ISBN 9780593714379

So often in life I’ve heard the advice, “don’t sweat the small stuff”. If you believe this truly then you’d best read this book!

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth is an inspirational memoir of space exploration and hard-won wisdom, from an astronaut who has spent a lifetime making the impossible a reality. Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. The secret to Col. Hadfield’s success – and survival – is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst – and enjoy every moment of it.

Scorpio Books NZ

ISBN 0345812727, 9780345812728