© Rick Hanson, Ph.D. and Rick Mendius, M.D., 2007
Books—The Brain
Goleman, Daniel
—Emotional Intelligence
there are more than one kind of smarts
—Destructive Emotions
how things can go really wrong
Sapolsky, Robert
—Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers
And you thought a frontal lobe and foresight were cool things
Buzsaki, Gyorgy
—Rhythms of the Brain
Resonances, cyclic behavior,neural synchronization “everything you ever wanted to know about how the brain works but never found the time to look up and read in the original literature”
Damasio, Antonio
—The Feeling of What Happens
Concept of core consciousness, autobiographical consciousness, and localization of consciousness at the first body awareness of emotional tone
Sacks, Oliver
—The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
humane exploration of how brains and selves interact
Schacter, Daniel
—The Seven Sins of Memory
will change the way you view your memories and your “self”
Books—Related Context
Gould, Stephen Jay
—A Wonderful Life
the accidental nature of our very existence as a species (karma)
Hamer, Dean
—The God Gene
how spiritual experiences can pass on (karma)
Ripley, Matthew
—Nature Via Nurture
how the brain develops a self
Dennett, Danie
—Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
reductionistic, but this view needs to be heard and incorporated into a balanced view
Books—Buddhism
Jack Kornfield
—A Path with Heart
beautiful introduction to spiritual life, from a Buddhist perspective
Ajahn Brahm
—Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond
exploration of concentration and extraordinary states of mind from someone who has been there
Bikkhu Bodhi
—In the Buddha’s Words
wonderful anthology of the core of the Buddha’s discourses
—The Majjhima Nikaya
crystal clear translation of central Buddhist suttas