Who Moved My Cheese? – Spencer Johnson

‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ is an amusing and enlightening story of four mice who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Cheese is a metaphor for what you want to have in life – whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money, possessions, health or spiritual peace of mind. And the maze is where you look for what you want – the organisation you work in, or the family or community you live in. 

This profound book from best-selling author, Spencer Johnson, will show you how to anticipate change, adapt to change quickly, enjoy change and be ready to change quickly again and again. Discover the secret for yourself and learn how to deal with change, so that you suffer from less stress and enjoy more success in your work and in life.

Written for all ages, this story takes less than an hour to read, but its unique insights can last for a lifetime.

The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality – Dalai Lama

Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Bohr, Einstein. Their insights shook our perception of who we are and where we stand in the world, and in their wake have left an uneasy coexistence: science vs. religion, faith vs. empirical inquiry. Which is the keeper of truth? Which is the true path to understanding reality?

After forty years of study with some of the greatest scientific minds, as well as a lifetime of meditative, spiritual, and philosophic study, the Dalai Lama presents a brilliant analysis of why all avenues of inquiry – scientific as well as spiritual – must be pursued in order to arrive at a complete picture of the truth.

Through an examination of Darwinism and karma, quantum mechanics and philosophical insight into the nature of reality, neurobiology and the study of consciousness, the Dalai Lama draws significant parallels between contemplative and scientific examinations of reality.

The legacy of this book is a vision of the world in which our different approaches to understanding ourselves, our universe, and one another can be brought together in the service of humanity.

The Opening of the Third Eye – Douglas Baker

The third eye is the product of the arousal and interplay of three etheric head centres, and is responsible for extensions of awareness into higher states of consciousness. This book is a practical manual for the development of these powers. 

Douglas Baker has done extensive scientific research into those hinterlands of the mind, including bio-magnetism and its effects on the human aura and dark matter.

His transformative experiences during the Second World War, when twice severely wounded, set the pattern for his life-long investigations into the Powers Latent in Man.

Having taught for 10 years, he began his incredible lecture tours of the Western world giving lectures and seminars in Esoteric Healing, Esoteric Anatomy, Esoteric Astrology, Esoteric Psychology and Metaphysics. 

He, more than any other, set in motion the trends towards alternative methods of medicine which have transformed that field in Britain – and the wider world – today. 

Stumbling On Happiness – Daniel Gilbert

In this fascinating and often hilarious work – winner of the ‘Royal Society of Science Prize 2007’ – pre-eminent psychologist Daniel Gilbert shows how and why the majority of us have no idea how to make ourselves happy.

We all want to be happy, but do we know how? When it comes to improving tomorrow at the expense of today, we’re terrible at predicting how to please our future selves.

In ‘Stumbling on Happiness’ Professor Daniel Gilbert combines psychology, neuroscience, economics and philosophy with irrepressible wit to describe how the human brain imagines its future – and how well (or badly) it predicts what it will enjoy.

Revealing some of the amazing secrets of human motivation, he also answers thought-provoking questions – why do dining companions order different meals instead of getting what they want? Why are shoppers happier when they can’t get refunds? And why are couples less satisfied after having children while insisting that their kids are a source of joy?

The Awakened Mind: Biofeedback and the Development of Higher States of Awareness – C Maxwell Cade, Nona Coxhead

In ‘The Awakened Mind’, British biophysicist and consciousness researcher, Maxwell Cade, shows how biofeedback is made many times more effective by combining it with meditation – the ancient art of listening to the soul.

Using his own Mind Mirror machine, a revolutionary advance in the precise monitoring of mind-body control, the author explains the relevant exercises, skills and sensory sequences involved in this extraordinary technique. As a result, new possibilities for relaxation, health and awareness become available, as well as a dramatic increase in both mental and creative potential.

Biofeedback is the science of listening to the body, understanding its messages, and using the mind to control it.

The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness – Rudolf Steiner

Speaking at a time of intense war in Europe, Rudolf Steiner reveals the spiritual roots of the crises of our times and the means by which we can surmount them. Since 1879, he says, human minds have been influenced by backward angels – “the spirits of darkness” – who were forced out of the heavens and made their abode on earth following their defeat in a 40-year battle with the Archangel Michael.

It is now possible for human beings to awaken more consciously to the truth of these profound changes, and thus inwardly counter the fallen spirits’ influences. We can come to the realization that definite spiritual causes lie behind earthly events in our rapidly changing times. 

In these 14 lectures, given at the end of 1917 following four years of war in Europe, Steiner speaks on the complex spiritual forces behind the Great War, humanity’s attempts to build theoretically perfect social orders, and the many divisions and disruptions that would continue to occur on earth in our time Humanity in general was asleep to the fact that fallen spirits, cast out of the spiritual worlds, had become intensely active on earth.

This manifested particularly in people’s thinking and in their perception of the world about them. But the defeat and fall of these spirits also ensured that a science of the spirit would always be available to humanity.

Good Health!    

My Stroke of Insight – Jill Bolte Taylor

On the morning of the 10th December 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke when a blood vessel exploded in the left side of her brain. She observed her own mind completely deteriorate to the point that she lost the ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life, all within the space of four hours.

As the damaged left side of her brain – the rational, logical, detail and time-oriented side – swung in an out of function, Taylor alternated between two distinct and opposite realities: the euphoric Nirvana of the intuitive and emotional right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace; and the logical left brain, that realized Jill was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was lost completely. 

In ‘My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey’, Taylor brings to light a new perspective on the brain and its capacity for recovery that she gained through the intimate experience of awakening and healing her own injured mind.

Tapping the Healer Within: Using Thought-Field Therapy to Instantly Conquer Your Fears, Anxieties, and Emotional Distress – Roger Callahan

Harness the healing power of TFT to conquer phobias, anxiety, stress, fears, compulsions, and addictions!

TFT is based on the time-honoured principles of both contemporary clinical psychology and Chinese medicine. TFT is a drug-free method of literally tapping into the body’s energy and clearing up blockages – without using acupuncture needles, drugs, or any other invasive means. TFT can provide emotional renewal quickly and safely, with no side effects and without having to go through years of therapy. In ‘Tapping the Healer Within’, you’ll find the tools to use this powerful method for yourself and discover how TFT can change your life for the better.

“This book is as remarkable as the therapy itself. To see a hardened smoker quit in minutes or a person with a fear of dentists suddenly be able to receive needed treatment and achieve instant, sustained relief is extraordinary. Dr. Callahan’s method works!” – Richard G. Petty, M.D., Ph.D., founder, Integrated Medicine Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania.

Alternative & Non-Prescription Medicines: A Practical Guide – Christina Bunce, Anne Fennell

Drugs have played a major role in medical treatment for thousands of years. Most of us have taken, or will take, medicines at some time in our lives to cure, prevent, delay or mask the symptoms of ill-health.

‘Alternative & Non-Prescription Medicines: A Practical Guide’ is an invaluable consumers’ guide to over-the-counter medicines, and covers a huge range of ailments and complaints.

Clear and simple to use, it provides information about many of the best remedies commonly prescribed for both adults and children. It offers a range of conventional and alternative approaches to treating many common conditions. It also looks at the known and possible side effects and uses for the medicines most frequently taken at home.

It is an ideal book to help you to use medicines cautiously and wisely to gain maximum benefit from them.

Diet for a Poisoned Planet: How to Choose Safe Foods for You and Your Family: How to Choose Safe Foods for You and Your Family – David Steinman

Like ‘Silent Spring’, ‘Diet for a Poisoned Planet’ took on an entire industry and went onto become a classic work of environmental writing. Now reissued in a new millennium edition, the work’s in-depth look at the contaminants in individual food items is updated with the latest Total Diet Study findings.

A motivating book, ‘Diet for a Poisoned Planet’ changes people viscerally. Steinman tells his own story of fishing in the Santa Monica Bay as a child and how he went on to testify before Congress as an expert witness on the contamination of his own body by the fish he ate.

The book is written by a true expert who has been a member of a National Academy of Sciences committee to advise the US Congress on seafood safety legislation.

Attacks On Health    

Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks – Ben Goldacre

Ben Goldacre is a doctor and writer who specialises in unpicking dodgy scientific claims from drug companies, newspapers, government reports, PR people and quacks.

Have you ever wondered how one day the media can assert that alcohol is bad for us and the next unashamedly run a story touting the benefits of daily alcohol consumption? Or how a drug that is pulled off the market for causing heart attacks ever got approved in the first place? How can average readers, who aren’t medical doctors or Ph.D.s in biochemistry, tell what they should be paying attention to and what’s, well, just more garbage? 

Ben Goldacre has made a point of exposing quack doctors and nutritionists, bogus credentialing programs, and biased scientific studies. He has also taken the media to task for its willingness to throw facts and proof out the window. But he’s not here just to say what’s wrong; Goldacre explains how we can evaluate placebo effects, double-blind studies, and sample sizes, so that we can recognize bad science when we see it.

Food Is Better Medicine Than Drugs: Don’t go to your doctor before reading this book: Your Prescription for Drug-free Health – Patrick Holford

‘Food Is Better Medicine Than Drugs’ is an important and potentially controversial book from top nutritionist Patrick Holford and leading health journalist Jerome Burne. Brilliantly researched and based on solid scientific trials and illuminating case histories, ‘Food is Better Medicine than Drugs’ will revolutionise the way you think about your health and put you back in charge.

The authors reveal how modern medicine has become distorted and is now, for reasons largely to do with profit and power, heavily dependent on prescription drugs. They look at common health problems (pain/arthritis, heart, depression, diabetes, memory, hormones, digestion, breathing, infections etc) and compare the effectiveness of nutrition-based approaches with today’s potentially harmful commonly used medicines.

The Fluoride Deception – Christopher Bryson

‘The Fluoride Deception’ documents a powerful connection between big corporations, the U.S. military, and the historic reassurances of fluoride safety provided by the nation’s public health establishment.

‘The Fluoride Deception’ reads like a thriller, but one supported by two hundred pages of source notes, years of investigative reporting, scores of scientist interviews, and archival research in places such as the newly opened files of the Manhattan Project and the Atomic Energy Commission.

The book is nothing less than an exhumation of one of the great secret narratives of the industrial era: how a grim workplace poison and the most damaging environmental pollutant of the cold war was added to our drinking water and toothpaste.

Civilisations    

Civilization: The Six Killer Apps of Western Power – Niall Ferguson

‘Civilization: The Six Killer Apps of Western Power’ is a vital, brilliant look at the winning tools of power.

In 1412, Europe was a miserable backwater ravaged by plague, bad sanitation and incessant war, while the Orient was home to dazzling civilizations. So how did the West come to dominate the Rest? In this vital, brilliant book, selected as a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year, Niall Ferguson reveals the 'killer applications' that did it:

COMPETITION – How Europe's small, piratical states built modern capitalism

SCIENCE – How innovation gave the West the military edge

PROPERTY RIGHTS – How the laws of private property built the United States

MEDICINE – How colonialism transformed the world's health

THE CONSUMER SOCIETY – How shopping made the industrial revolution

THE WORK ETHIC – How Western religious ideas brought it all together

But has the West now lost its monopoly on these six things? Or is this the end of Western ascendancy?

Guns, Germs and Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years – Jared Diamond

This book answers the most obvious, the most important, yet the most difficult question about human history: why history unfolded so differently on different continents. Geography and biogeography, not race, moulded the contrasting fates of Europeans, Asians, Native Americans, sub-Saharan Africans, and aboriginal Australians.

An ambitious synthesis of history, biology, ecology and linguistics, ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’ is one of the most important and humane works of popular science.

Fingerprints Of The Gods: The Quest Continues – Graham Hancock

‘Fingerprints of the Gods’ is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of readers throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history book directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.

This groundbreaking evidence includes:

Accurate ancient maps that show the world as it last looked during the Ice Age, thousands of years before any civilisation capable of making such maps is supposed to have existed.

Evidence of the devastating scientific and astronomical information encoded into prehistoric myths.

The incredible feat of the construction of the great pyramids of Egypt and of megalithic temples on the Giza plateau.

The mysterious astronomical alignments of the pyramids and the Great Sphinx.

The antediluvian geology of the Sphinx.

The megalithic temples of the Andes.

The myths of Viracocha and Quetzalcoatl.

The pyramids of the Sun and the Moon in Mexico.

The doomsday calendar and eerie memories of the ancient Maya.

The warning from the Hopi of Arizona.