The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live - And How You Can Change Them

by RichardDavidson (Author), SharonBegley (Author)

New
Paperback
2012
$14.03

This groundbreaking book by a pioneer in neuroscience brings a new understanding of our emotions - why each of us responds so differently to the same life events and what we can do to change and improve our emotional lives.
If you believe most self-help books, you would probably assume that we are all affected in the same way by events like grief or falling in love or being jilted and that only one process can help us handle them successfully.
From thirty years of studying brain chemistry, Davidson shows just why and how we are all so different. Just as we all have our own DNA, so we each have our own emotional 'style' depending on our individual levels of dimensions like resilience, attention and self-awareness. Helping us to recognise our own emotional style, Davidson also shows how our brain patterns can change over our lives - and, through his fascinating experiments, what we can do to improve our emotional responses through, for example, meditation.
Deepening our understanding of the mind-body connection - as well as conditions like autism and depression - Davidson stretches beyond mainstream psychology and neuroscience and expands our view of what it means to be human.

Synopsis

This groundbreaking book by a pioneer in neuroscience brings a new understanding of our emotions - why each of us responds so differently to the same life events and what we can do to change and improve our emotional lives.
If you believe most self-help books, you would probably assume that we are all affected in the same way by events like grief or falling in love or being jilted and that only one process can help us handle them successfully.
From thirty years of studying brain chemistry, Davidson shows just why and how we are all so different. Just as we all have our own DNA, so we each have our own emotional 'style' depending on our individual levels of dimensions like resilience, attention and self-awareness. Helping us to recognise our own emotional style, Davidson also shows how our brain patterns can change over our lives - and, through his fascinating experiments, what we can do to improve our emotional responses through, for example, meditation.
Deepening our understanding of the mind-body connection - as well as conditions like autism and depression - Davidson stretches beyond mainstream psychology and neuroscience and expands our view of what it means to be human.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 01 Mar 2012
ISBN 10: 1444708805
ISBN 13: 9781444708806
Book Overview: A groundbreaking new approach to personality and the mind, leading neuroscientist Richard Davidson shows what makes us behave the way we do and how we can retrain our brain to improve our lives

Media Reviews

Look forward to cultivating keener attention, having more attunement to others, and being more connected to your own intuition. It's all possible - and this book shows you how. * Deepak Chopra *
We all ask the question who am I? . For me this guy has answered it. * Ruby Wax *
'an eye-opener...replete with breakthrough research that will change the way you see yourself and everyone you know...cutting edge findings formulated in a delightful, can't-put-it-down read. I loved this book. * Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence *
Whether he is measuring neural activity in the laboratory or climbing the Himalayas to meet the Dalai Lama, Davidson is an inveterate explorer who has spent a lifetime probing the deep mystery of human feeling. Don't miss this smart and lively book by the world's foremost expert on emotion and the brain. * Daniel Gilbert, Ph.D., author of Stumbling on Happiness *
What a gift from the world's leading neuroscientist who works on what makes life worth living. This is a must read for everyone who is interested in positive psychology. * Martin E. P. Seligman, Author of Learned Optimism and Flourish *
The best book I know on how to use the exciting discoveries of neuroscience to change your life. A fabulous read - a scientific adventure story like Sherlock Holmes meeting Watson and Crick with the Dalai Lama as their advisor. * Jack Kornfield PhD *
Richard Davidson, a visionary neuropsychologist, joins with Sharon Begley, one of the most astute science writers, to illuminate the dimensions of our emotional make up and offer cogent and compelling ways for us to grow into more effective and fulfilled selves. * Jerome Groopman, Recanati Professor, Harvard Medical School & co-author of Your Medical Mind *
This superb book is many things -- a crystal clear tour of the neuroscience of emotion; a primer about how the scientific process works; a personal story by a really likeable guy; and the promise of a better world. This is a wonderful book. * Robert M. Sapolsky,Ph.D., author of Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers and Monkeyluv *
A mind-opening journey guided by one of the world's great pioneers in the study of emotion. Richard Davidson addresses the questions about how we become who we are with a scientific rigor and impassioned curiosity that enable us to understand others and ourselves, as well as to directly influence how we approach life with a sense of resilience and vitality. He also crucially reveals the science-proven steps we can take to improve the function and even the structure of our brain. Soak in the wisdom of these pages and enjoy! * Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., author of Mindsight *
Richard Davidson's distinguished scientific career has been dedicated to making sense of human emotion and deepening its significance. Now, with the help of writer Sharon Begley, he turns a trove of accumulated facts into wisdom accessible to lay readers and directly applicable to their lives. * Antonio Damasio, Ph.D., author of Self Comes to Mind and The Feeling of What Happens *
In this spine-tingling journey through the hills of the Himalayas and the circuitry of your brain, visionary neuroscientist Richard Davidson uncovers deep and practical insights into humanity's oldest questions. Who are we as individuals? What are the origins of our minds? How do we find peace and cultivate greater kindness for all? Weaving together the latest neuroscience of brain plasticity and emotion and the timeless wisdom of Buddhist thought, The Emotional Life of your Brain will lead you to answers to these questions, and leave you inspired by science and the promise of change for the better. * Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., author of Born to Be Good *
With a message of hope and empowerment and a surprising degree of clarity for one of humanity's most complex topics, this book may finally be the world's first introduction to the extremely scientific future of psychology. * New Scientist *

Author Bio

Richard Davidson is a pioneer in neuroscience: specifically in the arena of emotion and neuroplasticity. He heads up one of the most respected psychology labs in the country at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the results of his studies (using the latest brain imaging technology) are regularly hailed everywhere from The New York Times to Business Week to the most prestigious scientific journals. Sharon Begley is the author of Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, which was published in 2007, was on The New York Times extended list, and Amazon's bestsellers lists, and has been sold in 16 countries. Sharon is the acclaimed Science Editor and columnist at Newsweek.