Flow                             Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi                         ISBN 0-71265759-2

This classic work on happiness presents the general principles that have enabled real people to transform boring and meaningless lives into ones full of enjoyment.   It introduces the phenomenon of “flow” – a state of joy, creativity and total involvement, in which problems seem to disappear and there is an exhilarating feeling of transcendence.   Drawing on extensive research, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains how this pleasurable state can be brought about by all of us and not just left to chance.   We each have the potential to experience flow, whether at work, at play or in our relationships.   Through understanding the concept of flow, we can learn how to live in harmony with ourselves, our society and, ultimately, with the greater universe.   We can return to the state of happiness that is our natural birthright.

Csikszentmihalyi’s research is the seminal work in understanding how we can all get into a clear state of mind – flow, as defined by the University of Chicago.  Essential reading.

The Fabric of the Cosmos                    Brian Greene                             ISBN 0-141-01111-4

Brian Greene has made the mysteries of space and time accessible to millions with his acclaimed writings and award-winning TV series.   Now, he takes us on an irresistible and revelatory journey through the biggest of the big questions: What is reality?  Could we exist without space and time?   Can we travel to the past?   What are the limits of the universe?  He reveals a world more beautiful and bizarre than we could have imagined:  where ‘dark matter’ reigns, space warps and wiggles through eleven dimensions, minute particles dance, fizz and teleport across vast distances, everything is made of vibrating strings and, like an ant on a lily-pad, we may be floating on a sliver of space-time.   Revealing new layers of reality that lie just beneath the surface of our everyday lives, this grand tour of the universe will make you look at the world in a completely new way.

Wow.  How cutting edge science is unfolding the workings of universal energy.  At times highly complex – but that’s just because the subject is ten times more complex!   If you’re interested in gaining an insight into how quantum mechanics explains energy, look no further.

The Making of Memory             Stephen Rose                           ISBN 0-099-44998-6

The Making of Memory is about just that, in both its senses: the biological processes by which we humans – and other animals – learn and remember and how researchers can explore these mechanisms.  The original edition of this book won the Rhône-Poulenc Science Prize in 1993.  Ten years later, research itself has moved forward and the book has been fully revised.   Where, ten years ago, Rose argued the case for research on memory because it is the most extraordinary of human attributes, his own research has now opened the doors to a potential new treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and, in an entirely new chapter, he describes how this potential new breakthrough has occurred.

This is a scientific text by one of the Open University’s leading lights.   Interesting and educational rather than insightful.

Effective Thinking for Uncommon Success      Gerald Kushel               ISBN 0 8144 5964 1

Why are some people enormously successful in their professions and in their personal lives?  Is it pure luck?  Effective Thinking for Uncommon Success shows you that success has nothing to do with luck, or even talent – it’s all in how and what you choose to think.  Based on research conducted by the author, Gerald Kushel with nearly 1,200 high achievers, this book reveals a simple but powerful thinking technique that all of us can learn.   Kushel’s finely honed method is based on the fact that you have completely free will as to how you think.  You decide, from moment to moment, how you act, think and react.   Effective Thinking for Uncommon Success shows you how to change the way you think, leading to three-dimensional success, consisting of high job performance, high job satisfaction and high personal life satisfaction. How successful can you be? Effective Thinking for Uncommon Success shows that there is nothing limiting you except the way you think!

My mentor, Jerry Kushel, wrote this in the 80s.  Simple English – no need to complicate the simple manner in which we “all choose our own thoughts”.  I’m not sure how easy this book is to get – but it would be worth searching for.

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight      Thom Hartmann             ISBN 0-340-82243-0

As the world’s population explodes, cultures and species are being wiped out, and we have now reached the half-way point in our supplies of oil.   Humans the world over are confronting difficult choices about how to create a future that works.  Thom Hartmann proposes that the only lasting solution to the crises we face is to re-learn the lessons our ancient ancestors knew – those which allowed them to live sustainably for hundreds of thousands of years – but which we’ve forgotten.   Hartmann shows how to find this new yet ancient way of seeing the world and the life on and in it, allowing us to touch that place where the survival of humanity may be found.

A blend of history, science, quantum mechanics, mysticism, the book proposes an inner approach to changing our own lives and changing the direction in which the planet appears to be heading.  Worth reading.

Unconditional Life                                Deepak Chopra                         ISBN 0 553 37050 2

Unconditional Life brings together disciplines ranging from modern physics and neuroscience to the ancient traditions of Indian wisdom to show how our perceptions create our reality for good or ill – and how the outside world can be shaped by altering the world within.  In a book filled with hope and inspiration, Dr. Chopra offers compelling proof of the power of consciousness and a daring new vision of our own unlimited potential.

Chopra – as in “Perfect Health” – merges modern science and Eastern mysticism – this time with a more in-depth look at the scientific aspects of how we can get more out of life and living.

Quantum Healing                                 Deepak Chopra                         ISBN 0553173324

Here is an extraordinary new approach to healing – a book filled with the mystery, wonder and hope of people who have experienced seemingly miraculous recoveries from cancer and other serious illnesses.   Chopra began his search for answers when he saw patients in his own practice who completely recovered after being given only a few moths to live.  In the mid-1980s he returned to India to explore Ayurveda, humanity’s most ancient healing tradition.   Now he has  brought together the current research of Western medicine, neuroscience and physics with the insights of Ayervedic theory to show that the human body is controlled by a “network of intelligence” grounded in quantum reality.   Not a superficial psychological state, this intelligence lies deep enough to change the basic patterns that design our physiology – with the potential to defeat cancer, heart disease and even aging itself.   In this inspiring and pioneering work, Chopra offers us both a fascinating intellectual journey and a deeply moving chronicle of hope and healing.

Again, Chopra blends modern and ancient science (Ayurvedic medicine) to encourage the reader to change one’s health and life.

Essence                                               A H Almaas.                              ISBN 1 57863 044 4

Essence is a revolutionary book in its synthesis of Western and Eastern approaches to psychological and spiritual development.  But it is not primarily an abstract or theoretical work.  It explores the essential reality of the truth of who we are when we move beyond our ego or personality.  Almaas’ exposition of this essential reality is remarkably clear and precise and includes a discussion on the ‘essential aspects’ such as love, compassion, wisdom and strength.  This work draws on knowledge from the most sophisticated current psychological theory and de-mystifies enlightenment, helping us to see it not as some mysterious event but as a down-to-earth, understandable process with definite stages through which the personality gradually releases its grip on our being and allows our essence to emerge.

Exploring our essential energy, the book touches on a variety of psychological approaches that will enable the reader gain a better practical everyday understanding of how to get to the root of ourselves.

Subtle Energy                                      Dr William Collinge                                ISBN 0 7225 3668 2

Why are we attracted to some people yet repelled by others?  What makes a tumour shrink after a laying on of hands?  How can sexual energy be used for spiritual growth?  How are our moods, sleep and behaviour affected by phases of the moon?   We are all moved by unseen and seemingly undetectable forces – what today’s cutting-edge scientists call ‘subtle energy’.   A noted teacher and researcher in the field, Collinge explains how we and our world are made up of energy and asks us to reconsider sensations and perceptions we often dismiss.  Making inspiring connections between ancient wisdom and modern science, he shows us how to attune ourselves to these forces and harness their powers.   You will learn how to sensitize yourself to the subtle energy around you, bring awareness of it into your relationships, protect yourself from unwanted influences and understand how your food, breathing and exercise affect your energy every day.   This eye-opening adventure into the world of subtle energies will help you fully to awaken to your energetic nature – and the vitality, harmony and pleasure that are your birthright.

A mix of mysticism and science – a little strange in parts – the book’s key ingredient is its ability to explain our own essential energy in practical terms.

The Celestine Vision                            James Redfield                                     ISBN 0 553 50637 4

James Redfield discusses the historical and scientific background to the bestsellers, The Celestine Prophecy and The Tenth Insight.  In this remarkable book, he focuses on our individual perceptions of synchronicity and cites examples from his own experience as he clarifies how mysterious coincidences lead us toward our special destiny.  Here, too, he examines one hundred years of discovery in physics and psychology to show an inevitable synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas.  The unmistakable message in this convergence is that human history is purposeful, that both miracles and scientific discoveries are part of the same unbroken chain of evolution toward a better world.

Some of the science behind Redfield’s parable, “The Celestine Prophecy” – this is not so much a scientific text as a practical explanation of the everyday phenomena that are the essential ingredients of his parables and, if we’d only wake up and notice, our own daily lives.  Very readable.

What the Bleep Do We Know           Mark Vicente / Betsy Chasse / William Arntz            DVD 2005

This life-changing film has become a worldwide phenomenon.   A work of “faction” it’s central character tumbles down the metaphysical “rabbit hole” – into a world where leading authorities in the fields of quantum physics, molecular biology, neurology, theology and metaphysical thought give the viewer an insight into how the universe really works.

Even if you’re not into quantum theory, this DVD is worth watching – for anyone aged, maybe, 12 or over.  It’s a mix of modern science, mysticism, theology and spirituality strung together by a fictional storyline which makes the documentary-like interviews all the more understandable.  Highly recommended.

Introducing Quantum Theory   J.P. McEvoy & Oscar Zarate                  ISBN 1 84046 577 8

Quantum theory confronts us with bizarre paradoxes which upset the logical edifices of classical physics.  At the sub-atomic level, one particle seems to know what others are doing (so-called ‘non-locality’), and according to Heisenberg’s ‘uncertainty principle’, there is a limit on how accurately nature can be observed.  And yet the theory is amazingly accurate and widely applied, explaining all of chemistry and most of physics.  Introducing Quantum Theory takes us on a step-by-step tour with the key figures, including Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrödinger.  Each contributed at least one crucial concept to the theory.   The puzzle of wave-particle duality is here, along with descriptions of the two questions raised against Bohr’s ‘Copenhagen Interpretation’ – the famous ‘dead and alive cat’ and the EPR paradox.  Both remain unresolved at the beginning of the 21^st century.

Quantum mechanics in something approaching comic-book format.   Highly accessible – will add to the understanding of those wishing to explore the sometimes inaccessible world of modern quantum theory – but, if you’re not into this area, don’t bother!