Some of Anne's favorite books, articles and podcasts
A website which helps locate the best prices on new and used books: http://www.dealoz.com/
1. The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life, by Lynne Twist. ◘ An amazing book. It talks about how so many of our
life's decisions (what we eat, where we live, schools we attend, how we spend
our free time, etc.) are influenced by money. ◘
Society equates
self-worth with net-worth. It equates
HAVING more with BEING more. Society
tells us more is better, where the book suggests that "better" is
when we fully appreciate all that we already have. ◘
When we use
money to support our deepest values, then our true wealth expands. The money that we earn, spend and give away
should go towards supporting our deepest values, which in turn creates the
world we want. ◘
Society tell us
that there is a "scarcity" mentality -- it's a “you against me”, “us
against them”, world. The books suggests
a "sufficiency" approach -- it's a you AND me, us AND them world, based
on trust and cooperation.
2. The
Corporate Mystic: A Guidebook for
Visionaries with Their Feet on the
Ground, by Gay Hendricks and Kate
Ludeman (quotes are from the book) ◘
"If you
will open up to being a source of integrity, vision and intuition in your
organization, you step into leadership, regardless of the niche you
occupy." I know this to be true. ◘
"Every
single mystic we interviewed said the same thing: The first secret to success in business is
today only things that are true, and to say them with total consistency. People cannot relax and produce at their
finest in an atmosphere of distortion and concealment." ◘
"The mystic
knows the difference between control and influence. While you cannot control other people, the
past or the future, you can certainly influence them. Control comes out of fear; influence is
exercised consciously with a goal and a plan."
3. Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal, by Rachel Naomi Remen ◘
Short stories
which “guide us like a life compass, showing us what's good and lasting about
ourselves as well as humanity.” ◘
The podcast
which introduced me to Rachel Naomi Remen, MD
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2008/listening_generously
BALANCE AND PEACE
The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life
Management: Proven Strategies for
Increased Productivity and Inner Peace,
by Hyrum W. Smith. (quotes below are
from the book) ◘
“The focus of
this book, then, is not exclusively on time management but on achieving inner
peace. Time management is only a set of
skills and tools to help us more efficiently control the events of our
lives. But efficient time management
alone will not give us inner peace.” ◘
“The secret to
achieving inner peace lies in understanding our inner core values – those
things in our lives that are most important to us – and then seeing that they
are reflected in the daily events of our lives.”
The Power of Now:
A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, by Eckhart Tolle (quotes below
are from the book) ◘ This books talks about how when we focus on the past,
it can produce feelings of sadness and longing, and when we focus on the
future, it can produce fear. It talks
about keeping your mind in the present – the Power of Now. ◘ “Fear is always of something that might
happen, not of something that is happening now.
YOU are in the here and now, while your mind is in the
future. This creates an anxiety gap.” ◘ “You can always cope with the present moment, but you
cannot cope with something that is only a mind projection – you cannot cope
with the future.” ◘ “The whole essence of Zen consists in walking along
the razor’s edge of Now – be so utterly, so completely present that no
problem, no suffering, nothing that is not who you are in your essence,
can survive in you. Suffering needs
time; it cannot survive in the Now.”
Podcast with author of The Power of Now http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/tolle/
The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Life Lessons: Two Experts on Death and Dying Teach Us About
the Mysteries of Life and Living, by
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler
The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (quotes are from the book) ◘ “We race through our lives without pausing to consider who we really want to be or where we really want to go. We’re all wired up but we’re melting down.” ◘ “How should I spend my energy in a way that is consistent with my deepest values? The consequence of living our lives at warp speed is that we rarely take the time to reflect on what we value most deeply or keep those priorities front and center. Most of us spend more time reacting to immediate crises and responding to the expectations of others than we do making considered choices guided by a clear sense of what matters most.”
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, by Elizabeth Gilbert ◘ (Review from The New
Yorker Copyright ©
2006): At the age of
thirty-one, Gilbert moved with her husband to the suburbs of New York and began trying to get pregnant,
only to realize that she wanted neither a child nor a husband. Three years
later, after a protracted divorce, she embarked on a yearlong trip of recovery,
with three main stops: Rome, for pleasure
(mostly gustatory, with a special emphasis on gelato); an ashram outside of
Mumbai, for spiritual searching; and Bali, for
"balancing." These destinations are all on the beaten track, but
Gilbert's exuberance and her self-deprecating humor enliven the proceedings:
recalling the first time she attempted to speak directly to God, she says,
"It was all I could do to stop myself from saying, 'I've always been a big
fan of your work.'"
The Value of Play in our Lives (podcast) Stuart Brown, a physician and director of the National Institute for Play, says that pleasurable, purposeless activity prevents violence and promotes trust, empathy, and adaptability to life's complication. He promotes cutting-edge science on human play, and draws on a rich universe of study of intelligent social animals. http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/play/
Stress and the Balance Within (podcast) The American experience of stress has spawned a multi-billion dollar self-help
industry. Wary of this, Esther Sternberg says that, until recently, modern
science did not have the tools or the inclination to take emotional stress
seriously. She shares fascinating new scientific insight into the molecular
level of the mind-body connection. http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2008/stress/
Truth is Good for You, by David Servan-Schreiber ◘
A very short
article about the best prescription for happiness: to thine own self be true. ◘
December 2008 issue of Ode:
The online community for Intelligent Optimist http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/59/truth-is-good-for-you/
Stress and our Bodies (podcast) /11The body has a system for
getting out of trouble. Back when trouble meant being chased by a tiger, that
system gave us a real survival edge. But these days, "trouble" is
more likely to mean waiting in traffic... and "the system" is more
likely to make us sick. Stanford University neurologist Dr. Robert Sapolsky
takes us through what happens on our insides when we stand in the wrong line at
the supermarket and offers a few coping strategies: gnawing on wood, beating
the crap out of somebody, and having friends. http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2005/02/11 Neurological
researcher Jill Bolte Taylor suffered a stroke 12 years ago. While a stroke is
often devastating and sometimes fatal, Taylor
was able to make a complete recovery after becoming her own experimental
subject. Her new book, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal
Journey, recounts her experience.
Taylor
is a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist. She was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91861432 A video of one of Jill’s lectures on her experience http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.htmlMy
Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph. D. (Podcast and podcast description from Fresh Air, WHYY)
Our Peace of Mind (podcast) Great podcast to sum up the various findings about happiness. Program desciption from the producers: "The happiness industry is
booming. And with good reason - everyone wants to be happy. Today, science can
light the way. Brain researcher Richard Davidson can sum it up quickly: learn
to meditate. Davidson's research studying the brains of longtime Buddhist monks
has discovered that most of the time, the brain that meditates is a happy
brain. And a Harvard-trained neuro-scientist [Jill Bolte Taylor] finds nirvana in the devastation
of a stroke."
http://www.wpr.org/book/090412a.cfm
The Art of Receiving, Hilary Hart ◘ An article about how receiving is harder than giving, but can lead to even greater personal and spiritual growth. ◘ December 2008 issue of Ode: The online community for Intelligent Optimist http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/59/the-art-of-receiving/
What Now?,
by Ann Patchett ◘ (Summary review
from Amazon.com Review): Based on her lauded commencement
address at Sarah Lawrence College,
this stirring essay by bestselling author Ann Patchett offers hope and
inspiration for anyone at a crossroads, whether graduating, changing careers,
or transitioning from one life stage to another. With wit and candor, Patchett
tells her own story of attending college, graduating, and struggling with the
inevitable question, What now? ◘ Great! Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow, by Elizabeth Lesser Cleanse Your Closet, by Julie Morgenstern. Tips and wisdom on putting our lives in order (via our closets) http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/organize/closet-cleanse?click=main_sr
Conflict Resolution and Communication Skills The Sacred
Art of Listening: Forty Reflections for
Cultivating a Spiritual Practice, by
Kay Lindal (quotes below are from the
book) ◘
"We must learn to listen if there is to be peace in
the world." ◘ "Learning how to listen and speak with each other are
essential skills for creating relationships that lead to mutual respect,
dialogue, understanding and peace." ◘ "Listening takes time, skill and a readiness to slow
down, to let go of expectations, judgment, boredom, self-assertiveness,
defensiveness." ◘ "Listen for what connects us, while appreciating that
which differentiates us. Practitioners of dialogue have discovered 3 vital
practices of listening to understand: 1. The more we understand about one another, the less we
fear. 2.
The less we fear, the more we trust. 3.
The more we trust, the more our hearts open to love." Getting to Yes, by Roger Fisher and William Ury (quotes below are
from the book) ◘ “Be hard on the problem, soft on the people. Attach the problem without blaming the
people. Go even further and be
personally supportive: listen to them
with respect, show them courtesy, express your appreciation for their time and
effort, emphasize your concern with meeting their basic needs, etc. Show them that you are attacking the problem,
not them.” ◘ “Speak for yourself, not about them. It is more persuasive to describe a problem
in terms of its impact on you than in terms of what they did or why. ‘I feel let down’ instead of ‘You broke your
word.’ You convey the same information
without provoking a defensive reaction.” Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen ◘ This book gives you a hands-on approach for how to
have those difficult conversations. Resolving Conflicts at Work: A Complete Guide for Everyone on the Job, by Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith Fierce
Conversations: Achieving Success at Work
and in Life, One Conversation at a Time, by Susan Scott The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the
Age of Distraction, by Rebecca Z. Shafir, M.A. CCC Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al
Switzler General Management (Time management, managing groups, leading organizations, etc.) The Speed of Trust: One Thing that Changes Everything, by Stephen M. R. Covey with Rebecca R. Merrill 50 Ways to Teach Your Learner, by Ed Rose ◘ A great book filled with hands on team building, experiential learning exercises Multitasking in the Car: Just Like Druken Driving (podcast) "If you're driving while cell-phoning, then your performance is going to be as poor as if you were legally drunk." says David Meyer, as psychology professor at the University of Michigan. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95702512
Think You're Multitasking? Think Again. (podcast) New research shows that we humans aren't as good as we think we are at doing several things at once. But it also highlights a human skill that gave us an evolutionary edge. As technology allows people to do more tasks at the same time, the myth that we can multitask has never been stronger. But researchers say it's still a myth -- and they have the data to prove it. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794
How
Much Football Can Sports Fans Handle? (podcast) On Sundays, many sports fans accomplish a
multitasking feat: They watch seven or eight games at a time on multiple TV
screens. Multitasking expert Greg Trafton and Andrea Seabrook discuss how much
fans' minds can handle. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97925728
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencione. An easy to read story that talks about the 5 necessary components of a
strong team. The 5 healthy
aspects are 1.) Trust: Willingness to be vulnerable, to be genuinely open, to make and admit mistakes. 2.) Conflict: Teams need healthy conflict to talk about ideas and to move forward. 3.) Commitment: Once people have been heard and concerns addressed, commitment to decisions and plans is more likely. Commitment does not always equal agreement. 4.) Accountablility: When there is trust and commitment to plans, members hold each other accountable for delivering those plans. 5.) Results: With trust and buy-in, the focus is on achieving the collective results (not ego, career advancement, etc.)
Making Work Work, by Julie Morgenstern (quotes below are from the book) ◘ “Once thought to
increase productivity, multitasking has since been discovered to do the exact
opposite. By training yourself to
concentrate on one task at a time, you get more done, in less time, and the
quality of work will increase. ◘ “Mastering your
work-life balance improves your workplace performance by boosting your energy,
increasing mental acuity, fueling your creativity, giving you perspective and
patience.”
