My Library

Book of the Month – September 2021 : Essays on the Gita by Sri Aurobindo

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“The peculiarity of the Gita among the great religious books of the world is that it does not stand apart as a work by itself, the fruit of the spiritual life of a creative personality like Christ, Mohammed or Buddha or of an epoch of pure spiritual searching like the Veda and Upanishads, but is given as an episode in an epic history of nations and their wars and men and their deeds and arises out of a critical moment in the soul of one of its leading personages face to face with the crowning action of his life, a work terrible, violent and sanguinary, at the point when he must either recoil from it altogether or carry it through to its inexorable completion…. The teaching of the Gita must therefore be regarded not merely in the light of a general spiritual philosophy or ethical doctrine, but as bearing upon a practical crisis in the application of ethics and spirituality to human life.” – Sri Aurobindo (Essays on the Gita pp.9)

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Book of the Month – July 2021: ATOMIC HABITS BY JAMES CLEAR

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Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by [James Clear]
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.

Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.

Learn how to:
*  make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);
*  overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;
*  design your environment to make success easier;
*  get back on track when you fall off course;
…and much more.

Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits–whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

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Book of the Month – June 2021

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The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams
This is a book you will cherish for a lifetime, for within is pages are the secrets of making all your dreams come true. Based on natural laws that govern all of creation, this book shatters the myth that success is the result of hard work, exacting plans, or driving ambition.

Instead, Deepak Chopra offers a life-altering perspective on the attainment of success: When we understand our true nature and learn to live in harmony with natural law, a sense of well-being, good health, fulfilling relationships, and material abundance spring forth easily and effortlessly. 

Deepak Chopra is the bestselling author of numerous books and audio programs that cover every aspect of mind, body, and spirit. His groundbreaking books blend physics and philosophy, the practical and the spiritual, with dynamic results.

The Seven Laws of Success distills the essence of Chopra’s teachings into seven simple, yet powerful, principles that can easily be applied to create success in all areas of your life. Filled with timeless wisdom and practical steps you can apply right away, this is a book you will want to read and refer to again and again.

Book of the Month – May 2021- Value(s) by Mark Carney

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Value(s): Building a Better World for All
A bold, urgent argument on the misplacement of value in financial markets and how we can and need to maximize value for the many, not few.

As an economist and former banker, Mark Carney has spent his life in various financial roles, in both the public and private sector. VALUE(S) is a meditation on his experiences that examines the short-comings and challenges of the market in the past decade which he argues has led to rampant, public distrust and the need for radical change.
Focusing on four major crises-the Global Financial Crisis, the Global Health Crisis, Climate Change and the 4th Industrial Revolution– Carney proposes responses to each. His solutions are tangible action plans for leaders, companies and countries to transform the value of the market back into the value of humanity.

(Recommended by Barry T)

Book of the Month – April 2021- Think Again by Adam Grant

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Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

-George Bernard Shaw

The bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals examines the critical art of rethinking: learning to question your opinions and open other people’s minds, which can position you for excellence at work and wisdom in life

Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn. We surround ourselves with people who agree with our conclusions, when we should be gravitating toward those who challenge our thought process. The result is that our beliefs get brittle long before our bones. We think too much like preachers defending our sacred beliefs, prosecutors proving the other side wrong, and politicians campaigning for approval–and too little like scientists searching for truth. Intelligence is no cure, and it can even be a curse: being good at thinking can make us worse at rethinking. The brighter we are, the blinder to our own limitations we can become.

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert on opening other people’s minds–and our own. As Wharton’s top-rated professor and the bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, he makes it one of his guiding principles to argue like he’s right but listen like he’s wrong. With bold ideas and rigorous evidence, he investigates how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, bring nuance to charged conversations, and build schools, workplaces, and communities of lifelong learners. You’ll learn how an international debate champion wins arguments, a Black musician persuades white supremacists to abandon hate, a vaccine whisperer convinces concerned parents to immunize their children, and Adam has coaxed Yankees fans to root for the Red Sox. Think Again reveals that we don’t have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. It’s an invitation to let go of views that are no longer serving us well and prize mental flexibility over foolish consistency. If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.

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Book of the Month – March 2021: The Map of Consciousness Explained by David R Hawkins

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“I recommend this book for every spiritual aspirant for climbing the unseen ladder of real spiritual progress.”
— Swami Chidatmananda, Hindu spiritual monk at Chinmaya Mission, Bharat India

About the Author

David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., was Director of The Institute for Spiritual Research, Inc., and Founder of the Path of Devotional Nonduality. He was renowned as a pioneering researcher in the field of consciousness, as well as author, lecturer, clinician, physician, and scientist. He served as an advisor to Catholic, Protestant, and Buddhist monasteries; appeared on major network television and radio programs; and lectured widely at such places as Westminster Abbey, the Oxford Forum, the University of Notre Dame, and Harvard University. People from all walks of life and nationalities honor Dr. Hawkins as a teacher of advanced awareness, exemplified in the title “Foremost Teacher of the Way to Enlightenment.” His life was devoted to the upliftment of mankind until his death in 2012.

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An accessible exploration of best-selling author’s most famous work, The Map of Consciousness, that helps readers experience healing and transcendence.

The Map of Consciousness Explained is an essential primer on the late Dr. David R. Hawkins’s teachings on human consciousness and their associated energy fields.
Using muscle testing, Dr. Hawkins conducted more than 250,000 calibrations during 20 years of research to define a range of values, attitudes, and emotions that correspond to levels of consciousness. This range of values–along with a logarithmic scale of 1 to 1,000–became the Map of Consciousness, which Dr. Hawkins first wrote about in his New York Times bestseller, Power vs. Force.
In this book, readers will gain an introduction and deeper understanding of the Map, with visual charts and practical applications to help them heal, recover, and evolve to higher levels of consciousness and energy.
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Book of the Month – February 2021 : The Book of Love and Creation by Paul Selig

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“We want you each now to take a moment to decide that what you bring forth in your life has been created by you, with no excuses. “I can no longer blame my mother for the terrible things she told me,” or “I can no longer blame my boss because of his temper,” or “I can no longer blame my schooling, or my lack of schooling, or my body. I have created what I see before me.” Now to the extent you accept this as a truth, you become empowered to change that which you see before you. “I am Word through all that I see before me” is your command to be in demonstration of your power in dominion. We say “dominion” because your fear of being in dominion, in your power, is what is keeping you small and unaware of how powerful you truly are and allowing you, then, to relegate the creations of your life to someone else’s authority.” – Paul Selig

The Book of Love and Creation simultaneously helps readers develop as spiritual beings within, while growing into increasingly capable, resilient, and confident individuals amid the demands of outer life.  Filled with meditations, exercises, psychological insights, and affirmations, The Book of Love and Creation immediately produces change in the life of every dedicated person who approaches it. Perfect for returning readers and newcomers alike, the book is an extraordinary experience in a new body of channeled wisdom that is attracting readers across the world.

Book of the Month – January 2021

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Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work
“The moment anything happens to us, that’s when we start asking ourselves questions. The sooner we recognize what we’re asking, the better”

Questions are at the core of how we listen, behave, think, and relate–as individuals and organizations. Virtually everything we think and do is generated by questions. Questions push us into new territories. The future begins with our thinking, represented by the questions we ask ourselves.”Change Your Questions, Change Your Life” shows readers how to consistently choose the questions that can lead them to success, both personally and professionally. This technique, called “QuestionsThinking,” stimulates innovation, accelerate productivity, and create more rewarding relationships.

Absolutely loved this book. I recommend this to any leader, educator, professional, college student, husband, wife, etc. The ideas discussed are very relevant and applicable in todays era. The themes can be utilized in most any stage of life and nearly every form of work. The concepts that Marilee Adams reviews are broken down into the simple questions (verbal or nonverbal) we ask ourselves on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis. First of all, I couldn’t believe that I am literally asking questions every day. It’s so subtle and happens so unconsciously that we don’t even realize it. Once I did, I couldn’t believe how my questions were driving my habits, actions, and feelings. By increasing overall awareness (observer self) while learning to ask yourself the right questions, in any given situation, can give you the power to change your life in nearly every facet. 

This has to be one of the best psychology books I’ve come across that has both the personal relevancy and impact to truly change your life. This is a must-have to your personal library.

– Kahea Clark

(Contributed by Mr. Maharajah)

Book of the Month – December 2020 : 21 Letters on Life and its Challenges

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21 Letters on Life and Its Challenges
Great Gift – may well be Handy’s last published work

Wisdom in 21 Letters
One word describes the essence of this excellent book ‘wisdom’. It’s a result of an accumulation of decades of experience and reflection. It’s a book that all ambitious people – young and old – should read as it will help them understand how we as individuals grow, learn and adapt to our changing circumstances. The one insight from this book that I wish I’d known at the start of my career – and life – is that “learning is experience understood in tranquillity”.

Wonderful
I write as a long term admirer of Handy’s work and having read almost all of his previous works.
Charles Handy, in both style and content, comes across as an immensely kind, wise and likeable sage. He’s just a joy to read. He has such foresight and if you read the books he wrote decades ago you will think he owned a crystal ball.
This book does refer back to some of that earlier work but is equally readable and useful to someone who has never read his earlier work.
And it’s simply wonderful. As a 57 year old, I found it useful, relevant and most of all deeply moving. But I so wish it had been written 30 or 40 years ago. I am going to buy it for my all three of my daughters and whoever they marry. In a world full of platitudinous crap, I honestly think that these lessons will, if absorbed, lead them to have happier, fuller lives. It’s not rocket science, but its honest, wise and deeply sincere.
This may well be Handy’s last published work. If so, it will be a fitting and worthy bookend to a lifetime of valuable thinking.