Synopses & Reviews
Dr. Daniel Amen's breakthrough brain-healing program has helped hundreds of thousands to overcome depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention deficit disorder. The maverick author of
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and Healing ADD now presents his proven program for repairing and strengthening our relationships, child-rearing practices, work and study routines, and, ultimately, our soulful connections, in the deepest ways possible. Guided by this book, each of us can learn to balance and optimize the parts of the brain responsible for inner growth, intimacy, and spiritual health.
Drawing upon his experience with over fourteen thousand brain-imaging studies of patients from all walks of life, Dr. Amen has developed an essential tool called the Amen Brain System Checklist, a 101-question self-test used to evaluate the five brain systems that are key to achieving and maintaining a healthy brain-soul connection. The questionnaire identifies the problem brain areas readers may need to work on, offers insight into the degree to which these imbalances affect their lives, and provides targeted strategies for each area of the brain involved with spiritual issues.
These are just a few of the many "brain prescriptions" to be found in Healing the Hardware of the Soul:
- Develop focus and improve decision-making with the One-Page Miracle for the Soul
- Use prayer, meditation, and diaphragmatic breathing exercises for superior emotional and spiritual flexibility
- Heal painful deep soul memories through thought and behavior exercises
- Learn how forming strong, positive new bonds actually controls impulsive behavior and stabilizes mood swings
Dr. Amen's recommendations include cutting-edge advice on diet, nutritional supplements, and the judicious use of medication when needed. He also explains which medications can unbalance the brain when used improperly. Dramatic before-and-after pictures of the brain demonstrate the medical effectiveness of these clinically based healing techniques.
Whether we learn the self-help strategies of cognitive reprogramming, self-hypnosis, or nutraceutical therapy, seek out psychotherapy, or rely on prescription antidepressants and antianxiety medications, Dr. Amen's sage advice and comprehensive treatment programs give us all the tools we need to optimize our work, relationships, and spiritual connections to become the people we want to be.
Review
Timmen Cermak, M.D.author of A Time to Heal: The Road to Recovery for Adult Children of AlcoholicsDr. Amen takes another bold step toward a unified understanding of the human brain and all of our human experience. Since all consciousness funnels through the brain, we must accept that the health of our personality can never outstrip the health of our brain. Consequently, our spiritual maturity also rests upon optimal functioning of the brain.
Review
Barry Sears, M.D.author of The ZoneAmen continues to be one of the most innovative researchers of the mind. He is one of the few scientists willing to cross the frontier between neurology and religion to describe the soul in terms of cutting-edge science. I strongly recommend this book to anyone searching to build a better life.
Review
Thomas M. Brod, M.D.Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCLADr. Amen links his new observations of brain effects to real problems many people suffer, and then offers solid practical advice about what to do about them. Applying his discoveries, many of my patients have experienced "miracles" of sustained relief from misery they thought would be theirs for life.
Review
Emmett Miller, M.D.author of Deep Healing and the web site www.DrMiller.comHealing the Hardware of the Soul takes science a brave and much-needed step forward, bringing mind, body, and soul together in a most fascinating way. It will prove as enlightening for health professionals and religious/spiritual teachers as for anyone who desires deep self-knowledge.
Review
Diane E. Hough, M.S.Counseling Professionals Northwest, Mercer Island, WashingtonDr. Amen's work brings science to character traits once considered to be moral or psychological flaws and opens up a door of opportunity to optimize the strength of the human spirit. His book allows people to create behavior changes worthy of trust, leading to healthier relationships by integrating physiology, psychology, and spirituality.
About the Author
Daniel G. Amen, M.D., is a clinical neuroscientist, a psychiatrist, and the medical director of The Amen Clinics in California. The author of a number of books, he is the country's foremost pioneer in applying brain-imaging science to clinical practice. Dr. Amen lives in Newport Beach, California.
Table of Contents
Contents1 Understanding the Brain-Soul Connection
One: The Brain Is the Soul's Fragile Dwelling Place
The Feedback Loop Between the Brain and the Soul Offers New Answers
Two: Seeing into the Soul's Hardware
New Insights from Brain Imaging and Neuroscience
Three: The Thoughtful, Compassionate Brain
The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)
Four: The Flexible, Growth-Oriented Brain
The Anterior Cingulate Gyrus and Basal Ganglia
Five: The Spiritual and Passionate Brain
The Temporal Lobes and Deep Limbic System
Six: The Good, Bad, and Emotionally Ugly
Brain and Personality Development
Seven: In God's House
Brain Health and the Sunday Sermon
Eight: Lead Us Not into Temptation
Brain-Soul Connections and Disconnections for Parents, Bosses, Community, Church, and World Leaders
2 Optimizing the Brain-Soul Connection
Nine: Amen Brain System Checklist and Strategies to Optimize Each Brain Area
Ten: Healing the Hardware of the Soul
Exercises to Focus on Eternal Values and Direct Your Thoughts and Actions
Eleven: Healing Painful Deep Soul Memories
Twelve: Prayerful Brain Enhancement
Thirteen: Soul to Soul
Connectedness
Fourteen: Mind Medication and the Soul
Does Medication Make You Someone Different or the Person You Really Are?
Fifteen: Forgiveness, a New Look
References and Suggested Further ReadingClinic and Web Site Information
Index