Book Review #1: Buddha's Brain- The practical neuroscience of happiness, love & wisdom

"It is all right to wish yourself well, just like wishing the best for any living being. It is all right to do well according to your nature, with a human brain, going as far as you can in this life down the path of happiness, love, and wisdom.
What remains when self disperses, even temporarily? The wholehearted movement to contribute, and the wish to thrive and prosper as one human animal among six billion. To be healthy and strong and live many more years. To be caring and kind. To awaken, abiding as radiant, spacious, loving consciousness. To feel protected and supported. To be happy and comfortable, serene and fulfilled. To live and love in peace."- Richard Hanson, PH.D

I wanted to share the last few lines of this book. How great are these? Why do we have to be told that it's all right to wish yourself well? I appreciated this book explaining that the brain is naturally wired to see the bad before any good. Knowing that it is tied to our evolution and how we survived in the early times makes so much sense and at the same time leads me accept that way of the world these days; how we see nothing but bad news, the stories of tragedies get played and replayed from every angle and how the great acts of love and kindness go unnoticed more often than not.

I had this thought a while back, what would happen if we were more exposed to the good news of the world, what if we remember every compliment we ever got and forgot all the words that did us harm? I imagine there would be more good in the world if we were given the opportunity to live more in gratitude instead of sadness, fear and/or anxiety about whether or not we are safe and taken care of. We are taught or conditioned to live every 'man' for himself, which in turn lessens our inherent knowledge that we are all in this together.

This book is complex at times and not at other times. It's one of those books that you want in your library so that you can go back to it from time to time. It's also a book not for everyone, but if you are interested in going deeper into the study of the brain and how it works, then this is a great start.