Recommendations based on "The Four Agreements A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom"

Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast 'On Purpose', distils the timeless wisdom he learned as a practising monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life. Over the past three years, Jay Shetty has become a favourite in the hearts and minds of millions of people worldwide. One of his clips was the most watched video on Facebook last year, with over 360 million views. His social media following totals over 32 million, he has produced over 400 viral videos, which have amassed more than 5 billion views, and his podcast, 'On Purpose', is consistently ranked the world's #1 health-related podcast. In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk in the Vedic tradition to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Drawing on ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. The lessons monks learn are profound but often abstract. Shetty transforms them into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve focus, improve relationships, identify our hidden abilities, increase self-discipline and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can - and should - think like a monk.

A neuroscientist’s powerful framework for enhancing quality of life through the regulation of four key hormones: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins.The brain’s ability to change and adapt is one of the most powerful tools we can harness to create positive changes in our lives. Renowned neuroscientist and co-founder of Neurify, TJ Power, believes in the human ability to optimize and rewire brain chemistry to unlock one’s full potential. However, to do so, one must first implement a series of practical, life changing strategies.The Dose Effect reveals the secrets of our brain chemistry, offering simple and accessible ways to make modifications to your lifestyle that can transform your brain. Drawing on clinical expertise and cutting-edge science, Power explores how biohacking your brain can not only enhance cognitive performance but also improve the aspects of your life that ultimately control a happier, healthier, and more productive lifestyle.The Dose Effect proves the intrinsic connection between lifestyle factors and mental and physical wellbeing Split into four sections, this essential guidebook provides the most effective techniques for understanding the key hormones that rule our thinking and our behaviors:1. Dopamine, the motivation and reward drug of the brain.2. Oxytocin, the “Great Facilitator of Life.”3. Serotonin, the “Confidence Chemical.”4. Endorphins, the chemical warriors responsible for reducing stress and pain.Research-driven and deeply inspiring, Power’s revolutionary strategies allow readers to harness behaviors and practices to improve mental health, manage stress, elevate mood, and promote overall wellness. His key findings include the influence of effortful activity on dopamine production, the significance of social connection in oxytocin levels, the value of connecting with nature and maintaining gut health for optimal serotonin levels, and the beneficial effects of physical exertion and laughter on endorphin release. By emphasizing the importance of understanding and optimizing our brain chemistry, this revolutionary book offers a path to a more fulfilled and meaningful life for all that are willing to take the first step.

One of the great fears many of us face is that despite all our effort and striving, we will discover at the end that we have wasted our life. In A Guide to the Good Life, William B. Irvine plumbs the wisdom of Stoic philosophy, one of the most popular and successful schools of thought in ancient Rome, and shows how its insight and advice are still remarkably applicable to modern lives.In A Guide to the Good Life, Irvine offers a refreshing presentation of Stoicism, showing how this ancient philosophy can still direct us toward a better life. Using the psychological insights and the practical techniques of the Stoics, Irvine offers a roadmap for anyone seeking to avoid the feelings of chronic dissatisfaction that plague so many of us. Irvine looks at various Stoic techniques for attaining tranquility and shows how to put these techniques to work in our own life. As he does so, he describes his own experiences practicing Stoicism and offers valuable first-hand advice for anyone wishing to live better by following in the footsteps of these ancient philosophers. Readers learn how to minimize worry, how to let go of the past and focus our efforts on the things we can control, and how to deal with insults, grief, old age, and the distracting temptations of fame and fortune. We learn from Marcus Aurelius the importance of prizing only things of true value, and from Epictetus we learn how to be more content with what we have.Finally, A Guide to the Good Life shows readers how to become thoughtful observers of their own lives. If we watch ourselves as we go about our daily business and later reflect on what we saw, we can better identify the sources of distress and eventually avoid that pain in our life. By doing this, the Stoics thought, we can hope to attain a truly joyful life.

From the creator of the Healthier Together podcast comes this holistic guide to self-improvement, with 150 actionable, science-backed strategies for making life healthier and happier, one step at a time. In a culture obsessed with "wellness," what does it mean to truly be well? Liz Moody, a veteran health journalist who has been working in the wellness industry for more than a decade, believes that wellness touches every aspect of our lives. And through her interviews with top scientists, clinicians, and thinkers for her hit podcast, Healthier Together, she's discovered that sometimes it only takes a little bit of effort to make our lives a lot better. In How to Build Your Best Life, Moody shares the go-to strategies of world class experts and provides simple, practical steps to improve your life in myriad ways. From gut health to personal finance, sleep to relationships, mental clarity to movement--How to Build Your Best Life offers 150 science-backed strategies for enhancing total wellbeing. How to Build Your Best Life is a new kind of wellness book--one that empowers readers to craft their best life based on the habits they want to form, the problems they want to solve, and the qualities they want to take to the next level. With a variety of tips that span the spectrum of health, and Liz's friendly voice serving as a supportive guide, this timeless resource offers a trusted roadmap to becoming healthier and happier.

Epictetus was born into slavery about A.D. 55 in the eastern outreaches of the Roman Empire. Sold as a child and crippled from the beatings of his master, Epictetus was eventually freed, rising from his humble roots to establish an influential school of Stoic philosophy. Stressing that human beings cannot control life, only how they respond to it, Epictetus dedicated his life to outlining the simple way to happiness, fulfillment, and tranquility. By putting into practice the ninety-three witty, wise, and razor-sharp instructions that make up The Art of Living, readers learn to successfully meet the challenges of everyday life and face life's inevitable losses and disappointments with grace.Epictetus's teachings rank among the greatest wisdom texts of human civilization. Sharon Lebell presents this esteemed philosopher's invaluable insights for the first time in a splendidly down-to-earth rendition. The result is the West's first and best primer for living the best possible life -- as helpful in the twenty-first century as it was in the first.

A deeply comforting and enlightening book on how Stoicism can inspire us to lead more thoughtful livesWhat aspects of your life do you really control? What do you do when you cannot guarantee that things will turn out in your favour? And what can Stoicism teach us about how to live together?In the past few years, Stoicism has been making a comeback. But what exactly did the Stoics believe? InLessons in Stoicism, philosopher John Sellars weaves together the key ideas of the three great Roman Stoics -- Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius -- with snapshots of their fascinating lives, to show us how their ideas can help us today.In vivid prose, Sellars shows how the works of these three Stoics have inspired readers ever since, speaking as they do to some of the perennial issues that face anyone trying to navigate their way through life. Their works, fundamentally, are about how to live -- how to understand one's place in the world, how to cope when things don't go well, how to manage one's emotions and how to behave towards others.Consoling and inspiring, Lessons in Stoicism is a deeply thoughtful guide to the philosophy of a valuable life.

American Book Fest Best Health Book (Mental Health & Psychology) Award Winner 2018Cutting-edge and accessible psychotherapy to put us back in touch with our emotions - and fast'I loved it ... I have drawn my own picture of the change triangle - both fascinating and useful' - Cathy RentzenbrinkWe were all taught that our thoughts affect our emotions, but in truth it is largely the other way around: we have to experience our emotions to truly understand our thoughts, and our full selves. This is why we should think not only about cognitive behavioural therapy or medication, but also about our emotions, when addressing psychological suffering.In It's Not Always Depression, pioneering psychotherapist Hilary Jacobs Hendel reveals the most effective techniques for putting us back in touch with the emotions we too often deny - methods which can be used by anyone, any time, anywhere. Drawing on stories from her own practice, she sheds light on the core emotions (such as joy, sadness and fear), defences (anything we do to avoid feeling) and inhibitory emotions (anxiety, shame and guilt), and how understanding their interaction can help us return to mental well-being.This is the basis of 'accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy:' it accelerates healing through having an emotional experience in the here and now. It allows you to reacquaint yourself with your feelings, to recover a more authentic self and to be more calm, curious and connected.Winner of Nautilus Silver for Personal Growth Books 2019

From novelist and master psychotherapist Irvin Yalom, author of Lying on the Couch and When Nietzsche Wept, comes the world's first accurate group-therapy novel, a mesmerizing story of two men's search for meaning.At one time or another, all of us have wondered what we'd do in the face of death. Suddenly confronted with his own mortality after a routine checkup, distinguished psychotherapist Julius Hertzfeld is forced to reexamine his life and work. Has he really made an enduring difference in the lives of his patients? And what about the patients he's failed? What has happened to them? Now that he is wiser and riper, can he rescue them yet?Reaching beyond the safety of his thriving San Francisco practice, Julius feels compelled to seek out Philip Slate, whom he treated for sex addiction some twenty-three years earlier. At that time, Philip's only means of connecting to humans was through brief sexual interludes with countless women, and Julius's therapy did not change that. He meets with Philip, who claims to have cured himself -- by reading the pessimistic and misanthropic philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.Much to Julius's surprise, Philip has become a philosophical counselor and requests that Julius provide him with the supervisory hours he needs to obtain a license to practice. In return, Philip offers to tutor Julius in the work of Schopenhauer. Julius hesitates. How can Philip possibly become a therapist? He is still the same arrogant, uncaring, self-absorbed person he had always been. In fact, in every way he resembles his mentor, Schopenhauer. But eventually they strike a Faustian bargain: Julius agrees to supervise Philip, provided that Philip first joins his therapy group. Julius is hoping that six months with the group will address Philip's misanthropy and that by being part of a circle of fellow patients, he will develop the relationship skills necessary to become a therapist.Philip enters the group, but he is more interested in educating the members in Schopenhauer's philosophy -- which he claims is all the therapy anyone should need -- than he is in their individual problems. Soon Julius and Philip, using very different therapeutic approaches, are competing for the hearts and minds of the group members.Is this going to be Julius's swan song -- a splintered group and years of good work down the drain? Or will all the members, including Philip, find a way to rise to the occasion that brings with it the potential for extraordinary change? In The Schopenhauer Cure, Irvin Yalom elegantly weaves the true story of Schopenhauer's psychological life throughout the narrative, knitting together fact and fiction to form a compellingly readable tale.

The culmination of a lifetime of counselling, lecturing and writing, M. Scott Peck's book leads us to a deeper awareness of how to live rich, fulfilling lives in a world fraught with stress and anxiety. Writing with a depth of understanding that comes with the seasoned perspective of age, Dr Peck continues the journey of spiritual growth that began with The Road Less Travelled, one of the most influential books of modern times. To the famous opening line of that book - 'Life is difficult' he now adds 'Life is complex'. But the greatest challenge, he reminds us, is to learn to deal with life's conflicts, problems and paradoxes to find the true simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity. The journey to serenity and peace, Dr Peck writes, can only be made with increasing self-awareness and social awareness. There are no easy answers for complex problems. The work of learning and growth is hard. And yet he shows us that there is a way to think with integrity, to know the difference between good and evil, to overcome narcissism, to love and be loved, to live with paradox, to accept the consequences of our actions all through life, and to come to terms with dying and death.0000000000.

A revelatory primer on what it means to be human and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence, by “perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West" (Los Angeles Times). At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.