“Mutant Message Down Under” by Marlo Morgan is the account
of one woman’s epic journey across Australia. Morgan, a social worker dedicated
to helping the poor and homeless, is offered a job in Australia. Almost as soon
as she arrives Morgan notices a wealth gap between the country’s native people, the Aborigines,
and white Australians, and helps a group of adolescent Aborigines start a company.
Soon after she receives a call from a tribe of Aborigines, they want to give
her an award for her efforts. But this awards ceremony is far from what Morgan
imagined and leads her on a breathtaking adventure with a tribe that calls
itself ‘The Real People’. The “Mutant Message” is a call for action and a
precious link to the ancient history of both Australia and the world. Touching
on topics as diverse as sustainability and those human habits we take for
granted but the Real People call addictions. After reading this book I cannot
continue to think about the world we live in as I used to or go about my life
in the same way without recalling some nugget of wisdom from the Outback. It
should be required reading for every person on this earth. My new favorite book
and my bible.
“The Snow Leopard” by Peter Methiessen
Mathiessen’s account of his journey through the Himalayas is
riveting. Along with detailed descriptions of scenery and wildlife, the author
describes the people, hardships, and religions he encounters. His reflections
on life, happiness, and purpose inspired me to see everything anew. I recommend
this book for anyone ready to have his or her cosmos bent and re-shaped. “The
Snow Leopard” is dense with analogies between Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, B’on,
Tantrism, Islam, and Christianity. While reading I often had to pause every few
pages, and wrap my head around the concepts the author was trying to capture in
words. In the beginning it was difficult to comprehend what was being said, but
it became easier as I kept on and the knowledge I have gained as a result is
worth the initial confusion. The most amazing aspect of this book is that it is
all true. The villages described along the way harken to medieval times and the
mountain path is treacherous and demanding. This real-life adventure gave the
world a new sheen, proving to me that remote places and raged, dangerous
wilderness still exists.
“The Emotional Life of Your Brain” by Richard J. Davidson
This book describes what Davidson has dubbed your ‘Emotional
Style’. That is, the fundamental dimensions that shape who we are, how we live,
and how we perceive the world. In his book, Davidson describes what lead him to
discover Emotional Style and some of the difficulties he encountered with the
narrow-minded world of mainstream science. He also cites several studies to support
each point he makes in reference to the brain activity associated with
Emotional Style. Your Emotional Style is not just decided by your behavior, but
rather the patterns of activity in your brain. When explaining each category of
Emotional Style (there are six) Davidson explains the regions of the brain that
are active in that category. For example, the Social Intuition dimension of Emotional
Style. Socially Intuitive people are categorized by high amounts of activity in
the fusiform gyrus (the region of the brain that processes information we are
familiar with, e.g. the fusiform gyrus of an antiques collector is active when
he sees an antique. Humans are also experts at faces, so this region lights up
when we process facial expressions) and low activity in the amygdala (the
region associated with pain and relating negativity with experiences).
Understandably, those who fall towards the puzzled end of the Social Intuition
spectrum have low amounts of activity in the fusiform gyrus and high amounts of
activity in the amygdala. I really enjoyed this book because it explains human
behavior on a plane that I have never seen it explained and also talks about
the power of meditation to change our brain circuitry. It also gave me a peek
into the world of neuroscience and how relevant it is to real-life. This book
also has many entertaining anecdotes from the author’s life and an account of
several of the experiments he conducted about Emotional Style and how each of
the six dimensions were developed.
“The Path to Peace Within” by Helen Jandamit
This book is a comprehensive guide to
Vipassana meditation. Unlike traditional insight meditation, Vipassana is
centered on several walking, sitting, and lying down exercises designed to give
clarity and focus the mind. This slim volume gives instructions on several of
these exercises as well as explaining their significance and how they help
create an environment in which insight is obtained. Jandamit also relates
Vipassana meditation to the principles of Buddhism, although one must not
necessarily have to be Buddhist to practice this form of meditation. I tried a
couple of the walking and siting exercises in the book and found them to be a
calming and rewarding experience. The book sparked my curiosity about
meditation and Buddhism in general. I recommend it for anyone wishing to read
something outside of the usual fiction selection or learn more about meditation. 
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