ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY HUMANIST GALAXY OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS DANIEL SIEGEL June 12, 2021 AWARE: The New Science and Practice of Presence: the Groundbreaking Meditation Practice by Daniel J. Siegel. Tarcher/Perigee/Penguin Random House, 2018 (i-xiii, 379 pages) www.drdansiegel.com Quote = "This in-depth book presents the science that underlies meditation's effectiveness. It teaches how you can harness the power of the principle: "Where attention goes, neural firing flows, and neural connection grows." Daniel Siegel reveals how you can develop a "Wheel of Awareness" to focus attention, open awareness, and to cultivate the kind of intention that can literally help you grow a healthier brain and reduce fear, anxiety, and stress in your life." (Paraphrased by webmaster from publisher's blurb) Quote = "A mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimension." (By Oliver Wendell Holmes, famous Supreme Court Justice, page xv) BOOK OUTLINE note = Numbers in parentheses refer to pages PART 1 --- THE WHEEL OF AWARENESS: Idea and practice (1-) [1] AN INVITATION (3-14) (1) Cultivating well-being by developing attention, awareness, and intention (4-5) (2) A practical tool (6-12) [3] A travel guide to the mind (12-14) [2] STORIES OF USING THE WHEEL OF AWARENESS --- Harnessing the power of presence (15-24) (1) Billy and his return to the hub (16) (2) Jonathan's respite from his emotional roller coaster (16-17) (3) Mona and the sanctuary of the hub (17) (4) Teresa, trauma, and healing with the integration of the wheel (18-22) (5) Zachary: finding meaning, connection, and relief from pain (22-24) [3] PREPARING YOUR MIND FOR THE WHEEL OF AWARENESS --- Focused attention (25-58) (1) Building the regulatory aspect of the mind (25-27) (2) Some starting tips (27-32) (3) A mindsight lens (32-34) (4) Breath awareness to stabilize attention (34-40) (5) What is the mind? (40-45) (6) Three pillars of mind training (46-49) (7) Focal and non-focal attention (50-53) (8) Monitoring attention and awareness (53-58) [4] THE BASIC WHEEL OF AWARENESS (59-77 [1] Maps, metaphors, and mechanisms (59-61) note = The full Wheel of Awareness Practice Chart (62-65) [2] The basic and the full wheel of awareness (61-65) [3] A map of the basic wheel of awareness (65-68) note = Strengthen your mind through a process of "open awareness" (67) [4] Practicing the basic wheel of awareness (68-72) [5] Reflecting on mind --- your experience of the basic "wheel" (72-77) [5] KIND INTENTION (78-106) [1] Weaving kindness, empathy, and compassion into your life (79-91) [2] Integration, spirituality, health (91-93) [3] Our inner and inter selves (93-95) [4] Building compassion with statements of intention (95-101) note = "How intention glows determines where attention goes, neural firing flows, and neural and interpersonal connections grows." [use more info here] (97) [5] Reflecting on kind and compassionate intention (102-105) [6] Deepening the "wheel" practice (105-106) [6] OPEN AWARENESS (107-119) [1] Exploring the hub (107-111) [2] Reflecting on knowing (111-112) [3] Energy around the wheel (112-117 ) [4] Consolidated Wheel Practice (117-119) PART 2 --- THE WHEEL OF AWARENESS AND MECHANISMS OF MIND (121-277-) [7] MIND AND THE ENERGY FLOW OF THE BODY (123-159) note = Use Damasio" quotes about mind and nervous system (124-127) (1) Minding your brain (128-130) (2) Your head brain in a hand model (130-131) note = Use Damasio quotes about feelings as our guide our lives (131-135) (3) The "default mode network" [DMV] (135-138) (4) How to integrate the "DMV" (138-143) (5) Loosening the grip of a separate "self" (143-145) (6) Clinging versus attachment (146-151) (7) The fourth segment of the rim and the relational mind (151-156) (8) Growing an integrated brain with mind training p. (156-159) [8] INTEGRATION IN THE BRAIN AND THE SPOKE OF FOCAL ATTENTION (160-182) (1) How and where does awareness arise? (160-166) (2) Awareness and the integration of information (166-169) (3) Attention, consciousness, and the social brain (169-174) (4) The hub of knowing and possible mechanisms of the brain beneath pure awareness (174-182) [9] THE NATURE OF ENERGY, THE ENERGY OF MIND (183-230) (1) Science, energy, and experience (183-186) (2) The energy of nature (186-202) note = use def of quantum mechanics (188-191) note = "List the 4 principles from the empirical science of energy (191-202) (3) Energy as probability (202-214) (4) A "3-P Diagram" of energy flow (214-218) (5) Mapping the mind as peaks, plateaus, and a plane of possibility (218-230) [10] AWARENESS, THE HUB, AND A PLANE OF POSSIBILITY (231-237) (1) Awareness and the plane of possibility (231-234) (2) Brain correlates of pure consciousness (234-237) [11] FILTERS OF CONSCIOUSNESS (238-273) (1) Filters of consciousness and the organization of experience (238-243) (2) How top-down and bottom-up shape our sense of reality (243-248) (3) Plateaus, "self," and the default mode network (248-253) note = use ABCDE's of meaning (249-250) note = Filters help us survive! (252-253) (4) One personal set of filters (253-256) (5) Pure awareness and the filters of consciousness (256-258) note = what is the self-organizing role of filters? (257-258) (6) The oscillatory sweep of attention: a "3-P Loop," a spoke of the "wheel" (258-264) (7) Sweep ratios, states of mind (264-273) [12] AWE AND JOY (274-277) (1) A table of correlations among mental experience, metaphor, and mechanism (276-277) PART 3 --- STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION IN APPLYING THE WHEEL (279-281) HARNESSING THE HUB AND LIVING FROM THE PLANE OF POSSIBILITY (279-281) [13] Offering the "wheel" as an idea to children: Billy and the freedom of the hub, the spaciousness of the plane (282-287) (1) Teaching the "wheel" to adolescents: Jonathan and calming the roller coaster of plateaus and peaks (288-295) {2) The "wheel" for parents and other care providers: Mona and the freedom from recurrent plateaus and peaks of chaos and rigidity (295-301) (3) The "wheel" in healing trauma: Teresa and the transformation of traumatic filters of consciousness (301-320) note = (1) Why run? (306-310)) note = (2) Association (310-311) note = (3) Shame (311-312) note = (4) Healing (312-320) (4) The "wheel", professional life, and an awakened mind: Zachary and accessing the plane (320-329) PART 4 --- THE POWER OF PRESENCE (331-368) Introduction (333-336) [1] Challenges and opportunities of living with presence and being aware (336-344) (1) Freedom: transforming into possibility (344-346) (2) Presence beyond methods (347-349) (3) Mindful awareness and integration (350-351) (4) Linking from the plane (352-354) (5) Laughing, living, and dying from the plane (354-359) (6) Leading and loving from the plane (359-368) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (363-365) SELECTED REFERENCES AND READING (367368) INDEX (369-379) AUTHOR NOTE, SUMMARY, AND BOOK DESCRIPTION AUTHOR NOTE = Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., is an internationally acclaimed author, award-winning educator, and child psychiatrist. He is currently a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine where he also serves as a co-investigator at the Center for Culture, Brain, and Development and co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center. He is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational center devoted to promoting insight, compassion, and empathy in individuals, families, institutions and communities. His books include "The Yes Brain," "Brainstorm," "Mindsight," "The Developing Mind," "The Mindful Brain," "The Mindful Therapist," "Parenting From the Inside Out," "The Whole-Brain Child," and "power Up in 2020. Also he is the Founding Editor of the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology which includes "Healing Trauma," "The Power of Emotion," and "Trauma and the Body." He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. Siegel is also the proud father of two children in their twenties. For more information on his work, visit the website: drdansiegel.com. SUMMARY = This groundbreaking book from New York Times bestselling author Daniel Siegel, introduces readers to his pioneering, science-based meditation practice. It provides practical instruction for mastering the Wheel of Awareness, a life-changing tool for cultivating more focus, presence, and peace in one's day-to-day life. BOOK DESCRIPTION =This in-depth look at the science that underlies meditation's effectiveness, the book teaches readers how to harness the power of the principle "Where attention goes, neural firing flows, and neural connection grows." Siegel reveals how developing a "Wheel of Awareness" practice to focus attention, open awareness, and cultivate kind intention can literally help you grow a healthier brain and reduce fear, anxiety, and stress in your life. Whether you have no experience with a reflective practice or are an experienced practitioner, the book is a hands-on guide that will enable you to become more focused and present, as well as more energized and emotionally resilient in the face of stress and the everyday challenges life throws your way. The book provides practical instruction for mastering the Wheel of Awareness, a practice to focus attention and reduce fear, anxiety, and stress in your life. EDITORIAL BOOK REVIEWS [1] In his new, wise, and utterly approachable book, Dr. Siegel uses beautiful and often remarkable case histories to show us how we can change our minds, brains, relationships, and even the course of certain mental illnesses. -- Norman Doidge, M.D., author of The Brain That Changes Itself. [2] Will forever change the way we understand ourselves and our relationships. -- Mary Pipher, Ph.D., author of Reviving Ophelia and Seeking Peace. [3] Accessible and visionary, Mindsight is bound to be a classic. -- Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart. [4] A revolutionary book. -- The Boston Globe. [5] Utterly compelling... life-altering. -- Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are. [6] An exciting exploration of how a troubled mind can right itself. -- Publishers Weekly. Click or Tap to Return to Humanist Hub RETURN TO THE HUMANIST HUB OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS ALPHABETICAL BRAIN VOCABULARY produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas™