We Are Who We Think We Were


Book Description

Conley calls into question the outdated historical methodologies in use in Christian social ethics and outlines the consequences stemming from them. By adopting the postmodern post-structuralist position of historian Elizabeth Clark, Conley calls ethicists to learn to read for the gaps, silences, and aporias existent in historical texts as well as in the histories represented by them. The book calls ethicists to a critical self-reflexive historiography. This self-criticism allows the ability to construct new histories and formulate new ethical norms for the world in which we now live.




We are what We Think


Book Description

‘We Are What We Think’ are the words with which the Buddha begins the Dhammapada, one of the world’s earliest collections of sayings. In this single, short, sharp lesson he reveals that our lives are what we make them and it is up to us to master our own minds. What sets these wise words apart from the cliches and soundbites we encounter every day? When a saying has the power to reach out and change your life it is no longer a platitude or proverb but an aphorism. Self-confessed aphorism addict James Geary takes a whimsical, humorous tour through the history of this remarkable art form and its extraordinary practitioners. He routes his journey through the varied, often idiosyncratic backgrounds of the world’s key thinkers and shows, as eighteenth-century aphorist Vauvenargues puts it, just how much ‘the maxims of men reveal their hearts’. With a scope that reaches from the ancient Eastern prophets to the rise of the American one-liner, the book’s focus is life, the universe and everything. Inspirational and challenging, We Are What We Think and the aphorisms in it sparkle, as Thomas Jefferson quipped, ‘like diamonds in a dunghill.’




Mindwise


Book Description

Winner of the 2015 Book Prize for the Promotion of Social and Personality Science (Society for Personality and Social Psychology) Why are we sometimes blind to the minds of others, treating them like objects or animals instead? Why do we talk to our cars, or the stars, as if there is a mind that can hear us? Why do we so routinely believe that others think, feel, and want what we do when, in fact, they do not? And why do we think we understand our spouses, family, and friends so much better than we actually do? In this illuminating book, leading social psychologist Nicholas Epley introduces us to what scientists have learned about our ability to understand the most complicated puzzle on the planet—other people—and the surprising mistakes we so routinely make. Mindwise will not turn others into open books, but it will give you the wisdom to revolutionize how you think about them—and yourself.




I Think We Were Normal


Book Description

Growing up holds challenges for everyone, and all families are different. The Densmore family in the sixties and seventies was kind of like the families you might see on television-but only in the sense that there were parents and kids. After that similarity, they went quickly in a different direction. They never went over the cliff, but they definitely rode the edge of it-often on two wheels. Families can be a great source of memories, both wonderful and agonizing, and the Densmores were no exception in that regard. As interesting and occasionally painful as author Steve Densmore's childhood was, he wouldn't change it for the world. Unless someone offered him cash-then he might consider it. This memoir shares true tales of growing up during the sixties and seventies in a family that didn't quite match conventional standards.




Victim of Thought


Book Description

All our lives we were brought up to believe that other people and situations were what caused our anxiety. As it turns out, we were sold a pack of lies!What if the only thing causing your anxiety is your own thoughts? And what if underneath your anxious thinking was your true, perfect self--whole and healthy and untouched by all your fears? How would this change your life?For Jill Whalen, understanding this information switched off a lifetime of anxiety and addictive behaviors.In Victim of Thought: Seeing Through the Illusion of Anxiety, Jill describes how she spent over 50 years in a constant state of anxiousness. While she could feel fine one minute, she never knew what might be lurking around the corner that could seemingly disturb her peace. It was only when she learned the simple truth of where her anxiety was really coming from--and that underneath it was her innate well-being--that she no longer was a victim to it.In this easy to read and understand book, Jill logically explains how having one or more insightful "aha moments" can wipe away a lifetime of anxious thinking. She shares numerous relatable stories and examples from her own life to help you see the truth in her words. Jill also provides you with step-by-step instructions to become more aware of your own thoughts, which in turn puts you back in the driver's seat of your life. But the proof is really in the pudding, and Jill encourages you at every turn seek your own examples and evidence of how you've let yourself become a victim of your own thoughts. Once you see this for yourself, your life and your anxiety will magically transform before your eyes!If you're tired of believing that you're a victim to your anxiety, and are looking for a more peaceful life, then this book is for you.=======================================================================INITIAL REVIEWS"The book was fascinating, particularly as someone who also struggles with anxiety. I think you did a great job of explaining the concepts to a layperson. I particularly found both the Thought Stream and also the Thoughts Storm as a snow globe metaphors extremely effective! It's very easy to relate to and very eye-opening. Hopefully I can find a way to start practicing some of this thought work into my own life! The idea that our normal state is peace - so simple, but so difficult to realize without it being pointed out!" - Ashley R."I love your book. It's so wise and clear. I'm very grateful that you sent me a copy!" - Ingrid M."I found the thought processes you speak of very enlightening and it does seem to make the complex reasons for anxiety simpler to understand." - Cyndy F."It's great! Well written and flows well. I like that you began with your story and laid things out really nicely. The separate sections are super helpful and make logical sense to anyone who is new (or old) to the concept. Overall this book is VERY needed and useful and just has a really nice feeling to it as well. I think it would also be a reference for someone who has anxiety. A book they go back to when they get caught up in their thoughts." - Lana B.




We Think The World of You


Book Description

We Think the World of You combines acute social realism and dark fantasy, and was described by J.R. Ackerley as “a fairy tale for adults.” Frank, the narrator, is a middle-aged civil servant, intelligent, acerbic, self-righteous, angry. He is in love with Johnny, a young, married, working-class man with a sweetly easygoing nature. When Johnny is sent to prison for committing a petty theft, Frank gets caught up in a struggle with Johnny’s wife and parents for access to him. Their struggle finds a strange focus in Johnny’s dog—a beautiful but neglected German shepherd named Evie. And it is she, in the end, who becomes the improbable and undeniable guardian of Frank’s inner world.




Factfulness


Book Description

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates “Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” —Melinda Gates "Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases." - Former U.S. President Barack Obama Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. --- “This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance...Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.




What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming


Book Description

"Today, about 98 percent of scientists affirm that climate change is human made, and about 2 percent still question it. Despite that overwhelming majority, though, about half the population of rich countries, like ours, choose to believe the 2 percent. And, paradoxically, this large camp of deniers grows even larger as more and more alarming proof of climate change has cropped up over the last decades. This disconnect has both climate scientists and activists scratching their heads, growing anxious, and responding, usually, by repeating more facts to 'win' the argument. But, the more climate facts pile up, the greater the resistance to them grows, and the harder it becomes to enact measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare communities for the inevitable change ahead. Is humanity up to the task? It is a catch-22 that starts, says psychologist and climate expert Per Espen Stoknes, from an inadequate understanding of the way most humans think, act, and live in the world around them. With dozens of examples, he shows how to retell the story of climate change and apply communication strategies more fit for the task."--Publisher's description.




We Think We Think


Book Description

Reader's Promotion: We Think We Think: Captions to the Cartoons We Live, Volume One is a potpourri of essays by author H. Alan Tansson. Runyonesque, in a light-hearted, pickle-barrel style, Tansson has forked up anecdotes from the brine: a mobster who kept fiddling with his gun, a go-go dancer who performed from the ductwork, and a sailor who kept forgetting his ship. Discover old-time corner-store philosophy reinvented for the Twenty-first Century—complete with theoretical pretzels to twist your view of everyday experience. You can explore life through bingo, life by doodling, life with sneezes, snores, and orgasms. Friendship, braggadocio, people-watching, art, cognition; you'll find a bit of everything here, except for religion, politics, and education—which is in the book next-door, Volume Two which is entitled Antidisestablishmentarianistically Speaking. Disbeliever's Promotion: Having learned you don't think at all, you'll be bursting with new ideas. Your blogs will rip the questions off tired old walls. Freed from cultural incrustations, others' arguments will drop to the floor as your voice ricochets across the web, and your witty twitters bring thousands their frabjous song! So if you're anxious for a mental renaissance, this book will do it, we think ... that is, We Think We Think.




We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting for


Book Description

A New York Times bestseller in hardcover, Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker’s We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For was called “stunningly insightful” and “a book that will inspire hope” by Publishers Weekly. Drawing equally on Walker’s spiritual grounding and her progressive political convictions, each chapter concludes with a recommended meditation to teach us patience, compassion, and forgiveness. We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For takes on some of the greatest challenges of our times and in it Walker encourages readers to take faith in the fact that, despite the daunting predicaments we find ourselves in, we are uniquely prepared to create positive change. The hardcover edition of We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For included a national tour that saw standing-room–only crowds and standing ovations. Walker’s clear vision and calm meditative voice—truly “a light in darkness”—has struck a deep chord among a large and devoted readership.