Refuse to Choose

Do you have so many interests that you can’t seem to get anything done? This is the audience to whom Barbara Sher speaks in her book Refuse to Choose. The Big Ideas There are many scanners in this world. A “Scanner” is a person with myriad interests and strong desires to pursue them all, yet has trouble committing … Read more

Full Catastrophe Living

This book details the lessons of ten years of clinical experience with over 4,000 humanoids who took an eight-week course called The Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. The Big Ideas! Meditation is one of the most effective means of reducing stress. In addition to its many spiritual and … Read more

The Paradox of Choice

In his book, The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz demonstrates that having too many choices often leads to feelings of bewilderment and a decrease in life satisfaction. Schwartz argues an abundance of choice is bad both in terms of emotional well-being and the ability to make meaningful progress. The Big Ideas! Contrary to conventional wisdom, humans … Read more

The Progress Paradox

Gregg Easterbrook explores the exact phenomena detailed in the title of his book, The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Get Worse. The Big Ideas! Nearly every standard of living measurement shows that the average person’s life is considerably better than it was as little as fifty years ago. Despite these improvements, people … Read more

Urban Mindfulness

Urban Mindfulness provides pragmatic guidance to help transform an everyday experience into an occasion for reflection, stress relief, and even fulfillment. The Big Ideas! City life is exciting, but stressful. Chronic stress causes physical, mental, and emotional difficulties. Practicing mindfulness can help bring balance and calm back into our lives. Mindfulness is a special way of … Read more