Get Conscious

We believe we can think ourselves happy but, in reality, the only way to experience true happiness is to become self-aware. The way we experience emotions remains a constant throughout our lives and it is by acknowledging this, and the different elements of our inner selves, that we can experience genuine contentment. Drawing on the author's research in psychology, and her work with clients, Being breaks down the four elements of self-awareness, and provides strategies for mastering each--

Do you feel stuck in some part of your life? Are you trying hard but can't get to where you want to be? You need to find your zone of conscious grit. You make changes happen, and you take control, when you discover and use your powerful conscious grit. This book will help you get into that zone and give you the tools you need to make the changes that you want. I know it works - I was stuck and now I'm not! 'Gail's honest, heart-wrenching story connects as she holds your hand and helps guide you from feeling helpless to feeling empowered and in control.' - Nicole Nighthawk, Singer-Songwriter, Presenter, Photographer, Designer 'Gail provides a gritty but accessible takeaway model for the reader.' - John Mitchell, Consultant on staff skills and innovation 'This book ... has made me see that being stuck in your ways is so detrimental to growth and that if you don't try you'll never know.' - Rebecca Hesman, Teacher

An actionable guide to mindfulness and practical ethics for any creative professional who wants to make a living without selling their soul. It can be difficult to live according to our values in a complicated world. At a time when capitalism seems most unforgiving but the need for paying work remains high, it is important to learn how we can be more mindful and intentional about our impact — personal, social, economic, and environmental. As designer and creative director Kelly Small had to do to navigate a crisis of ethics and burnout in their career in advertising, we can admit our complicity in problematic systems and take on the responsibility of letting our own conscience guide our decisions. Start with one or many of these 100+ rigorously researched, ultra-practical action steps: Co-create and collaborate Get obsessed with accessibility Demand diverse teams Commit to self-care Make ethics a competitive edge Be mindful of privilege Create for empowerment, not exploitation With a humorous and irreverent tone, Small reveals how when we release unnecessary judgement and become action-oriented, we can clarify the complicated business of achieving an ethical practice in the creative industries. Discover the power of incremental, positive changes in our daily work-lives and the fulfillment of purposeful work.

A revelatory new theory of consciousness that returns emotions to the center of mental life. For Mark Solms, one of the boldest thinkers in contemporary neuroscience, discovering how consciousness comes about has been a lifetime’s quest. Scientists consider it the "hard problem" because it seems an impossible task to understand why we feel a subjective sense of self and how it arises in the brain. Venturing into the elementary physics of life, Solms has now arrived at an astonishing answer. In The Hidden Spring, he brings forward his discovery in accessible language and graspable analogies. Solms is a frank and fearless guide on an extraordinary voyage from the dawn of neuropsychology and psychoanalysis to the cutting edge of contemporary neuroscience, adhering to the medically provable. But he goes beyond other neuroscientists by paying close attention to the subjective experiences of hundreds of neurological patients, many of whom he treated, whose uncanny conversations expose much about the brain’s obscure reaches. Most importantly, you will be able to recognize the workings of your own mind for what they really are, including every stray thought, pulse of emotion, and shift of attention. The Hidden Spring will profoundly alter your understanding of your own subjective experience.

During these modern times when technological and intellectual advancements are at an all time high, symptoms of disconnection are also following suit. The lack of connection we have between our Mind, Body, Spirit impacts how we perceive ourselves, impacts our relationships, our health, the quality of our lives, our success levels, our wellness and our levels of happiness and joy. Unless we understand the role of the Mind and learn how to master it, it can steer us in the direction of chronic fear based emotion on subtler and grand scales, leading to suffering. The good news is that in order to positively impact our lives we need to deeply understand that our psychological make up is reflected in our external environment and that we are CREATORS who have the choice to change that. This book aims to bridge the gap between you and the deepest parts of you, to guide you towards your greatest, most loving relationship – the one that you have with yourself.

Takes you on a journey of self-discovery that leads towards deeper self-awareness, self-acceptance and ownership

How can we transcend our tribal, philosophical, and religious differences? Is it possible to develop a global consciousness to resolve the peril to our biosphere and other human-made existential crises? Become Conscious of Wholeness: Humanity's Only Future explores how connecting human consciousness with Universal Consciousness will give individuals and societies a sense of being complete, not fragmented. Accessing Universal Consciousness, the fundamental wisdom, intelligence, and love in the Universe, will align their identity and purpose and free them from limiting beliefs and fears. Universal Consciousness is the organizing, unifying force, beyond space and time, filled with the creative potential from which our diverse philosophies, religions, and primordial traditions emerged. When Consciousness is understood from multiple scientific, spiritual, psychological, and mystical perspectives, what is of ultimate value becomes clear--our relationships with each other and the Earth, our essential Wholeness. The reader will explore various portals to Universal Consciousness, drawing upon their own mystical and spiritual experience to develop a more holistic Self. Specific action steps are also presented to reframe religion, reimagine education and mental wellbeing, and reform the business organizations, government agencies, and divisive politics that perpetuate a fragmented view of reality.

A novel contribution to the age-old debate about free will versus determinism. Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality. Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will—those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or, conversely, are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis, Ouija board spelling, automatic writing, and facilitated communication, as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession, dissociative identity disorder, and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus, more fruitfully, on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.