The Balance Within

Since ancient times humans have felt intuitively that emotions and health are linked, and recently there has been much popular speculation about this notion. But until now, without compelling evidence, it has been impossible to say for sure that such a connection really exists and especially how it works. Now, that evidence has been discovered. A thrilling scientific detective story, The Balance Within tells how researchers finally uncovered the elusive mind-body connection and what it means for our health. In this beautifully written book, Dr. Esther Sternberg, whose discoveries were pivotal in helping to solve this mystery, provides first hand accounts of the breakthrough experiments that revealed the physical mechanisms - the nerves, cells, and hormones - used by the brain and immune system to communicate with each other. She describes just how stress can make us more susceptible to all types of illnesses, and how the immune system can alter our moods. Finally, she explains how our understanding of these connections in scientific terms is helping to answer such crucial questions as "Does stress make you sick?" "Is a positive outlook the key to better health?" and "How do our personal relationships, work, and other aspects of our lives affect our health?" A fascinating, elegantly written portrait of this rapidly emerging field with enormous potential for finding new ways to treat disease and cope with stress, The Balance Within is essential reading for anyone interested in making their body and mind whole again.

Nautilus Book Awards Winners for 2007 (category: Self-Help/Psychology/ Personal Growth) "Like many people, Kathleen Hall found that despite great success and material wealth, she had yet to identify purpose, meaning, and balance in her work and her life. She left her Wall Street firm and devoted herself to understanding the relationships between mind, body, and spirit, and between professional and personal fulfillment. Since then, she has studied with great spiritual leaders including the Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the exiled Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. She has also learned from medical experts like Dr. Dean Ornish of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Dr. Herbert Benson at the Harvard Mind-Body Institute. Inspired by those diverse influences, Dr. Hall has written A Life in Balance, a guided journey to joy, peace, and an intentional life grounded in the four roots of the SELF: * Serenity. Find what brings us peace, and channel it into everything we do * Exercise. Align the body with energy and health through walking, yoga, martial arts, and more * Love. Build community and relationships that heal others as well as ourselves * Food. Pay attention not just to what we eat, but to what we experience through all our senses Our lives pull us in many different directions; to find happiness, we must first create balance. Filled with wit, wisdom, and compassion, A Life in Balance will help any reader identify and stay true to his or her authentic self."

“Esther Sternberg is a rare writer—a physician who healed herself...With her scientific expertise and crystal clear prose, she illuminates how intimately the brain and the immune system talk to each other, and how we can use place and space, sunlight and music, to reboot our brains and move from illness to health.”—Gail Sheehy, author of Passages Does the world make you sick? If the distractions and distortions around you, the jarring colors and sounds, could shake up the healing chemistry of your mind, might your surroundings also have the power to heal you? This is the question Esther Sternberg explores in Healing Spaces, a look at the marvelously rich nexus of mind and body, perception and place. Sternberg immerses us in the discoveries that have revealed a complicated working relationship between the senses, the emotions, and the immune system. First among these is the story of the researcher who, in the 1980s, found that hospital patients with a view of nature healed faster than those without. How could a pleasant view speed healing? The author pursues this question through a series of places and situations that explore the neurobiology of the senses. The book shows how a Disney theme park or a Frank Gehry concert hall, a labyrinth or a garden can trigger or reduce stress, induce anxiety or instill peace. If our senses can lead us to a “place of healing,” it is no surprise that our place in nature is of critical importance in Sternberg’s account. The health of the environment is closely linked to personal health. The discoveries this book describes point to possibilities for designing hospitals, communities, and neighborhoods that promote healing and health for all.

The epic story of the invention of a global network of weights, scales, and instruments for measurement. Millions of transactions each day depend on a reliable network of weights and measures. This network has been called a greater invention than the steam engine, comparable only to the development of the printing press. Robert P. Crease traces the evolution of this international system from the use of flutes to measure distance in the dynasties of ancient China and figurines to weigh gold in West Africa to the creation of the French metric and British imperial systems. The former prevailed, with the United States one of three holdout nations. Into this captivating history Crease weaves stories of colorful individuals, including Thomas Jefferson, an advocate of the metric system, and American philosopher Charles S. Peirce, the first to tie the meter to the wavelength of light. Tracing the dynamic struggle for ultimate precision, World in the Balance demonstrates that measurement is both stranger and more integral to our lives than we ever suspected.

To Canadians, Dr. Marla Shapiro, or "Dr. Marla," is best known as the respected medical authority seen on television and in newspapers. But on Friday, August 13, 2004, Dr. Marla found out she had an invasive form of breast cancer. Like the more than 20,000 Canadian women who are diagnosed with this disease every year, Dr. Marla Shapiro found her world changed forever. Unlike most of those women, however, her status as a physician meant she had an insider's knowledge of the disease and its treatment. Life in the Balance is Dr. Shapiro's intimate, inspiring and often surprising account of her battle with breast cancer, from the shock of the initial diagnosis to multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and her agonizing decision to have both breasts removed, followed by reconstructive surgery and recovery. A story infused with emotion, humour, family support and Dr. Shapiro's unwavering passion to learn--and teach--this is a book for anyone who has been touched by cancer or who knows someone who has.

The system of medicine, world-wide, is in a state of rapid change. This has left physicians in a state of anxiety, fatigue and even burnout. Finding Balance in a Medical Life is the culmination of the authors years of working with large physician groups, evaluating physician health research and delivering workshops to physicians and their families. It is intended to help physicians, healthcare professionals and their families to understand how they find themselves 'stuck' in their work lives and even in their personal relationships. It explores the ramifications of the physician personality structure and helps the reader to analyze their own personality. It clarifies the effect of medical training and practice on the physicians' health and relationships. It teaches the reader various tools and techniques to manage stress, enhance performance, and improve communication as well as how to plan their futures in by identifying their life purpose. About the Author Lee Lipsenthal, M.D., ABHM is a recognized leader, teacher and pioneer in the field of provider wellness. He is an internist by training and is internationally known for his research work with Dr. Dean Ornish, in preventive cardiology. He is also well known in the field of Integrative Medicine. Dr. Lipsenthal is a member of the American Medical Association Physician Well-being Planning Committee and has authored many professional and popular publications on healthcare provider wellness medicine. He is a frequently invited workshop presenter and speaker at healthcare conferences in the U.S. and world-wide. "Finding Balance in a Medical Life is an eloquent, potent way of enhancing awareness and promoting healing in ourselves, ourfamilies, and our patients. It is a call to action that may help you save a very important life. Yours." - Dean Ornish, M.D., Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco "Finding Balance in a Medical Life is distilled from the author's experience over many years of teaching physicians about managing stress, improving performance, and increasing connection with life s purpose. I know you will enjoy it and find it useful." - Andrew Weil, MD "Lee Lipsenthal brings tremendous insights into the stresses and strains of being a physician. Put down your medical journal and pick up this book; it may be the most important read of your life." - Steve McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, Hill Physicians Medical Group

Actress and dancer Jenna Dewan shares her uplifting message of how to elevate your life and experience beauty every day—perfect for fans of Jessica Alba’s The Honest Life and Kate Hudson’s Pretty Happy. The frustrations and challenges that come with modern living can leave us feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and disconnected. In Gracefully You, Jenna Dewan uses her own deeply personal journey to show you how to find your true voice, connect to your deeper self, and live with grace. From demonstrating how movement is essential to feeling good (whether it’s by going on a nature hike or dancing with your friends) to providing mantras that will help you begin each day with good intentions, Jenna shares clear advice on how you can cultivate happiness in every aspect of your life. Learn how to create a home sanctuary, connect with nature to restore balance, foster healthy relationships of all kinds by establishing physical and spiritual boundaries, and maintain space for your own identity through it all. Filled with stunning photos, Gracefully You is a beautiful, insightful, and powerful vision for anyone who wants to feel better, focus on what’s important, and maintain a sense of balance—all with strength and grace.

"If one can be balanced and harmonious in oneself, then the being that is fundamentally so is clear and aware, awake in quietude, accurate in action; thus one can respond to the less changes in the world." The Book of Balance and Harmony is a classic thirteenth-century anthology of Taoist writings, including essays, conversations, poetry, and songs from the School of Complete Reality. The writings combine the essences of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism into an alchemical elixir teaching Vitality, Energy, and Spirit -- the "three treasures" of Taoism that promise mental and physical well-being. This first translation into English of a major text of Taoism is rered and introduced by Thomas Cleary, who has been called the premier translator of Buddhist and Taoist texts. Among his many published works are original translations of monuments of Oriental spirituality, such as The Flower Ornament Scripture, the most sophisticated and comprehensive of primary Buddhist sourcebooks; The Blue Cliff Record, one of the major literary classics of Zen Buddhism; and Understanding Reality, the definitive classic of Taoist spiritual alchemy.