Envision Publishing

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON JOY

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON JOY:  A Revolutionary Program for Balancing Mood, Restoring Brain Health, and Nurturing Spiritual Growth by Dr. Earl Henslin is one of the best books I’ve read in many years about brain health.

Did you know your brain is plastic?  That it can actually change with time from what you feed it, say to it, and think?  Dr. Henslin, a licensed counselor has worked for years with Daniel G. Amen, MD a pioneer in brain imaging research.    In this book he shares what he has learned about “Joy Boosters.”  These are activities that literally create joy in the brain in ways that change the way the brain physically looks.  He breaks these activities into three categories:  Creating a joyful brain-stimulating environment, feeding your mind and soul with nourishing thoughts, and feeding it through movement and good food.

Dr. Henslin writes in an easy-to-understand format, and his light-hearted humor shines through.  But this is a serious book and an excellent reference for parents, teachers, doctors, counselors, pastors and anyone wanting to learn more about their brain and ways they can “mold” it to literally be full of joy.  You can read it cover to cover or simply turn to a section that applies to you or the people you are working with.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about helping people with ADD, ADHD, depression, narcissism, OCD, PTSD and more.  Any psychological struggle you can think of is addressed in this book and ways to recognize and treat it.  This book helped me understand myself and my son who suffers with bipolar.  I have several friends who struggle with clinical depression and I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned about this book with them.

BOOK REVIEW: FIND YOUR STRONGEST LIFE by Marcus Buckingham

FIND YOUR STRONGEST LIFE: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women do DifferentLy by Marcus Buckingham is a brilliant self-help book for any woman trying to succeed.  Hailed as a visionary by Toyata, Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Disney, Buckingham is in demand as a consultant for people and organizations wanting to discover and exploit their strengths.  With more than 3.7 million books in print, Buckingham’s wisdom is not only sought after, but doable.

In this book, Buckingham guides the reader on a journey to discover her strongest moments.  As a hard-working mother, grandmother, pastor’s wife, freelancer and teacher, I have found myself juggling far too many responsibilities, and am worn out and overwhelmed by all the hats I have to wear.  According to Buckingham, juggling isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing.  Juggling isn’t catching but throwing.  We need to catch our strong moments and cradle them.

The book also has a website and test you can take at http://stronglifetest.com .   I took the test, and the first time I took it, I was perplexed because the two strengths listed were nothing like me.  So I took the test a second time and this time I was completely honest.  The first time, I think I may have answered questions based on what I felt I should do, not on what I actually would do if I trusted my gut.  So, the second time, I was brutally honest, and sure enough, the results of the test were spot on.  I am one of the more fortunate ones, in that I knew these were my strengths and have known this for most of my life.  However, this book gave me permission to embrace these strengths and look for them in all areas of my life, not just in my career.

This book also gives women permission to admit that there are just some things in our life we aren’t going to be good at no matter how much we think we should be.  I like that about the book.  And I am looking forward to going through the next few weeks focusing my attention on my strengths and not feeling guilty about my weaknesses.  Armed with the information in FIND YOUR STRONGEST LIFE, I will be able to assess my life in the next few weeks and discover for myself what areas of my life bring me joy and ways I can focus on them.

I am looking forward to using the practical and life-changing advice I’ve learned from this book.  I highly recommend it to women because women today are less happy than ever.  And life is just too short not to find happiness in every single day.  If you’re someone who doesn’t look forward to every single day – get this book.  Just reading it will give you hope.  Doing what it says, will help you find the strength and happiness you so desperately need.