good reads in 2013

This post lists 22 of my enjoyable and informative reads in 2013. The main underlying theme is ‘changing minds’ - especially in terms of holistic development policy.

Most books deal with the implications of consilience based on the interweaving of thinking about evolutionary biology and psychology, neuroscience, and contemporary forms of mindfulness meditation.

The list does not include the many eastern religious and spiritual texts that I re-read in 2013.

I may have missed some  books. They can be added later.

(1991) Henepola Gunaratana: Mindfulness in Plain English

(1991) Jon Kabat-Zinn: Full Catastrophe Living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness.

(1992) Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow – the classic work on how to achieve happiness

(1994) Jon Kabat-Zinn: Wherever you go, there you are – mindfulness meditation for every day life.

(1997) Stephen Batchelor: Buddism without beliefs – a contemporary guide to awakening

(1998) Edward O Wilson: Consilience – the unity of knowledge

(2002) David Sloan Wilson: Darwin’s Cathedral – evolution, religion, and the nature of society

(2002) Minu Hemmati: Multistakeholder processes for governance and sustainability – beyond deadlock and conflict

(2003) The Dalai Lama and Daniel Goleman: Destructive emotions and how we can overcome them

(2005) Jon Kabat-Zinn: Coming to our senses – healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness.

(2006) Jonathan Haidt: The Happiness Hypothesis - putting ancient wisdom and philosophy to the test of modern science

(2007) Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, Jon Kabat-Zinn: The Mindful Way through Depression – freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness

(2009) Gunaratana: Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English – an introductory guide to deeper states of  meditation

(2009) Rick Hanson: Buddha’s Brain – the practical neuroscience of happiness love and wisdom

(2011)  Mark Williams, Danny Penman: Mindfulness – a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world.

(2011) Daniel Kahneman: Thinking, fast and slow

(2011) Martin Seligman: Flourish – a new understanding of happiness and well-being – and how to achieve them

(2011) Michael Shermer: The Believing Brain: from spiritual faiths to political convictions – How we construct beliefs and reinforce them as truths.

(2012) Jonathan Haidt: The Righteous Mind – why good people are divided by politics and religion

(2012) Edward O Wilson: The Social Conquest of Earth

(2013) Rick Hanson: Hardwiring Happiness – the practical science of reshaping your brain – and your life

(2013) Daniel Goleman: Focus – the hidden driver of excellence