Life-changing Books, Talks + Documentaries

Mental Wellbeing, Philosophy + Psychology

In no small way, these books (in no particular order) have changed our lives and minds and have helped to shape us into the humans we are now. Happy Reading :)

• The Life Examined - How We Lose and Find Ourselves (2013) by Stephen Grosz. Grosz worked as a psychoanalyst, privately and in the NHS, for 25 years. By recounting real-life stories that have stayed with him, Grosz offers an intriguing insight into contemporary psychoanalysis and the human mind. The short stories he tells and the characters (his former patients) are super relatable - we've all experienced similar situations or known similar people. A fascinating and insightful read.
• The Power of Now - A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (1997) by Eckhart Tolle. This book is so well-known we feel it needs no introduction. An exert can be read on his site here
• The Philosophy of Fear (2007) by Lars Svesden. Good old Bertrand Russell once said that "Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom". In this book, Svesden analysis the basis of our modern-day fears and the controlling and devastating effects they impose on our lives; "our fear is a by-product of luxury" which "robs us of our freedom". It's important to note that fear is the root cause of anxiety so this book is great for anyone wanting to understand the rise of anxiety disorders in the developing world. Great Guardian review of this book can be read here
• The Bhagavad Gita (400 BCE ) often referred to as The GIta, is part of the ancient Indian Hindu epic The Mahabhrata. It discusses "the goals of life" and asks philosophical and thought-provoking questions about the moral dilemmas of life which are as relevant now as they were all that time ago. This Sanskrit epic poem dates back as far as 400 BCE and there are many versions and translations out there. We recommend this condensed and easily digestible version
• In Praise of Idleness (1932) by Bertrand Russell. An introduction to this philosophy book/essay can be found here but we fully recommend the whole book which is super insightful, was way ahead of its time and is even more relevant to our lives today - he talks about the distractions of pop culture and the consumer society even before it took hold of the world in the 1950s! “Life, at all times full of pain, is more painful in our time than in the two centuries that preceded it. The attempt to escape from pain drives men to triviality, to self-deception, to the invention of vast collective myths. But these momentary alleviations do but increase the sources of suffering in the long run."
• Ways of Seeing (1973by John Berger. “Over the past sixty years, the great John Berger —  art critic, essayist, screenwriter, novelist, poet, and artist — has  made immeasurable contributions to our understanding of culture and  politics, never more potently than in Ways of Seeing.” –The Village Voice
   

Books for Physical Wellbeing, Gut + Microbiome Health

• The Fasting Cure (1911) by Upton Sinclair. Though non-scientific, Sinclair recounts his own experience of fasting to cure his undiagnosed chronic gut condition, plus the experiences of many others who were inspired by his writings on fasting for health. “I have nothing to sell and no process patented. It is simply that for 10 years I have been studying the ill health of myself and the men and women around me. And I have found the cause and the remedy. I have not only found good health, but perfect health; I have found a new state of being a potentiality of life; a sense of lightness, cleanliness and joyfulness, such as I did not know could exist in the human body. “I like to meet you on the street,” a friend said the other day. “You walk as if it were such fun!””
• 10% Human by (2015) Alanna Collen - "Obesity, autism, mental health problems,  IBS, allergies, auto-immunity, cancer. Does the answer to the modern  epidemic of ‘Western’ diseases lie in our gut? You  are 10% human. For every one of your cells, there are nine impostors  hitching a ride. You are not just flesh and bone, but also bacteria and  fungi. And you are more ‘them’ than you are ‘you’."
• The Longevity Diet (2016) by Valter Longo  

• The Creative Spark: How Imagination made Humans Exceptional 
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
• When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress 
• Patient Heal Thyself
• Nourishing Traditions
• Wired to Create: Unravelling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind
• The Analects of Confucius
• Tao Te Ching (haven't decided which version to read yet)

What we are reading -  

• The Buddha Pill - Can Meditation Change You? by Dr Miguel Farias + Catherine Wikholm