Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
By Martin Seligman – p. iii “Curing the negatives does not produce the positives.” p. iv “The skills of becoming happy turn out to be almost entirely different from the skills of not being sad, not being anxious, or not being angry.” p. vii “Self-esteem seems only to be a symptom, a correlate, of how well a person is doing in the world.” p. 3-10 There are 2 ways to look at life’s occurrences: optimistically or pessimistically. Both ways of thinking seriously affect many aspects of a person’s life (work, health etc.) **p. 13 “Failure can occur when talent and...
Read MoreFeel the Fear and Do It Anyway
By Susan Jeffers – Excerpts from the book: p.3 “Fear seems to be epidemic in our society.” p.4 “Fear is primarily an educational problem.” p.6 “Many of us short-circuit our living by choosing the path that is the most comfortable.” p.11 We are all trying to do the best we can and are all uncertain about whether we’re good enough. It never varies. p.13 “The common denominator is the fact that fear is keeping all of [us] from experiencing life the way they want to experience it.” p.13-16 Fear can be broken down into 3 levels: The surface story (2 types) Those that...
Read MoreEverything Arises, Everything Falls Away: Teachings on Impermanence and the End of Suffering
By Ajahn Chah – 1. Ajahn Chah was an infectiously happy monk, living from 1918 to 1992, in the forests of northern Thailand. He demystified the concepts of Buddhism so that almost anyone who listened could get the point. He gave profound teachings to laypeople, showing real respect for anyone with a sincere interest. 2. The three characteristics of insight meditation – impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and selflessness (anatta). Other important terms: “metta” – loving kindness and “tudong”, ascetic wandering, supposed to be the practice of utmost simplicity. 3....
Read MoreThe Power of Compassion
By The Dalai Lama – 1. His Holiness describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk who lives his life with simplicity, humor and great warmth. Everywhere his message is the same – the importance of love, compassion and forgiveness. 2. “I speak from my own experience. I will not propose that my way is best. The decision is up to you.” 3. All sentient beings, particularly human beings, want happiness and do not want pain and suffering. 4. There is no absolute; everything is relative, so we must judge according to the circumstances. 5. When I say ‘spiritual’ I do not necessarily...
Read MoreThe Art of Possibility
By Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander; excerpts from the book follow: P. 6 “Out of the boat…signifies more than being off track – it means you don’t know where the track is anymore…when you are out of the boat, you cannot think your way back in; you have no point of reference. You must call on something that has been established in advance, a catch phrase…” P. 9-10 “Experiments in neuroscience have demonstrated that we reach an understanding of the world in roughly this sequence: first, our senses bring us selective information about what is out there; second, the...
Read MoreQualities of Effective Teachers
By James H. Stronge; excerpts from the book follow: 1. “The focus of this book is the teacher and it is research-based…. This book chronicles the common background and identifies the common behaviors that characterize effectiveness in the classroom.” (p. vii) 2. “By focusing on teacher effectiveness, our ultimate goal is to improve the educational experiences and achievement of the students we serve.” (p. ix) 3. Chapter 1: Prerequisites of Effective Teaching A. “Both content knowledge and pedagogical skills are vital aspects of teacher effectiveness.” (p. 6) B. “Clearly,...
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