Tag Archives: psychology

Angry Octopus: A Relaxation Story by Lori Lite Review

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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Author Lori Lite takes young readers on a journey to learn the technique of muscle relaxation through the journey of the Angry Octopus in the book “Angry Octopus: A Relaxation Story”.

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The Synopsis

Children love to unwind and relax with this fun exercise known as “progressive muscular relaxation.” Children relate to the angry octopus in this story as the sea child shows him how to take a deep breath, calm down, and manage his anger. These effective stress and anger management techniques for children focus awareness on various muscle groups to create a complete resting of the mind and body. Muscular relaxation can lower stress and anxiety levels. It can be used to decrease pain and anger. This engaging story quiets the mind and relaxes the body so your child can let go of anger and fall asleep peacefully. 

The Review

This was a truly memorable and thoughtful read. The author did an amazing job of crafting a narrative that felt informative and yet enthralling for children and parents alike. The warm watercolor style illustrations did an awesome job of capturing the life under the sea vibes that the narrative was trying to bring to life, and the rich atmosphere brilliantly brought the sea life surrounding the Octopus to life.

The author’s ability to balance the rich character growth of the Octopus and the Sea Child with the educational techniques in using muscle relaxation as a means of controlling one’s anger and stress was truly inspiring. The simplicity of the narrative allowed the techniques and emotions the author was conveying to come through smoothly and made for a memorable reading experience between both child and parent alike.

The Verdict

Heartfelt, inspiring, and engaging, author Lori Lite’s “Angry Octopus: A Relaxation Story” is a must-read children’s book. The depth of emotions these characters confronted and the thoughtful approach to simple yet powerful techniques to push through those rushes of emotions made for an educated yet entertaining read. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

Ms. Lite’s titles are considered a resource for parents, psychologists, therapists, child life specialists, teachers, and yoga instructors. Her Indigo Dreams® audio book/CD series has been awarded the CNE Award of Excellence. Ms. Lite has been interviewed and written articles for several media outlets, including: Family Circle, NY Times, MSNBC, ABC Radio; CBS News; USA Today; Web MD; Stress Free Living; Mind, Body, and Soul; and Job Club with Tory Johnson. She has also been featured in several publications which include Prevention Magazine, Parent Guide New York, Family Circle, Kiwi Magazine, and Aspiring Woman. Lori is a certified children’s meditation facilitator and Sears’ Manage My Life parenting expert. She gained national attention when she appeared on Shark Tank, an ABC/Mark Burnett production.

Lori and her husband have aligned with IngramSpark to help other authors achieve the same success they have. More information can be found under experts on the IngramSpark website or at http://stressfreebookmarketing.com 

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The Mindful Brain by Arnon Levy Review

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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

A man goes in search of answers to seek the answers to how the brain and consciousness are connected in this unique blend of fiction and non-fiction elements in author Arnon Levy’s “The Mindful Brain”.

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The Synopsis 

The Mindful Brain is a meeting place between professional basic issues of psychology, positive psychology, psychotherapy, mind and brain, and human life, from the 21st -century perspective, together with a futuristic fictional story.

Norman, the main protagonist of the story, is an international press correspondent who came to Israel a few years ago. After his girlfriend Tal hits the road on a voyage of self-exploration to the famous Ashram on the island of Lesbos, Norman decides to leave on his own lifetime journey to look for answers to existential dilemmas that have preoccupied him since long ago. After a brief but staggering visit to an old friend who found his safe haven in a small village in Brittany, France, Norman left for Paris, where he met the enigmatic amazing old Kim.

Kim presents Norman with bewildering existential Koan riddles and unveils before him a new conception of psychopathology and psychotherapy and their relations to the riddle of the brain-consciousness relationships. These pointed Norman to a new way of thinking which went beyond the common conceptual paradigms and opened the gate to his in-depth understanding of his inner world and the world in which we live. The last chapters describe the sermon on the mountain in which Norman integrates all the groundbreaking insights that emerged during his journey, into a whole unified view of the meaning of the human story.

The Review

This was an absolutely thought-provoking and engaging story! The author struck such an incredible balance between fictional storytelling and real-world applications to psychology and the study of the mind overall. The way the author challenges the reader to answer questions about themselves throughout the book and examines how our brains are able to tie into the greater concept of consciousness overall was so mind-bending and had me really enraptured with the author’s words. The practices and techniques discussed and spoken about will also benefit readers who are searching for methods of searching inward for answers to their more existential questions about life. 

The fictional aspect of the narrative was also quite captivating. The characters felt very fleshed out and realistic, while the narrative took on a great idea of blending futuristic settings and elements into a more “magical” quality of storytelling. For me, the blend of fiction and nonfiction ties greatly into my interests in the point in which science, magic, and reality all intersect, for I do believe that there is a point that exists like that, and this book really captured that heart and theme quite well.

The Verdict

Memorable, captivating, and wildly entertaining, author and Prof. Arnon Levy, Ph.D.’s “The Mindful Brain” is a must-read novel and an absolutely engaging read. The exploration of psychology and the mind overall within this fictional setting is so unique and creative and does a great job of attracting a wider audience as a result that will devour this book instantly. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

Prof. Arnon Levy Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and psycho-anthropologist. His book “The Mindful Brain” results from his 40 years of clinical experience in psychology, psychotherapy, psychopathology, and coaching psychology. In his previous books, arnon established the basis for the concept of Dynamic Positive Coaching Psychology discussed in “The Mindful Brain”. Arnon founded and directed Coaching Psychology programs at Tel Aviv and Bar Ilan Universities and supervised his graduate students to a Ph.D. degree in coaching psychology in collaboration with Middlesex University UK. Arnon was the chairman of The Israeli Association for psychotherapy(IAP) and is today Vice President of the International Society for Coaching Psychology (ISCP).

www.studycoaching.org

www.dr-arnonlevy.com

The Breakthrough In Two Acts: Breaking the Spell of Painful Emotions and Finding The Calm in the Present Moment by Frederic C. Hartman Audiobook Tour And Review

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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Author Frederic C. Hartman utilizes a unique format of storytelling to explore deeper themes of human consciousness and emotion in the audiobook, “The Breakthrough In Two Acts”. 

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The Synopsis 

In The Breakthrough in Two Acts, Dr. Fredric C. Hartman paints a compelling picture of emotional pain and its context within the human mind and brain. Set in the dramatic backdrop of a therapy session as a stage play, featuring Dr. Hartman as the psychologist and Human Consciousness itself as “the patient,” this is a practical guide for anyone locked within the grip of troubling memories and pain.

In his play, Dr. Hartman tells the story about our vulnerability to painful emotions, which flare up from the depths of our brains, casting spells over us. As the play unfolds, he develops two new experiences to help strengthen our consciousness: one, by actively breaking the spell of the two thoughts that lie at the heart—and generate the distress—in each of our negative emotions, and two, by embracing the strange, fleeting collection of conditions that come along with the present moments of our lives as they each flash by.

The Breakthrough in Two Acts is a complete, entertaining, practical plan for how to use one ‘part’ of our brain—consciousness—to quiet down another, chronically overheated ‘part’—the limbic system—which has ravaged our species with troubles ranging from emotional illness to war. Here is a blueprint for how to overcome emotional pain and embrace a calmer and more fulfilling way to experience life.

The Review

A powerful and thought-provoking read, the author does a fantastic job of finding a unique and creative way of delving into the study of emotions and their effect on consciousness by establishing a play of sorts, in which he takes on the role of a doctor while his “patient” is consciousness itself. Through this play, the author examines such questions as, “What is the mind and how does it work?”, as well as “Why do we have such powerful emotional breakthroughs?”. 

One of the most profound examinations came when Hartman himself examined what exactly got in the way of us making the changes to confront and rid ourselves of painful emotions. In the end, the author discovered that our society as a whole teaches us to ignore these negative emotions and refuses to make the work needed to keep a healthy and organized mind any sort of priority in our lives. The journey to get to this realization was powerfully written and narrated and did a brilliant job of bringing the discussion to life as the narrator and “consciousness” came to life in our minds. 

The Verdict

A memorable, engaging, and as entertaining as it is educational, author Frederic C. Hartman’s “The Breakthrough In Two Acts” is a must-listen and commanding audiobook. The narrators do a great job of delivering an almost cinematic experience that feels like a real play is being put on, putting the listener in a theater of the mind, while the information being provided does a great job of exploring the human psyche and the powerful impact emotions can have on us all. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy of this remarkable read/listen today!

Rating: 10/10

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Author: Fredric C. Hartman PhD

Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki, Gabrielle de Cuir, & Justine Eyre

Length: 6 hours 34 minutes

Publisher: Skyboat Media

Released: Dec. 15, 2020

Genre: Self-Development

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And Then I’m Gone: A Walk With Thoreau by Mathias B. Freese Review

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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

One of the most thought provoking memoirs in recent years challenges readers to examine not only the world around them but how they are living their lives in author Mathias B. Freese’s novel And Then I Am Gone: A Walk With Thoreau. Here’s the full synopsis:

And Then I Am Gone: A Walk with Thoreau tells the story of a New York City man who becomes an Alabama man. Despite his radical migration to simpler living and a late-life marriage to a saint of sorts, his persistent pet anxieties and unanswerable questions follow him. Mathias Freese wants his retreat from the societal “it” to be a brave safari for the self rather than cowardly avoidance, so who better to guide him but Henry David Thoreau, the self-aware philosopher who retreated to Walden Pond “to live deliberately” and cease “the hurry and waste of life”? In this memoir, Freese wishes to share how and why he came to Harvest, Alabama (both literally and figuratively), to impart his existential impressions and concerns, and to leave his mark before he is gone.

 

This was one of the most unique and creative memoirs I’ve read in recent years. The story of the author’s journey in his later years in life allow us as readers to take the time to appreciate not only our own lives, but challenges us to think critically and take the time to find meaning in our lives. It does a marvelous job of using past life experiences, history, humor and classic pop culture references to contemplate the current state of our world. From the rise of Donald Trump as the United States President and what it says about the mentality of the nation as a whole to the hours spent on subjects like religion and life views that end up dividing us when there’s no need for it, this book is a perfect read for anyone looking to find meaning and purpose.

Written almost like a diary entry or an actual conversation between the author and the philospher Henry David Thoreau himself, this story exudes insight, psychology and honesty. It shows the power of hope in tumultous times, while also showing the history of the world and the threat of being doomed to repeat it in our modern times. It’s as much a reflection on our society as it is on himself, and despite the title’s ominous overtones, this story is not one of loss and hopelessness but one of learning from our own pasts and finding the will to reflect on our lives and come to terms with it. It’s a story of love, loss and life itself, and deserves to be read. If you haven’t yet, be sure to pick up your copies of And Then I Am Gone: A Walk With Thoreau by Mathias B. Freese today!

Rating: 10/10

 

About the Author

Mathias B. Freese is a writer, teacher, and psychotherapist who has authored six books. His I Truly Lament: Working Through the Holocaust won the Beverly Hills Book Awards and the Reader’s Favorite Book Award, and it was a finalist in the Indie Excellence Book Awards, the Paris Book Festival, and the Amsterdam Book Festival. In 2016 Tesserae: A Memoir of Two Summers, his first memoir, received seven awards.