The ancient and scientific secrets to getting unstuck from negative habits
Everyone gets stuck in habitual patterns, including emotional, behavioral, and relational habits. We have the same arguments repeatedly with our parents, partners, and children despite wanting to stop. Often by the time we realize we're stuck, we no longer know how to get unstuck. The secret to finding freedom is to understand karma and free will.
Why is it useful to understand karma and free will correctly? If you misunderstand karma, you're more likely to get stuck. And if you misunderstand free will, you're more likely to stay stuck. Joining Western psychological science and traditional Buddhism, experimental psychologist and Zen monk Ven. Dr. Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile describes how our minds can be simultaneously our greatest weakness and greatest asset. We are controlled by both external forces and internal habits of mind, while simultaneously believing ourselves to be 'free'. This conundrum can be solved by seeing where our biases begin, how our natural ability to learn traps us, and how we unintentionally undermine the progress we intend to make. This book can help you find freedom from negative habits, relationship patterns, and feelings.
You don't need to be Buddhist to be able to use these ideas to be happier, just as you don't need to be a mathematician to be able to add. You just need to have an accurate understanding of the processes to make them work for you.
Finding the Freedom to Get Unstuck and Be Happier, Ven. Dr. Douglas Cheoisoeng Gentile, Penguin Random House SEA, Paperback,
182 pages, $27.95
Ven. Dr. Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile, Ph.D., is an award-winning research scientist, educator, and author. Professor Gentile conducts research on the media's impact on children and adults, as well as how mindfulness practices can reduce anxiety and improve happiness. Named as one of America's best 300 professors by the Princeton Review, he is a fellow of several scientific organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. In addition, Ven. Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile is a Zen Buddhist monk and meditation teacher.
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CONTENTS: Finding the Freedom to Get Unstuck and Be Happier
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List of Figures
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ix
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Introduction
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1
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Part 1: Learning Karma
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CHAPTER 1:
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Understanding Karma Can Help Us Get Unstuck
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9
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CHAPTER 2:
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The Ripples in Our Lives
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17
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CHAPTER 3:
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Planting Seeds
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25
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CHAPTER 4:
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Karma
is Learning. Learning is Karma
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31
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Part 2: Achieving Clarity
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CHAPTER 5:
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Starting to REcognize What We Can Work With
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51
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CHAPTER 6:
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Planting Seeds that Bear Fruit, or, How to Change the Future
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58
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CHAPTER 7:
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Karma in Relationships and Culture
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70
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CHAPTER 8:
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Free Will Isn't as Free as You Believe
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84
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CHAPTER 9:
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Your Thoughts Don't Necessarily Cause Your Actions
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91
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CHAPTER 10:
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Free Will Isn't What You Think It Is
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101
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CHAPTER 11:
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Where Free Will Is
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108
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CHAPTER 12:
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Diane Shows Us How
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112
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Part 3: Finding Freedom
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CHAPTER 13:
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Where Free Will Is, and How to Gain It
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119
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CHAPTER 14:
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Karma and Freedom
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140
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CHAPTER 15:
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Radical Freedom
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150
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CHAPTER 16:
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Finding Your Freedom
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157
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Acknowledgments
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161
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Notes
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162
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