Judy sometimes you really come through, big thanks. I was unaware of this connection and greatly appreciate your pointing it out. I actually got the book because it seemed to push back on my POV, so it seems it will do so in spades, it is even more useful than I thought. He is a specialist in OCD disorders was all I knew about him.
I notice now that Brian Josephson our old TM nobel laureate wrote a positive review on the back. Excellent! This will show me some edges of the debate I am missing. I am so bogged down in books I didn't properly research this one so thanks for helping me. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@...> wrote: > > Curtis, are you aware that Schwartz is a proponent of > "Intelligent Design"? According to Wikipedia, "Schwartz > has signed the Discovery Institute's A Scientific Dissent > from Darwinism." The Discovery Institute promotes > the idea of "Intelligent Design" as a means of having > creationism taught in public schools. Schwartz is most > likely not a creationist per se, but he's clearly not > sold on Darwin (and I wonder about his judgment getting > involved with anything related to the Discovery Institute). > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_M._Schwartz > > What you're getting into with him is mind/body dualism, > something you've previously seemed to hold at a distance. > Just saying. > > > This is 50 and out for me. Back in a few days. > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@> > wrote: > > > > Your response really makes me think Richard. I am reading a book that > > explores this question from a slightly different angle. It is called, The > > Mind and the Brain, neuroplasticity and the power of mental force. by > > Schwarty and Beggley. > > > > It discusses a theory of how the mind influences the brain's functioning. > > I'll just paste in the book description from Amazon which got me interested > > because I am not deep enough into it to speak about it. But thanks for an > > deepening the question about this relationship in your response. > > > > Here is a the key excerpt: > > > > "This major discovery is at the core of The Mind and the Brain: that > > through the power of thought, by focusing attention, human beings can use > > their own minds to change their brains." > > > > Here is the whole quote: > > > > The greatest scientific advances are never the result of strict adherence > > to convention. Often it takes an innovative maverick, someone willing to > > see things differently while possessing the determination and intelligence > > to substantiate his challenges to conventional wisdom. Jeffrey M. Schwartz, > > M.D., a leading neuroscientist and Research Professor of Psychiatry at the > > UCLA School of Medicine, an international authority on brain diseases and > > author of the definitive work on obsessive compulsive disorder, Brain Lock, > > has defied convention again in his new book, The Mind and the Brain: > > Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. The Mind and the Brain, > > written with Sharon Begley, formerly Newsweek's senior science writer and > > now science columnist for The Wall Street Journal, is a work as profound as > > it is provocative: a book that gives substantial proof that - contrary to > > popular scientific belief - the entity we commonly call "the mind" has the > > power to change the makeup of the physical brain. For years, there has been > > a division between the assumptions of hard science 'which contended that > > the brain functioned essentially as a machine' and our daily human > > experience, which seems to suggest that "the mind" is something different > > from the physical brain, a force we are capable of harnessing for our > > benefit. This was a conflict that always bothered Jeffrey Schwartz, who was > > responsible for the revolutionary Four Steps therapy that has helped > > patients around the world battle the effects of obsessive-compulsive > > disorder (OCD). His therapy was grounded in cognitive-behavioural > > principles, which drew on a patient's own awareness of his state of mind, > > and involved the patient directly in his own therapy. Combining the > > revelations of more than two decades of research with a progressive > > approach influenced by the Buddhist principle of "mindful awareness," > > Schwartz's therapy was wildly successful but it also opened a door into a > > much more significant revelation: while reviewing his patients' brain > > scans, Schwartz discovered that their self-directed therapy was actually > > changing the wiring of their brains. This major discovery is at the core of > > The Mind and the Brain: that through the power of thought, by focusing > > attention, human beings can use their own minds to change their brains. The > > scientific implications of this discovery are manifold: victims of stroke > > may be able to use the discovery to help reassume command of their bodies > > and lives, and psychiatrists treating patients with mental disorders may be > > able to decrease their patients' reliance on psychiatric drugs. As a > > therapeutic advance, then, The Mind and the Brain offers a paradigm shift > > that promises new treatments for conditions from dyslexia to depression. > > Schwartz's discovery may amount to the most conclusive scientific evidence > > to date of the existence of free will 'that is, the power of human beings > > to take an active role in the choices they make. In the book Schwartz > > points accusingly at the "moral vacuum" created by the old, materialistic > > worldview and raises questions of personal responsibility in a new light. > > Infused with the insatiable curiosity of a scientific trailblazer and the > > passion of a crusader, The Mind and the Brain is a daring and > > groundbreaking work of research and vision - one whose conclusions are sure > > to make waves within the scientific community, and to affect profoundly the > > human race's understanding of itself. >
