Renowned neuroscientist Dr. Norman Farb and clinical psychologist Dr. Zindel Segal have discovered the unexpected reason why we get emotionally stuck—and with it the key to how we get going again.
They discovered that our mental routines lock us into a House of Habit, causing life to lose its spark. Where does change come from when habit lets you down?
We are taught that resilience means toughing things out or trying harder. But when we do that, our brains double down on the mental habits that made us feel stuck in the first place.
The emerging neuroscience of sensation provides a solution.
Sensation is literally how new information enters the mind. We can escape the House of Habit by empowering sensation—a practice known as Sense Foraging. We all have the power to connect with the vibrant world around us, boosting our resilience, wellbeing, health, and creativity.
Grounded in decades of scientific research and filled with simple exercises and practical mental techniques for mastering Sense Foraging, Better in Every Sense will help you escape the House of Habit and reclaim your life!
Pub Date: January 23, 2024
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
ISBN 10: 0316434434
ISBN 13: 978-0316434430
Print Length: 288 pages
Endorsements
Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D.
Author of Positivity and Love 2.0
“A brilliant, user friendly, and easy to implement framework explaining why intentionally tuning in to our senses and learning how to trust them and expand their repertoire in outside-the-box ways—what the authors call sense foraging—is profoundly liberative and healing, revolutionary, and yet totally commonsensical.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD
Founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Author of Coming to Our Senses and Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief
“An accessible synthesis of the neuroscience of sensation, interfused with a practical set of strategies, tactics and tools, designed to actively engage and recalibrate capacity to ‘sense one’s own senses.’ Farb and Segal have outlined the essential building blocks and provided a straightforward series of practices to help us more agilely respond and thrive in an ever-changing and challenging world.”
Helen Mayberg MD
Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
“We are creatures of habit. Our minds—and lives—run largely on autopilot, which can helps us survive day to day, but can get us stuck in cycles of depression, anxiety or simply getting by. Farb and Segal expertly unpack the difference between being alive and truly living, and in the process, make complex neuroscience accessible. They also guide us with practical tools to awaken to the freshness of each moment so that we can truly live our lives Better in Every Sense.”
Judson Brewer MD PhD
New York Times Bestselling Author of Unwinding Anxiety and The Craving Mind
“When you are feeling stressed or stuck, how do you relate to your life? In “Better in Every Sense” the authors take us through the science of tools to get out of the “house of habit” and offer ways to re-engage with your life. A wonderful new book by Norman Farb PhD and Zindel Segal, PhD, fascinating, thought provoking, and so useful in these trying times.”
Sharon Salzberg
Author of Lovingkindness and Real Life
Norm Farb and Zindel Segal, two renowned contemplative scientists, have written the go-to book for a deep, sophisticated and useful understanding of the brain, the mind, and mood— while illuminating a fundamental path to flourishing. The secret is ‘sense foraging’– a beautiful practice that opens the door to a more joyful, connected, and purposeful life. You must try these accessible exercises and sense for yourself! This groundbreaking science-based book will empower you to escape the habits of daily stress, and make seemingly ordinary moments extraordinary, leading you to more fully experience the joy and beauty in everyday life. Try the accessible exercises and sense for yourself!
Elissa Epel PhD
Professor, UCSF, author of New York Times Bestseller The Telomere Effect and The Stress Prescription