Interesting mix of science and philosophy, with numerous strategies and mantras for retraining the brain and subsequently, the pursuit of a calm, purposeful state of being. The exploration of "us" vs. "them" responses is useful for managing reactions to triggers and situations beyond our control; this deeply rooted reaction also illuminates contemporary politics and warfare. ( )

> Pour une initiation à la méditation qui nous emmène du côté des neurosciences avec quelques méditations originales en sus pour s'exercer.
—Danieljean (Babelio)

> Scribd : https://fr.scribd.com/document/344654470/Le-cerveau-de-Bouddha-pdf

> « Le Cerveau de Bouddha », de Rick HANSON et Richard MENDIUS. Les deux auteurs, respectivement neuropsychologue et neurologue, nous font part de découvertes récentes quant aux bienfaits de la méditation sur le cerveau. Les sentiments souffrants tels l'angoisse, le stress, l'anxiété sont souvent dus à une surréaction du cerveau face à certaines situations. Des explications claires permettent de comprendre ces mécanismes. Des pistes sont explorées pour désamorcer ces réactions, puisque notre cerveau possède de grandes propriétés de plasticité. On nous propose des exercices et des méditations guidées qui permettent de créer de nouvelles connexions neuronales qui faciliteront l'installation de sentiments apaisants comme le bonheur, la sagesse et la sérénité. Le tout demeure digeste, accessible et sans prétention. Bonne méditation à tous! Aum ! Les Arènes. 298 p. 38.95 €. Marie LACOURSE, Carcajou
—Numéro de Sept.-oct. 2011 (Revue Les libraires)

Arthor discussion on KQED April 22, 2015. Listen to your positive experiences. ( )

"Buddha's Brain" contains a great mix of neuroscience and meditation practice. It is written for people without a scientific background but, as a biological scientist, I knew where he was going with some of the explanations and I really enjoyed them. How you can actually change your brain's behavior is something no one would have talked about 20 years ago, because it was thought that mature nerve cells could not change. Science is now catching up with Buddhist philosophy and it is very exciting. Also, the idea of pondering the "self" as a collection of different parts of the brain rather than a unit is a fascinating concept. The less one thinks of "self" as a unit, the less stress there is to make it "happy". This is better explained in the book, so I encourage people to read it rather than listen to me.

From my perspective the book is divided into 2 parts. The first part acquaints you with different parts of the brain - which part is involved in higher order thinking, where emotions are processed and how they function as a unit sometimes - or not. The second part of the book is more a series of suggested meditation exercises designed to have positive effects on your mood by regulating different parts of your brain. Although I read the entire book through, I think it would be better to read the second half one chapter at a time. Each day, a chapter could be read and the suggested exercises performed. That way one would have time to absorb the lessons more deeply. I hope to go back and do that some day. ( )

Finally a book about meditation/mindfulness that cuts through the buddhist chatter and focuses on what is important. ( )