Healing Emotions

Reading Healing Emotions: Conservations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health (ed. Daniel Goleman 1997). In reading today, Goleman summarizes a large body of evidence that positive emotions promote health and that negative emotions harm health. Commentators Brown (Daniel) and Varela caution that many of the measurements are rough (such as measurements of T-cells), and much more research is needed to refine an understanding of any possible benefits or detriments. As this book is now about 12 years old, one assumes that Goleman should have a great deal to report now if asked to do so. I suspect that further research will largely verify these findings.

A Farewell to Alms and Emotional Awareness

I began A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World by Gregory Clark (2007) today. Clark argues against Jared Diamond of Guns, Germs, and Steel fame, as well as those like Pomerantz, who argue that colonies and coal provide the explanation of the Great Divergence (i.e., why Britain and then Western Europe zoomed to a dominant position via the Industrial Revolution). Our visit to Cameroon spurred this interest, as the gap between the Cameroonian standard of living and ours is so great. Why? In reading Clark’s introduction, he sets forth his basic tenants. First, until the 1800’s and the Industrial Revolution, most parts of the world remained nearly equally poor. In fact, humankind may have been worse off on the eve of the Industrial Revolution than it was as hunter-gathers over 8,000 years ago. Until the Industrial Revolution, humans lived in a Malthusian world. However, in Britain, because of culture, the Industrial Revolution took off. Clark argues that coal and colonies did not distinguish Europe from China and Japan. Indeed, Clark suggests that certain attributes, such as delayed gratification and hard work spread into British society before (or more effectively than others), perhaps even through genetic changes. Finally, in his introduction, Clark reminds us of the weird but often-cited fact that we are no happier, and perhaps less happy, than our much poorer ancestors. Indeed, in our recent trip to Cameroon, we found the villagers where we stayed quite warm and welcoming,  and on the whole happy. Clark suggests that envy is the problem; perhaps, he says, the envious will inherit the earth.

I’ve been listening to the Dalai Lama (voice-over by Richard Gere) and Paul Ekman in the audiobook of Emotional Awareness (2008). The conversation is fascinating. Ekman the Western scientist has obviously been very impressed with his introduction to Buddhist thinking in the areas of consciousness, awareness, and emotional control. Today he and the DL discussed compassion and how we can cultivate it. Do we need to have suffered? How can we foster universal compassion? Ekman and the DL seem to agree on a lot, and it shows for me the deed empirical wisdom of this aspect of the Buddhist tradition, the Buddhist psychology (and Buddha was perhaps the greatest psychologist-therapist).

How Fiction Works & Story

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I finished James Woods’s How Fiction Works (2008, 248p) today. Woods talks about the conventions and practices of fiction in the tradition of E.M. Forster. The elements of fiction are enthralling, as they convey life. After having recently finished Robert McKee’s Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting (1997, 419p), the two books come up for easy comparison. Woods discusses the conventions of various authors, most well kn0wn, and how details, realism, character, language, metaphor, and other literary devices mix in the history of fiction from as far back as the Bible. I enjoyed the work as a reminder of the aesthetic enjoyment of reading fiction arising from supreme craftsmanship. Very good indeed, although not as enjoyable as Story, which is an amalgam of high culture (lots of Aristotle referenced) with plentiful dishes of “how to” added. For trial lawyers (or those who have followed the example of the likes of Grisham or Stephen H. Greenleaf and moved to full-time writing), the books have a practical import on how to convey our clients’ stories, which is the stuff of trials.

More Than You Know! (but you're learning!)

I've also been reading Michael J. Mauboussin's More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places (2008). Terribly entertaining essays loosely figured around the subject of finance and investing that pick-up and use insights from all manner of trains of (serious) thought. For instance, Phillip Tetlock on "experts" (i.e., hedgehogs vs. foxes), Robert Sapolsky on stress (and how it leads to short-term investment thinking to the detriment of return), and so on. More later on particulars. Very good, entertaining reading indeed.

American History

With the Fourth just ahead on the calendar, I've decided on my American history reading, and I've started it: Garry Wills's Explaining America: The Federalist (1981). This is, of course, a re-read, as I purchased my copy at the time of publication in 1981. But having just completed listening to Thomas Pangle's Teaching Company course on The Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the Constitution, it seems a perfect choice. Also, of course, Wills's prose and insight are always a treat. The opening considers how Federalist No. 10 (Madison) was mostly ignored until Charles Beard went after it as a part of his economic vision of the Constitution. Since then, Laski, Dahl, Burns, and others have criticized Madison's formulation. Will states that he aims to consider whether history and historians have treated Madison's work here (and in No. 51) fairly. The opening chapter deals with the Annapolis convention, and delightful physical descriptions of Madison and his partner in forming the nascent government: Alexander Hamilton. As often the case with Wills, his analytic insights into a text are framed by a "you were there" description of the principal players. Madison as an aging gnome, and Hamilton as all energy inside his small frame; while Madison conserved energy, Hamilton radiated it. More fun to come.

rev'd 08.14.19

Burning & Energy

I'm reading Phillip Moffitt's Dancing with Life (2008), in which he writes about Buddha's "Fire Sermon" and how all of our life involves "burning". While everything and every process involves "burning," the evil of craving (or excessive desire) makes the necessity and unavoidability of burning into suffering.

In a sense, this seems quite right, if "burning" can be seen as energy. Everything is a form of energy in a sense. (Einstein, right?). All transactions, whether physical or mental, are energetic transactions. This leads to the question: how well do we manage these energetic transactions? How do we gain warmth from them and not get burnt, as Buddha seems to ponder in the Fire Sermon? I suspect that these issues go to some very fundamental issues on how we approach life, although, most of us, most of the time, conduct it unknowingly. Perhaps writing and thinking about it will make it more accessible. Indeed, the task should be to see life as a constantly ongoing energy transaction. Energy, after all, is eternal delight (Blake).


rev'd 08.14.19