Maar het voelt toch wat gemakzuchtig. Misschien had ze haar kruit al verschoten in de twee eerdere boeken. Bovendien kan het de belofte van de pretentieuze titel niet inlossen. Het is veel meer een advertorial voor mindfulness dan een handleiding. Mindfulness is een heel krachtig medicijn in een tijd waarin de consumptiemaatschappij meer kwaad dan goed doet, maar dit is niet het beste boek om je daarvan te overtuigen.
This review can also be found on my blog: How to be Human is extremely funny, true and the only manual you'll need to help you upgrade your mind as much as you've upgraded your iPhone". I must say this book came to be at the most perfect time. I was having a pretty bad mental health week, as we all do sometimes, and I needed something. Now, I wasn't sure what I needed but I knew it wasn't any of my current reads. I suddenly realised that this book was sitting on my bedside table.
I began to read right away. I really had to pace myself with this one.
How to Be Human: The Manual
It really is one of those books you could read in one sitting. Instead I chose to read it slowly, to really take it all in, to think about and process what I was reading and read it over a weekend. I am so glad I did it that way. This is also the first book that I've used my new mark-up method on arrow-shaped paperclips and genius!
The book is set out in 12 specific chapters. Each with an explanation from Ruby herself and then, at the end of every chapter, there is a discussion between Ruby and the two other most vital components of this book; Gelong Thubten, and Buddhist Monk and Ash Ranpura, a Neuroscientist, both of whom are incredibly knowledgable in their respective fields.
Now I am going to keep this review spoiler-free because I want you all to go out, get this book and read it, so that we can love it together, but I will give you the chapter titles to give you a little feel for what is coming your way and a little about what I took from them: Evolution great introduction for those who know next to nothing about the subject Thoughts hello lightbulb!
Emotions can't live with them, can't live without them The Body more closely linked to your emotions than you would think Compassion Ruby talks about self-compassion here and I thought it most insightful Relationships tip: That's the long and short of it. Like I said it came at the perfect time for me, a time when I needed to know that I wasn't a complete failure.
It is written in the most understandable and accessible way without being at all patronising. I think the element that totally makes this book for me is the honesty from Ruby and the humour in which she discusses the topics. Now, I am not one for self-help books, not at all. In fact, I tend to run away from them at full speed. This however, felt very different. It was a self-help book without trying to be, at least from my point of view. When I started reading this book on Friday evening I had had the most horrific week at work and was just about ready to give it all up.
I felt myself slipping back into that pit of depression and the only thing I could think about was how absolutely useless I am. How to Be Human however managed to completely drag me out of that state. I am sitting here at 6pm on a Sunday evening, writing this review, and I feel more positive than I have all week. Now that should tell you something. How did I rate it? I think you can probably tell that I loved this book. I think it'll be one of those books that I dip back into time and time again when I'm feeling pants.
It is thoughtful, well-written, clearly well researched, funny and uplifting, all at the same time. I honestly couldn't recommend this more, and am so grateful to Heather and Penguin for sending it to me. Now excuse me while I go make everyone in my life read this book! Aug 23, Giuseppe D rated it liked it. I liked bits of it. The first chapter about evolution is quite funny if but it seems sometimes a bit simplistic. And it's a theme throughout the book, sometimes it feels like the author is reducing everything to her own experience a little too much, especially in the chapter about relationships.
I liked how everything goes through the different points of view of the neuroscientist who tries to explain where in the brain stuff happens turns out we still don't know much Let's say 3. I liked how everything goes through the different points of view of the neuroscientist who tries to explain where in the brain stuff happens turns out we still don't know much at all and the monk giving his own view of it.
I liked the chapter about forgiveness and that's the one I want to explore more. I mean, it sounds corny and cheesy but really the idea that holding onto a grudge is hurting more you than the subject of said grudge does sound liberating and cathartic. I'll be completely honest in saying that I did none of the exercises but if anything this book convinced me to persevere more with that headspace subscription. May 26, Luke Blackamore rated it really liked it.
Ruby Wax can do no wrong in my mind. Apr 02, Nicole Sweeney rated it it was ok. Review originally posted on The Bibliophile Chronicles. One of my aims for is to attempt to read more non-fiction books, when this surprise came through my letterbox I was really excited to read it thinking it would be a fun and interesting look at mindfulness as well as being full of funny anecdotes from Ruby Wax. There are some really interesting parts of t Review originally posted on The Bibliophile Chronicles. There are some really interesting parts of the book, the last chapter which discuses her search for her family history is fascinating, as well as her personal stories about dealing with mental health however I had hoped that it would be an examination of mental health and a look at the science behind it, but it felt much more like a self help book for me.
The idea of having different perspectives for the book — Ruby Wax, a neuroscientist and a monk was a really great idea and I liked seeing how those different people understood mental health and daily stresses. The sections which read like a conversation between the three felt a little stilted for me and I found it a bit dry. I do wonder if perhaps this book would work much better as a audio book, almost like a podcast discusses the different topics. View all 4 comments.
Feb 01, Gwen rated it it was amazing. I really liked the structure of this book. Ruby Wax introduces each chapter on various aspects of being human , which is then followed by a transcription of the relevant conversation between her, Gelong Thubten the monk , and Ashish Ranpura the neuroscientist. These exchanges don't always feel easy to me, but I'm sure it's hard to transcribe these things and keep the length under control. At the end of the book is a section of mindfulness exercises for each chapter's topic. For me, as a Budd I really liked the structure of this book.
For me, as a Buddhist, the exercises are a really precious resource. They are really a very simple and direct way to address how your mind works, with the aim of becoming happier, which means first becoming aware of your thought processes, then learning to access them before they have an affect on how you act. But the whole book is interesting, and a good introduction to mindfulness. Ruby Wax is very funny, and her writing style is accessible and honest. I saw her recently in the progam "Who do you think you are" a good title for a Buddhist book on the concept of the Self, I think! Nov 14, Imogen rated it really liked it Shelves: Like a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in a book.
There is real knowledge in this book about how the mind works and how we feel things and how we can change our feelings. The conversations between ruby wax, the neuroscientist and the monk were fascinating though would work better on an audio book or podcast. Overall would recommend to any who wants to learn more about their mind and their ability to train it.
Jul 26, Shirley Bateman rated it really liked it. Highly practical and deeply insightful. The book taught me so much about mindfulness and compassion. The audiobook, narrated by Wax, the Buddhist monk, Gelong Thubten, and neuroscientist, Ash Ranpura, is really special. I particularly loved listening to Thubten taking us through the mindfulness exercises.
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Nov 18, Phil Bradley rated it it was amazing. This was an amazingly helpful book. It gave lots of good advice, especially on mindfulness and compassion. Lots of useful exercises as well. Really enjoyed some of the sidelights that it gave me. Thoroughly recommend this book to everyone. Mar 01, Lady Drinkwell rated it really liked it. I only seem to like self help books written by Ruby Wax.
I very much liked the combination of the monk and the neuroscientist and there are some very useful mindfulness exercises at the end. I have put it on a shelf in the bathroom in case visitors would like to read it. Oct 22, Malene rated it really liked it. Fabulous guide to mindful living.
Mar 07, Lacer rated it liked it. Ruby Wax looks at how humans struggle to cope in a world that we have not yet evolved to live in. Anyway, I quite liked the chats at the end of each chapter between Ruby, the monk and the neuroscientist the monk, in particular, strikes me as an interesting guy and the chapter Ruby Wax looks at how humans struggle to cope in a world that we have not yet evolved to live in.
Anyway, I quite liked the chats at the end of each chapter between Ruby, the monk and the neuroscientist the monk, in particular, strikes me as an interesting guy and the chapter of mindfulness exercises written by Ruby and the monk. Feb 10, Stuart rated it it was amazing. I spoke a little about this in Frazzled but am now digging deeper. If not — who can we blame? Not that we can do anything about it.
The human race is a miracle when it comes to survival. Ruby Wax, along with Ash a neuroscientist and Thubten a monk , has written How To Be Human to open up a discussion and give advice to us all about disconnecting from the high-speed world we occupy and focus on reconnecting with our humanity. By looking at where we came from, exploring where we are right now and looking where we are headed in a wide selection of areas within our existence. Across 12 chapters Ruby talks about relationships, addiction, our thoughts, our bodies, compassion, emotions and so much more.
How we have evolved biologically, physiologically and psychologically into a new technology dependant species us tech-heads will on average spend 11 years of our lives on our phones and how science and mindfulness can be tools to help us respect and enjoy our fellow humans, face-to-face and hand-in-hand. Luckily, I found a brilliant neuroscientist and a Buddhist monk to help answer some of my niggling questions. I figured the monk could explain how our minds work and the neuroscientist could tell me where it all goes on in the brain.
What Ruby is trying to achieve with this book is incredibly important to us all. Ruby implores us to slow down, taking into account our minds and our bodies and, most importantly, to stop being so hard on ourselves. Truly paying attention to ourselves and listening to our bodies could improve stress, mental health and contentment. How To Be Human is a provocative, funny and personal account of our humanity and how taking a few minutes out of our day to stop and realise ourselves could improve our lives ten-fold.
I can see why Ruby is so popular with readers as her writing is whimsical, down-to-earth and genuine. A lot of the points discussed within are important to her on a personal level, sharing thoughts and experiences surrounding her own life including pitfalls, relationships and mental health among other aspects.
Here are a couple of facts to show that we as Homo sapiens are still a work in progress and not at all cutting edge as we like to think. We share 98 per cent of our DNA with great apes. And it gets worse: Ruby also sits down with Ash and Thubten to have an open discussion about each topic. It not only gave a bigger picture outlook on our present day troubles but offered unpatronising and non-judgemental advice on how we can look into ourselves. We can be so hard on ourselves thinking about our appearances, achievements, prospects and faults we are negative obsessed mammals ; we are only human though and Ruby is working to remind us to gain peace in our lives and move forward.
I enjoyed how Ruby threw herself into these discussion in a meaningful way. Contemplating the deeper ideological conundrums surrounding consciousness, addiction, the soul, cyborgs and living with someone for the rest of your life see the chapter for sex: After the discussion Ruby and Thubten take us through their own personal mindfulness exercises that are relevant to each subject.
I found these immensely helpful especially the section surrounding children. I already have a list of helpful exercises I can do with my 4 year-old to develop his emotional intelligence. Ruby has written How To Be Human to guide us, not tell us, through the implications that modern technology have on our future as a species and why taking the time to snap out of it so to speak is important once in a while. Ruby concedes that technology is vital to our progression but has some advice about dealing with life when it all gets a bit much.
Mindfulness may seem like a fad now but I have explored it in the past to deal with my own stress and I have had positive results. It was good to have the neuroscientist involved as it added a objective perspective on mindfulness and even Ash can agree that it does have a positive effect on our minds. There is plenty of information within to satisfy non-fiction readers such as history, sociology, education, politics and psychology but I will say that this is a novice level book for those interested in neuroscience.
There are some refreshing perspectives on the brain and how to re-map it but I read quite a lot of neuroscience books and I would say that seasoned readers looking for new information may not get it from How To Be Human.
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Her worldly view on people, health and writing among other things is refreshing and inspiring. His perspective is one of optimism, peacefulness and encouragement. The three of them make quite the team. Overall I highly recommend How To Be Human to all non-fiction lovers and readers who just want to shake things up a bit.
Technology is certainly the future of our species and as we become more dependant on it we will require more effort to maintain our connection to the human body. Ruby Wax is sitting us down to give us the talk and I am glad I got to listen. Apr 09, Sarah Robinson rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book is a conglomeration of thoughts by Ruby Wax, a lady credited for her work towards better mental health, a neuroscientist of great intelligence and a Buddhist monk who is a practitioner of mindfulness.
It suggests that, for all our advances as a species with technological breakthroughs and strivings to better ourselves and our world, we still need to embrace a satisfaction in the moment of where we are each currently at. There are some interesting facts and quotes - like we actually shar This book is a conglomeration of thoughts by Ruby Wax, a lady credited for her work towards better mental health, a neuroscientist of great intelligence and a Buddhist monk who is a practitioner of mindfulness. However, it is phenomenal to think that a baby sprouts 25, neurons per minute and that they make 2 million connections in the brain per second.
Ruby helps the reader broach the higher thinking with her humour and wit and much of the book is presented in a conversational style quoting discussions she has with her counterparts. It is useful that she can get a neurological explanation for how the brain works and the advice of a well practised meditator on how he has worked and helped others to control their brain in order to think better toward things.
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I like the positive perspective on why the experience of different emotions may be beneficial to us, such as fear helping us avoid being eaten, rage to put off a predator, anxiety to remind us what works in difficult situations, disgust to remind us what might be noxious substances, shame to help us work for the better of our tribe, guilt to motivate us to strive to be better in ourselves, grief to express loss and show a need for support from the community and love to bond and help to create a sense of community.
The neuroscientist locates some of the seats of these perceived feelings in the brain; the amygdala for fear, the nucleus accumbens for reward and the orbitofrontal cortex for behavioural inhibition. He explains also that emotional pain is dealt with the same as physical pain by the brain.
Whilst he identifies that the brain and body have a greater task when faced with negatives so are less responsive to happy, the monk balances this out with a profundity that we must therefore have happiness as our default setting. The whole tone of the book is one that inclines the reader toward a sense of wonder and respect for their being and so a more content place.
There are some interesting comparisons in the response of neuroscientist and monk. The neuroscientist defines an ideal relationship as "a couple of weeks of adrenaline then a couple of months of dopamine and then, eventually, a lifetime of oxytocin" whilst the celibate monk who feels he has had an erroneous intensity of relationships previously puts love above attachment and a steady flow of oxytocin would seem preferable to him than any hint of adrenaline or addictive element.
Ruby guides the conversations with a friendly familiarity and relatable expressiveness, including some of her own experiences of distress and apparently "neuroscientists have dumb human reactions like everyone else" - so speaks the neuroscientist - and it is apparent that distress or disappointment is not an alien feeling to a monk either.
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Ruby talks about her own experiences. She talks about the benefits of empathy and how we can be more compassionate and "hardwired for happiness. She also has advice about child rearing a-plenty, highlighting her concern for moulding the lump of clay that an offspring is. There are some interesting ideas here with the Neuroscientist stating how he purchased black and white mobiles for his child in the knowledge that the early visual cortex can be patterned by high-contrast shapes because "there's stuff you do as a neuroscientist because you know something about the brain and think you can intentionally improve brain function.
Ruby describes moments of anguish in her youth and being aghast at the disparity of her own turmoil to make something of herself compared to her daughter's dealing with her future and potential, showing how the approach you take to dealing with pivotal times can be instrumental to your health at his time. She discusses appropriate approaches to dealing with relationships at various ages.
They talk about issues that people may encounter such as addiction which the monk says is due to a chasing of dopamine and expresses his fear at becoming bland by being a monk, having been an addict chasing highs previously. However he says that he discovered that not needing a high could be a great feeling.
The neuroscientist advocates a change of environment for escaping addiction and refers to how successful many US soldiers addicted to heroin were in overcoming this when they returned to loving homes away from accessibility of drugs, acceptability of their use and the psychological trauma of war. The monk reinforces with helpful suggestions about changing rooms around in the home.
Looking to the future of how to be human in general, it is suggested that we would need to genetically evolve a few times a month to keep up with the technological revolution whereas, unlike a fly that lives a day, we take around 25 to 30 years , on average, to develop a new generation.
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We are more prone to issues due to cultural change than climate change now, she says, as we slap on sunscreen and turn up the central heating. Technology is influential at all levels. She explains that whilst antidepressants "splatter-gun" the brain more specific technological solutions to brain issues might be on the way through neural-stimulation techniques, much like deep-brain stimulation can help those with Parkinson's Disease, cochlear implants can help with hearing loss and prosthetic limbs help those with disabilities.
So technology is helping us find a way forward that works. Taking it further, in Japan, where a quarter of the population is already over 65 years and where there is a low birth rate and little immigration, it is estimated that million caregivers will be required and they are actually looking toward robots or humanoids to wash the dishes and babysit grandma. Practical mindfulness exercises are described. These are advocated as ways to: Having mentioned previously that there is a bank that gives potential recruits psychological tests used to detect a killer instinct as a way to see if the person has potential to do whatever they have to in order to seal a deal, she states that she feels similarly that her upbringing might have created either a comedian or a criminal.
Anyway we are all thankful that it was the former way forward that she took. We share her sentiment of forgiveness for her parents who may have had a completely different approach had they not had to run for their lives because she explains some of how they were with her whilst explaining some of the history behind them, helping us see people within the story of their life as opposed to just how they act at a particular time.
She explains how finding out about neuroplasticity and the potential to rewire her brain from inherited neuronal wiring toward a better life was the best news she had received and ends with the sentiment that whilst we humans are no doubt flawed that it is possible for us to change through the power of our minds, motivating us to attempt the more mindful approach to life described. Jul 20, Steve rated it really liked it Shelves: The concept behind How to Be Human is great and it's worth a read. As I read through the section on Evolution I thought to myself 'This is the kind of book I would like to write!
It touches on stuff I've read in other books but it's nice to have that knowledge re-enforced. Ruby then segues onto such topics as compassion, the body and emotions. Providing a bit of background and then talks with The concept behind How to Be Human is great and it's worth a read. Providing a bit of background and then talks with a buddhist and a neuroscientist. The interviews are interesting however Ruby's interview style does annoy me a bit.
She can be a bit quick to fob off the neuroscientist for being too complex.
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It made me wonder why she brought him in in the first place. When they touched on the mind-body connection, the book really got me thinking, as I'd say I'm a philosophical materialist and that is challenged in this book. It complements the views I've been reading on psychedelics, which seem to have come back into fashion lately or at least have crossed my path - Jules Evans and Michael Pollan have both released books on the subject. I've started testing some of the mindfulness exercises, which are good introduction to meditation, to see if there is anything new.
It touches on one of the most useful meditation techniques I've found which is labelling thoughts without judgement. It suddenly disarms the thought, pops you in a third-person perspective and gives you an awareness on how much you're thinking about that particular thing. Granted most of the time I just end up thinking about meditation which gets labeled under meta-meditation!
Another nice addition to my meditation toolbox is to feel the air brushing against your nose if you're counting your breaths. Aug 05, Martine rated it liked it. But unlike many humorists, Wax does not consider pungent self-mockery a sufficient remedy. Quite simply, Wax has championed the increasingly lionised philosophy of mindfulness, which the health app on my mobile phone defines, succinctly, as: Be in the moment. Helping us to savour the preciousness of the moment, Wax has embraced mindfulness with passion, and I doubt that anyone will write a more engaging treatise on the subject.
Nevertheless, much of the practical advice given here by the author in conjunction with a kindly monk and a thoughtful neuroscientist strikes one as rather pedestrian: But as someone who has worked in mental health for 40 years, I must express a strong concern. Prior to psychotherapy, more than half of my patients had already made valiant attempts to heal themselves with mindfulness, and yet continued to suffer from depression, anxiety and self-destructive lifestyles.
For many of us in the psychological community, profound characterological changes occur only when individuals discuss the most troubling, shameful, and terrifying aspects of their biographies in the confidential presence of a professional. Wax has expressed reservations about some of the talking therapies, caricaturing years of psychoanalysis in only a few words: One would hope for a more serious engagement with the progenitor of the modern psychological therapies. Yet when Wax writes in semi-Freudian style — revealing her own hidden family tragedies — she offers us something profound.
Indeed, at the very end of her book, she relates how her Austrian parents escaped from the Nazis, while many of her relatives ended up in concentration camps. This all too brief but highly compelling chapter alone justifies the purchase of this book. And this account moves us, because Wax narrates a deeply private, painful story in simple words, confident that many will listen with sensitivity.