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Conventional science has long held the position
that "the mind" is merely an illusion, a side
effect of electrochemical activity in the physical brain.
Now comes a major work, grounded in two decades of research,
that argues exactly the opposite: that the mind has a life
of its own.
In The Mind and the Brain, Dr. Jeffrey
Schwartz, a leading researcher in brain dysfunctions, and
Wall Street Journal science columnist Sharon Begley
demonstrate that the human mind is an independent entity
that can shape and control the functioning of the physical
brain. Their work has its basis in our emerging understanding
of adult plasticity -- the brain's ability to be rewired
not just in childhood, but throughout life, a trait only
recently established by scientists. But in this paradigm-shifting
work, Schwartz and Begley take neuroplasticity one critical
step further. Through decades of work treating patients
with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Schwartz made
an extraordinary finding: while following the therapy he
developed, his patients were effecting significant and lasting
changes in their own neural pathways. It was a scientific
first: by actively focusing their attention away from negative
behaviors and toward more positive ones, Schwartz's patients
were using their minds to reshape their brains.
The Mind and the Brain follows Schwartz
as he investigates this newly discovered power, which he
calls, self-directed neuroplasticity or, more simply,
mental force. It describes his work with noted physicist
Henry Stapp to establish the basic mechanics of self-directed
neuroplasticity in quantum physics, and reveals its connections
with the ancient practice of mindfulness in Buddhist tradition.
And it points to potential new applications that could transform
the treatment of almost every variety of neurological dysfunction,
from dyslexia to stroke -- and could lead to new strategies
to help us harness our mental powers.
Yet as wondrous as these implications are,
perhaps even more important is the philosophical dimension
of Schwartz's work. For the existence of mental force offers
convincing scientific evidence of human free will, and thus
of man's inherent capacity for moral choice. Challenging
the scientific mainstream, Schwartz and Begley suggest boldly
that we human beings are more than mere automatons -- that
with the ability to shape our brains comes the power to
shape our destiny. The conclusions they draw, and the questions
they raise, should provoke debate among not only scientists
but philosophers, legal scholars, and anyone who cares about
the role of man in the universe.
Jeffrey M. Schwartz, MD, is research
professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine.
His previous book, Brain Lock, introduced his revolutionary
Four Steps therapy for the treatment of OCD. He lives in
Los Angeles, California.
Award-winning writer Sharon Begley is
the science columnist for the Wall
Street Journal; before that she
was senior science writer for Newsweek. She lives in Pelham,
New York.
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