Tara Swart Bieber recommends
Dr Tara Swart Bieber is a PhD neuroscientist and Oxford University trained medical doctor. She is Senior Advisor for Neuroscience and Leadership at MIT Sloan School of Management, best selling author of The Source and a Trustee of the Lady Garden foundation. Tara is Chief Science Officer at Dirtea adaptogenic mushroom company and the Mind Ambassador at Healf.com. Her episode on the podcast Diary of a CEO is their highest performing episode of all time with 22 million views across all platforms. Tara is a passionate about empowering people through the intersection of science and spirituality.
Read on to find out which six books Tara recommends, and why…
The Source
Dr Tara Swart
I could not resist the opportunity to choose my own book! At the intersection of science and spirituality, this book explores the cognitive science behind visualisation and manifestation. It is a UK best seller and USA award winner with translations in 36 foreign territories, and went to Number 4 on Amazon after I appeared on ITV’s This Morning 6 years after it’s publication.
The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat
Oliver Sacks
This book inspired me to do my PhD in neuroscience. It’s a collection of short stories about rare and unusual neurological cases. We can all benefit from understanding ourselves better and the genre of popular science is a good way to do this.
Siddhartha
Herman Hesse
This is a beautiful novel exploring a man’s spiritual journey and self-discovery, with the Buddha as a character in the story. A lot can be learnt for dealing with the stresses of modern life from ascetic practices.
Your Brain on Art
Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen
Neuro-aesthetics or neuro-arts is a relatively new field that explores the benefits of the arts, beauty, culture and nature on our physical health, mental health and longevity. You won’t skip that visit to an art gallery or the ballet once you learn that people who engage in the arts every few months have a 31 per cent lower risk of dying. Even if you only go once or twice a year, your risk of mortality is lowered by 14 per cent.
The Clan of the Cave Bear
Jean Auel
I love historical novels because of the combination of learning and reading for pleasure. This is a novel set in the time that Homo sapiens co-existed with Neanderthals. A lot of human behaviour can be explained by how our brains evolved to survive in ancient times, and I enjoyed the dip into shamanism.
After: a Doctor Explores what Near Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond
Dr Bruce Greyson
I am fascinated by the nature of consciousness and whether the mind can exist separately to the physical body, and therefore what we might be capable of doing if we are able to transcend our brains with our minds. Near death experiences (NDE) give us a rare glimpse into this. Times of extreme duress, such as at the border of life and death, perhaps expose what is always the case – that the mind and body can operate separately. And studies show that you can get some of the benefits that NDE patients report just by learning about this phenomenon.