Changes

I am a firm believer that sometimes we choose books, and sometimes books choose us. In my case, this is one of the latter. Not so very long ago, if I had come across this book I'd have skimmed it, found some of it interesting, but it would not have 'hit home' in the way that it does now. I believe it came to me not just because I was likely to give it a favourable review [ ''full disclosure The Bookbag's u.s.p. is that people chose their own books rather than getting them randomly, so there is a predisposition towards expecting to like the book, even if it doesn't always turn out that way'' ] – but also because it is a book I needed to read, right now.

Essentially ''Understanding Human Nature'' is a synthesis of what Brook has learned over 25 years working in yoga, meditation, Chinese medicine, dance, Native American mysticism, tantra and just generally trying to live a life. He pulls together various philosophies in an integrative manner, not comparing and contrasting specifically but seeking to show how each of them can support us as individuals during our life as human beings.

Getting into specifics, I'll start with a few negatives – it's always good to get them out of the way early…

And finally in this particular vein – and this one is just my personal philosophy – I do wish we could get away from the erroneous idea that humans are super-special and the only species that has self-awareness or imagination. The simple fact is that we cannot yet know how much self-awareness a tree or pike has, but anyone who has lived with cats or studied any of the primates knows these species are self-aware, that they learn and teach, and that they dream which implies that they also have imagination. The fact that we're not yet super-special enough to fully communicate with them, means we cannot be sure what goes on in their heads. We can talk about human capability and facility and potential without having to play to the arrogance of man that we are the only ones around who have it. [ ''Climbs down off hobby-horse'' - the relevance is that stance early in the book had me veering away from the author in ''oh, here we go'' mode. Fortunately, I stook with it. ]

Enough of that, let's talk about what I love.

I love the acknowledgement that we are all different and so what works wonders for one person might be detrimental for another. One of my teachers keeps reminding me that ''you train to your condition'' – essentially no teacher can tell you what is right for you, you have to engage with the process to understand your own needs and limitations – Brook repeatedly points out that if one approach doesn't work for you, keep experimenting with others until you find the one that does, whilst at the same time reinforcing the fact that practice and consistency cannot be avoided if you want to progress. Discipline is part of every single one of the options.

I would say this one has earned its place on my shelf, but I have a suspicion it will get even more dog-eared before it makes its way there. Good stuff.

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