A bibliography of books that I feel are important, indispensable, or just plain interesting.

The Shock Doctrine
The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by Naomi Klein

It might seem odd that I have this book at the top of the list, but I think it is first and foremost to know exactly what is happening. To know the truth, to be fully aware, and “name the elephant in the middle of the room.” We have to “own” and know our reality before we can deal with it or change it. This is the disease we must heal. This is the core of my discontent.

I’m still reading this book. It is very dense and heavy, but extremely well written. It is important because it explains exactly what is going on in the world and is opening my eyes to the bitter, but necessary truth of government/corporations. Chapter one investigates torture methods used by the CIA and the military, developed in the 50’s by a psychologist, Dr. Ewen Cameron, who practiced sensory deprivation and electric shock on his patients to erase their persona, and then attempted to “reprogram” them with what he thought to be “a more desirable character.”

“In a 1960 paper, Cameron said there are “two major factors” that allow us to “maintain a time and space image” – that allow us, in other words, to know where we are and who we are. Those two forces are “(a) our continued sensory input, and (b) our memory.” With electroshock, Cameron annihilated memory; with isolation boxes, he annihilated sensory input. He was determined to force his patients to completely lose their sense of where they were in time and space.” – excerpted from ‘The Shock Doctrine’

I believe this explains one of the forces at play in addictions; a distorted sense of self and reality – a disconnect between what we are told, and what we intuitively know to be true.

What We May Be
Techniques for Psychological and Spiritual Growth Through Psychosynthesis
by Piero Ferrucci

At the other end of the spectrum from the previous entry, ‘What We May Be’ suggests methods to focus on sensory stimulation as a way to be in touch with our environment and manage emotional distress.

This book utilizes all of our senses and all of our “ways of knowing” to enhance spiritual growth and self-actualization.