Books and podcasts

Here are some of my favorite educational resources.

the biology of belief by Dr. Bruce Lipton

This book had a profound effect on my thinking, and I was actually fortunate enough to interview Dr. Lipton about his thoughts on consciousness shortly after moving to LA. Dr. Lipton pioneered the field of epigenetics - the study of how environment influences gene expression. Our beliefs themselves can alter our blood chemistry and neuropeptides. For example, imagine something startles you and your body releases a rush of adrenaline to prepare you for fight or flight. Then you realize the thing you feared is actually harmless. Nevertheless, while you believed it was a threat, your body was releasing chemicals that increase inflammation and create a less hospitable environment for your genes. By consciously choosing our beliefs and curating the environments that influence us, we can actually impact our gene function and improve our health. This is a fascinating rabbit hole and underpins much of modern biohacking today. I highly recommend this read.

The Power of habit by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit helped me to realize that you can’t just abruptly end a harmful habit. Instead, you must replace the old habit with a new habit that is triggered by the same cue and elicits a comparable reward. This gives a structure and a framework to the process of changing and improving habits over time. This understanding was pivotal for me, and helped me to embrace the process of asking for and accepting support.