What can a fingernail tell us about the mysteries of creation? In one sense, a nail is merely a hunk of mute matter, yet in another, it's an information superhighway quite literally at our fingertips. Every moment, streams of molecular signals direct our cells to move, flatten, swell, shrink, divide, or die. Andreas Wagner's ambitious new book explores this hidden web of unimaginably complex interactions in every living being. In the process, he unveils a host of paradoxes underpinning our understanding of modern biology, contradictions he considers gatekeepers at the frontiers of knowledge. Though we tend to think of concepts in such mutually exclusive pairs as mind-matter, self-other, and nature-nurture, Wagner argues that these opposing ideas are not actually separate. Indeed, they are as inextricably connected as the two sides of a coin. Through a tour of modern biological marvels, Wagner illustrates how this paradoxical tension has a profound effect on the way we define the world around us. Paradoxical Life is thus not only a unique account of modern biology. It ultimately serves a radical--and optimistic--outlook for humans and the world we help create.

The coauthors of the bestselling Peak Performance dive into the fascinating science behind passion, showing how it can lead to a rich and meaningful life while also illuminating the ways in which it is a double-edged sword. Here’s how to cultivate a passion that will take you to great heights—while minimizing the risk of an equally great fall. Common advice is to find and follow your passion. A life of passion is a good life, or so we are told. But it's not that simple. Rarely is passion something that you just stumble upon, and the same drive that fuels breakthroughs—whether they're athletic, scientific, entrepreneurial, or artistic—can be every bit as destructive as it is productive. Yes, passion can be a wonderful gift, but only if you know how to channel it. If you're not careful, passion can become an awful curse, leading to endless seeking, suffering, and burnout. Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness once again team up, this time to demystify passion, showing readers how they can find and cultivate their passion, sustainably harness its power, and avoid its dangers. They ultimately argue that passion and balance--that other virtue touted by our culture--are incompatible, and that to find your passion, you must lose balance. And that's not always a bad thing. They show readers how to develop the right kind of passion, the kind that lets you achieve great things without ruining your life. Swift, compact, and powerful, this thought-provoking book combines captivating stories of extraordinarily passionate individuals with the latest science on the biological and psychological factors that give rise to—and every bit as important, sustain—passion.

The first biography of Asian American activist and Black Panther Party member Richard Aoki

This book focuses on death as life’s paradox in order to test, to put on trial, what it means for us human beings to exist. No one of us chooses to be born. Yet, having been born, we must choose to have been born, to live, to exist. To exist is to choose to exist. To choose to exist is to live with our choices. This text argues that death is the limit of life, that we can live freely and lovingly, at once justly and compassionately, solely within the limit of death. It shows that we can develop a comprehensive conception of life, and also of death, solely insofar as we learn to overcome the dualistic opposition between philosophy and theology that continues today to falsify our understanding of not only the secular, but also the sacred.

Taking advantage of contradictory elements in oneself and one's situation can lead to better performance all around. In this guide, the authors present a five-step process for using paradoxes to find solutions to a wide range of problems. Includes case studies showing how real people have used paradoxical thinking to solve real problems.

Many Christians acknowledge that they love Jesus but are disillusioned about their spiritual condition. They come to Christ to drink from the well of his new life, yet find that their thirst remains. Why has the Christian life not met their expectations for spiritual growth and how can they satisfy this craving for their Christian walk to have a deeper impact? Do you desperately yearn for a deeper relationship with God? Clive Calver —pastor, preacher and longtime church statesman —can relate. As a young preacher and fairly new Christian, he felt deeply frustrated in his efforts to experience spiritual transformation. Then it dawned on him that Jesus ' death on the cross achieved two things: how to die and how to live. Crucified love was God 's gift to us; resurrected life with Christ was his purpose for us. For far too long we have been presented with a version of the Christian faith that majors on what we get rather than on what we give. The cross has been portrayed as the place where Jesus died for us and where we receive from him but rarely as the location of our joint crucifixion with him. The uncomfortable truth is that Jesus calls us to share his cross. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Fortunately, we don 't have to be some kind of a "Super Christian" to allow God 's power to work through us. Calver shows how a number of ordinary believers have discovered the paradoxical fulfillment of the crucified life as they die to self and serve God and other people. By "dying to live," you too can know the joy of resurrection.

States that no issue divides the Christian community more than homosexuality. This book looks at life on both sides of the liberal/conservative divide that crosses through church and society alike.

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

“Patricia Spadaro is a marvelous guide through the inner realms of the heart. I always feel uplifted by her words." —Marianne Williamson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Return to Love Honor Yourself: The Inner Art of Giving and Receiving (winner of two national book awards) skillfully guides us through one of the key stressors and paradoxes of our time—how to balance what others need with what we need, how to give and to receive. Should I sacrifice for others or take time to care for myself? Be generous or draw boundaries? Stay in a relationship or say goodbye? When I give to others, do I really need to give up myself? Tensions like these are not only a natural part of life, they are life. But rather than focusing on how to pamper ourselves, Honor Yourself goes to the heart of the problem so you can find real solutions. While modern society is ill-equipped to bring us back into balance, the sages of East and West are experts, and Honor Yourself explores their practical, and surprising, advice. Combining wisdom from around the world with real-life stories and a treasury of tools, it exposes the most potent myths about giving that can sabotage your relationships, career, finances, even your health, without you knowing it. With candor and compassion, it shows how to move beyond the myths to the magic of honoring yourself so you can live a life filled with possibility and passion and give your greatest gifts to your loved ones, your community, and the world. We are called to master the delicate dance of giving and receiving in virtually every area of our lives, and this beautiful work offers empowering and heartfelt ways to do it. It will free you to celebrate your own gifts and greatness as you explore the dynamics behind setting boundaries, being honest about unhealthy people in your life, honoring endings, using feelings to stay true to yourself, finding your own voice, giving with the heart rather than the head, and much more. Just as importantly, Honor Yourself will teach you the steps for staying in balance. For when you learn the steps, you can perform the dance—and that's when the magic begins.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Lucifer Effect comes a breakthrough book that draws on thirty years of pioneering research to reveal, for the first time, how your individual time perspective shapes your life and is shaped by the world around you. This is the first paradox of time: Your attitudes toward time have a profound impact on your life and world, yet you seldom recognize it. Our goal is to help you reclaim yesterday, enjoy today, and master tomorrow with new ways of seeing and working with your past, present, and future. Just as Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences permanently altered our understanding of intelligence and Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink gave us an appreciation for the adaptive unconscious, Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd’s new book changes the way we think about and experience time. It will give you new insights into how family conflicts can be resolved by ways to enhance your sexuality and sensuality, and mindsets for becoming more successful in business and happier in your life. Based on the latest psychological research, The Time Paradox is both a "big think" guide for living in the twenty-first century and one of those rare self-help books that really does have the power to improve lives.