Recommended Books, Audio Products, and Other Resources

Sometimes it’s hard to decide what books, music and self help materials to use for yourself and to recommend to your patients. Because of this, I have compiled a list of some of my personal favorites for your own health and, because life balance should be fun, I’ve included some fun favorites here to. I encourage you to read and enjoy these titles and to leave them in your waiting room for your patients and staff. — Lee Lipsenthal, MD, ABHM

Finding Balance in a Medical Life by Lee Lipsenthal, MD, ABHM
My goal with this book is to help you to understand the structure of medicine and how it got to this place historically, the structure of your personality and how you got to be that person. He book will then teach you how you can begin to make changes in your life to restructure your life to fit your values and life purpose. Available through Amazon.

Finding Balance Meditation CD by Lee Lipsenthal, MD, ABHM
This CD is a guided series of meditations and imageries to deepen your self awareness and shift you perspectives. It makes learning meditation simple and straightforward. I was very blessed to have the great producer/musician Frank Harris work with me to create this CD. This is a good CD for you and your patients. Available through me.

Helpful Products
emWave – This remarkable, hand held device, helps you assess your autonomic tone on a moment to moment basis. I keep mine with me at all times. A fun way to learn how to relax; biofeedback in your pocket and much more. You can find more information here.

emWave PC - This software/hardware package allows you to learn how to manage your autonomic tone and stress levels with moment to moment readings and trackable changes over time. Similar to the emWave above, but with much more information. This is a great teaching device for you and your patients. It can show them the effects of their moods on their physiology. You can find more information here.

Recommended Books and CDs
That Which You Are Seeking Is Causing You to Seek
by Cheri Huber
I am a huge fan of all of Cheri’s books. This is the one, handed to me by a patient, that captured me. It is a gentle and simple reminder to be present in life, stop whining and to learn how to enjoy the moment. I encourage you to look at all of Cheri’s titles and pick the one which resonates for you. If you can’t decide, start here.

Transforming Stress
by Doc Lew Childre & Howard Martin
This book changed my life in a simple and fun way. Through it I learned many of the techniques which I use in my workshops. As a meditation practitioner for many years, I knew how to calm myself and feel connected with a larger purpose, but I didn’t have quick tools to get calm and clear in the moment of stressful events. This book did it for me and explained the neuro-physiology behind the techniques. It is written in lay language so you and your patient will understand it deeply. This is a good book for you and your patients. You can order it here.

Stress Relief Through Guided Imagery
by Marty Rossman MD
Marty is the founder of the Academy for Guided Imagery eh is a great teacher and has an incredible way of aiding relaxation. This is a good tool for you and your patients. He also has fantastic guided imagery CDs for patients managing multiple health issues.

Wherever You Go There You Are
by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Jon is the pioneer of mindfulness based stress management, a very simple yet powerful form of meditation. He has done years of research and teaching in this area. This book contains the key messages of this process. His meditation CDs are also wonderful.

The Physician Personality
Chained to the Desk
by Bryan Robinson
This book is the best description of addictive behaviors ever written. I consider it a must read for doctors for themselves and those they work with as well as patients who have addictive or compulsive tendencies. It describes the genesis of the behaviors and the effects in can have on the family. It also describes care addiction or the need to be needed, an issue for many of us in health care.

Co-Dependent No More
by Melody Beattie
While this was originally written for people managing addiction, it aptly frames the concepts of living for others which is the root cause of care fatigue. Many of us docs suffer from this indeed.

What We May Be: Techniques for Psychological and Spiritual Growth Through Psychosynthesis
by Piero Ferrucci
This book is filled with exercises and thoughts around the concepts of Psychosynthesis and our personality structure. It will help you to become more mindful, aware and to understand yourself more deeply.

Soul Play
by Vivian King, PhD
This is a fun way to look at our personalities. The basic premise is that you are the director of you life play, that your sub-personalities (facets of our personality structure) are the actors and that god is the playwright. You get to choose the actors you need for each part of the play, but god writes the script. This leaves you in a fun dance between creation and acceptance.

Emotional Intelligence
by Daniel Goleman, PhD
This book explains why some people are successful and others, who are equally intelligent, are not. Success in life takes intellectual knowledge and the ability to interact healthfully with others. For any of you interested in being a better manager or parent, I highly recommend this one.

Be the Person You Want to Be
by Cheri Huber
This fun read combines the concepts of psychosynthesis and meditation to help you to re-organize’ your personality structure.

The Resilient Physician:
Effective Emotional Management for Doctors and Their Medical Organizations
by Wayne M. Sotile and Mary O. Sotile
This book is a great overview of the physician personality and its effect on relationships and health systems

Relationships
Love & Survival: 8 Pathways to Intimacy and Health
by Dean Ornish, M.D
Here Dean does a masterful job at reviewing the literature on relationships and health. Beautifully done and inspiring.

The Medical Marriage: Sustaining Healthy Relationships for Physicians and Their Families
by Wayne M. Sotile and Mary O. Sotile
This book looks at physician personality issues, medical training and how it affects our relationships. A great overview for physicians and their families.

A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon
This is an incredible and insightful description of the how love develops from the view of psychology and physiology.

The Multi-Orgasmic Couple: Sexual Secrets Every Couple Should Know
by Mantak Chia, Maneewan Chia, Douglas Abrams, and Rachel Carlton Abrams
The title makes this book sound like a wild sex manual. In reality, it is a deep and insightful look at maintaining and growing presence and communication in a couples’ relationship. It is based in philosophy, tantra and mindfulness.

Nonviolent Communication
by Marshall B. Rosenberg
This book describes ways to make yourself understood with clarity and non-aggressiveness.

Spirituality and Philosophy
A Path with Heart: A Guide through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
by Jack Kornfeld
I read this book on a plane flight from San Francisco to Florida. I was a different person when I got off that plane. Jack is a psychologist and meditation teacher. This book tells of his journey towards living from his heart. Deep, sweet and inspirational.

Forgive for Good
by Fred Luskin
This book is a step by step guide to learning forgiveness. For those of you who tend to hold grudges, this is a must read. Dr. Luskin explains how forgiveness helps you, it is not to condone the other persons transgression.

Graceful Passages
by Gary Malkin (CD)
One of the most beautiful spoken word and music pieces ever created. I recommend that all clinicians listen to this. The topic is around passing, but it will resonate deeply with you and your patients.

Dharma Punx
by Noah Levine
It is the story of a young punk rocker and drug user who, through meditation finds his way to a sense of calm and no longer needing drugs. This book was personally validating for me as is expresses how rock music can be transformative. A great read for you and your older teen.

Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self
by Sandra Ingerman
This book is a great description of the role of the shaman and how shamanic healing occurs.

The Way of the Shaman
by Michael Harner
This book gives an historical context to the role of the shaman and native belief systems in health and healing.

Literature, Story Telling and Poetry
Kitchen Table Wisdom
by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD
This is a wonderful collection of deeply moving stories by a brilliant physician.

The Heart Aroused: Poetry & The Preservation of the Soul  
by David Whyte,
This is a magnificent book of poetry that will inspire life changes

The Tennis Partner
by Abraham Verghese, MD
This is the true story of a faculty member and his brilliant young resident struggling with addiction.

Fitness & Yoga
Yoga as Medicine
by Timothy McCall, MD
Tim is a primary care physician who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has traveled to India and throughout the United States observing, training with, and interviewing the world’s leading yoga teachers and therapists. This book is a collection of his findings and existing research of yoga as it relates to treatment of health issues.

Healthy Eating
Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease
by Dean Ornish, MD
This book explains how the best way to achieve health is to live a completely balanced life. Dean explains how diet, exercise and managing stress affect the heart’s health. It is backed up with solid research and great stories.

The Spectrum Diet
by Dean Ornish, MD
Dean updates his past book and gives a balanced view of diet and health as it relates to the readers level of risks.

The Omnivore’s Dilema
by Michael Pollan
My wife gave me this book for the holidays. My initial response was “oh great, a diet book”. Boy was I wrong. This book is a fantastic read, entertaining and a bit frightening, looking at the evolution and industry of human eating behaviors. It is the most insightful book that I have read in this area.

Integrative Holistic Medicine
Integrative Medicine
by David Rakel, MD
This book is the best collection of information that I have found in the area of Integrative medicine. A wonderful resource.

Medical History & Practice
Time to Heal:
American Medical Education from the Turn of the Century to the Era of Managed Care
by Kenneth M. Ludmerer
If you are interested in the history of modern medicine, this book is eye opening.

Reclaiming Our Health:
Exploding the Medical Myth & Embracing the Source of True Healing
by John Robbins
In part an expose of the American Medical System and great thoughts on how that system can become healthier.

Physicians Survival Guide to Litigation Stress
by John M. James, Ph.D. and W. Edward Davis, MD
This is an excellent overview of the emotional impact of medical liability with sage advice on managing the personal and professional damage often associated with law suits.

Fun Science
Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality
by Dean Radin
Dean is a researcher in the area of non-local scientific phenomenon. He is the chief researcher at The Institute for Noetic Sciences. This book is a bout ‘world’ energetics.

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
by Daniel J. Levitin
A fun read about how humans respond to music of all kinds and how it affects our physiology.

Living Deeply; The Art & Science of Transformation in Everyday Life
by Marilyn Schlitz, Cassandra Vieten, et al.,
This book is an evaluation of consciousness based on interviews with some of the top spiritual leaders and scientists in the world.