Thorsons
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First published in the US by by St. Martin’s Press 2019
This UK edition published by Thorsons 2019
© James Fell 2019
Cover layout design by Micaela Alcaino © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019
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Source ISBN: 9780008288686
Ebook Edition © November 2018 ISBN: 9780008288693
Version 2018-12-07
Hi, Mom
CONTENTS
Introduction: The Librarian Who Put Down the Cigarettes and Picked Up a Sword
PART ONE: EPIPHANY AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR CHANGE
1 The Antidote to Despair: The Euphoria of the Life-Changing Moment
2 Embracing Chaos: Quantum vs. Linear Behavior Change in the Role of Epiphany
3 You, Part 2: Finding Purpose via Epiphany
PART TWO: EPIPHANY AND THE EMOTIONAL SELF
4 What’s Going On in There?: The Brain Science of the Holy Shit Moment
5 The Rock-Bottom Hypothesis: The Power of Epiphany to Battle Addiction
6 The Hand of God: Exploring Religious Epiphany
7 The Power of Love: How Passion for Life and Love Inspires Sudden Change
8 Dreamers Aren’t Doers: Making Positive Fantasies Work for You Instead of Against You
9 Nudging Toward the Leap: Battling the Status Quo and Preparing Your Mind for Epiphany
10 Shamans, Drugs, and Rock and Roll: External Assistance in the Reevaluation of Reality
Psychology is not an exact science.
It is a field that Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory would deride for its lack of mathematical verifiability, and he’d be right. After all, when Sigmund Freud was pulling stuff out of a lower orifice to describe the “anal stage” of psychosexual development, Albert Einstein was creating theories of the universe that remain valid to this day.
Humanity’s understanding of physics allows humans to build rockets that only sometimes explode. Our understanding of psychology allows us to … uh … wait.
It’s not as bad as I allude to, but it is a discipline in flux. Homo sapiens’ neurological processing unit is complex and beyond our current understanding of mathematical formulae to neatly explain.
When I first approached the life-changing epiphany as an idea for a book, I expected it would be a water-cooler “Hey, check out this interesting information” variety of tome. Like a Malcolm Gladwell book, but with swearing and the occasional mention of poop.
I never imagined it could be a “how-to.”
But the more I researched, the more realistic the idea became. I gathered studies and spoke to smart people. I tried it on myself and my clients. I wrote articles and received enlightening responses.
There are no guarantees in life, but there is