Body-shifting through literature

“We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically,” says neuroscientist Gregory Berns.”

“The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist,” Berns says.”

“The neural changes were not just immediate reactions, Berns says, since they persisted the morning after the readings, and for the five days after the participants completed the novel.”

“It remains an open question how long these neural changes might last,” Berns says. “But the fact that we’re detecting them over a few days for a randomly assigned novel suggests that your favorite novels could certainly have a bigger and longer-lasting effect on the biology of your brain.”

Source: http://esciencecommons.blogspot.ca/2013/12/a-novel-look-at-how-stories-may-change.html?m=1

Read Novels for a Better You

“Love of reading is the key not only to further learning and knowledge, but also to a better and more fulfilled life with unlimited enjoyment and participation in the arts and culture.”

“We cannot begin to understand the world without reading books, newspapers and magazines. Reading teaches empathy in a way that the computer games which many [...]  children play never can.”

“Earlier this year the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a rich countries’ think-tank, revealed that the strongest indicator of the future success of children was not which school they attended or whether their family was wealthy, but if they read for pleasure at the age of 15. Reading teaches children how to express themselves, to broaden their emotional horizons and to cope with difficult situations. It is not just about learning and widening their vocabulary and experiences, but also about understanding the human condition and the lives of others.”

Furthermore, “our skills, intelligence, the way we behave as citizens and the ability to think critically depend on reading”.

Source: timesofmalta.com

In Literature United

The “fundamental conflict of our times is not the clash between two civilisations, but doctrines-religious and ethnic fundamentalism on the one hand, secular consumerist capitalism on the other.”

“It is true of terrorism as it is of modern civil conflicts that men of war prey on the ignorance of the populace to instill fear and arouse hatred”; “murderous, even genocidal ideologies took root in the absence of truthful information and honest education.”

“If only half the effort had gone into teaching those people what unites them, and not what divides them, unspeakable crimes could have been prevented”.

“Literature can bring down violence in today’s world as reading and writing broadens minds. … Two contradictory forces shape the world of letters today …  the first is globalisation of human imagination and the second is anxiety of audience.”

From: newindianexpress.com

Readers vs Non-Readers

"The world is divided between readers and non-readers – and the difference between the two is enormous and unbridgeable.

Readers absorb; non-readers broadcast.

Readers know stuff; non-readers are running on empty.

Readers are curious; non-readers aren't.

Readers are obsessed with the world beyond themselves; non-readers are self-obsessed.

Reading, like any addiction, has its problems. Once you discover that the best books are better company than most people, you can lose patience with the company of most people. To be caught without a book or a paper in a queue, at an airport or on a train, is extreme agony.The cure for the addiction, though, is easy – always have a book or paper on you; and do your best to minimise your time in the company of boring people – themselves almost always non-readers."

From: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/harrymount/100070190/the-world-is-divided-between-interesting-readers-and-boring-non-readers/



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Reading Fiction Leads to Sophisticated Thinking and Greater Creativity

"Are you uncomfortable with ambiguity? It’s a common condition, but a highly problematic one. The compulsion to quell that unease can inspire snap judgments, rigid thinking, and bad decision-making.Fortunately, new research suggests a simple anecdote for this affliction: Read more literary fiction."

"So how does literature induce this ease with the unknown?"

Researchers have the answer:

“Exposure to literature,” the researchers write in the Creativity Research Journal,“may offer a (way for people) to become more likely to open their minds."

“The thinking a person engages in while reading fiction does not necessarily lead him or her to a decision,” they note. This, they observe, decreases the reader’s need to come to a definitive conclusion.

“Furthermore,” they add, “while reading, the reader can stimulate the thinking styles even of people he or she might personally dislike. One can think along and even feel along with Humbert Humbert in Lolita, no matter how offensive one finds this character.

"This double release—of thinking through events without concerns for urgency and permanence, and thinking in ways that are different than one’s own—may produce effects of opening the mind."

From: http://www.psmag.com/blogs/news-blog/reading-literature-opens-minds-60021/



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A Place Only Deep Reading Can Take Us

"To understand why we should be concerned about how young people read, and not just whether they’re reading at all, it helps to know something about the way the ability to read evolved. ... Unlike the ability to understand and produce spoken language, which under normal circumstances will unfold according to a program dictated by our genes, the ability to read must be painstakingly acquired by each individual.

"The “reading circuits” we construct are recruited from structures in the brain that evolved for other purposes—and these circuits can be feeble or they can be robust, depending on how often and how vigorously we use them.

"The deep reader, protected from distractions and attuned to the nuances of language, enters a state that psychologist Victor Nell, in a study of the psychology of pleasure reading,likens to a hypnotic trance. Nell found that when readers are enjoying the experience the most, the pace of their reading actually slows. The combination of fast, fluent decoding of words and slow, unhurried progress on the page gives deep readers time to enrich their reading with reflection, analysis, and their own memories and opinions. It gives them time to establish an intimate relationship with the author, the two of them engaged in an extended and ardent conversation like people falling in love.

This is not reading as many young people are coming to know it. Their reading is pragmatic and instrumental: the difference between what literary critic Frank Kermodecalls “carnal reading” and “spiritual reading.” If we allow our offspring to believe that carnal reading is all there is—if we don’t open the door to spiritual reading, through an early insistence on discipline and practice—we will have cheated them of an enjoyable, even ecstatic experience they would not otherwise encounter. And we will have deprived them of an elevating and enlightening experience that will enlarge them as people. Observing young people’s attachment to digital devices, some progressive educators and permissive parents talk about needing to “meet kids where they are,” molding instruction around their onscreen habits. This is mistaken. We need, rather, to show them someplace they’ve never been, a place only deep reading can take them."

More: http://ideas.time.com/2013/06/03/why-we-should-read-literature/



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Reading: The best Habit

"One of the best habits a parent or individual can inculcate in a child is the habit of reading. To encourage a child the pursuit of reading in the early stages is to ensure a continous process of discovery and learning, bridging the gap that the shortcomings of a formal system of education may have, which makes reading even more imperative. Reading books has many benefits both mentally and morally. What was once a preserve of the affluent and elite in society is now a tool of empowerment to the common man. 

"The experience of reading can be for everyone. It brings out the rationalist in you and at the save time teaches you to dream. It takes you on journeys to far-off places and brings you back with a better realisation of the worth of your place and your own. It lets you like the lives of unknown men and women, feeling their joys and tears, getting carried away in their causes. Some inspire, some are lessons in introspection. For those who came in late, it’s never too late to begin. To not experience the joys of reading, therein lies the travesty."

From: http://www.morungexpress.com/Perspective/95891.html



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
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Books by Jack King:


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The Roots of Empathy, Compassion, and Ethical Behavior: Books

"it is this capacity to make up stories that makes us act morally. When we tell and hear stories about others, we discover an impulse to seek to understand their behavior. Instead of simply ascribing universal negative traits to describe behavior that we find troubling in others, we seek to describe actions using impulses that we understand. For example, instead of assuming that someone who cuts in traffic is unforgivably self-absorbed, the person who fills his or her life with stories will imagine that said traffic-cutter is rushing to the hospital. ...

Stories are so important to the way that we relate to each other socially. They teach us to reconsider preconceptions and try on new perspectives. They teach us to imagine the stories behind the behavior we see in the world. They teach us compassion."

More: http://m.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/04/05/reading-period



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Read fiction to combat insomnia

"Insomnia seems to be becoming increasingly common, and good sleep hygiene ... plus a basic understanding of the nature of sleep ... can help us to return to a good regular sleep pattern...

The trick is to slip from the real world to the dream one, so lying there rigid with anxiety to achieve unconsciousness is never going to work.

Reading fiction, on the other hand, acts as a first breakaway from reality and gives the mind a first hold on the suppressed state of dream that is so firmly denied all day.

... steer clear of non-fiction books. Read to go into another world, and raise no resistance. Dream actually comes before sleep, and is the way in."

From: http://m.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/13/cognitive-behaviour-therapy-suzanne-moore



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
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Reading and social intelligence

"By the time we’re young adults, we’ve all intuited it to some degree: people who’re ardent readers of fiction seem to have the ability to engage with others in a manner that is completely lost on non-readers. A teenage boy-girl sibling combo might evidence a situation where the boy, whose extra-curricular life is dominated by sports, finds himself completely lost as he watches his fiction-loving sister routinely blend in with ease with both older contemporaries and adults at family gatherings, even having the occasional poignant conversation with a great-aunt or grandmother."

Why is it? Glad you asked:

"fiction-reading leads to one being more empathising and socially intelligent... reading fiction develops in one the ability to construct a map of the thoughts and feelings that are occurring in the minds of other people. This is what developmental psychologists refer to as ‘theory of mind’.

When one identifies with the emotions that are materialising in another person, it is called empathy, one of the core aspects of emotional intelligence...

fiction – and in particular narrative – is an exercise in empathy. In reading narrative, we join ourselves emotionally with the protagonist, in a manner experiencing his or her emotions as they navigate through the struggles in their lives. The overarching importance is in the fact that we, the reader, get to view situations from the articulated points-of-view of others.

Additionally, we lend ourselves to situations we have never yet experienced, understand the ways of people completely peculiar to us, and thus begin to acquire familiarity with such novelties that we may later face in life; novelties we would otherwise be helpless to understand except through one awkward effort at a time, usually exposing us to great friction with the unfamiliar environment first.In other words, reading provides us with: “the ability to sensitise…to the emotions of other people, transcending the limits of our own experiences and perspective”.

More: http://tribune.com.pk/story/518680/because-novel-readers-are-more-socially-intelligent/



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
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Books, nutrition for the soul

"Books are nutrition for the soul.

When creative participation is required, imagination engaged, the experience reaches beyond dubious sustenance to gourmet richness.

Reading is fundamental. Fundamental to learning, yes; but also to thinking. To creativity and imagination, as applied in a very practical sense to life, to work, to growth.

According to the National Literacy Trust, regular book readers have not only better vocabularies, but also more confidence and greater understanding of other people, issues, and cultures. Reading also benefits society; book readers are also more likely to engage in their communities and be better decision makers."

More: http://m.cdapress.com/columns/sholeh_patrick/article_f75c53b8-2123-504d-9b34-504af35261b3.html



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
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Bibliotherapy

The "Center for Fiction—a nonprofit that holds readings and events, gives writers office space and promotes the general celebration of literature—called A Novel Approach, in which writers and editors involved with the center (“bibliotherapists”) will give you a 45-minute consultation dealing with the life crisis of your choice and prescribe a year’s worth of reading to help you get through it. ...

people who consider themselves serious readers believe that reading is “making their lives better, and that they are becoming better human beings through reading".

From: http://observer.com/2013/02/how-literature-saved-my-psyche-attending-a-book-themed-therapy-session-at-the-center-for-fiction/



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
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Reading fiction aloud is therapeutic

The "Liverpool-based charity The Reader Organisation ... seeks to bring about a "reading revolution" by encouraging people to read poetry and novels aloud to each other.

The Swiss linguist and thinker Ferdinand de Saussure describes language as a form of treasure that is shared with others when we speak. Treasure is also something that can be hoarded. If you keep all the good words – the rich, descriptive, wild long words – to yourself then you retain their high value. Share them with the masses and you end up ... with the linguistic means to create a society of equals, which is exactly what the hoarders of social and cultural capital don't want.

...the benefits of reading in company as described by one woman: "Doctors and stuff aren't always what you need. Other people can help too.

"The accumulated experience of peers and equals, all of whom have been in the same boat at one point or other, is shared to the benefit of everyone. It's hard to think of a more powerful, not to mention empowering, sentiment."

More: http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/01/reading-fiction-friends-therapeutic



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
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Stop arguing, start reading

We can't get along because "People who belong to different communities —with different ideas, experiences, and values— will hold different standards of reason." However, reading has the power to unite us:

"The political divide in America can be seen as a geographical problem: Red and Blue Americans disagree deeply ... when you don’t share experiences with someone — when you lack a common perspective — it’s easy to think of their opinions as arbitrary and wrong. ...

Reading fiction has the power to change it...

"To create a more inclusive society you need to expand community boundaries; you can’t use reason to expand those boundaries because reason itself is parochial; fiction, however, has the power to cross communities and make strangers intelligible to each other; and once a community has been enlarged, it becomes possible for the members of the expanded community to practice politics together using shared standards of reason.

The power that Rorty ascribed to fiction led him to conclude that the novel is "the characteristic genre of democracy.”

And indeed, if there’s an opening in the literary fiction market right now, it might be for a novel that translates across the partisan gap.

That may seem like a lot to ask of a story, but Rorty, who admired Uncle Tom’s Cabin, would have said that fiction has moved bigger mountains before."

More: http://mobile.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/2013/01/the_political_d



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
Coming soon:


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Read fiction to be a good person

Yet another study finds reading fiction makes us better persons:

"During the act of reading engaging fiction, we can lose all sense of time. By the final chapter of the right book, we feel changed in our own lives, even if what we've read is entirely made up.

Research says that’s because while you’re engaged in fiction — unlike nonfiction — you’re given a safe arena to experience emotions without the need for self-protection. Since the events you’re reading about do not follow you into your own life, you can feel strong emotions freely.

The Dutch study found that good fiction—the kind that sucks you in with characters you can identify with—can have a lasting effect on a person’s expression of empathy. Bad fiction, the kind you can’t really get into, has exactly the opposite effect."

More: http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/healthline-connects/reading-fiction-increases-empathy-013013



SpyWriter Jack King, the author of:
Agents of Change, WikiJustice, The Black Vault, and The Fifth Internationale.
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Depressed? Literature more effective than pills

"Reading books is more effective than pills or therapy when it comes to treating depression, according to a study published in Plos One. The research studied a sample of 281 patients in the UK with mild symptoms divided into two groups. The first group were given a self-help book that followed the cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approach, while the second group underwent a series of traditional therapies based on therapy sessions and antidepressants. After four months, the group that read the CBT guide showed greater signs of improvement. CBT concentrates the patient on the present, rather than analysing and re-living memories and childhood traumas. The therapy helps to identify and modify thought disorders and irrational mental patterns."

More:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0052735
http://www.west-info.eu/cbt-books-the-best-therapy-for-depression/

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Study literature to succeed in business

"Arguably, literature and the humanities have a lot to say about the world of business and the world in general. Ask most business leaders what keeps them up at night, and the answer will rarely be issues of process, technology or numbers – although all of that is certainly complicated and challenging. Rather, what leaders struggle with usually comes down to the people stuff. And by that they mean the complex and often contradictory nature of human beings. ...

Insights from literature and the humanities are particularly valuable when trying to understand behaviour that doesn't seem to make sense in a classic economic analysis. Examples of people being confusing in the world of business abound, whether dealing with colleagues, partners or customers. ...

As a way of approaching complex reflection, nothing beats the fragility, the openness, and the contradictory nature of the literary text.

A more sustainable business is surely a more human business. If we continue to ignore human complexity, and human motivations beyond profit, eventually people will turn their backs on commerce. It is already starting to happen."

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/what-can-literature-teach-about-business




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Chosing TV over Books is Dangerous to Society

"TV serials are penned by those who have very little experience about life and society. Thus it has become a social danger...

Most of the people are now watching sub standard TV serials. These serials make the viewers ... consumers. This situation will kill the human ability of thinking. But the reading of books gives a totally different experience. ...

...even the educated sections of the society are loosing their thinking power by seeing the pulp serials... Such serials can create only consumers but not the thinking class of people. This is what the consumer corporate world wanted ... for whom consumerism is the only aim and objective. By going away from the reading habit one's thinking power gets lost. Thus people loose the great opportunity of learning to grow."

More: http://m.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/bring-back-reading-habit-to-the-society-urges-adoor/article4312728.ece/



SpyWriter Jack King || "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" || Author of Political Thrillers || www.SpyWriter.com

Writing as therapy

With all possible therapies in vogue, we haven't bothered to focus on the very word- therapy. In fact, each city of this country should host a regular get- together of authors and poets and writers. Give it any name of your choice; after all what's in a name! ...

In fact, if diary - writing along the format of daily outpourings be made compulsory in hospitals, jails, wards cum asylums, refugee camps, night or day shelters, then those stress related symptoms would lessen. As writing along the offloading and unleashing format has that potential to heal. ...

...writing helped me to recover from a series of severe nervous breakdowns. ...'Each time my love affairs failed I suffered a nervous breakdown and the only 'thing' that helped me recover and brought about some relief was writing a novel... My meeting with Sigmund Freud just after the first nervous breakdown in 1927 helped me to some extent but its actually writing novels that helped me towards total recovery."

Other writers who were helped by writing:  http://www.kashmirtimes.com/newsdet.aspx?q=11202



SpyWriter Jack King || "A new King of thrillers on the horizon" || Author of Political Thrillers || www.SpyWriter.com

Reading Classic Literature Boosts Brain Power

"Reading books can help your brain – of that there is little doubt. But a new scientific study and a recently released book have taken that concept to an entirely new level, showing that what you read, how you read, and how you apply lessons learned from the experience could have a tremendous impact on your thought-processes and problem-solving skills.

Serious literature acts like a rocket-booster to the brain... The research shows the power of literature to shift mental pathways, to create new thoughts, shapes and connections in the young and the staid alike."

More: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112763043/brain-gets-a-boost-from-classical-literature-and-poetry-011413/



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