The Source: Open Your Mind, Change Your Life

Product Information

If I have one complaint about the book is that she assumes a lot of skills and introspection that not all her readers will have. For example, one of her exercises asks you to make three columns on a piece of paper. The first column is for goals, the second is for behaviors keeping you from your goals, and the third column is for beliefs underlying those behaviors. The next step of the exercise is to figure out how to disrupt the beliefs and behaviors that are keeping you from abundance. It seems so easy, except that if you have no skills to do any of that internal metacognitive work, then this could be months of coaching or therapy just to do this activity. This isn't necessarily bad, she just makes it seem like its a short exercise when, in reality, even if you do have the skills for that kind of work, it will probably take many many hours to get through it. Then you'll probably have to do it all again in the future because this kind of stuff never stops coming up. So she isn't wrong, and I don't disagree with the need to do the work. I just felt like she glossed over some really deep processing with the assumption that her readers 1) know how to do it and 2) have reasonable expectations for how hard it is. Dr Tara Swart is a neuroscientist and former psychiatric doctor. She is a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan and visiting senior lecturer at Kings College London, and an executive advisor to some of the world's most respected leaders in media and business. 'The Source' is Tara's third book - she is also lead author of the award-winning 'Neuroscience for Leadership', and co-author of 'An Attitude for Acting'. In 2016 she was named the world's first Neuroscientist-in-Residence at Corinthia Hotel, London, and she is currently in residence at Annabel's private members club, running a series of wellbeing events. She is passionate about teaching others how to apply lessons from cognitive science to enhance everyday lives. Find out more at www.taraswart.com Dr Tara Swart is friendly, charming, and knows what she’s talking about. Having qualified as a doctor, then trained as a neuroscientist, she worked as a psychiatrist before going into private practice as a highly sought-after expert to the rich and famous’

Self-help books like The Secret show us that if we can tap into ‘The Law of Attraction’, we have the power to change our destiny simply by reshaping our mind. Millions of people have used the ancient systems of manifestation and visualisation to find health, success, love, friendship, wealth, and more. But does the ‘Law of Attraction’ actually work? And more important, is this kind of life-changing philosophy within reach for everyone, even the most skeptical among us?

Dr Tara Swart is friendly, charming, and knows what she's talking about. Having qualified as a doctor, then trained as a neuroscientist, she worked as a psychiatrist before going into private practice as a highly sought-after expert to the rich and famous" - Janet Street-Porter, Daily Mail

Self-help books like The Secret promise that we can control our destiny by reshaping our minds. Despite scepticism, these systems have been used by millions of people for generations. Why? The ‘Source’ of the title is what Swart calls our brain when it is functioning to its maximum potential. Achieving this potential is a question of paying attention to our habitual emotional responses and unconscious thought-processes; and where these are causing us problems, learning to reprogram our brain to give us the best chance of success. This, incidentally, is another aspect of the book which I prefer to the Secret. The book does not suggest you passively visualise a cheque and wait for the universe to send it to you, but rather that you work out what your goals are in life, and then prepare yourself to identify and respond to or indeed create opportunities in the best way you can. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that they are not really in control of life. I seem to spend all my time just struggling to keep my head above water, trying hard to be a good parent, a good partner, and a good colleague but with the constant sense of guilt that I’m failing to be a good anything. There are all sorts of things I would like to improve in my life, but it’s hard enough to find the time and energy to fix the leaking tap in the kitchen, let alone deal with anything bigger. At various points in the past I have tried books that have promised to help “Change your life!”, but the new me has never lasted very long, and that has made me feel like things will never change. As Dr. Tara Swart, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and Senior Lecturer at MIT shows us in The Source, if we can strip away our skepticism, these ancient tools of manifestation and visualization are fundamentally powerful and incredibly effective at freeing us of self-limiting behaviors and propelling us toward our truest, most authentic selves. Swart reveals how and why these systems actually work by offering the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience and behavioral psychology, including lessons in neuroplasticity, magneticism, emotional and logical thinking, and even hydration, self-care, and relaxation. Next, she describes her own journey from skeptic to believer, and guides readers through the scientific breakthroughs and personal revelations that changed her from an unhappy, close-minded, and disconnected woman wanting more from life, to a successful entrepreneur living with confidence, purpose, and joy.

If you have an analytical mind that will actually look up what the sources that Swart provides *actually* say, this book is not for you. A phenomenon with all the transformative power of The Secret – but based on ground-breaking neuroscience. The Source explains how neuroscience affects what you attract in your life and discusses the importance of neuroplasticity. As explained in the book, “Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change, the power to create new pathways in the subconscious and conscious parts of our brain.” Since human beings are often creatures of habit, it’s difficult to consider that we have the power to change our thinking and our behavior. We often think that that’s just who we are, but The Source shows you that you can be whoever you want to be if you learn how to rewire your neural pathways. Tara is currently the Chief Science Officer at Heights, was Neuroscience and Psychological Advisor at To Be Magnetic and Chief Neuroscience Officer at Arowana International (Private Equity). I was disappointed to find that this book didn't seem to hold much new information for me, in that there didn't seem to be much I hadn't read before elsewhere about the power of positive thinking, how to approach mindfulness, etc. The author herself references books like THE SECRET, and I felt that THE SOURCE did not provide a great deal of new information that was really any different from the sort of "positive thinking" mindset that has been discussed in books such as THE SECRET, except perhaps that Dr Swart provides several lists of steps to take, whereas THE SECRET is slightly more ephemeral.

I believe what Tara has to say is excellent advice – basically that our brain have a tremendous amount of plasticity and we do not have to be constrained by past memories but can train our brains to do things we always thought were impossible and lessen our recall of negative thoughts. A game-changing blend of neuroscience and no-limits advice. If you have a nagging sense that you are capable of so much more, this book is for you. Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You ThereNeuroscientist Dr Tara Swart works with some of the City's highest-earning and most respected leaders in finance, law and media." - Evening Standard The Source marries universal truths with scientific rigor for a persuasive, important exploration of The Law of Attraction.' - Deepak Chopra MD

Dr Tara Swart is friendly, charming, and knows what she’s talking about. Having qualified as a doctor, then trained as a neuroscientist, she worked as a psychiatrist before going into private practice as a highly sought-after expert to the rich and famous Janet Street-Porter, Daily MailI admit that when I read a book blurb that says you are four steps away......... - then I expect to open the book and hit the ground running. Unfortunately that was not what happened in this book. I was good and read the intro blurb which I would usually skip, thinking I would be rewarded with "the goods" straightaway afterwards. As I got deeper into the book, I was taking notes on her stated techniques. She gave many techniques to show us how we have the power to control and reshape our minds. It’s so fascinating and I connected more with journaling and visualization techniques. A few years ago I became heavily interested in the principles of the law of attraction. While I’ve read a few books about it and watched several videos, none of them thoroughly explained the science behind it. The Source puts science behind the law of attraction. It offers an in-depth scientific explanation of the single most important aspect of the law of attraction… YOUR BRAIN. This one is harder to do if you are at your desk or in the office, so it's a great longer-term exercise to try at home.