LIVING FROM THE SOUL

A comprehensive guide to healing that incorporates psychological, physical, and spiritual practices for overall wellness.

As an integrative psychiatrist and neuroscientist, Lavretsky aims to help readers use scientifically backed strategies alongside time-tested spiritual practices to improve overall life satisfaction by “living from the Soul” (which occurs when people are “living in their authenticity, uninfluenced by others, or any events in their lives”). The author discusses why and how one can get in touch with the soul and the importance of learning how to self-regulate, which is essentially the process in which one learns to change emotional and physical responses to particular situations. The idea is that changing behavior can eventually lead to a more positive and adaptive rewiring of the brain, allowing people to experience the world around them more fully. Building this sense of resilience and elasticity can ultimately help people meet problems head-on with minimal physical or mental suffering, per Lavretsky. The author provides a handful of diagrams at the book’s beginning that can aid more visual learners, including one detailing the brain regions involved in emotion regulation and the body’s chakra centers. Lavretsky suggests a plethora of various methods and tools from which readers can choose on their way to healing, including breathing exercises, grounding, and acupuncture for self-regulation and mindfulness meditation, trauma-informed yoga, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for healing trauma. The variety of options greatly increases the likelihood that readers will find something that speaks to them personally. In between passages offering concrete advice, Lavretsky often waxes philosophical about the issues at hand, such as the idea of consciousness as it relates to the self and “spiritual emergences” that can occur both with or without the use of psychedelics. While these musings are certainly intriguing, they may not appeal to audiences who are unfamiliar with alternative medicine in general. Ultimately, the author delivers a detailed, somewhat loquacious handbook for those hoping to strengthen their mind, body, and spirit connection.

A dense, thorough guide that alternates philosophical musings with concrete suggestions.