Book Review

“The Biggest Bluff” intertwines poker intricacies with life lessons, emphasizing self-awareness, the dynamics of luck and skill, and the importance of personal growth.

Idea Almanac

Lessons of the Balance. How to get rid of addiction ?

  • The relentless pursuit of pleasure (and avoidance of pain) leads to pain.
  • Recovery begins with abstinence.
  • Abstinence resets the brain’s reward pathway and with it our capacity to take joy in simpler pleasures.
  • Self-binding creates literal and metacognitive space between desire and consumption, a modern necessity in our dopamine-overloaded world.
  • Medications can restore homeostasis, but consider what we lose by medicating away our pain.
  • Pressing on the pain side resets our balance to the side of pleasure…

Excerpt From: Anna Lembke. “Dopamine Nation.”

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“When we say thank you, we release powerful energy into the world. We are instantly present. We realize everything we have is enough. We are enough. We have all that we need. Knowing this and feeling this is the most powerful force in the universe. You can literally achieve anything when you ground yourself in appreciation and gratitude.
Want to be wealthy? Happy? Peaceful? Say thank you. It’s that simple.”

Excerpt From: Ken Honda. “Happy Money.”

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Fear is like a flu virus. It is everywhere and is always seeking opportunities to invade us. When one is vulnerable, fear enters and plants itself deeply into our hearts. It feeds on other emotions, such as loneliness and neediness, and multiplies at a fast pace. Unless the flu gets treated properly, the person acts as a carrier of the virus and spreads it to others. Unlike a flu virus, however, there is a formula to treat fear: the words “Thank you.”  Fear, anxiety, and appreciation cannot coexist at the same time, so if one is always content with life and well connected emotionally with others, then he or she will never be invaded by fear.

Bray Attwood, Janet; Honda, Ken. Maro Up: The Secret to Success Begins with Arigato: Wisdom from the “Warren Buffet of Japan” (p. 29).

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“Over the next couple of weeks, I started to notice that my mood after a cold shower was better. I researched cold-water therapy online and found a community of people taking ice baths. It seemed kind of crazy, but I was desperate. Following their lead, I progressed from cold showers to filling my bathtub with cold water and immersing myself in it. That worked even better, so I upped the ante and added ice to the tub water to get the temperature even lower. By doing that, I could get the temp to the mid-fifties.“I got into a routine where I immersed myself in ice water for five to ten minutes every morning and again just before bed. I did that every day for the next three years. It was key to my recovery.”

Excerpt From: Anna Lembke. “Dopamine Nation.”