Finding the Freedom to Get Unstuck and Be Happier - Paperback

by Ven Dr Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile (Author)

The ancient and scientific secrets to getting unstuck from negative habits

Everyone gets stuck in habitual patterns, including emotional, behavioral, and relational habits. We have the same arguments repeatedly with our parents, partners,
and children despite wanting to stop. Often by the time we realize we're stuck, we no longer know how to get unstuck. The secret to finding freedom is to understand karma
and free will.

Why is it useful to understand karma and free will correctly? If you misunderstand karma, you're more likely to get stuck. And if you misunderstand free will, you're more likely to stay stuck.
Joining Western psychological science and traditional Buddhism, experimental psychologist and Zen monk Ven. Dr. Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile describes how our minds can be simultaneously our greatest weakness and greatest asset. We are controlled by both external forces and internal habits of mind, while simultaneously believing ourselves to be 'free'. This conundrum can be solved by seeing where our biases begin, how our natural ability to learn traps us, and how we unintentionally undermine the progress we intend to make. This book can help you find freedom from negative habits, relationship patterns, and feelings.

You don't need to be Buddhist to be able to use these ideas to be happier, just as you don't need to be a mathematician to be able to add. You just need to have an accurate understanding of the processes to make them work for you.

Author Biography

Ven. Dr. Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile, Ph.D., is an award-winning research scientist, educator, and author. Professor Gentile conducts research on the media's impact on children and adults, as well as how mindfulness practices can reduce anxiety and improve happiness. Named as one of America's best 300 professors by the Princeton Review, he is a fellow of several scientific organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.

In addition, Ven. Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile is a Zen Buddhist monk and meditation teacher. With decades of scientific research and training in several styles of Buddhism under his belt, he has dual expertise in Western psychological science and Eastern philosophy.

He wrote and narrated the best-selling audiobook Buddhism 101: How to Walk Easily over Rough Ground and Meditation: The Busy Person's Guide to Cultivating Compassion and Positive Mind States. Dr. Gentile has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition and the BBC World Service, and his work has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and hundreds of other media outlets around the world.
Holding a doctorate in child psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Gentile is the author or editor of several books and well over 140 peer-reviewed scientific studies. He holds a M.Div. from Buddha Dharma University and has also trained at the multi-lineage Interdependence Project in New York City.