No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism by Chris Niebauer

No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism Reviews

• 
  Vanessa Princessa

  THIS IS THE MOST LIFE CHANGING BOOK OF 2019 FOR ME!
  
  I read this book thanks to Blinkist.
  
  The key message in these blinks:
  
  The brain’s left hemisphere is where language is processed; it’s also responsible for categorizing and interpreting reality, as well as recognizing patterns. Together, these processes create the illusion of a stable, continuous self. In order to reduce the left brain’s constant chatter as well as lessen the mental suffering it causes, we can tap into our right-brain consciousness by engaging in Eastern practices, such as yoga and meditation.
  
  Actionable advice:
  
  Have a complaint-free day.
  
  The opposite of gratitude is complaint. And, unfortunately, in contemporary society, complaining has become a common form of social interaction. If you’ve ever found yourself competing with friends to prove that you had the worst day or that your job is the most stressful, then you’re familiar with this phenomenon. If you’d like to get in the habit of feeling true gratitude, a great way to start is to cease complaining. So why not start now? Try to go a full day without making a single complaint.
  
  What to read next:
  
  Buddha’s Brain, by Rick Hanson.
  
  As you now know, the two hemispheres of the human brain have drastically different ways of processing the world. The left brain is categorical; it interprets the world in words, delivering a constant inner monologue. The right brain is holistic; it sees all aspects of the world as interconnected, and is most active when we’re simply doing rather than consciously thinking.
  
  If you’re intrigued by this neuroscientific insight and how it intersects with Eastern teachings, then we highly recommend the blinks to Buddha’s Brain, by Rick Hanson.
  
  Hanson argues that the individuals we tend to regard as enlightened – people such as the Buddha and Jesus – didn’t possess brains with some special, enlightenment-prone quality; rather, they simply tapped into the right hemisphere’s natural abilities. Drawing on the field of neuroscience, he explains how everyone can discipline their brain to follow their lead, thus achieving greater happiness and inner peace.
  
• 
  Douglas Gibson

  
  
  Anyone who has been around me the past two weeks has already heard all about this book. It has had a “cult like” effect on me and I can’t stop talking about it. This book is an absolute MUST read for anyone who is on any type of journey of self-improvement.
  Once you are converted to this book’s way of understanding what your left brain is doing to you- you will be able to stop gossiping, stop complaining, stop hating yourself, and stop being hurt by the comments of others.
  I have been putting some of the practices that I have learned in this book to work the past two weeks and they have already helped to improve my mood, well being, and my relationships with others.
  This quote from the book sums up much of what the book sets out to teach; “ Recognizing what the left brain does has immense practical benefits. Simply becoming aware of the interpreter and the endless categories it creates through judgment frees you from being tied to the inevitability of these judgments. That is just say, when you become conscious of the interpreter, you are free to choose to no longer take its interpretation so seriously. In other words when you realize that everyone’s brain is constantly interpreting, in ways that are subjective and often inaccurate or completely incorrect, you might find yourself able to grasp this as “just my opinion “or “the way I see it” rather than “this is the way it is.” You begin to see your judgment as simply a different line in the sand than others. When someone approaches you with a “this is the way it is“ attitude you can appreciate that this person is dominated by the left brain, that they are servant to its master. As a result, there is no need to take their actions or attitudes personally; it’s a biological function that they have not yet recognized. This small perspective shift is enough to change how we live with each other and ourselves.” Page 32
  
• 
  Andrew Kitzmiller

  The left brain is the enemy
  
  My left brain had a problem accepting the premise of this book; that the story telling part of the brain is responsible for all suffering and delusion. My right brain gave it 4 stars.
• 
  Moh. Nasiri

  
  خود را مبین که رستی
  “No self, no problem.”
  The brain’s tendency to perceive patterns creates the illusion of the self and can cause mental suffering. 
  مشکل از خودبینی است: خودبینی نیمکره چپ مغز و رهایی از آن با مدیتیشن نیمکره راست
  
  The brain’s left hemisphere is where language is processed; it’s also responsible for categorizing and interpreting reality, as well as recognizing patterns. Together, these processes create the illusion of a stable, continuous self. In order to reduce the left brain’s constant chatter as well as lessen the mental suffering it causes, we can tap into our right-brain consciousness by engaging in Eastern practices, such as yoga and meditation.
  ......
  من می اندیشم پس هستم-دکارت
  پس وقتی خود هست مشکل پابرجاست.
  If you’re familiar with one sentence from the annals of Western philosophy, it’s probably this one: Cogito, ergo sum – I think, therefore I am. Formulated by René Descartes in the seventeenth century, these words encapsulate a particular, and particularly Western, worldview – namely, that humankind is defined by thinking.
  
  Descartes would have you believe that there is a stable, continuous “I,” a thinking entity from whom thoughts emanate. And most people – in the West, at least – would agree with him. After all, each of us refers to ourselves as an “I” all the time, and, usually, we’ve got a pretty clear idea who we’re talking about.
  
  But does this “I” really exist? The central argument of Eastern philosophy, as presented by Buddhism, is that there is no “I.” Rather, it is thought that creates the illusion of a continuous self – and that this illusion is at the root of all human suffering.
  
  These book details the ways that neuroscience is substantiating these millennia-old Eastern ideas, showing why Zen Buddhists might have been right when they said, “No self, no problem.”
  
  how yoga and meditation help the right brain;
  that pattern recognition isn’t always a good thing; and
  what the world looks like when the left brain goes offline.
  ....
  
  (blinkist summary)
• 
  Ali Hussein

  Amazing analysis of the left and right brain along with great insights on consciousness and Buddhism. Buddhism is forever light years ahead of science and time aha. Great read.
• 
  Tiffany

  I was really hoping to learn and really enjoy this book. The topic is something I am particularly interested in. Maybe it is because we don't have enough scientific evidence. But I felt this book to be a little simplistic - only dividing the brain up to "left" and "right" when it is so much more complex. The central idea of how the left vs right brain functions is very interesting and I do enjoy the thought experiments the book suggests. It is a pretty quick read as well. All in all it feels like it could be a good ted talk instead of a whole book.
• 
  Malum

  A must read for anyone interested in how the brain messes with your sense of reality.
• 
  Mert Topcu

  Short and to the point.
  I found it really helpful making the connection between my analytical thinking and spiritual quest. The book talks about how the latest neuroscience findings are aligned with East philosophies such as Buddhism, Taoism etc.
  And it does this by talking about left and right brain.
  
  At times, the references to East philosophies fall short and too shallow however this is the trade off to have a short book. It is not fair to expect him to get into really deep in those topics. So it's probably better if you already have certain grasp in some of Eastern concepts.
  
  In short, I really liked the book and it gave me the opportunity to make peace between my analytical and spiritual thinking.
• 
  Aleksandra Doneva

  One of the most influential books I have read so far.
  
  It makes you question decisions and patterns of thinking you have always made without much contemplation. The ideas presented will definetely bring a lot more awareness into your being and will change the way you perceive your relationships, as well as yourself as individual and as a part of society.
  
  I also enjoyed how the information is structured and the gradual way in which ideas are presented and build on with the advancement of the book. The author combines knowledge of religion and science in a captivating way by also giving fascinating insights from their complementation.
  
  
• 
  Nam

  Wonderful read. It kind of reminded me of ‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle but with more science and less “God”.
• 
  Carlos Manuel

  Very interesting approach to self reflection. Buddhism and neurophysiology end up having extremely striking similarities worth contemplating. The book reveals how our mind creates a posteriori stories to justify what is happening to us. These stories are usually not the actual cause of our state and, therefore, being aware of this helps us manage our response to our own thoughts in a more enlightened way.
  
  At times, however, the brain is oversimplified and the author falls into the simplistic and outdated categories of right vs. left brain. Useful metaphor for understanding the topic, but one should not forget that this is not scientifically accurate.
  
  Overall, worth reading. I have discussed with many people about it and it is indeed a paradigm changing book for many; I think in the most positive way.
• 
  Varun Nair

  A wonderful book and surely an eye opener. It awakens you to the idea that "we" are constantly dominated by our left brain (the so-called "master"), including the sense of "self". As shown through several scientific experiments conducted on patients, the left brain can indeed be drastically wrong about various aspects of reality. Does that apply to "self" as well ?
• 
  Christopher López

  A great book in many ways:
  
  - Content is relevant
  - Easy to read
  - Short and straight to the point
  
  The language used in this book is really friendly. Anyone can read and understand the ideas in the book. Anyone trying to understand the idea behind enlightenment, ego, and some other misunderstood concepts will find a clear scientific explanation.
  
  5 stars easy.
• 
  Jamie

  Interesting read with scientific analysis on how our brains operate. I particularly enjoyed the parts that contained links with eastern spirituality and consciousness. 4/5.
• 
  Nima Morgan

  This is the book that you must read over and over again. Dr. Niebauer explains how our brain works, and this knowledge will set you free.
• 
  Chetan

  This is fantastic. No Self, No Problem is a must read! One of the best books I've read all year.
• 
  Lim

  This book reminds me of a beautiful saying I have once heard: happiness is the expansion of self, but joy... joy is the dissolution of self. The self, at least as commonly known, is fictional. It is a by-product of the “conscious” thinking process. When the self dissolves, the universe begins. To this end, when we are not busy fighting and killing each other, humanity has spent much of our time on this Earth finding ways to self dissolution in order to experience a higher, purer and “whole”-er form of consciousness, one which supposedly has more compassion, love and joy. I believe that this is where all sorts of religion converge. If Buddhism dissolves the self into the moment, Christianity dissolves it into God. Both are equally right.
  
  In any case, I would definitely read this book as a reminder that we are much, much, much more than who we “think” we are.
• 
  Gizrik

  dumbed down and gets the point across i guess but there are parts that made me go Ahh..emm..like a friend trying to argue on your behalf using the most fragmented word choice possible which will be dismissed by many (except this friend has a phd and i am but a novice.. alas its about how you present yourself and how it tickles my fancy perhaps even my perineum)
• 
  John

  There is no identity center in the brain. What we think of as our self is nothing like the master control unit it pretends to be. Instead, it is mere apophenia; it is an overinterpretation by the left side of the brain which excels at pattern recognition. Just as we can find meaning in the random shapes of a Rorschach test or the clouds in the sky, so we stitch together our wilderness of memories, beliefs, and emotions into a flip-book story of self with no more reality than speculative fiction.
  
  ”The left brain as a mapmaker to reality, and language is the pen with which the left brain draws… but the left brain also becomes so dependent on language that it mistakes the map of reality for reality itself.”
  
  In truth, there is no “me;” there is only being and doing. Just as the mystics have always told us.
  
  Such is the view of Chris Niebauer, and he provides enough research to make a convincing case. Though I picked up this book hoping for an abundance of neuroscience, what he gave me instead is far more important.
  
  ”We might more accurately think of the self as a river whose form is in constant forward flow.”
  
  The concept of a persistent identity is one of the cornerstones of our society. Our character, our personality, is not just the story we tell ourselves about us: it’s the version of our story that has the most support from our community. We make judgements and even mete out punishments based on these fictions, and so the idea of “me” as a person is firmly entrenched in our minds.
  
  But, as Niebauer so clearly explains, our identity shifts fluidly based on our environment, the people we’re interacting with, and the emotions we experience. We could separate these identities into categories, but that would just be more storytelling. The truth is that any version of a persistent self is an illusion. We do not need to try to be consistent, because we are new every moment. Those “bad” versions of us are already gone, and so are the “good” ones. All that’s left of them is our memories, and the thoughts and habits we build as a result.
  
  ”The abstract stories themselves aren’t the problem, but becoming lost in them creates the problem.”
  
  ”The trick is to become less identified with your thoughts, to not take them so seriously, to see them as ‘happenings’ rather than ‘the way things really are’.”
  
  Dropping this character I play is a tremendous relief. In those moments when I’ve been able to do so fully, I begin to understand what Niebauer means when he explains that “the original nature of drama is to play.” Life becomes less serious—lighter. Drama and tragedy and suffering remain, but around them, the infinite space of consciousness opens wide like an embrace.
  
  Read it.
• 
  Srikanth

  The premise of this book is to investigate the root cause of suffering and see if we can minimize, if not eliminate it?
  
  So, this book begins with the study of the brain (the left and the right sides of it, to be specific) which in-turn leads to the study of the mind which in-turn leads to the study of the 'self' or 'I' that seems to be behind the mind. The author very well juxtaposes science and spirituality where we see for ourselves how one complements the other in helping us understand about the 'self' and in turn about 'suffering'.
  
  To summarize: Being in reality uses the right brain whereas thinking about reality uses the left brain. Use more of the right brain to minimize suffering.
  
  Some interesting quotes from this book:
  - Stop thinking, and end your problems.
  - It is the process of thinking that creates the self, rather than there being a self having any independent existence separate from thought.
  - Without thought, the self does not, in fact, exist.
  - The brain breathes mind like the lungs breathe air.
  - Realizing and accepting that the self is a fiction can lead to the end of suffering.
  - Where is the self when no one is thinking about it?
  - The self is a very convincing illusion that exists only when someone is thinking about it.
  
  A must read for anyone interested in knowing how the brain messes with our sense of reality.
  
• 
  Joonas Kaijala

  No Self, No Problem offers a unique approach to understanding ourselves (our ego and our perception of it) through combination of science and eastern philosophy. Many of us are familiar with the basic differences of the left and the right brain, but it is astounding to hear, how they could impact and define what we call our "self"
  
  Niebauer's book is an easy-to-follow reflection on eastern philosophy and neuropsychology. The book covers the basics of both of these fields, and thus does not necessarily offer much new information for those more involved in either of these areas. However, the novel aspect of the book is how it finds the interconnectedness of these disciplines, and through examples depicts the functionalities of our brain and perception.
  
  The greatest takeaway for me was to understand how our left brain can be so dominant in our perception of self, due to its tendency to categorise and draw conclusion based on external cues. In addition, Niebauer offers great insights on how we build our ego based on verbal processing (both speaking out loud and thinking within our heads), which leads to neglecting our right brain.
• 
  Nick Rolston

  This is a book that everyone should read. It is extremely short and yet incredibly informative. The author was inspired to study the physical link between the brain and our actions after the death of his father, and he ended up becoming a neuropsychology professor. What he found is that the "rational" left brain based on language and intuition dominates the right brain, which often is responsible for our "gut instincts" and creative processes that can't be put into words. He powerfully shows that consciousness has not been traced to any single place in the brain, and makes claims with logic and some speculation that our ego and the self is simply a figment of our left brain's attempt at control and therefore is not inherently tied to our bodies.
• 
  David Rush

  A good start and a weak second half...in my opinion.
  
  I really dug the stuff where he goes on about there not really being a self at all which fits in with the non-Duality books I read a few years ago. And the idea that there are some neurological explanations that fit in was really cool. Also informative was him was going on about the left brain being the “interpreter” that takes whatever inputs it has and may or may not be accurate in its interpretations...cool.
  
  So the left brain uses language to tell stories from experiences and make sense of them. Sometimes the stories are accurate and sometimes not, since the goal is to make sense not be accurate. He does a good job of giving examples that demonstrate this, so the rationalists out there can calm down. Although I wish he had gone into how science works to compensate for the left brain’s desire to tell a good story over historical accuracy.
  
  ...it is the process of thinking that creates the self, rather than there being a self having any independent existence separate from thought. The self is more like a verb than a noun.
  
  His point is the act of storytelling creates a center of attention and it is language and thinking that create the impression of a separate self. So the tool of language that tells the story and to use language is to create a self, and that is why things get so confusing sometimes. Because the brain of the right side is of a different order and without language there is no “self” as we normally think about it.
  
  Back the left side...he brings up the story telling brain that creates categories to “sell” the story. And we use these categories so much we forget that they are ALL made up. WE bring the categories and judgments into our world and they fulfill us and torment us...and they are all fictions.
  
  Fictions like national borders and rules for any and all games. People make them up and then invest energy and emotion into these made up rules forgetting (I say it again) they are all fictions.
  
  Now there may be very real non-fiction consequences of these rules and categories. The rules, religions, economies, and whatever can bring happiness and pain...the things themselves are something we all carry with us at each precious moment.
  
  Our association of our true self with the constant voice in our head is an instance of mistaking the map (the voice) for the territory (who we really are). This error is one of the biggest reasons the illusion of self is so difficult to see.
  
  And while categorizing and judging things is great in many ways, it isn’t really how humans really experience life.
  
  ...describes the central role of the left brain as a mapmaker to reality, and language is the pen with which the left brain draws. Language can obviously be extremely helpful in communication with others, but the left brain also becomes so dependent on language that it mistakes the map of reality for reality itself.
  
  And this is the Pièce de résistance
  
  What do we mean by category? Categories are just another type of map of reality. They are mental representations that don't exist “out there” in the world, but rather they are only in the human mind—the left side of the brain to be specific.
  
  Or how about this
  
  Seen in this light, “I” is simply a useful, categorical fiction, expressed through language.
  
  I could bring up some examples but really just read the book, it is pretty short.
  
  THEN when he goes into the talking about the right brain and I think he got sloppy.
  
  He makes a good start with this,
  
  the ego genuinely cannot experience the right-brain consciousness even if it wants to, as it is a left-brain construct only.
  
  But the more he goes on he seems to really love the right side of the brain and he is pretty judgmental about it and basically puts it in the more better category of brain parts. So he is praising the right side of the brain by categorizing it as really good and labeling it better than the left side, doing the thing he was criticizing the left brain about earlier in the book. Oh well
  
  And then he got off on how since science can’t figure out where the “self” actually is in the body, well maybe it isn’t in the brain anyway. But wait...I thought he said there was no self? So if it is not in the brain then why is he even going on about looking for it?
  
  Plus he gives a very wierd example of the self not being in the brain by telling us about “Mike the Headless Chicken”
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_th... . Who had his head chopped off in the 1040’s but went on the side show circuit after Mike didn’t die and continued to walk and eat. Yep the owner had to give him water and food in his exposed throat. And that is supposed to show you can’t put the self in the head.
  
  BUT, after a little Googling I see some doctor type guys figure out that the vein in Mike’s neck had clotted and prevented him from bleeding out AND it turns out part of the head which kept some of the brain stem was still in place. So, yeah, it is really weird, but maybe all you need to walk is a brain stem. Anyway it seemed like a lame example.
  
  I wish he had stayed on the left side helping to understand how trying to understand the non verbal side of the brain with language and concepts is at best a mixed bag. BUT to my mind it helps to explain why "The World" does not make "sense". Maybe because "making sense" implies language and the wisdom of the right side of the brain is simply not made of words.
  
  Bottom line, first half great, second half interesting but a let down.