The Tao of Bipolar: Using Meditation and Mindfulness to Find Balance and Peace

by C. Alexander Simpkins PhD, Annellen M. Simpkins PhD

Overview

If you have bipolar disorder, you struggle with psychological balance, swinging between highly depressed and highly manic states. For you, finding the middle path can be a challenge, which is why the Tao understanding of energy can be so helpful. “Tao,” is a Chinese word meaning “the way” and a metaphysical concept for understanding the universe as a circular flow of energy. The Tao understanding of bipolar disorder is that symptoms are the result of a disrupted or imbalanced energy flow that can be brought back to harmony with dedication and practice.

In The Tao of Bipolar, you will reconnect with your essential, stable, balanced nature, which, according to the Tao, is the inherent state of all matter. In the book, you will learn to manage your energy with meditation and other techniques so that you can always return to their stable center. While you may lose touch with the center during bipolar episodes, this book encourages you to use mindfulness and meditation to consciously shift your energy back to this center before a bipolar episode gets too extreme.

When it comes to bipolar disorder, managing emotions, preventing manic episodes, and dealing effectively with periods of depression is key to your mental health and well-being. This book will give you the tools you need to get your bipolar disorder under control, and get back to living life.

Once you learn to manage your moods, you can function normally and experience far less suffering from the disorder, even when you do have bipolar episodes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608822942
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

C. Alexander Simpkins, PhD, and Annellen M. Simpkins, PhD, are psychologists specializing in meditation, hypnotherapy, and neuroscience. The Simpkins are authors of twenty-seven books, including a number of titles on Taoism: Simple Taoism, Tao in Ten, and most recently, The Dao of Neuroscience. They also have authored many books on the therapeutic application of meditation, including Zen Meditation in Psychotherapy, Meditation and Yoga in Psychotherapy, and Meditation for Therapists and Their Clients. In addition, they have a newly released book on neuroscience, Neuroscience for Clinicians. Their books have been published in more than twenty foreign editions and have won many awards.

The Simpkins regularly present seminars on meditation, hypnosis, and neuroscience worldwide to professionals and the public, and have performed research on therapeutic effectiveness using unconscious methods. Currently, the Simpkins are engaged in research on the unconscious movement. They practice and teach their own martial art, Tae Chun Do, combining meditation with movement. They reside in San Diego, California.

C. Alexander Simpkins, PhD, is a psychologist specializing in meditation, hypnotherapy, and neuroscience. Simpkin is coauthor of twenty-seven books, including a number of titles on Taoism: Simple Taoism, Tao in Ten, and most recently, The Dao of Neuroscience. Simpkin regularly present seminars on meditation, hypnosis, and neuroscience worldwide to professionals and the public, and has performed research on therapeutic effectiveness using unconscious methods. Simpkin resides in San Diego, California.

Annellen M. Simpkins, PhD, is a psychologist specializing in meditation, hypnotherapy, and neuroscience. Simpkin is coauthor of twenty-seven books, including a number of titles on Taoism: Simple Taoism, Tao in Ten, and most recently, The Dao of Neuroscience. Simpkin regularly present seminars on meditation, hypnosis, and neuroscience worldwide to professionals and the public, and has performed research on therapeutic effectiveness using unconscious methods. Simpkin resides in San Diego, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Fundamental Principles and Facts

1 Looking through the Lens of the Tao 11

2 All about Bipolar Disorder 27

3 How Meditation Can Change Your Brain 45

Part 2 Learning Meditation

4 Warming Up to Meditation 61

5 Focus on Breathing: The Gateway to Moods 73

6 Open Focus: Developing Mindful Awareness 83

7 No Focus: Clearing Your Mind 93

Part 3 Easing Your Moods, Fulfilling Your Talents

8 The Way Out of Stress 103

9 Moderate Your Depression 119

10 Harmonize Your Mania 135

11 Balance Your Relationships 151

12 Nurture Your Potential 165

Recommended Reading 173

References 175

Interviews

Alexander Simpkins and Annellen Simpkins live in San Diego, CA.

Editorial Reviews

Annellen and Alex Simpkins have produced another great book that represents their lifelong commitment to helping people using unique resources. . . . This step-by-step guide of systematic meditation techniques is designed for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The reader learns to enter into a different mental state that permits both relaxation and alertness, where once there was only mania or despair.”
—Michele Ritterman, PhD, world lecturer on "The Three-Minute Trance," and author of The Tao of a Woman and Using Hypnosis in Family Therapy

“The Simpkins have written a wonderful book. It begins with a solid foundation of ancient Eastern philosophy integrated with modern Western science and a clear description of bipolar disorder. The benefits of a variety of meditations are described and clear guidelines are offered to match these with the individual symptoms that different people experience. Simple, easy-to-follow exercises are offered throughout the book so each reader can experience their own process, leading to sustained improvements. This is a wonderful book and will be appreciated by many people suffering from bipolar disorder. I recommend it enthusiastically.”
—Robert McNeilly, MBBS, an international teacher of Ericksonian approaches to psychotherapy and hypnosis

“A wonderfully well-written book integrating ancient philosophy of Tao and modern neuroscience for self-help with bipolar disorder.”
—Kathryn and Ernest Rossi, authors of the video e-book Creating New Consciousness in Everyday Life

“Even though the book is mainly directed to persons with bipolar disorders, it is also helpful for any therapist. The book nurtures the mind, body, and spirit of every reader; satisfies the need for sound knowledge; and gives the pleasure of reading a well-written book enriched by metaphors and cases that enhance the passionate hope that the meditations proposed in the book really work. . . . The deep message the book conveys is: Nurture your potential by committing yourself to doing the meditations. Find healthy daily routines of waking and sleeping, balance your moods to harmonize your relationships, and become what you want to become, trusting in the power of both Tao and nature.”
—Consuelo Casula, psychologist, psychotherapist, and the president-elect of the European Society of Hypnosis

“The Tao of Bipolar is a how-to guide to clearing your mind, easing your moods, and developing your talents. I’m pleased to have this powerful resource to offer to my patients. The Simpkins offer you the tools you need to gain a high level of awareness and control over your bipolar symptoms. Their easy explanations and practical meditation exercises will help you develop powerful, life-changing habits.”
—Ashley Davis Bush, LCSW, author of Shortcuts to Inner Peace and Transcending Loss

“Throughout this helpful, holistic, clear, and cogent book the experienced authors skillfully depict both the bipolar condition and the many therapeutic ways its symptoms may be alleviated. Compassionately reassuring the sufferer, they encourage an attitude of non-judgmental awareness accomplished by meditation and breathing exercises to follow each day. . . . This book will be of great help to any who reads it and applies it to their lives.”
—Tasha Halpert, meditation teacher, columnist, blogger, and author of Heartwings: Love Notes for a Joyous Life

“A true self-help book. The authors expertly guide the reader through a description of bipolar disorder and teach, step-by-step, how to meditate to increase the ability to manage the mood swings that go with bipolar disorder. A great introduction for anyone considering treatment, and a thoughtful addition to talk and medication therapies.”
—Tanya H. Hess, PhD, director of training at Coaching into Care, Philadelphia VA Medical Center

From the Publisher