~ Recommended Reading ~

I am deeply inspired by many books, and my shelves are bursting with such a variety of uplifting, thoughtful and intriguing titles.  I expect a book to cause me to stretch myself in some way - either in the way I think or feel about something, the degree to which I use my creativity, or the depth at which I pursue self-expanding experiences...even if that experience is to simply learn to BE.  The list below includes titles that I am particularly moved by in one way or another and believe them to be a MUST read under the topic heading in which they are listed.  These will all link you to Amazon.ca where you can find out more and/or purchase them.

Creativity / Intuition

 Drawing the Light from Within: Keys to Awaken Your Creative Power 

by Judith Cornell

This book is meant for anyone wishing to develop inspired creativity and more self-esteem and optimism in a rapidly changing world.  A revised and updated edition, featuring a new chapter on creating projects using a computer, Drawing the Light From Within offers readers eleven easy-to-learn techniques designed to help them cultivate their creativity, their inner vision, and their self-esteem.  Cornell's well-structured course offers a satisfying combination of basics and exercises that serve to stimulate and encourage individual creativity. The instruction is suitable for beginners, but also has something to contribute for those whose study of art may be more advanced. Exercises guide the student through the basics of composition, painting, drawing, and creating with color pencils. Cornell's aim, however, goes beyond teaching the basics of art. The structure of the exercises includes meditation techniques designed to enhance creativity. Emphasis is placed on learning to use values from light to dark to create compositions that vibrate with light.

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity - 10th Anniversary Edition

by Julia Cameron

The Artist's Way is the seminal book on the subject of creativity. An international bestseller, millions of readers have found it to be an invaluable guide to living the artist's life. Still as vital today-or perhaps even more so-than it was when it was first published one decade ago, it is a powerfully provocative and inspiring work. In a new introduction to the book, Julia Cameron reflects upon the impact of The Artist's Way and describes the work she has done during the last decade and the new insights into the creative process that she has gained. Updated and expanded, this anniversary edition reframes The Artist's Way for a new century.

Your Sixth Sense: Unlocking the Power of Your Intuition

by Belleruth Naparstek

(From an EQ Coach:  “Intuition is an EQ competency and to teach or learn intuition, you need to know the scientific basis for this oft-maligned competency now becoming all the rage.”)

Editorial Review: As a practicing psychotherapist, organizational development consultant and faculty member of the famed Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, I'll always be a lifelong student of human behaviour and our collective possibilities. "Your sense sixth" is such a major contribution to all the social sciences because of its profound grasp of complex human phenomena that is simply explained. For years, practitioners have been referencing the phenomena of energy and human energy field, Naparstek easily guides us through complex reviews to help literally wrap our minds around the physics of what energy is about and how we can have more of it. Frankly, I hope this text becomes the forever classic it so richly deserves to be. "Your sixth sense" is the most grounded approach to what has typically been the stuff delegated to metaphysics and practitioners of esoteric wisdom. Here finally, we can all get on the same wave of ancient thinking, honed with cutting edge insights and delivered in a manner that empowers any reader to enlarge their vocabulary of action for the complexities of everyday life.

Emotional Intelligence - Education & Training

Handle with Care: The Emotional Intelligence Activity Book

by Joshua M. Freedman, Anabel L. Jensen, Patricia E. Freedman

A great instructors reference!  Handle With Care is a beautiful, simple, and usable guide to building emotional intelligence (EQ). It begins with ten pages of clear explanation of EQ, and then covers 24 themes. Each theme has a brief introduction, a list of activities (for all ages), quotes, role models, books, movies, fusion questions (ones that engage the whole brain), and finally, each theme is illustrated with photo collage to invite contemplation on another level. In addition, to motivate, inspire, and connect, the book includes a collection of 12 postcards and over 150 stickers

50 Activities for Developing Emotional Intelligence
by Adele B. Lynn

Emotional Intelligence explains why, despite equal intellectual capacity, training, or experience, some people excel while others of the same caliber lag behind. Certain competencies are found repeatedly in high performers at all levels, from customer service representatives to CEOs. As trainers we must find ways to build these talents labled EQ (emotional intelligence quotient). The 50 reproducible activities in this resource book focus on developing the following set of talents: self-awareness and control, empathy, social expertness, personal influence and mastery of vision.

The Emotional Intelligence Activity Book – 50 Activities for Promoting EQ at Work

by Adele B. Lynn

We've all heard of "IQ"...but what's "EQ?" It's "Emotional Quotient" (aka Emotional Intelligence), and experts say that EQ is a greater predictor of success at work than IQ. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to motivate and develop their employees' emotional intelligence. This book presents trainers and coaches with 50 innovative exercises to be used for either individuals or groups. The activities found in the book are grouped according to the various core competencies associated with Emotional Intelligence: The book also includes suggested training combinations and coaching tips.

Self-Science: The Emotional Intelligence Curriculum
by Karen Stone-McCown, Joshua M. Freedman, Marsha C. Rideout

Self-Science is an elementary school curriculum that fuses emotional and cognitive learning to provide students with vital tools for managing conflict, expressing themselves, and living with respect, responsibility, and resiliency. The curriculum includes 54 lessons for a two-year program. Self-Science has been in use around the country and the world since its first publication in 1978. This new edition is "teacher friendly" -- written by teachers, for teachers. The curriculum can be incorporated into the classroom or can be used as a "stand alone" course; rather than a generic perscription, it provides a powerful, flexible framework. The curriculum clearly articulates goals, provides activities, and guides the teacher/facilitator in asking clear, thought-provoking questions to help students help themselves. In his bestselling Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman calls this program, "A model for the teaching of emotional intelligence."

Playwise: 365 Fun-Filled Activities for Building Character, Conscience, and Emotional Intelligence in Children

by Denise Chapman Weston, Mark S. Weston

Fostering Emotional Intelligence in K-8 Students: Simple Strategies and Ready-to-Use Activities

by Gwen Doty

This book is a must-read for teachers and educators who recognize that it takes more than scholarly achievement to help shape a student into a successful adult. Emotional intelligence creates individuals who are good decision-makers, strong empathizers, and "people smart."  The author shows in a clear and concise manner how to help students build character and gain leadership skills by incorporating simple techniques into their daily lessons. The numerous activities and simple strategies serve to give students a sense of self-awareness and empathy for others.

Teaching Emotional Intelligence: Making Informed Choices

by Adina B. Lewkowicz

Some of the most important lessons you may ever teach your students are about emotions: identifying their feelings, how to express them, and how their feelings influence their choices. This book provides you with fresh techniques to help you increase your students` self-awareness, teach them to manage their emotions, build self-control, grow in empathy, and develop their ability to handle relationships. Each lesson includes ready-to-use activities, handouts and suggested modifications.

Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators

by Maurice J. Elias

Fostering knowledgeable, responsible, and caring students is one of the most urgent challenges facing schools, families, and communities as we enter the 21st century. Promoting Social and Emotional Learning provides sound principles for meeting this challenge. This timely book addresses a crucial need among educators for a straightforward, practical guide to establishing high-quality social and emotional education programs. True academic success and lasting social effectiveness, the authors believe, require strong social and emotional skills.  Students today face unparalleled demands. In addition to achieving academically, they must learn to work cooperatively, make responsible decisions about social and health practices, resist negative peer and media influences, contribute constructively to their family and community, function in an increasingly diverse society, and acquire the skills, attitudes, and values necessary to become productive workers and citizens. A comprehensive, integrated program of social and emotional education can help students meet these many demands.  Framing the discussion are 39 concise guidelines, as well as many field-inspired examples for classrooms, schools, and districts. Chapters address how to develop, implement, and evaluate effective strategies. Educators who have programs in place will find ways to strengthen them. Those seeking greater direction will find an abundance of approaches and ideas.

Emotional Intelligence - Personal / Family Development

 The EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Success
by Howard E. Book, Steven J. Stein

Why do some people possess better emotional well-being than others? Why are some better able to succeed in life? Why do some who are blessed with obvious intelligence fail in life, while others with only moderate intelligence succeed? EQ, is a measure of emotional intelligence - our psychological functioning and interpersonal skills. The good news is your EQ is not permanently fixed, but is open to lifelong improvement. The authors of this book have spent the past decade studying the results garnered from EQ tests administered to almost 35,000 people in 35 countries. Their studies show that EQ can be measured, put to use, and improved on an individual basis. If you really want to change your life, you can. This book will show you how using the Bar-On EQi assessment.  A good description of the EQi instrument by the publishers (MHS.)

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

by Daniel Goleman

There was a time when IQ was considered the leading determinant of success. In this fascinating book, based on brain and behavioral research, Daniel Goleman argues that our IQ-idolizing view of intelligence is far too narrow. Instead, Goleman makes the case for "emotional intelligence" being the strongest indicator of human success. He defines emotional intelligence in terms of self-awareness, altruism, personal motivation, empathy, and the ability to love and be loved by friends, partners, and family members. People who possess high emotional intelligence are the people who truly succeed in work as well as play, building flourishing careers and lasting, meaningful relationships. Because emotional intelligence isn't fixed at birth, Goleman outlines how adults as well as parents of young children can sow the seeds.

Handle With Care: The EQ Learning Journal

by Joshua Freedman, Anabel Jensen

A workbook for adults who want to get more from life by practicing emotional intelligence.  A rich trove of wisdom, the Handle With Care EQ Learning Journal is a self-guided study of the essential tools for life. With over 100 lessons, activities, and reflections, this workbook will help you discover your untapped capacity for bringing emotional intelligence into your daily life.  Why? Because EQ skills are the key to getting more of what you really want – healthy relationships, joy, success, personal power, and a sense of direction. From the world-leading emotional intelligence organization, Six Seconds EQ Network, this resource is practical, inspiring, and transformative.

How to Raise a Child with a High EQ: A Parent's Guide to Emotional Intelligence

by Lawrence E. Shapiro

Studies show that emotional intelligence -- the social and emotional skills that make up what we call character -- is more important to your child's success than the cognitive intelligence measured by IQ.And unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be developed in kids at all stages. Filled with games, checklists and practical parenting techniques, How to Raise a Child with a High EQ  will help your child to cope with -- and overcome -- the emotional stress of modern times and the normal problems of growing up.

Emotionally Intelligent Living 

by Geetu Orme

This is not a book to read, it is a book to do an EI tool that applies the theory to life. If the whole EI phenomenon has passed you by, don't worry this book begins with a practical summary of what EI is, explaining it in the clearest terms that require no previous knowledge of psychology. Immediately, it makes EI relevant to everyday reality, presenting case studies of Emotionally Intelligent people, and providing an essential preliminary exercise that allows you to measure your own Emotional Quotient (EQ).

Developing Your Child's Emotional Intelligence. - 10 Steps to Self Control by Age Three

by Margie Blaz, AVI Bitton, Rebecca Reyes

Reviews: “I wish this book had been available when I was raising my children. I might have been able to avoid some of those emotional impasses that occurred between my children and me. This book introduces a framework with examples to help parents cope with a child's multiple emotions and their impact on the child and family. It also provides a means to initiate emotional control both for child and parent.”

“I found this work extremely valuable in my day to day clinical practice. Its concepts are relevant today, were relevant in the past, and will likely be so in the future.”

Emotionally Intelligent Parenting: How to Raise a Self-Disciplined, Responsible, Socially Skilled Child

by Maurice J. Elias, Steven E. Tobias, Brian S. Friedlander

If you think it's a difficult time to be a parent, consider how challenging it is to be a child in today's world. Recent studies show that children are more impulsive, disobedient, lonely, sad, irritable, and violent than ever before. The authors of Emotionally Intelligent Parenting: How to Raise a Self-Disciplined, Responsible, Socially Skilled Child assert that what's needed now is an approach called emotionally intelligent parenting. An emotionally intelligent parent, according to the authors, follows the Twenty-Four Karat Golden Rule: "Do unto your children as you would have other people do unto your children." Maurice J. Elias, Steven E. Tobias, and Brian S. Friedlander pick up where Daniel Goleman's bestselling Emotional Intelligence leaves off, translating Goleman's basic principals into specific parenting tactics for solving daily family issues. The book includes exercises for raising the family "humor quotient," becoming aware of feelings, praising and prioritizing, and coaching your child in responsible action. Emotionally Intelligent Parenting is easy to follow, and provides suggestions for parents at all levels of commitment to the concept. Parents may choose to try some or all of the exercises, or may simply find it an interesting and informative read. The "Sound 'EQ' Parenting Bites to Help with Common Family Issues" closing the book are especially sensible, profoundly compassionate, and effective.

Raising Emotionally Intelligent Teenagers: Guiding the Way for Compassionate, Committed, Courageous Adults

by Maurice J. Elias, Steven E. Tobias, Brian S. Friedlander

The world before September 11, 2001, was challenging enough for parents of teenagers. Now it is more so. Our families, schools, and workplaces need Emotionally Intelligent Teenagers who will not only be knowledgeable, responsible, nonviolent, and caring youths, but who also will grow up to be compassionate, committed, and courageous adults. How can parents accomplish this? Not only do raging hormones make everything more intense for teenagers, but they have their own special issues concerning identity, self-confidence, peer pressure, and responsibility, including individuating from their parents.  Raising Emotionally Intelligent Teenagers shows parents how to use a balance of love, laughter, and limits to reach their goals. Drs. Elias, Tobias, and Friedlander, all respected experts in child behavior and parents of teenagers, have written a clear, informative book of sound advice that applies the insights of Daniel Goleman's best-seller, Emotional Intelligence, to unlock teenagers' untapped desire to belong to families and schools that make a difference and to contribute positively to them. Raising Emotionally Intelligent Teenagers is filled with real-life scenarios, practical strategies, and the answers to the questions parents ask most frequently, all drawn from the authors' professional and personal experiences and given with warmth and humor. Guiding the way to compassionate, committed, courageous adults is a serious challenge, but its effective pursuit is a labor of love, a journey of joy, and a path filled with pride.

Emotional Intelligence - Professional / Leadership / Organization

Working with Emotional Intelligence

by Daniel Goleman

Working With Emotional Intelligence takes the concepts from Daniel Goleman's bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, into the workplace. Business leaders and outstanding performers are not defined by their IQs or even their job skills, but by their "emotional intelligence": a set of competencies that distinguishes how people manage feelings, interact, and communicate. This book details 12 personal competencies based on self-mastery (such as accurate self-assessment, self-control, initiative, and optimism) and 13 key relationship skills (such as service orientation, developing others, conflict management, and building bonds). Goleman includes many examples and anecdotes--from Fortune 500 companies to a nonprofit preschool--that show how these competencies lead to or thwart success.

Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence
by Daniel Goleman, Annie McKee, Richard E. Boyatzis

Business leaders who maintain that emotions are best kept out of the work environment do so at their organization's peril. Bestselling author Daniel Goleman's theories on emotional intelligence (EI) have radically altered common understanding of what "being smart" entails, and in Primal Leadership, he and his coauthors present the case for cultivating emotionally intelligent leaders. Since the actions of the leader apparently account for up to 70 percent of employees' perception of the climate of their organization, Goleman and his team emphasize the importance of developing what they term "resonant leadership."  The authors' discussion of these methods is informed by research on the workplace climates engendered by the leadership styles of more than 3,870 executives. Indeed, the experiences of leaders in a wide range of work environments lend real-life examples to much of the advice Goleman et al. offer.

Executive EQ: Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Organizations

by Robert K. Cooper, Ayman Sawaf

Executives, managers, and professionals all across America are praising Executive EQ and are putting the precepts of this book into action for raising emotional intelligence in their leadership and at all levels of their organizations. With the commitment to more effective business, the text offers a wealth of practical application techniques & memorable stories to bring new life & opportunity to the workplace drawing on groundbreaking research.

Emotional Intelligence at Work

by Hendrie Weisinger

Training, November 2000

"Pleasingly free of psychological jargon, this is actually a pragmatic and well-written structured guide for managers (actually for people)."

Emotional Intelligence at Work is an excellent book that teaches people to learn how to take step back, take a deep breath, listen to yourself and listen to others. It includes techniques to diffuse volatile situations between you and your work colleagues. Turn an aggressive confrontation into a useful fact gathering session to get to the real source of the problem. Do you know what words to use and sentence structure to apply in order to be direct without attacking or creating a threatening situation with your counterpart? Do you want people to listen to you when you talk? All of these fantastic techniques are found here.

The Handbook of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: Inspiring Others to Achieve Results

by Daniel A. Feldman

This is a hands-on guide to understanding and applying the 10 skills of emotionally intelligent leadership. The book is written in clear, understandable language and the workings of emotionally intelligent leadership are demonstrated by numerous workplace examples. A 50 question self-assessment that can also be used as a 360 degree assessment allows the reader to evalute his or her own level of emotionally intelligent leadership. 11 action techniques are taught that can be applied to develop these key leadership skills.

Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations
by Cary Cherniss, Mitchel Adler

Organizations around the world spend billions of dollars annually to train key managers and leaders. Yet, mot find little actual return on this investment, especially in the most important soft skill area of teaching these leaders how to recognize, acknowledge, and manage their personal feelings and the feelings of those around them. Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations is the first book to offer training and development professionals the tools and data they need to sell and implement emotional intelligence training at their organizations

The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace: How to Select For, Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, and Organizations

by Cary Cherniss (Editor), Daniel Goleman (Editor)

 What is emotional intelligence? What difference does it really make? And what is the best way to promote it in the workplace? In The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace, two renowned experts on the subject and a stellar group of contributors offer their perspectives on how to measure emotional intelligence, use it as a basis for selection, and improve it at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Cary Cherniss and Daniel Goleman-author of the best-selling book Emotional Intelligence-show HR managers, executives, consultants, and psychologists how to move beyond working with the individual and enhance the performance of the entire organization.

"The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace is an engaging attempt to connect fundamental research on emotions and human performance to day-to-day workplace challenges. This is a volume that should be on the bookshelf of every HR professional." —Peter Salovey, professor and chairman, Department of Psychology, Yale University; co-originator of the concept of emotional intelligence

Optimism / Happiness

The Optimistic Child: A Proven Program to Safeguard Children Against Depression and Build Lifelong Resilience

 by Martin E. P. Seligman

Despite the increased focus on self-esteem over the past three decades, depression in children has continued to grow, now affecting a quarter of all kids today. To combat this trend, Dr. Seligman began the Penn Depression Prevention Project, the first long term study aimed at 8 to 12 year olds. His findings were revolutionary, proving that children can be against depression by being taught how to challenge their pessimistic thoughts. The Optimistic Child offers parents and teachers the tools developed in this study to teach children of all ages life skills that transform helplessness into mastery and bolster self-esteem. Learning the skills of optimism not only reduces the risk of depression but boosts school performance, improves physical health, and provides children with the self-reliance they need as they approach the teenage years and beyond. world of optimists is a bigger world, a world of more possibilities, says Seligman.

Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
by Martin E. P. Seligman

Martin Seligman, a renowned psychologist and clinical researcher, has been studying optimists and pessimists for 25 years. Pessimists believe that bad events are their fault, will last a long time, and undermine everything. They feel helpless and may sink into depression, which is epidemic today, especially among youths. Optimists, on the other hand, believe that defeat is a temporary setback or a challenge--it doesn't knock them down. "Pessimism is escapable," asserts Seligman, by learning a new set of cognitive skills that will enable you to take charge, resist depression, and make yourself feel better and accomplish more.

Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment

by Martin E. P. Seligman

Martin Seligman, the bestselling author of Learned Optimism introduces the revolutionary, scientifically based idea of "Positive Psychology." Positive Psychology focuses on strengths rather than weaknesses, asserting that happiness is not the result of good genes or luck. Seligman teaches readers that happiness can be cultivated by identifying and using many of the strengths and traits that they already possess -- including kindness, originality, humor, optimism, and generosity. Drawing on groundbreaking psychological research, Seligman shows how Positive Psychology is shifting the profession's paradigm away from its narrow-minded focus on pathology, victimology, and mental illness to positive emotion, virtue and strength, and positive institutions. Our signature strengths can be nurtured throughout our lives, with benefits to our health, relationships, and careers. The Signature Strengths Survey is provided along with a variety of brief tests that can be used to measure how much positive emotion readers experience, in order to help determine what their highest strengths are. The life-changing lesson of Authentic Happiness is that by identifying the very best in ourselves, we can improve the world around us and achieve new and sustainable levels of authentic contentment, gratification, and meaning.