A guide to "Self Help Books"

      What is a self help book?

• A book consisting of information which tends to brings about varied changes that lead you to self development

      Self Help Books aims at :

1. Make you realize your current situation.
2. Learning to be Self Dependent.
3. Learning that every moment is meant for self improvement. 
4. Execute a reaction that provokes a constructive behavior.
5. Learning every situation has an opportunity  and a challenge for a cause.
6. Like any other book 

• Gain Knowledge and experience
• Exercise your brain
• Thought provoking 
• Stimulation
• Emotions
• Feeling of reward

      "  and of course it is fun to read and a constructive way to             utilize time and energy and concentrate it for a cause                 that is meant for self help."

     How to read a book or a self help book-  

     " A Detailed Catalog "

    Reading out loud is a process that involves :

1.  Sight
2.  Speech
3.  Hearing
4.  Processing and assimilation of knowledge
5.  Consciousness and awareness
6.  Imagination
7.  Psychological and biochemical processes 

           Sense of Sight i.e vision which is enabled by various components

• Eye- Eye receives information in form light rays which pass through the pupil and then converge to form an image on the retina.

• Retina is extension of optic nerve which in turn is extension of brain.Image formed on retina is converted into impulses and neurotransmitters which are carried by the optic nerve to brain.

• In the brain,there lies area which is responsible for processing of information which is called Visual Cortex.

• The visual cortex is located in the occipital lobe (one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex) which is in turn located at the back of the head or skull. The visual cortex is made up of Brodmann area17 (the primary visual cortex), and Brodmann area18 Brodmann area19 the extrastriate cortical areas.          

        Production of voice 

• Speaking involve a voice mechanism that is composed of three subsystems. Each subsystem is composed of different parts of the body and has specific roles in voice production.
  Three Voice Subsystems

  Subsystem	Voice Organs	Role in Sound Production
  Air pressure system	Diaphragm, chest muscles, ribs, abdominal musclesLungs	Provides and regulates air pressure to cause vocal folds to vibrate
  Vibratory system	Voice box (larynx)Vocal folds	Vocal folds vibrate, changing air pressure to sound waves producing “voiced sound,” frequently described as a “buzzy sound”Varies pitch of sound
  Resonating system	Vocal tract: throat (pharynx), oral cavity, nasal cavities	Changes the “buzzy sound” into a person’s recognizable voice

        Sense of audio i.e hearing which is enabled components of hearing 

• External Ear -Receives sound waves which are converged in the auditory canal 

• Tympanic Membrane - Sound waves strike the membrane which vibrates the attached chain of ossicles

• The motion of the stapes against the oval window sets up waves in the fluids of the cochlea, causing the basilar membrane to vibrate. This stimulates the sensory cells of the organ of Corti, atop the basilar membrane, to send nerve impulses to the brain.

       Processing and assimilation of knowledge

• Via assimilation,we process new information or experiences and then incorporate them into our set of existing ideas. 
• This process is relatively subjective, due to the reason that we modify experience or information to fit in with our preexisting set of beliefs.

         Consciousness and awareness

• Consciousness is the quality or state of awareness, or, of being aware of an external object or something within oneself.
• It has been defined as: sentience, awareness, subjectivity, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind.

The definition of consciousness that Francis Lucille has often used is based on this fact, and may be stated thus:

Consciousness is whatever is reading these words right now, and understanding them.

       Imagination

• Imagination, is also known as the faculty of imagining, is the ability to form new images and sensations in the mind that are not perceived through senses such as sight, hearing, or other senses.
• Imagination promotes knowledge applicable in solving problems and is fundamental to integrating experience and the learning process.

        Psychological and biochemical changes due to reading 

• Reading has cognitive consequences that extend beyond its immediate task of lifting meaning from a particular passage. 
• Furthermore, these consequences are reciprocal and exponential in nature. 
• Accumulated over time—spiraling either upward or downward—they carry profound implications for the development of a wide range of cognitive capabilities.
• Mood and emotional changes-cause either one or in a set or a pair depending on various factors

1. Mood Stability
2. Excitement
3. Feelings
4. Thoughts
5. Motivation
6. Inspiration

• Hormones and neurotransmitter level changes are probably because of the above mentioned impact on the psyche and psychology leading to cascade to events bringing about mechanism to feed the reward system and the mood regulation (Dopa-mine predominantly in case of reward system and 5- HT, Serotonin and other neurotransmitters for mood regulation)  

"When reading in a focused and engaged manner, a number of different brain regions         are transformed, including those associated with touch and movement."

• Know we know 

1. That reading is a rigorous processes and hence to make this process   smooth one must be calm ,contemplative, inquisitive and yet still be free of everyting.
2. Reading involves various senses,feelings,thoughts,imagination,psychological & biochemical processes simultaneously on one task at a time (Reading).
3. Brain and mind need to be actively involved for a focused and engaged reading.
4. Since it is a complex process involving various higher level functions , the more the time spent in reading in a stretch, on a regular basis, increases attention span.
5. Focused and engaged reading itself is Self Help.

No matter what guidance you are seeking from self help books,what matters is whether you apply the gains practically or reject it.By rejection it should be clear that ,not practically helping your self.

• It is good to have a conversation with your partner,colleague,friend or a relative about the self help book you are reading.