Head on Fire

Head on Fire explains why we need profound, urgent change - individually and collectively - and how we can achieve it. It is a life-changing book! As both Einstein and Gandhi recognized, fundamental change in attitude, aspirations, and behavior can manifest only through the individual. Most of our problems are self-created. Yet we continue to fruitlessly search for an easy external solution or messiah, whether political, religious, or technological. Inaction leads to increasing stress, deterioration, and dangerous tipping points, which are now obvious. Twenty-five hundred years ago, the Buddha taught that we suffer because we try in vain to hold on to life, including our "self," which is always changing, interdependent, and insubstantial. We can end our suffering by letting go, adapting, and flowing with life, living with awareness in each moment. This process, which is termed enlightenment, is marked by wisdom and compassion. The message is simple and obvious, but not easy to implement in our lives. The Buddha's insights are particularly apt in our times of rapid change and overwhelming complexity. The ability to cut through to the essentials of life and being lies latent in us all. We need to embody and live this new way of being rather than acquire more knowledge and belief. The good news is that we can in fact change ourselves.