Self-help books like The Secret show us that if we can tap into ‘The Law of Attraction’, we have the power to change our destiny simply by reshaping our mind. Millions of people have used the ancient systems of manifestation and visualisation to find health, success, love, friendship, wealth, and more. But does the ‘Law of Attraction’ actually work? And more important, is this kind of life-changing philosophy within reach for everyone, even the most skeptical among us? Harness the power of visualisation to prime your brain to grab opportunities and take control of your future I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that they are not really in control of life. I seem to spend all my time just struggling to keep my head above water, trying hard to be a good parent, a good partner, and a good colleague but with the constant sense of guilt that I’m failing to be a good anything. There are all sorts of things I would like to improve in my life, but it’s hard enough to find the time and energy to fix the leaking tap in the kitchen, let alone deal with anything bigger. At various points in the past I have tried books that have promised to help “Change your life!”, but the new me has never lasted very long, and that has made me feel like things will never change. I admit that when I read a book blurb that says you are four steps away......... - then I expect to open the book and hit the ground running. Unfortunately that was not what happened in this book. I was good and read the intro blurb which I would usually skip, thinking I would be rewarded with "the goods" straightaway afterwards.

A phenomenon with all the transformative power of The Secret – but based on ground-breaking neuroscience. What if a neuroscientist could take the best of The Secret – together with its original source book The Master Key System - and make it accessible for a new generation?

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Tara Swart is an extremely calming presence, all the more so for being palpably intelligent. Her brain appears to require no boosting. I’d sign up in an eye blink… I like her – a lot’

Neuroscientist Dr Tara Swart works with some of the City’s highest-earning and most respected leaders in finance, law and media Evening Standard If I have one complaint about the book is that she assumes a lot of skills and introspection that not all her readers will have. For example, one of her exercises asks you to make three columns on a piece of paper. The first column is for goals, the second is for behaviors keeping you from your goals, and the third column is for beliefs underlying those behaviors. The next step of the exercise is to figure out how to disrupt the beliefs and behaviors that are keeping you from abundance. It seems so easy, except that if you have no skills to do any of that internal metacognitive work, then this could be months of coaching or therapy just to do this activity. This isn't necessarily bad, she just makes it seem like its a short exercise when, in reality, even if you do have the skills for that kind of work, it will probably take many many hours to get through it. Then you'll probably have to do it all again in the future because this kind of stuff never stops coming up. So she isn't wrong, and I don't disagree with the need to do the work. I just felt like she glossed over some really deep processing with the assumption that her readers 1) know how to do it and 2) have reasonable expectations for how hard it is. Dr Tara Swart is friendly, charming, and knows what she’s talking about. Having qualified as a doctor, then trained as a neuroscientist, she worked as a psychiatrist before going into private practice as a highly sought-after expert to the rich and famous Janet Street-Porter, Daily Mail A game-changing blend of neuroscience and no-limits advice. If you have a nagging sense that you are capable of so much more, this book is for you. Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

The Source explains how neuroscience affects what you attract in your life and discusses the importance of neuroplasticity. As explained in the book, “Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change, the power to create new pathways in the subconscious and conscious parts of our brain.” Since human beings are often creatures of habit, it’s difficult to consider that we have the power to change our thinking and our behavior. We often think that that’s just who we are, but The Source shows you that you can be whoever you want to be if you learn how to rewire your neural pathways. Self-help books like The Secret show us that if we can tap into “The Law of Attraction,” we have the power to change our destiny simply by reshaping our mind. Millions of people have used the ancient systems of manifestation and visualization to find health, success, love, friendship, wealth, and more. But does the “Law of Attraction” actually work? And more important, is this kind of life-changing philosophy within reach for everyone, even the most skeptical among us? While anxiety can be scary, understanding how our bodies and brains react during those moments can remove some of the pressure and help us take control of our nervous system.

This one is harder to do if you are at your desk or in the office, so it's a great longer-term exercise to try at home. While some of the ideas in the book are familiar – the power of positive thinking, the importance of visualisation – what is new, and for me, what was so helpful, is the way the book puts all of this on a solid scientific basis, and does so in a way that is clear, accessible, and personal. So where a book like The Secret explains the power of visualisation through the mysterious and mystical “Law of Attraction” (which never made much sense to me), The Source explains in fascinating detail how (for instance) visualisation can have a direct effect on the body (citing a study in which subjects who merely visualised doing finger exercises were found to have actually increased their finger strength); or how visualisation can help train the brain to pay attention to something useful that it might otherwise have filtered out.The Source is an insightful book about the intricacies of how the brain works and how we have the power to control it’s functions! I am a science nerd so I loved all of the details about the lobes of the brain, neurotransmitters, synapses, and so much more. I thought Tara Swart did a great job at stating facts while giving techniques/exercises like visualization and writing journal entries to help individuals learn to control their thoughts/actions and how to interpret them to ultimately see where change was necessary and how to go about that change. As Dr. Tara Swart, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and Senior Lecturer at MIT shows us in The Source, if we can strip away our skepticism, these ancient tools of manifestation and visualisation are fundamentally powerful and incredibly effective at freeing us of self-limiting behaviours and propelling us toward our truest, most authentic selves. Swart reveals how and why these systems actually work by offering the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience and behavioural psychology, including lessons in neuroplasticity, magnetism, emotional and logical thinking, and even hydration, self-care, and relaxation. Dr Tara Swart is a neuroscientist and former psychiatric doctor. She is a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan and visiting senior lecturer at Kings College London, and an executive advisor to some of the world's most respected leaders in media and business. 'The Source' is Tara's third book - she is also lead author of the award-winning 'Neuroscience for Leadership', and co-author of 'An Attitude for Acting'. In 2016 she was named the world's first Neuroscientist-in-Residence at Corinthia Hotel, London, and she is currently in residence at Annabel's private members club, running a series of wellbeing events. She is passionate about teaching others how to apply lessons from cognitive science to enhance everyday lives. Find out more at www.taraswart.com The Source by Tara Swart, MD, PhD marries universal truths with scientific rigor for a persuasive, important exploration of The Law of Attraction." - Deepak Chopra MD