The Bond: Connecting Through the Space Between Us [Hardcover]

Lynne McTaggart (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 19, 2011 | ISBN-10: 9781439157947 | ISBN-13: 978-1439157947 | Edition: 1St Edition

For centuries, Western science and many Western cultures have taught us to think of ourselves as individuals. But today, a revolutionary new understanding is emerging from the laboratories of the most cutting-edge physicists, biologists, and psychologists:

What matters is not the isolated entity, but the space between things, the relationship of things. The Bond.

By international bestselling author Lynne McTaggart, The Bond is the culmination of her groundbreaking work. It offers a completely new, scientific story of life and the human experience, one that challenges the very way we conceive of ourselves and our world. The Bond shows that the essential impulse of all life is a will to connect rather than a drive to compete.

In fact, we are inescapably connected, hardwired to each other at our most elemental level—from cells to whole societies. The desire to help others is so necessary that we experience it as one of our chief pleasures, as essential as eating and having sex, and we succeed and prosper only when we see ourselves as part of a greater whole. Every conflict that occurs—whether between husband and wife, social or racial groups, or nations—is resolved only when we can fully see and embrace the space—the bond—between us.

McTaggart offers detailed recommendations to help foster more holistic thinking, more cooperative relationships, and more unified social groups. Blending interviews and human stories into an absorbing narrative, she shows how:

• A simple daily practice conditions the brain to enable you to become more empathetic toward others

• A new way of speaking and listening can overcome polarization, helping the staunchest of enemies to become close friends

• People who fire together wire together: Whenever a group works together for a common goal, the brains of all parties begin to get on the same wavelength, strengthening the bond within the group

• Fairness is more powerful than unfairness: A small group of individuals committed to strong reciprocity can “invade” a population of self-interested individuals and create a fairer society

The Bond offers a breathtaking, visionary plan for a new way to live, in harmony with our true nature and with each other, and a new way to heal our relationships, our neighborhoods, and our world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McTaggart (The Intention Experiment) straddles the line between science and pseudoscience, intending to help readers live fuller lives by understanding something she terms "The Bond." "In every way individual things live life attached and bonded to ÿanother,' " she argues. "The idea of the individual," McTaggart says, "is a fallacy." Her discussion of the Bond encompasses quantum physics, genetics, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, astronomy, sociology, psychology, and a host of other disciplines. While she provides ample and fascinating examples of "holistic," altruistic, and uplifting behaviors, her work fails to build a coherent theory from the hugely diverse body of anecdotes she provides. Second, she misapplies much of the science she discusses. Regarding quantum physics, for example, she implies incorrectly that quantum forces operate similarly on all levels, from the microscopic to the macroscopic. She makes the not fully supported claim that most disease results from the lack of a sense of belonging. It may well be better individually and collectively to cooperate rather than compete, as McTaggart says, but her explanations lack substance. (Apr.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review

“Once in a very great while, a book comes along that shifts our sense of reality, or extols a new way of living. Lynne McTaggart’s extraordinary new book, The Bond, does both.” — Deepak Chopra, author of Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul

"There is something on every page of this book to make you jump for joy. It's like things you've secretly suspected but figured must not be true since no one else seems to think them are suddenly proven to be true! You don't even realize how thirsty your soul has been for another way of looking at the world, until it's given you and you can't stop drinking it in. Rarely does a book so tell it like it is."— Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; 1St Edition edition (April 19, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781439157947
• ISBN-13: 978-1439157947
• ASIN: 1439157944
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynne McTaggart is an internationally recognized spokesperson on the science of spirituality and the award-winning author of five books, including The Field, which has been published in fourteen languages. She is also co-executive director of Conatus, which publishes some of the world's most respected health and spiritual newsletters, including What Doctors Don't Tell You and Living the Field. She lives in London.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 126 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars McTaggart delivers once again April 15, 2011

By Gina

Format:Hardcover

Lynne McTaggart delivers once again. Just as she has in her previous books "The Field", "The Intention Experiment", and "What Doctors Don't Tell You", McTaggart presents readers with a collection of research results that challenge the current scientific paradigms and offers simple solutions for finding ways to create and reestablish the bond between all of us. In "The Bond", McTaggart provides easy access to and understanding of a vast array of scientific studies including quantum and particle physics, epigenetics, solar and geomagnetic influences on humans and animals, the human experiences of empathy, fairness, and altruism, close-knit communities vs. isolation, and Eastern vs. Western visual perception and how all of these play into the space between us which connects us all. In Part I, McTaggart opens us up to the ideas that nothing exists independently, and that "thing" we are searching for to define what stuff is made of is not real, but the space between which creates relationships to "things" is what is real and is where the answers lie. In Part II, McTaggart reveals the overwhelming evidence that humans have an inherent predisposition, desire, and need for belonging, agreement, giving, and taking turns, all of which move us from individualism to holism. In Part III, McTaggart expands further on holism and provides evidence for the effectiveness of finding common ground, building community, openness to opposing viewpoints, being authentic, and practicing compassionate meditation, "deep truth," and "candid disclosure." The Bond is a fascinating glimpse into the web of life that we all are a part of and reinforces the need for a stronger sense of cooperation, community, and connection.

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Paradigm for Change May 16, 2011

By Chrissie Blaze

Format:Hardcover

The brilliant investigative journalist and international bestselling author, Lynne McTaggart, has done it again! "The Bond" is an important book for this age, and a logical progression from her groundbreaking books "The Field" and "The Intention Experiment". Gandhi said: "You must be the change you want to see in the world." However, for many people it is difficult to identify exactly what change they would like to see and how this can be effected. McTaggart has identified the change that is going on from a scientific perspective. Even more important than this, she has offered to all readers of "The Bond" a lucid and logical new paradigm of change that we all can incorporate into our everyday lives. By moving from individualism to holism, we can help to build a solid, enduring and authentic community for the future; one that has at its heart a dynamic philosophy of compassion, sharing, cooperation and service to others. This is the heart of all religious and spiritual philosophies but McTaggart has approached it from a unique new perspective that is speaks to us lucidly and wisely in this this age of technology and science in which we now live. She unlocks the heart and soul of science and uses it as a bridge to a new spirituality. "The Bond" is a must-read for anyone who wishes to see - and help build - a better world.

47 of 53 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Giving The Shift a Boost April 25, 2011

By Elizabeth P.

Format:Hardcover

Lynne McTaggart has written one of the best books of this genre of the decade. She's a brilliant journalist who connects science and spirituality to come up with a new way of thinking and acting for the 21st century that will help bring about The Shift. The Bond talks about how we can make our lives on this planet more humane, more purposeful, and more joyous. Anyone who has chased through a dozen books, looking for the secret to true happiness, will find the breadcrumbs right here.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth purchasing June 9, 2011

By Arthur Wiegenfeld

Format:Hardcover

I think of myself both as an individualist and a realist about human nature. Nevertheless, it is refreshing to think that I am not alone, and that there may be grounds for some optimism. Lynne McTaggart's book, "The Bond", offers some hope that other humans and the universe itself is on our side.

She supports her case by covering, in well written chapters, a large number of relevant topics in the natural and social sciences. As a consequence, the reader is shown how effective the research process is in these disciplines, how broad is the range of topics covered, and how useful the results. This "tour of academia" alone makes the book well worth purchasing, apart from its optimistic world view.

A few examples: Energy production in bacteria and plants may use quantum processes which allow nuclear particles to be in many places at once. They can therefore explore many potential methods for optimizing energy production virtually instantaneously. The new science of epigenetics shows that the environment profoundly affects the expression of genes. We are not doomed by our genes to a rigid pattern of health and behavior; instead, the bond between environment and genes is what matters. And the Sun, through its magnetism, has a profound effect on the functioning of our bodies.

Our brains learn not only from our own experience, but by studying the emotions and actions of others. Happiness and survival rates are determined by the number of relationships. Emotions are contagious. People often help strangers in distress; "bystander indifference" is greatly exaggerated. Similarly, recent research in game theory (studies of how people react in simulated situations involving competing needs) demonstrates that decisions by participants are governed by fairness, not selfishness.... And listening (before judgment), as well as meditation, has demonstrated effectiveness in resolving conflicts. Read more ›