This is a great book if your really want to know how your brain can change based on the way your focus on your world. There is a lot of research behind the topic of "brain plasticity", and the research is presented here, in a very readable style, so that even if you are not really a big science fan you are going to find this book fascinating.
I was intrigued by the stories of the researchers and how they put two and two together to imagine, and then prove, the brain has the ability to change the way it uses its storage abilities to provide each individual with just the space needed to pursue what ever it is they focus on. It's also interesting to read how the Buddhist community relates to and reflects upon the advances in understanding of human nature presented by these scientists.
I've recommended this book to my university health and wellness class students, and I highly recommend it for you as well, if you are interested in the crossroads of Buddhism and science.

I've always found the mind very fascinating to study, but I never really thought about the idea of changing/training it to perform better, and see different perspectives. I think this book was intended to help me deal with the stresses I may encounter later in life, and help me prepare for them. I have not had a huge tradegy in my life, such as the death of a close friend or family member, but I know people who do, and how it still affects them to this day. I did not want this to happen to me, as I tend to worry more than the average person. This study of the mind was not only interesting, but it helped me to be mentally stronger for the road and life ahead of me.

Many of us know the Dalai Lama through his role as the spiritual and philosophical leader of the Tibetan people. What fewer people know is that every year he hosts a neuroscience conference. He invites the top researches in the field of neuroscience to come and discuss their findings. The Dalai Lama sees science as the dominant worldview, and would like Buddhism to continue to grow and develop by learning from and engaging with science. More dramatically, if scientific discovery contradicts Buddhism, the Dalai Lama says “Into the garbage!” with that piece of Buddhism.

This book is the documentation of research presented by neuroscientists at this conference. But author Sharon Begely gives us so much more than a simple play-by-play. For each new neuroscientist we meet, she gives us a complete history of their career and their findings.

Study by study, we slowly learn just how powerful the mind is. If you are deaf, the auditory sections of your mind do not simply waste away – the so-called “visual” zones of the brain invade the “auditory” sections and make good use of the real estate. Stroke patients who have one good arm and one immobile one, if their good arm is strapped down, will eventually re-learn how to use the immobile limb again. If you are blind, the so-called "visual" zones of the brain are used instead for cognitive functions like language and processing speech.

We learn about the research underwent by the Silver Spring monkeys, which was of particular relevance to me as an animal rights activist, as the Silver Spring monkeys alleged mistreatment spearheaded the modern animal rights movement. I was interested to learn the other half of the story – that the researchers had severed the sensory nerves (so the monkey had no feelings in their hands) in order to study if animals needed to feel in order to move. His ultimate goal was to determine if patients whose limbs are immobilized by stroke can be rehabilitated.

Throughout these histories, we hear curious questions from the Dalai Lama and his scholars. We learn as we go the history and challenges of modern research in neuroplasticity. And we discover that meditation can not only help patients suffering with OCD, but that mental training of many kinds produce changes “that underlie happiness and other positive emotions” (Begely 221)

If you have ever doubted the saying “mind over matter,” this book presents easy-to-understand, well researched and convincing evidence to the contrary. While it may seem circular, even illogical, the mind can truly shape the mind.