Chasing Peace: A Story of Breakdowns, Breakthroughs, and the Spiritual Power of Neuroscience

Chasing Peace is about how profound change is possible through twenty-first-century neuroscience. It is about how a lifelong seeker used the cutting-edge science of neuroplasticity to turn his emotional breakdown--one defined by escalating bouts of burnout, disillusionment, and debilitating anxiety--into a lasting personal breakthrough.

AN OPEN FIELD PUBLICATION FROM MARIA SHRIVER

Tom Rosshirt was like millions of people chasing peace. He believed he could get it through performance, perseverance, and hard work--attacking both his career and meditation practices with a strict dedication. Instead of peace, his achievements brought anxiety, depression, and a merciless perfectionism that left him overwhelmed and wanting out. He spent his time maneuvering around a list of triggers that grew longer by the day and was guided by his near desperate search for relief. Then, right after another dead-end session with a psychiatrist, Tom found the emerging science of neuroplasticity, which provided a new understanding of how the mind affects the brain and body. Through a support group of individuals equally exhausted by their developed hypervigilance, and following months of research and reframing, Tom started to see his breakdown as a chance for a breakthrough. He realized every thought about who we are supposed to be is a barrier to peace. And neuroplasticity can help us starve the thoughts that create the self-image that causes the suffering. It marks the shift from ＂getting what I want＂ to ＂wanting what I get.＂ The first is chasing peace; the second is finding it.

Chasing Peace is a personal journey that can inspire anyone who is tired of chasing peace and wants to find happiness in who they really are.

Tom Rosshirt is a former teacher, speechwriter, press secretary, and co-founder of UNITE; a married father of two boys; and a student of meditation and religion trying to help heal human division.