The Embodied Mind: Understanding the Mysteries of Cellular Memory, Consciousness, and Our Bodies

Thomas R. Verny

Dec 2021 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Matthew Josdal

About this audiobook

We understand the workings of the human body as a series of interdependent physiological relationships, all the way down to the inner workings of every cell. Why is it that the accepted understanding that the physical phenomenon of the mind is attributed only to the brain? In The Embodied Mind, internationally renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas R. Verny sets out to redefine our concept of the mind and consciousness. He brilliantly compiles new research that points to the mind's ties to every part of the body. The Embodied Mind collects disparate findings in physiology, genetics, and quantum physics in order to illustrate the mounting evidence that somatic cells, not just neural cells, store memory, inform genetic coding, and adapt to environmental changes-all behaviors that contribute to the mind and consciousness. Verny describes single-celled organisms with no brains demonstrating memory, and points to the remarkable case of a French man who, despite having a brain just a fraction of the typical size, leads a normal life with a family and a job. The Embodied Mind shows how intelligence and consciousness-traits traditionally attributed to the brain alone-also permeate our entire being.

About the author

Thomas R. Verny is a clinical psychiatrist and the author of eight books, including The Secret Life of the Unborn Child, which was published in twenty-seven countries and forty-seven scientific papers. He has taught at Harvard University, the University of Toronto, York University (Toronto), and St. Mary's University.

Originally from a small town in southwest Saskatchewan, Matthew Josdal is a voice-over and theater artist who has narrated titles in a wide range of genres, including historical nonfiction and contemporary fantasy. He obtained his BFA in drama from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where he currently resides.