Writing has been one of my lifelong passions. When I work on a book project, there is no stopping, no tiredness, no boredom. I feel truly in the Zone. Most of my works have been already published, but my poems and collection of short stories have not. I am still in the process of finding my literary voice in the context of other things I do, which is going to determine the direction of my future publications.
Books
Common Medical Terms
As a medical student, I was obsessed with medical linguistics. I could vividly see the potential of Persian language as an Indo-European language capable of having exact equivalents for medical terminologies. After some groundwork and initial research, I formed a team of over 25 term finders and editors who worked diligently for over a year to extract commonly used Persian medical terms from over 30,000 pages of authored or translated medical textbooks by the most eloquent authors. Then, I identified any gaps and proposed equivalents that could be used by future translators and medical writers. This evidenced-based Persian medical dictionary was published in 1996 and won a national prize in 1997 as the best authored student book in Iran.
My Doctor (in 6 volumes)
In 2001, I published a series of 6 titles with the aim of providing easy-to-understand medical information for public on six topics of cardiovascular conditions, nervous system problems, kidney conditions, joint and autoimmune conditions, infectious diseases, blood disorders and cancer. These books became popular especially at doctors’ offices as a source of information for patients waiting for their appointments. One of the highlights of these books was an account of a typical patient journey in Iran (especially in urban areas), so that patients could better navigate through the system and determine who to go to and for what.
Old Persian Dances
In the area of music, I first published the sheet music of Old Persian Dances, which was the output of my research into Persian dance forms (Rengs), which also consisted of re-arranging them for the Santour in less common but more challenging scales. This book is now part of the advanced repertoire for the Santour and those who finish advanced courses (i.e. Radif Chapkook) can play these Rengs and further enhance their technique and repertoire. The other music book that I had a significant role in was Master Abolhassan Saba’s Courses for Santour, which I rewrote in late 1980s and edited under the supervision of master Payvar.
Shabdiz
This sheet music contains my compositions for either santour solo or santour duets. The list of pieces published in this book is available in the music section of my website.
Addenda to Santour's Method
Addenda to Santour’s Method is a series of notes, clarifications and elaborations on Master Payvar’s Method for learning the Santour. I wrote it as a complement to the most popular instruction book for the Santour. Since I learned that method directly from Master Payvar, my recollections of his explanations and subtext to his method served as an invaluable reference when I was compiling this book. I also added my personal experience of teaching the Santour for over 15 years to students young and old, in Iran and abroad.
For Iran's Tomorrow
This is a collection of 10 articles that I wrote in 2022 about a vision for Iran. This short book addresses the following topics: who is Iranian, how do we define Iranian happiness, what does freedom mean in the context of Iran, where does Iran deserve to stand on global stage, government models suited for Iran, how can we achieve a trillion dollar economy, cultural revolution of a third kind, how to preserve Iran’s natural resources (and contribute to fight against climate change), the issue of leadership in Iran and ending on other futures imaginable for Iran.
The Wheel of Context
The Wheel of Context for Sexuality Education co-authored with Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh was created as a practical framework to ensure that educators, advocates, and researchers in the field of sexuality education maintain a holistic perspective on a selected number of key contextual factors that may influence, hinder or catalyze our work. The Wheel of Context may also help provide a greater appreciation for the communities we serve and ultimately lead to more desirable outcomes for our programs or projects. It is not only a tool to build consensus and alignments at the onset of a project, but also a medium to facilitate dialogue among stakeholders, create solutions out of conflicting ideas and a measure to deepen our understanding about the root causes of unforeseen barriers and resistance that we may face.
The Thinking Hour (Work in Progress)
The third phase of my writings started in 2012 when I wrote a collection of blogs to help my followers make better plans for their life journeys. I took a number of critical decision points in everybody’s life and after implementing a novel thinking framework, I encouraged them to spend an hour every now and then to deeply contemplate on each subject. Those blogs became the initial draft of a key part of my next book “The Thinking Hour”. I am also including a part on Thinking Styles based on my original research conducted in 2012 and 2019 to develop the Pyramid of Self-Awareness Scale and co-develop the Relationship Panoramic Inventory. My hope is to publish the Thinking Hour over the next couple of years with the hope of helping individuals in their formative years faced with a multitude of critical decisions and life-altering choices.
Educational Games
Boredom is the mother of many inventions! While in a career transition in the first part of 2020 and stuck at home at the height of COVID-19 quarantine, my son and I got busy re-inventing one of the timeless card games that I used to play growing up. After multiple prototypes and hundreds of hours of testing, Thinkocrats Smart Card Games were born.
Comp is the short form for “Comparison“. Therefore, when you play country comps, you are basically comparing facts about countries. When you play Car Comps, you are comparing key features of cars. The goal of these 4 educational card games is to learn about facts, strengths and features of nations, US states, global cities and most popular or interesting cars. These games were marketed and available in 2020 and a good part of 2021.
