Walk is a book that attempts to expand the simple act of walking. Written in short vignettes Radford describes everything from breathing, to tempo, to using the senses in a different way while walking. All of this is meant to transform walking from a simple mode of transportation, but rather take advantage of the slowness in walking as a sort of meditative state. Included in the book are loads of exercises that are pretty easy to do, it doesn’t require many tools and while it […]
A Starting Point for Christian Mysticism
Earlier this year I wrote a review of Yumi Sakugawa’s Your Illustrated Guide To Becoming One With The Universe, which is a charming and profound comic that helps the reader meditate on and contemplate life. I also reviewed Martin Laird’s Into the Silent Land and compared that book to The Matrix for thoughtful Christians. Keeping in the same neighborhood of meditative searchers, I’m reviewing The Way of the Mystics. I picked this one up at Half-Price Books a decade ago, but it never felt like the right time to […]
Self Help that is mostly helpful with a touch of Goop-ness
I presently work at Northwestern University, in the Career Management Center of Kellogg School of Management. As such, I have access to neat personal and professional development opportunities. Kellogg yearly holds a day-long conference called “Kellogg on Growth,” and staff are able to attend this thoughtful and exciting day of learning, reflection, and intellectual discourse. Mallika Chopra was the keynote speaker at Kellogg on Growth this year, so my interest was thus piqued in her book. I have obviously heard of her papa, Deepak, but […]
10% Useful
10% Happier is, like Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes or Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, part self-help book and part memoir. In fact, the first 80+ are essentially a chronicle of Dan Harris’s life as he rises through the ranks of broadcast journalism, becomes addicted to cocaine and ecstasy, and eventually has a panic attack on live television. It’s mildly entertaining, behind-the-curtain stuff, and it serves to frame his journey toward mindfulness and meditation, but it’s not especially useful if you’re hoping, as the extremely long […]
Meditation Might Not Be For Me
Many people find themselves with over-scheduled social lives, or work situations filled with a seemingly endless stream of projects, meetings and deadlines. Perhaps these people are facing challenges at home, or school, or with health. The challenges might seem minor to others, or perhaps others observe and wonder how the person is still functioning given everything that’s happening in their lives. We hear it a lot from women who have children and also work outside of the home – there are demands everywhere, and these […]
How to Quiet Your Mind
I have been working so hard on getting my bodily health in shape that I may have overlooked my mental and emotional health, too. Everything is connected, and pretty much everyone I talk to has suggested meditation for a way to relieve stress and improve my outlook on life. But where does a neophyte start? I found this book at the library, Quiet Mind: A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation, which was compiled and edited by Susan Piver. It includes seven different meditation exercises, explained and introduced […]