book review: the miracle of mindfulness
17 Dec 2019
The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation
What are the main ideas?
- attention to the breath is everything
- if you cannot be completely present with what you are doing RIGHT NOW, you cannot be free. freedom is found in the present moment and no where else (because there is literally no where else you can actually be)
- (thought from me, not a book main idea: breathing is the only bodily function that almost all people can do consciously and unconsciously).
- not a main idea but a breakthrough moment for me: there is a sensation of mental functions as well as a sensation of the cessation of mental functions. wild!
If I implemented one idea from this book right now, which one would it be?
the purpose of practicing mindfulness is to create more mindful awareness during the rest of your life. sitting practice builds the muscles that we, in theory, use in the rest of life. remember this relationship and it is fully possible to ignore the hype-culture of retreat.
How would I describe the book to a friend?
in this book, thich nhat hanh goes through the simple and revolutionary basics of mindfulness. it’s a letter he wrote to some folks who were still doing peace in his/their home, vietnam. the book is a gentle earth-shattering show-stopper… in his beautiful unassuming way, nhat hanh shares the keys to liberation from suffering. hint: it’s all in the mind. read it cover to cover, especially the practices section. it’s all gold!
reminder: book review structure
words / writing / post-processing
237w / 10min / 8min