Hey Friends!
Happy World Book Day!
Recently I had the chance to collaborate with Stuart Carter from the Simply Mindfulness YouTube channel, talking about…well…Books!
How appropriate right?
In video we cover six books that we think could help you to live a more mindful life.
This was a lot of fun to work on, and I’m excited to share it with you all. It was pleasure working with Stuart, so please show him and his channel some love. Give the video a “like”, leave a comment, and be sure to subscribe.
I look forward to working with Stuart again, we currently discussing some possible dates for having him on my podcast! I’ll be sure to keep you posted!
Below you’ll find the transcription of my book recommendations as well as links to the books if you ‘d like to purchase any of them.
My current number 1 book is Sadness, Love, Openness: The Buddhist Path of Joyby Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. I just finished reading it about a month ago and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it. I’m really stuck on it right now, and I’m constantly reviewing my notes and highlights. In fact, I made two videos on my channel talking about some of the main ideas in this book (you can find the videos here and here. or if you prefer audio you can find that here and here, and if you’d rather read the transcripts you find them here and here).While the author is a Tibetan Buddhist and while Buddhist thought is a strong feature in the context of his writing, you certainly don’t need to be a Buddhist to get any value out of this book. In many ways you could say that the central theme of the book is that living mindfully means embracing things as they really are which also means embracing sadness, love, and openness. Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche suggests that that deep sadness is not to be avoided, nor is it something to be wallowed in. Instead, he says that the experience of grief and sorrow that comes when we are confronted by the impermanent nature of all we hold most dear, can actually help us become more loving and compassionate, and it can allow us to be more open to love, more open to the world, and more open to the reality of the way things are.
Number 2 is What is Zen?: Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind by
Norman Fischer and Susan Moon. I love this book. I read it last year
and I just couldn’t put it down. The book is written in a question and
answer format, Susan Moon poses various questions to Norman Fischer,
Fischer answers, and often Moon responds and pushes back a bit further.
The conversational tone of the book makes it an easy, accessible, and
enjoyable read. When you’re reading it, it almost feels more like your
having a discussion with friends over coffee. The topics center upon zen
thought and practice, so if your interested in zen at all this is a
great gateway into the topic. Also because its an q&a format its
easy to skip around to the questions that interest you the most or to
even use it kind of as a reference book. However, I think the key take
away from this book isn’t so much the information specific to the zen
tradition, I think its actually Fischer’s approach to zen. For Fischer,
zen is most deeply and most centrally concerned with the simplicity of
everyday life, being fully present with feeling and experience of simply
being alive.
Last but certainly not least is Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion. This is the book that launched me into meditation practice. If it
wasn’t for this book I would not be doing what I’m doing now. So if you
love what I do you have Harris to Thank and well, if you don’t like what
I do, blame Harris not me, lol. I don’t consider myself a religious
person. I’m a pretty skeptical and secular kind of guy. Sometimes even
the word ‘spirituality’ still makes me a bit uncomfortable but, after
reading Harris’ book any reluctance or hesitation I had about beginning a
meditation practice was gone. i felt that I could begin a ‘spiritual’
practice in a way that was conducive and honest, in a way that made
sense to me. In the book Harris outlines the science behind meditation,
and in the process weds the wisdom of contemplation with the
understanding of modern neuroscience, creating a ‘spiritual’ path and
practice that even the most skeptical among us can get on board with.
I really hope you enjoyed this World book day collaboration! If you’d like to support what I do be sure to check out my Patreon page.
Thanks so much!
Keep showing up, Keep doing the work, Fail Boldly, and Make Something Meaningful!