In this book Jon Kabat-Zinn maps out a somple path for cultivating mindfulness in one’s own life. It speaks both to those coming to meditation for the first time and to longtime practitioners, anyone who cares deeply about reclaiming the richness of his or her moments.

Here comes some quotes from the book, texts that hooked me:

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgementally.

Meditation is not about feeling a certain way. It is about feeling the way you feel.

Non-doing simply means letting things be and allowing them to unfold in their own way.

Meditation means cultivating a non-judging attitude towards what comes up in the mind, come what may.

Being whole and simultaneously part of a larger whole, we can change the world simply by chaing ourselves.

There is no successful escaping from yourself in the long run, only transformation.

And finally this reassuring quote:

You are already perfect.

See also:
Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness for Beginners
Arriving at your own Door

The first CD has sessions about:
• The only moment we have
• What is mindfulness
• Awareness, a sixth sense
• Being present in our lives
• Mind and heart
• An ethical foundation
• Non-judgementing, patience, beginner’s mind, trust
• Non-striving, acceptance, letting go
• Thinking and awareness

I think this is a great introduction to mindfulness plus that you get some meditations.

A quiet trust in awareness sometimes requires inspiration and gentle reminders. These 108 insightful verses offer just that. Compiled from Coming to Our Senses these pointers and reminders will provide much needed encouragement for cultivating greater mindfulness in every aspect of daily life.

I like this little book and read a lesson or two almost every day. They are great reminders that help me get better at mindfulness.

I like the book, it is easy to read yet it makes you think and feel. My purpose with buying the book was to learn more about Zen, to be able to put the pieces together in my own view of Zen and mindfulness.

In the first part Alan writes that “Zen is a method of rediscovering the experience of being alive”. He brings up the concept of “ten thousand formations, one suchness”, there is simply one energy.

From the second part I select some quotes about the present:

If you understand fully that it is from the present that everything happens, then the only place for you to be, the only place for you to live, is here, right now.

If your plans are flexible and adaptable, and if you are here when things happen, you will always stay balanced.

Alan also writes “Anything that you can do without a great deal of thought becomes a perfect form of meditation”. That is the same as is said in The 5-minute Meditator.

The third part about the book is about space, how empty space is considered more important in the East than in the West. Alan mentions that Zen represents a simplified way of life and that the personality of Zen people is the uncluttered mind. He also says that “The beginning of Zen is overcoming the fear of death”. That is what made the samurai interested in Zen, as a way to become fearless.

The fourth and last part is about Zen Mind. Alan says that “The understanding of Zen is intuitive”. A final quote from the book:

The whole point of Zen is to suspend the rules we have superimposed on things and to see the world as it is – as all of a piece.

1. Fine-tune your actions
2. Put your mind at ease
3. Discover the divine power

Under finetuning your actions is a list of 18 tips. There is also this gem about time management, it is worth repeating that:

Time management is about managing ourselves, not about managing time.

A part in this section is called ‘Life is full’, looking back we have always filled our 24 hours. But did we do what we really wanted to do?

Success is not about having more. It is about fine-tuning your understanding of what you are willing to give up in order to get what you really want.

The conclusion for fine-tuning: Trade what does not work for what you really want.

The second section, put your mind at ease, is about accepting divine guidance. Life is a school, unless you complete your lessons at each phase you do not get to move forward.

In the third section, discover the divine power, it states that as long as we are reacting we have lost sight of our own agenda. The author wants us to find our point of restfulness which makes it possible to stay in control. She mentions mediatation and intuition as tools for this, the books describes six techniques.

I have mixed feelings about the book since to me it revealed no secrets but I guess that depends on where we are in our own progress.

This text is published at btwendel.com. If you see it elsewhere they are using my content.

The Manifestation Wheel is made up of eight “houses” or steps: intention, peace, energy, guidance, empowerment, action, surrender, and legacy. Through these eight houses, the Manifestation Wheel offers a process that helps readers create the conditions necessary for their vision to manifest. It calls forth the reader’s intuition and develops deeper and higher levels of awareness.

Alan explains that in beginning a project, we usually begin by clarifying what we want. However the immediate next question, one that is rarely asked, must be, “What is the greatest potential wanting to unfold?” This is the true catalyzing question. The Wheel takes you beyond personal wants and desires to tap into a bigger picture—a picture of “what wants to happen,” a picture of your greatest potential and the greatest potential of a moment, situation, project, or vision.

The book guides the reader through the eight houses of the wheel. Exercises and questions for each house help you keep your project on the move and aligned to the structure of the wheel. The eight houses form a logical path from vision to legacy, placing action plans in the sixth house and using the first five houses to build a solid foundation. The final step in each house is to go back through the previous ones and see if anything has to be changed.

In the eight house of legacy you shall consider sustainability and long term implications of your project. What is the impact on coming generations? That is something we rarely ask ourselves.

For many years, Alan used the Lakota Medicine Wheel and its concepts to powerful effect in the building of his life, career, and relationships. Recognizing that the language of the Medicine Wheel was a bit arcane for today’s world, he adapted the Medicine Wheel to create the Manifestation Wheel, a tool that is accessible, practical, and immediately productive for individuals, businesses, and organizations in the 21st century. Now Alan has written the guidebook to the Manifestation Wheel, making this simple yet profound process available to everyone.

I love the book, it is well written and the Manifestation Wheel is a very useful tool. But available to everyone is a stretch, you must have an open mind and trust the combination of spiritual wisdom and scientific knowledge.

I shall use the Manifestation Wheel for a key project of mine, growing my coaching business into something substantial and sustainable. My first use of the wheel was small scale and part of that bigger project, picking a name and getting the site Key Coaching up and running.

The image is borrowed from Allan Seale’s site.

Meditation is about choosing where you direct your attention. If you focus on something that is simple and sensual, you relax.

The basic instructions are: focus on the sensations of the present – sight, sound, taste or touch – and let your thoughts pass by in the background.

Eric writes that just a few minutes of deep breathing each day can make a difference to our well-being. I do a simple practice of three deep breaths that works very well for me.

You do not have to make yourself relax. You just stand back and let it happen. Meditation is the art of doing nothing. Your body and mind will naturally settle if you give them half a chance. The less you try to do, the better it works!

That sounds easy but it takes practice before it works. Eric says this about staying present:

To stay in the present, focus on one thing in the present. We call this the meditation object. It is your anchor, it is what you persuade your mind to return to when it wanders away.

One thing to focus on is our breath, easy and always available. Eric mentions that a visual object can be much easier to focus on than the breath so your mind is less inclined to wander. The choice is yours, pick an object that is available and do a short meditation.

I work as a coach and I use a short meditation before sessions to unwind, relax and become focused on the session to come. It helps me become more present.

Note: This text is published at btwendel.com. If you see it elsewhere they are using my content.

• Did I live wisely?
• Did I love well?
• Did I serve greatly?

These questions are dealt with while the book’s main character spends time with the saint, the surfer and the CEO.

In the CEO-section of the book is a part about choosing how we live every moment of our days. I picked a sentence from there and printed it in large letters, placing it where I see it every day. Is what I am doing in this instant the best use of my time and talent? It makes me think twice and use my time better than before.

I am the kind of person that underlines and make notes while I read, this book has a lot that I found worth marking. As the book says, “For my life to change, I must change”. This book helps me change.

The Monk is back in a new book on awakening your authentic greatness, full of fresh and exciting new lessons to stimulate your life. Combining Eastern wisdom with Western success principles in this inspiring, yet highly practical guide, Robin Sharma offers a blueprint for living a beautiful life, rich with joy, prosperity and lasting inner peace.

Discover Your Destiny With The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari offers more of the life-changing wisdom of Julian Mantle, the monk who sold his Ferrari. The book follows the story of Dar Sanderson, a highly ambitious executive who, despite his apparent success, is deeply unhappy. A serendipitous encounter with Julian Mantle sets Dar on an adventure to discover his authentic self and reclaim the life of his dreams.

You will learn the true purpose of your life, how to unlock your highest potential, the secret of boundless joy and a direct route to personal freedom. This is a powerful blend of deep wisdom and practical life lessons that will open you up to the possibilities that your life was meant to be and transform all dimensions of your world forever.

I like this book a lot. It is not one of those “just wish and it will be yours”-books, instead it is a guide book on how to discover your authentic self and achieve lasting inner peace.

I have read the book in Swedish, Finn din livsuppgift.

I decided to instead get the book the movie is based on, Way Of The Peaceful Warrior. The author Dan Millman is a former world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor and college professor.

Blending fact and fiction, the story relates an odyssey into realms of light and shadow, romance, and mystery. Guided by an eccentric old warrior named Socrates, drawn to an elusive young woman called Joy, Dan moves toward a final confrontation that will deliver or destroy him.

This classic tale, told with heart and humor, speaks to the peaceful warrior in each of us, moving readers to laughter and tears — even to moments of illumination — as they rediscover life’s larger meaning and purpose. Join Dan on the peaceful warrior’s path. Find out why this book has changed lives.

I picked some quotes from the FAQ-section at Dan’s website that are relevant to my comments:

Life, literature and film overflow with such pairings (a struggling student and mysterious mentor): Arthur had Merlin, Frodo had Gandalf; Mitch had Morrie; Luke Skywalker had Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda. And I had my Socrates.

According to an old proverb, “Art is a lie that helps us see the truth.”

The student – mentor setup is great, the focus is on the life of Dan the student with Socrates the mentor there to help in the spiritual process. I like the book for its spiritual teachings, they are similar to what I have learned from my mentors. But I would have preferred less fiction, sometimes Socrates gets ‘superhero’ abilities and that is strange to me. Still, the book is well worth reading and gave me some new insights.

I have picked some quotes from the book, pieces that stuck with me.

• Everything you’ll ever need to know is within you.
• You do not see your prison because its bars are invisible.
• To rid yourself of old patterns, focus all your energy not on struggling with the old but on building the new.
• Once you make your choice, do it with all your spirit.
• Responsibility means recognizing both pleasure and price, action and consequence, then making a choice.
• You are rich if you have enough money to satisfy all your desires. (Get more money or simplify life.)
• It does not matter what you do, only how well you do it.