The Practice of Not Thinking: A Guide to Mindful Living

Bought as a gift, but ended up keeping it as I like to dip back into it every now & again

This is not exactly a manual of how to go about things but a wonderful introduction to mindfulness (of which I knew very little, hence my curiosity and interest to read it) which made me reappraise a number of things about how to be in the world and how to try and manage a wondering mind which only stops you being who you want actually to be and how you actually want to act in the world - something I had not really considered and that makes much sense. The writing style is curiously simple, even apparently simplistic at times, and I wonder if this is a result of it being a translation from the Japanese or if the author was in fact aiming for a totally unpretentious, even mundane outlook to what are in reality rather deep, even difficult, concerns. The result of this is the accessibility of the concepts and how one does not feel (at least I did not!) patronised, but just shown a number of techniques and approaches one may wish to adopt. I have not regretted reading this book, on the contrary, and I am trying to put some of its advice into practice. Many thanks to Penguin via NetGalley for a copy to read and review.

Great thanks

Disappointed. Was hoping for an incisive well thought out objective plan to achieving cognitive 'kama'. The book, in my opinion, is really just a collection of random thoughts and phrases from a well-meaning former monk. I've practiced transcendental meditation and yoga for over 50 years and believe they've served me well. However, I'm always keen to find further enlightenment. The book just didn't deliver this for me. Shame.

Really Zen!!

Too much to think about in this book. Need to keep it simple.

Lot many things I knew, but didn't know it that deep

El contenido del libro ea bueno pero no solo tardo más de lo esperado si no que llego todo doblado y mal tratado, es la primera vez que me pasa

As you can see, it did not work for me. I am still very much thinking. I guess it’s more of an art than actually practice. More over I was thinking about the book so, kinda pushes me to think about it. Cheeky that way

Great book

Je comprend le geste écologique de limiter les emballages plastiques, mais un simple emballage papier pour caler le livre dans le colis m'aurait éviter de recevoir un article neuf avec une page de couverture cornée et abîmée par le trajet... Mis à part ça, un super livre à lire absolument !