Description

A former investment banker, Thornton worked 14-hour days, six days a week. He claims he was able to begin meditating for an hour a day during this period, without adding a single thing to his schedule. How? In a rather extreme style of spiritual multi-tasking, Thornton practiced his meditation while on the go: before and after meetings, in the shower, during commutes, or when hitting the gym. In this book, he teaches readers to follow the same strategy, incorporating stolen moments of meditation throughout the day so that they add up to a full hour. He promises that this regimen will relieve stress, boost productivity, reduce illness and build a foundation of calm and strength. Thornton’s experience and skill as a corporate meditation instructor comes through here; he obviously knows the “super busy” and anticipates their objections and concerns. He organizes the book for easy reading, with sidebars, bulleted lists, diagrams and hands-on exercises sprinkled throughout. The bulk of the guide is taken up with teaching 19 different meditation techniques readers can incorporate into their to-do lists. Some of the recommendations are easy and practical, such as reprogramming a PDA or BlackBerry to read “choose calm now” as a menu heading, or “eating with awareness,” chewing slowly and being mindful of every bite. Others are more complex and come with Thornton’s caution that they take a lifetime to master. The book contains some old chestnuts, including the famous boiling frog story (here used as an example of how people become used to stress, not realizing its creeping dangers). Its opening chapters lean too heavily on glib promises when the book is more worthwhile and shows readers how mindfulness and meditation can be part of even the busiest schedule.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Review”At last! This book makes mediation easy, simple, enjoyable and effective.” — Erin Brockovich”Deserves to be read by everyone: it’s practical and informative and it could change your life!” — Justine Ettler, Book Reviewer for The Guardian and The Observer newspapers”Deserves to be read by everyone: it’s practical and informative and it could change your life!” — Justine Ettler, book reviewer for The Guardian and The Observer newspapers in the UK”The techniques are fast,simple and poewrful.” — Manager, The New York Times”These Techniques work!” Runne Gustafson, Coach for the Swedish Winter Olympic Team — Runne Gustafson, Coach for the Swedish Winter Olympic Team”You will be more deeply connected to life, if you buy this book. It’s an invaluable gift for your soul.” — Jack Canfield, Co-creator, #1 New York Times best selling Chicken Soup for the Soul ® series –This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.