Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El
What mindfulness does is create some space in your head so you can, as the Buddhists say, "respond" rather than simply "react."
This year, I have been on a self help kick. Mostly on topics related to mindfulness, productivity, and being happy. I think feeling overwhelmed occasionally is the reason for it. And stress of course - who doesn't have that problem? When I came across Dan Harris' 10% Happier, all my neurons were intrigued. Besides,
- It has a promising title.
- It is a story of one person's attempt to be happier rather than a general 'How to be Happy' book.
- Also, it sounded like a light read - something I was looking for to complement the other heavy reading I was doing at the time (Emperor of all Maladies).
Note: Despite the talk about religion and spirituality in the first three chapters of the book, 10% Happier is not about religion at all. Rather, it is about a lot of misconceptions that Harris has regarding faith and meditation.
I will admit to not liking Dan Harris much. He was the kind of the person who hated religion so much that he derided other people's beliefs. He had no idea what Buddhism was about nor did he want to jump on the meditation 'fad', claiming it was religion as well. He also admits often that he had these annoying traits and I get why he kept talking about it - there are plenty of people like him, who believe that to meditate requires you to chant and talk in a sugary voice and not be ambitious. To make these people realize that those are misconceptions, it helps to admit one's own fallacious beliefs. That didn't make reading about him easy though. I guess I am biased here because I grew up in a land close to where Buddhism was born and I had lessons in my History class about the Buddha and Buddhism. I am, however, not a religious person but I respect another person's need for faith. It just bothers me when someone talks like an expert on subjects they know nothing about.
Dan Harris was also not hesitant to call someone's bluff. He had no issues criticizing or mocking someone. While I agreed with his thoughts to some extent, I cringed at the blunt way in which he expounded his beliefs.
But, as ironic as this may sound, those issues I had with the author are exactly the reasons why I enjoyed the book a lot. I appreciated the lengths to which he was willing to go to understand how meditation works. Despite being in a job where you can easily lose gigs or be overlooked for promotion. Will he eventually be that perfect person who had no issues with anything, who always thought through every idea, and who was very aware of every breath he made? And how would this affect his ambitious personality? Would he stop caring about his work? Would he slow down?
As someone who has been focusing this year on being more mindful, I loved reading about Dan Harris' discovery of self. His complete ignorance on the subject at the beginning makes this book perfect for any newbie to the meditation world. I liked how he explained that being mindful doesn't require you to sit under a tree for years to attain nirvana. There is plenty of misinformation out there regarding Buddhism, mainly because of how this faith is packaged by money-makers. I loved that he explained that Buddhism is less a religion and more a philosophy - something to aspire to live your life by.
Sprinkled throughout the book are several strategies that Harris learned about how to meditate. Years ago, when I wanted to meditate, I was most struggling with the idea of how to focus only on my breath and not on any of the 100 ideas that pass through my brain, especially when I want to shush it. Harris had the same worry. Several of his teachers corrected him - the point was not to clear your mind but to be aware of what you are thinking and not let them take over. I don't have this mastered at all. But I loved getting this different perspective into how to meditate. My brain loves to have conversations with itself but now, I am aware when it happens and able to stop it. (For the uninitiated, one of the habits that meditation tries to encourage is less time spent thinking and more time actually doing AND being present in whatever it is you are doing.)
By the time I turned the last page, I loved this book. It has made me more excited about being mindful and more aware of myself. I haven't exactly sat down and meditated but it's something I want to give a try. As soon as my baby complies with that wish.
Dan Harris was also not hesitant to call someone's bluff. He had no issues criticizing or mocking someone. While I agreed with his thoughts to some extent, I cringed at the blunt way in which he expounded his beliefs.
But, as ironic as this may sound, those issues I had with the author are exactly the reasons why I enjoyed the book a lot. I appreciated the lengths to which he was willing to go to understand how meditation works. Despite being in a job where you can easily lose gigs or be overlooked for promotion. Will he eventually be that perfect person who had no issues with anything, who always thought through every idea, and who was very aware of every breath he made? And how would this affect his ambitious personality? Would he stop caring about his work? Would he slow down?
As someone who has been focusing this year on being more mindful, I loved reading about Dan Harris' discovery of self. His complete ignorance on the subject at the beginning makes this book perfect for any newbie to the meditation world. I liked how he explained that being mindful doesn't require you to sit under a tree for years to attain nirvana. There is plenty of misinformation out there regarding Buddhism, mainly because of how this faith is packaged by money-makers. I loved that he explained that Buddhism is less a religion and more a philosophy - something to aspire to live your life by.
Sprinkled throughout the book are several strategies that Harris learned about how to meditate. Years ago, when I wanted to meditate, I was most struggling with the idea of how to focus only on my breath and not on any of the 100 ideas that pass through my brain, especially when I want to shush it. Harris had the same worry. Several of his teachers corrected him - the point was not to clear your mind but to be aware of what you are thinking and not let them take over. I don't have this mastered at all. But I loved getting this different perspective into how to meditate. My brain loves to have conversations with itself but now, I am aware when it happens and able to stop it. (For the uninitiated, one of the habits that meditation tries to encourage is less time spent thinking and more time actually doing AND being present in whatever it is you are doing.)
By the time I turned the last page, I loved this book. It has made me more excited about being mindful and more aware of myself. I haven't exactly sat down and meditated but it's something I want to give a try. As soon as my baby complies with that wish.
This book is from my personal library.
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