Reddit reviews Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Thanks.
Also recommended: Peace is Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh

How about a book instead of mind altering drugs? Its much more healthier.

Buy this, it could change your life as it did mine

95 customers 5 star ratings can't be wrong

Shambhala Sun is a Buddhist magazine and they frequently have letters from prisoners saying how much there articles have helped them deal with and see there incarceration in a new light.

I found it was easier to digest then an entire book when I was first exposed to Buddhist teachings.

Also they give "mercy subscriptions" to people in jail that cant pay.

http://www.shambhalasun.com/

But yeah, Thich Nhat Hanh is good stuff.
This book: http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239318446&sr=8-1
helped me learn to be mindful and consequently thankful for the things I do have. In jail I could imagine that would help if you could make a meal a great joy. </hippy>

I honestly believe you can not have a discussion about mindfulness without referencing Thich Nhat Hanh. He is truly a master at this stuff, and I've learned so much from his books and recordings of his talks on youtube.

I recommend starting with Peace is Every Step and the Plum Village youtube channel

In the context of parenting, the essential resource is Nancy Bardacke's Mindful Birthing: https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Bardacke/e/B007NQOTSI
Otherwise, there are so so so many books its hard to choose - so I'll list just a few favorites:
Thich Nhat Han's Peace is Every Step: https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397/ref=la_B000AP5YRY_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503002019&sr=1-2

Mindful magazine: https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-meditation-guided-practices/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_dTMBRBHEiwApIzn_K9o5yuMoHlCdC_ReLMd5ULpXKD9XSwZ0QJ3a7bfY9naiPTFXccAchoCX2oQAvD_BwE

And the two books that are next on my list to read:
Robert Wright: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Buddhism-True-Philosophy-Enlightenment-ebook/dp/B01MPZNG63/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503002286&sr=1-15&keywords=mindfulness%2C+science
and Dan Goleman and Richie Davidson: https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Meditation-ebook/dp/B01N3BUE70/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503002507&sr=1-1&keywords=richard+davidson

For recommendations there is this recent thread. Of the first few posts, I just finished 10% Happier, by Dan Harris. If you're interested I can mail it to you. It was a quick and interesting read, that was a good introduction for a westerner. One of the other books on the list is by Sam Harris, who is mentioned in 10% Happier, and is a pretty big name atheist. So, if you want to go the non-spiritual route he might be a good read, but I haven't read his book. I've also read The Joy of Living and Peace is Every Step, but I'm by no means an expert meditator. Like most things, it's easy to talk about, and read about, and say you'll do, than actually practice daily. Best way to start is to jump in.

Using my best arm chair psychology I'd attribute your lack of motivation to lift as being a part of the larger issue, which is that you're feeling stuck. I don't think you'll find the answer to any of the manifestations of that feeling until you treat the cause. And if you're just going through the motions, you might be right. Maybe you aren't benefiting, but that doesn't mean the activity is to fault, it means you're not mentally and physically applying yourself to the activity. That's where goal setting comes back into play, being happy doesn't mean stop striving, which is something Dan Harris talks about and struggles with in his book. There are always places to improve. So, no, there's no way around it, only through it.

Breathing exercises work great.

They’re very simple and very effective. If you’re by a computer/phone you can save this link:

[calm breathing tool] (https://www.google.com/search?q=breathing+gif+anxiety&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS820US820&hl=en-US&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjsrIH40afgAhVxm-AKHYkKANcQ_AUoAXoECAwQAQ&biw=414&bih=620#imgrc=K5GS00UJu5tG0M)

Sync your breath with the shape and try to stick with it for 3-5 minutes.

If you’re not around a computer you can focus on your breath. On the in-breath think to yourself, “breathing in, I know I’m breathing in” and on the out-breath try thinking “breathing out, I know I’m breathing out”. Stick with it for 3-5 minutes or as long as it takes for the feeling to pass.

The more you do it, the more it will become habit and you may find yourself going into the breathing pattern automatically when stressful situations arises. Let me know if you’d like more info or if I can help in any way. Best of luck.

Here’s a book if you’re interested: https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397

I have to actively practice just being myself and hoping that it's good enough, because any effort to pose in any way (facially or bodily) for the sake of a picture is just gonna make it worse. But if I can get my default to naturally be pleasant, that works out both for the pictures and for my normal demeanor away from a camera.

A couple of recent quotes I ran across about smiling that I really like, from Thich Nhat Hanh's book Peace Is Every Step:

> "Wearing a smile on your face is a sign that you are master of yourself."

> "How can our smile be the source of joy and not just a diplomatic maneuver? When we smile to ourselves, that smile is not diplomacy; it is the proof that we are ourselves, that we have full sovereignty over ourselves."

So as an experiment, consider trying to smile to yourself, and for yourself. Forget the camera. Forget smiling for the sake of your friends even, but know that when you smile for yourself, they will nonetheless benefit as a side effect. Otherwise, if you're always trying to smile for others, you'll likely wind up feeling the following (from Emerson's essay Self-Reliance).

> "...the forced smile which we put on in company where we do not feel at ease in answer to conversation which does not interest us. The muscles, not spontaneously moved, but moved by a low usurping wilfulness, grow tight about the outline of the face with the most disagreeable sensation."

I'm sure we're all regrettably familiar with that "most disagreeable sensation". :-)

Thanks for following up. I just ordered the Thich Nhat Hanh book based on your suggestion. Peace is Every Step is the book that introduced me to mindfulness & meditation.

"Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
I read it before I started college and it made me VERY idealistic. I looked at myself as some sort of Boddhisattva and was kind to everyone even my enemies. MOving to the city kind of took that out of me, so I often read it just to remind myself how I should treat others. It's the most beautiful story I've ever read. The philosophy that this book showed me is this: We are all brothers and sisters and we came from the same matter. With this belief, how can one ever truly hate anyone?

Non-fiction: Peace is Every Step by Thich Nat Hanh

My sister also has disassociative disorder. She calls it "unreality". I recommended the book "Peace is every step" to her. A few days later she called me and told me she that just reading the book gave her an enormous feeling of relief and happiness. It may be worth checking out.

At times, I have difficulty sitting too (pain). Anyways..

My Tibetan (dharma) teacher recommends newbies meditate for a maximum of 10 minutes at a time. In a 90-120 lesson he'll take us through 2 or 3 meditations, and only if people want that many.

You know, there's nothing wrong with just doing 5 minutes. Or two minutes, for example whilst waiting for public transport to arrive.

With time, the meditation practice having probably reduced the neurochemicals causing you to fidget, longer sessions of sitting might well be much easier.

Also, you don't have to sit. You can lie down for example. Also you can make all sorts of activities a meditation, for example be more mindful when eating your breakfast. This book is pretty good in this respect http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397

Do try seek out a teacher :-)

Most of these bring to mind Thich Nhat Hahn, but with more Western-friendly wording. Though, I did very much like Peace is Every Step.

I do the yoga breathing techniques and meditations during the session. Since I have a daily practice I don't need to add a separate time for meditation anymore. It's very similar to mindfulness. I highly recommend this book if you want to add meditation to your daily life. https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465396345&sr=8-1&keywords=peace+in+every+step

Of course. There is peace in every step.

Yeah, I'd suggest a simple book like this. It outlines basic daily mindfulness that a person can do. Great for getting things started!

https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=everyday+mindfulness+thich&qid=1572270253&sr=8-2

This article was written by my teacher and is titled "Practicing Buddhism in daily life". There's also some fantastic "Related Posts" at the bottom, too.

If you're looking for an actual book to acquire and read, I'd suggest Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh's Peace Is Every Step has a lot of nice bits of outlook and meditation and daily mindfulness that are really peaceful and uplifting.

Depression is dangerous though, so if this keeps up make sure to talk about it to people that care about you and seek professional help.

Could read this whopper of a book coming in at 137 pages.

> I've heard of 'mindfulness' but haven't really looked into it.

Mindfulness is basically the act of being present in the current moment. Not worrying about the future or ruminating over the past, but being at peace with where we are right now; present within our body and breath. Given how our minds are trained to work from the time we are children, mindfulness to a lot of westerners is a sort of meditation. But one we can experience as we go about our daily lives.

One of my greatest heroes is Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen Buddhist monk and author. He writes a lot about mindfulness and does it in a really human, immediate way that feels like sitting down with a sweet, humble man who is telling stories about his life. I highly recommend his book Peace is Every Step. It's one of the most pleasurable reads on mindfulness because it's more of a 'show don't tell' book where he talks about finding mindfulness in everyday life activities such as washing the dishes or listening to the ringing of a phone.

For regulating emotions I would recommend Taming the Tiger Within: Meditations on Transforming Difficult Emotions also as a primer for meditation in general I like handing out Peace is Every Step

If you want to get interested in Zen, I suggest reading a couple books. Books will give you a good idea of what to expect and probably give you some positive motivation to get going.

I recommend books by Alan Watts and Thich Nhat Hahn. They have been very influencial for me.

Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hahn

The Way of Zen by Alan Watts

The most important thing is practicing. It is easy to see the path but it is an entirely different thing to actually walk the path. Try sitting down on your couch and meditating for five minutes. If you need instructions you can find talks given by Gil Fronsdal that will guide you at Audio Dharma

Our brains learn through association. If I say the word "dog", you immediately think of the closest association to the sound or text "dog", it could be your pet, your favorite dog, or a general image of a dog. The more we repeatedly reference these associations, the stronger they become, and can possibly become part of the subconscious mind like knowing how to walk.

Now, I used to have OCD, but not anymore. I'll tell you a bit about how it works since it could help others, and maybe even those with depression.

OCD is a loop where you have a really bad experience and try not to think about it. However, the brain doesn't work like that. It works through association. If you say "don't think about pink elephants", you'll think about pink elephants for a while. With negative emotions, it's even worse because it frustrates you and makes it feel hopeless when you can't forget. The way out is to realize that and just give up on trying to "forget" something. Once you do that, and continue doing what you want to do, OCD quietly goes away. Also, if you're angry at "X" experience, you also need to remove that anger because otherwise that anger will sneak up on you when you least expect it.

I never had depression, but perhaps you can apply some of what I said above.

Also, I highly recommend keeping a physical or online journal of all your virtues, vices, and beliefs. It's basically a list of all the things you believe and want to remember. Humans forget without constant reflection, that's why I keep a list of all my beliefs. It helps me from making the same mistakes in the past. I also keep a list of all the things I'm thankful for, which I update whenever I think of something new.

Finally, I strongly recommend reading this book called "Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life" by Thich Nhat Hanh. It has insanely high reviews on Amazon, and it changed my life. It talks about being more mindful in a society that is so busy with stuff. He also talks about how you can be mindful of the present instead of constantly worrying about the past or the future. There's definitely more to it, so please read this book if you need help with living a better life.

Here's a link
https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397

Wait 'til you are 61 and you will feel like your life has gone too fast. However, you might try reading this.

Oh man, I could recommend so many.

Kung Fu and Taoism:

The Making of a Butterfly is one of my favorite books. It is about a white kid who starts learning Kung Fu out of a Chinese master's basement back in the 70s, well before Kung Fu was popularized in the West.

Chronicles of Tao by Deng Ming Dao is excellent, a narrative perspective of how Taoism intertwines with the life of a Kung Fu practitioner.

American Shaolin by Matthew Polly is an entertaining and illuminating story that disseminates a lot of the mysticism surrounding the Shaolin Temple.

The Crocodile and the Crane is a fun fictional book that is basically about Tai Chi saving the world from a zombie apocalypse.

My next goal is to tackle The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Of course, I highly recommend the Tao Te Ching and the Art of War as well.

Buddhism: I highly recommend anything Thich Nhat Hanh. Anger and Peace is Every Step are two of my favorites.

Karate and Japanese Arts:

Moving Toward Stillness by Dave Lowry is one of my favorite books, taken from his columns in Black Belt Magazine over the years. A really excellent study on Japanese arts and philosophy.

Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings by Kenji Tokitsu is wonderful. It includes the Book of Five Rings as well as some of Musashi's other works, including many of his paintings.

The 47 Ronin, by John Allyn, a dramatization of the Genroku Ako Incident, is still quite poignant in 2016.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a great source of wisdom. I've always been a fan of his book Peace is Every Step.

I've been getting through a book that touches on how our "minds" or will can change the physical structure of the brain, and has some discussion of this on people with OCD. (Check out the book: The Mind and The Brain) In this book, the people with OCD describe their experience as feeling like there is a part of them outside of the compulsion that sees the whole thing as illogical or silly, much like you do. This part of you is the "mindful observer". Point is, this is something you can work with if it is bothering you, and you may need someone to help you.

Seek out professional help if you think you need it, and read up on CBT and mindfulness. Research on mindfulness meditation (and the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Class) and what I read in this book has convinced me that mindfulness work is worth a try and that people can make changes to their own behaviors. See article: MBSR alters grey matter EDIT: Here is a pdf of the actual research on MBSR: PDF

A good start are the books: Mindfulness in Plain English (free online!), and Peace is Every Step

I've taken the MBSR class myself and it has made a big difference in the way I deal with stress and the way I worry about things. Perhaps there is a class in your area? The above books reinforce a lot of what I learned in the class, and I find that when I keep up with mindfulness either formally or informally, it is a great help. The class is useful in that it helps you commit to activities that reduce stress and experience a variety of techniques (ex: sitting meditation, "body scanning", yoga, walking meditation, etc.)

Check out r/meditation or r/30daysit sometime, if you like. It is a little bit of work to learn it and keep a daily practice, I hope you find something that works for you! : )

Acne - Visit a dermatologist and ask to be put on Accutane. It may take 4-8 months of treatment, but you will probably be acne-free for the rest of your life. If the acne is gone, your social confidence will be greatly improved. I know, because I once had horrible acne on my face, shoulders, and back that crippled my sociability. Accutane changed that.

Working out - Yes, it can be hard creating a workout program and sticking with it. But if you can find a way to motivate yourself into working out every day or every other day, your quality of life will improve. You'll have more energy, you'll have a more positive attitude during the day, and watching your gut diminish is incredibly rewarding. I'd start jogging on the treadmill or an elliptical every day for two miles or so. A few years ago I weighed about 230 pounds. During the summer months, I went about two miles a day on the treadmill and reduced my food consumption. I lost 25 pounds. I had more energy and more drive in life. It may not solve all your apathy problems, but it will certainly target them and make all your other tasks in life more doable. And listen to your favorite music that gets you pumped up while exercising. Seriously, it helps a lot. And consider changing your diet. I have cut out soda and avoid eating fatty, greasy, fried food whenever I can. Substituting those foods for things like fruits and lettuce may not sound very appealing at first, but once you become consistent in a healthier diet the shitty food you once loved will look and taste repulsive. This will help you lose weight and you'll feel better overall as you satisfy your body's need for proper nutrition.

Meditation - Doing this for a few minutes a day has probably been the single greatest thing I've done for myself my entire life. Here's a book I want you to read:

http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397

It's called "Peace is Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk who currently lives in France. This book is short and you could probably read it in a day or two. If you follow the recommendations on how to practice the breathing and mindfulness meditations, you will see benefits that I cannot truly describe with words. Here's a dharma talk Nhat Hanh gave a few years ago (skip to about 30 minutes in when he starts to talk). Practice the breathing meditation while listening to this - it's a great way to start.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4018343704501897813

I know it might sound hard to believe, but the reason these traditions have lasted for thousands of years is because there is something real and beneficial to them, a truly tangible benefit in your day-to-day life. If you have any questions about technique, please message me. I'd be happy to help.

Suicide - Do not do this. The amount of pain and suffering you will unleash upon others is too severe for anyone to imagine who has not lost a loved on this way. My older brother killed himself about three years ago when I was 16. My mother still cries every day and has to take anti-depression pills to get by. Killing yourself produces far more pain in the world than trying to live and struggle against your own apathy and depression. I know that these things torture you on the inside, but you have to realize that the internalized state of depression is just that; internal. You have the capacity to change yourself and overcome this. Friendship and love can be had by anyone who is willing to put the work in to transform their self into one ready to both give and receive this love.

Social life - I do not think that this can be achieved simply by trying to "be more social." Becoming more social is not something that one can set out to do; rather, it is a consequence of internal transformation. The things I have listed above have helped me learn to love life, even though I found myself in a similar situation like yours in the past. I cannot guarantee they will work for you, but there's nothing to lose by trying to follow through with them.

I have great faith that you can get yourself out of this rut. Everyone can. It's a matter of knowing what to do and realizing that your life is precious and beautiful and that it's worth fighting for.

This Book has been great to me. It applies Buddhist philosophy to modern Western living without discussing any sort of dogma. Can't recommend it enough.

Please check out Thich Nhat Hanh. Here are some of my favorite CDs.
http://www.amazon.com/Present-Moment-Retreat-Practice-Mindfulness/dp/159179126X/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394927822&sr=1-6&keywords=Thich+Nhat+Hanh

http://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Living-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/dp/1591790891/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394927822&sr=1-12&keywords=Thich+Nhat+Hanh

Favorite books
http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Mindfulness-Introduction-Practice-Meditation/dp/0807012394/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394928117&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Every-Step-Mindfulness-Everyday/dp/0553351397/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394928162&sr=1-4

Definitely not reveling in others' misfortune. More like becoming more empathetic to others' struggles and realizing that suffering is universal, and most importantly, realizing that it doesn't have to break you. I am not religious, but Buddhism has some really great things to say on this topic. Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh was really helpful to me, along with a few other Buddhist books. How to Be Sick by Toni Bernhard has a lot of great tools and practical advice. I read it with someone else in mind but found it invaluable for myself.