10% Happier

(This book isn’t part of Canada Reads… but what the heck – I think you might be interested in it….)

I just finished reading 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing my Edge, and Found Self-Help that Actually Works.

I discovered this memoir by Dan Harris, an ABC journalist, by pure happenstance while listening to an NPR podcast. I’ve been thinking about and trying to learn about meditation for quite a while now. I knew that a quiet and relaxed mind can help reduce stress and allow us to enjoy the day-to-day, but I simply wasn’t sure how it all worked.

I’ve bought more books about mediation than I care to admit. I’ve started all of these books and then discarded them. The central theme being that I was not prepared or willing to wade through pages and pages of deep writing. I simply wanted to know how it all worked and how to do it. (Yes, a pretty clear sign that I needed to do something to help bring some slowness and patience into my hectic brain…)

While this book by Harris is not a how-to-guide per se, it does clearly show how a “normal” person can adopt a few simple daily practices that can result in some level of quietness and relaxation. I appreciate that Harris had many missteps on his path to learning about meditation. His interviews and conversations with meditation experts are super useful in helping to understand the ins and outs of this practice.

I’m still new to this, but I’ve been able to apply some of the principles during my yoga practice…. During yoga class my brain seems to bounce around the room with more thoughts than I can keep track of. But, I’m slowly but surely eliminating this and in turn finding my yoga practice is doing more for me than giving me physical strength and flexibility.

Whether you’re simply curious about meditation, an experienced meditator or someone who just wants to read an interesting memoir – this is a book worth reading. There is a very useful FAQ section at the end of the book that seems to ask many of the questions I had…

If you do read this book, drop a comment and let me know what you think. If you know of other books that might be useful, please share them in the comments.

(I’m now reading another book that is not on the Canada Reads list but one which I was very happy to stumble upon. A few years ago I read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and it has since remained as one of my top recommended books. Motivating, inspiring and a great read, this is a book with so many messages wrapped into an excellent story. With this in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to discover the “sequel” to this book: The Love Song of Miss Queen Hennessy. I’ve got high hopes for this book, I’ll let you know what happens.)