Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Book Review: Best purchase I've made all year - will give copies to friends
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is peaceful just to look at. I felt so calm and centered and mindful as I was reading it. To be clear, I'm not Buddhist; I'm Christian. However, this book enlightened me and gave me thoughts that anyone could use and get good from. You don't have to be Buddhist or a Zen master or a monk to enjoy this book. It is very simplistically powerful. I highly recommend it. Book Review: How could anyone write a bad review of this book?
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, I certainly can't say anything bad about this spiritual primer! This book is a tremendous, compact book of Eastern wisdom - applied to the way the average American actually lives his/her daily life. Thich Nhat Hanh has done a great job of distilling Eastern teachings into bite-sized morsels of wisdom, ready-made for Western consumption. Each section of this book is about a page or so discussion of how to incorporate Eastern practices of mindfulness into our daily routine. Hanh discusses how every unwashed dish, red traffic light, sharply ringing telephone, or quick walk around the block can help ground and enlighten us, if we'll only open ourselves up to the experience without judgment. These mini-spritual teachings would go great on a calendar of daily sayings! And I think that's actually a great way to read this book, one section at a time, taking each day to really live through what Hanh teaches.
What I like best about this book is how non-judgmental Thich Nhat Hanh is to the conditions of American and Western life. Many other Eastern-inspired authors feel the need to use their books to denounce materialism, urbanization, technological innovations, and the "spiritual degeneration" of the West. While these points may have some relative (and arguable) merit, the individual reader looking for spiritual wisdom will not find much enlightenment through such negativity. In welcome contrast to such authors, Thich Nhat Hanh remains non-judgmental of the conditions of modern life, and even tries to incorporate some Christian spiritual wisdom into his text at points. Hanh is not focused on trying to reinvent some imagined, idyllic past (the way many New Age authors have been inclined to do). He merely looks out over the world as he finds it, and tries to bridge East and West, past and future, in a way that could make the world better and more peaceful; so that we all may find peace in every step.
Book Review: PEACE IS EVERY STEP
Summary: 5 Stars
PEACE IS EVERY STEP is an absolutely beautiful book, and the perfect antidote for anyone suffering from an over-stimulated intellect. This is not a book of ideas and abstractions. It encourages the reader to look, to listen and to feel life as it is - which is immensely 'grounding'. This allows for a more seamless integration between one's daily life and one's higher philosophical aspirations. As a writer myself (on the subject of 'Advaita' in daily life) I am aware how easy it is to become fixed on a particular philosophical concept, way of seeing things or even a single phrase, and Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us very clearly (in the section 'Love in Action'): "Do not think that the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice non-attachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times".
Needless to say, this book is highly recommended (and particularly so for students, and even some 'teachers', of advaita).
Roy Whenary (author of 'The Texture Of Being')
Book Review: the most useful and practical
Summary: 5 Stars
spiritual guidebook I have ever read. No faith is required, only simple practicesBook Review: We all need a reminder......
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book over the course of three mornings. A great way to start the day. A simplistic yet profound message that will change the way you look at yourself and other people. I love how at one point he directs our attention to the page we are reading stating how a sheet of paper is more than just a sheet of paper. It contains the clouds, the rain, the sun, the trees, the logger (even the logger's wheat breakfast),etc. One cannot exist without the other. How often do we focus on every breath we take? Consciously, we can breathe in while we "heal our bodies", then breathe out and "smile" (which I am sure most of us are lacking). This is a quick, yet effective, exercise you can try right now as you read these reviews -- breathing and smiling. Smiling works. It changes how you feel and it affects others positively. Try it the next time you are out and about. We are all connected. His message in this book is beautiful. Can't wait to read more and revisit this one in the near future to increase my understanding of his philosophies of mindful living. Enjoy!