A witty and entertaining journey from anxiety to mindfulness.
Dan Harris is a journalist and TV anchor. In 2004, while presenting a news break on a chat show, he suffered an on-air panic attack. (You can see it on YouTube: Dan gasps for breath, fumbles his words and prematurely throws back to the presenters.) As an ambitious journalist, keen on furthering his career, this was seriously disconcerting on many levels. He sought the help of a psychiatrist and confessed to being a recreational drug user, mostly cocaine.
The sessions with the psychiatrist helped, but Dan wanted further help to deal with his ongoing anxiety problems, a lot of which centred around his ambitious nature. A friend suggested he read Eckhart Tolle, the German self-help author, famous for writing The Power of Now and A New Earth. He gave it a go. While Tolle's books had many insights, it was all mixed in with a lot of gobbledygook. Next Dan went onto Deepak Chopra (whom he found to be a bit of a fraud) and before he knew it, he was on a 10 day retreat, on the way to becoming a Buddhist, at least in practice.
10% Happier manages to do two things. It’s both enormously entertaining (Dan Harris is whip-smart and witty, with plenty of good lines) and instructive, explaining concepts like mindfulness in a practical way that resonates and makes sense. His simple message is that meditation might not solve all your problems, but with continual practice, it will make you at least 10% happier. And who doesn’t want to be 10% happier?
Another great advantage of the book is it's easy for modern day urbanites to identify with the author. He’s your typical young professional: energetic, smart and successful. Like most of us working in a cut-throat commercial society, we’re brutally sceptical and only see value in the holy dollar. The book’s narrative allows us to comfortably walk this sceptical path, rolling our eyes at the shenanigans of gurus and yogis and the spiritually eccentric, but as the author reluctantly discovers the insights of meditation, we too must allow a change of mind.
Heartily recommended. Dan Harris is a fun, likable guide on an often awkward and difficult journey.
10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works - A True Story, by Dan Harris. Published by Yellow Kite. ISBN: 9781444799057 RRP: $19.99
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