Jeff WarrenCríticas

Jeff Warren is one of my favorite meditation teachers. His meditation style is very light-hearted but also quite sincere. A journalist, Jeff's meditation journey began with a book he wrote about consciousness, The Head Trip: Adventures on The Wheel of Consciousness. Warren writes the book as a travel log, documenting his experiments with various tools and techniques related to studying both our sleeping and waking consciousness. It is funny and irreverent but also science focused, looking for research and data to support ideas about what the heck is going on in our heads. The final chapter focuses on pure consciousness, those moments when everything connects, and discusses the ways that the brains of long time meditators change. While I have meditated for a long time, I am still a dilettante in many ways but I can see some of the ways my perceptions have been modulated. I am aware of my own thinking in ways I wasn't before.

Some of the chapters got long-winded as Warren really dove into the science. He also included interesting bits in footnotes, further ideas for exploration that he couldn't fit into the text. This was my second attempt at reading the book and I am glad I kept at it although there was some skimming involved.½

Ok book. Harris can be pretty funny and self deprecating but the book doesn’t really hold together so well. There were some good ideas for meditators (or would-be meditators) in there but a lot of other stuff that didn’t seem so interesting, like details about their road show promoting meditation (or their app anyway).

Liked his previous book better.

A fun book, I liked the writing a lot. Sort of a travelogue of various states of consciousness, along with the author’s personal experiences trying them out and talking to scientists and experts.

Meh. Had some bits that were captivating, but not enough to propel me thru the entire book.½

After twenty years of on-again/off-again commitment to meditation, I decided that, perhaps, the best way to reignite my practice was with a beginner's mind, as well as a skeptic's mind. That is, after all, a fair way to approach most things, even those that have served you well for two decades.

Life is different now than when I was in my early 30's. My 90 -year-old parents need consistent care. My children are independent, with one now in college and the other driving. I can't log onto social media or the news without my blood pressure skyrocketing. I am suddenly besieged by anxiety, insomnia, a general depressive malaise, and a slowed metabolism. Needless to say, I need meditation. I just won't go to the well often enough. I treat it like a cheap gym membership - I do it now and then to say I've done it, but I am not being the kind of practitioner I have been and know I can be again. So...I started over. And I agreed to take a less dogmatic approach.

Enter Dan Harris, whose "10% Happier" podcast (and first book) has inspired me greatly because he's so candid, even a bit snarky, about all the trappings of mindfulness practice. He gets it. He realizes that 21st century Americans raised on satire and pharmaceuticals aren't going to blindly embrace a practice that requires slowing down, being present, and being wholly honest with how uncomfortable it can feel to sit with the hard stuff.

This book does a fine job of taking an approach that can help everyone from longtime Buddhists (like myself) to those new to secular meditation. There's no dogma here, only practice. I will say, there is a fair amount of "adult" language in the book, which didn't bother me, but if you're expecting Thich Nhat Hanh, well...imagine if Thich Nhat Hanh and Jon Stewart were somehow cohabitating the same personage. That is to say, it's a little saucy - a nice mix of sincerity and sarcasm - and yet, Dan conveys a genuine knowledge and appreciation for meditation, offering a solid set of tools to engage a new practice. Or in my case, renew one that is struggling.

From pure mindfulness practice to compassion meditation, from the "I'm too busy" to "people will say I'm weird" excuses, Dan covers the landscape nicely, with humor and with heart. He does a fine job of reteaching this old dog some new tricks.

This covers all the basics. It may be aimed a little more at the skeptics rather than the fidgeters. =D So it wasn't as helpful for me. But it's a good introduction for someone.

Daniel Ingram hosted him (NYT 12/12), recommends this book

Great in parts with some useful information. It reads like a series of essays and sometimes the style will cause the reader to lose focus...sometimes scientific, always playful, sometimes too personal or journalistic.

Chapter 1 was an interesting argument for meditation and got me to consider trying it out. Chapter 2 addressed my main concern: "but I can't do it." That's as far as I wanted and needed to go. The rest of the book addressed concerns/questions I didn't have, and had way too many personal side stories.

There’s quite a bit of wisdom in this book, written for those who struggle to make meditation a part of their lives or doubt that they have the time or ability to “do it.” ABC News Anchor Dan Harris teams up with a team led by meditation guru Jeff Warren to give profound yet down-to-earth advice that could truly be life-changing. There were times when I wished the book hadn’t been as detailed as it was on the process involved, e.g. the 10% tour, the app, how the book was written, etc, but some of the frustrations from the real-life events from that are turned around into lessons which may make it more relatable, as is Harris’s regular joking around.

Sorry what follows is so long, but it was helpful for me to review/summarize/process it this way. Some of the nuggets of wisdom the book includes, in addition to its many sample meditations:

- Seeing the internal narrator in one’s head as not the same as oneself, and largely boring/negative/self-referential. Mindfulness being the ability to see thought patterns as characters (even naming them), or visualizing the mind as if from behind a waterfall, in order to respond wisely in situations instead of reacting impulsively. “When we are mindful, we watch thinking play out from the vantage point of awareness. Awareness is the wider perspective. Most people don’t realize it’s the wider perspective because thinking feels so similar to awareness. It’s perfectly camouflaged.”

- An interesting acronym related to difficult emotions that come up is RAIN: recognize, accept, investigate, and non-identification. Getting adept at recognizing the tip-offs for these things, accepting them (because “what you resist persists”), investigating why they are happening almost like a curious 3rd party detective, and then (a remarkable thought for me), not identifying oneself so directly with them, e.g. not taking your own emotions personally. “How does it change your experience to note that anger is happening, the way you might note a thunderstorm is happening?”

- “Meditation does not require you to stop thinking.” The mind wandering is normal, noting this and then returning to concentration is in itself the practice of meditation. Simply feel satisfaction at having noticed this in the first place, and continue on. One of the meditations encourages simply saying “Welcome to the party” when you’ve noticed the mind wandering or an insistent thought while meditating.

- Be kind to yourself, as much as you are to others. When stressed or overwhelmed, to not only see emotions clearly, but also “do it in a way that’s sort of more generous.” And the meditation with the simple short phrase, “May I be well.”

- In being compassionate to others, “The idea is to connect to the very reasonable desire for this person’s hurt and challenge to end. We are not looking to create an emotional response, although emotions can happen and are welcomed. Nor are we trying to fix the person or ‘the problem.’ Your compassion isn’t dependent on any kind of outcome. It’s caring for its own sake. We simply wish for the person to be well.”

- “Equanimity is the capacity to let your experience be what it is, without trying to fight it and negotiate with it. It’s like an inner smoothness or frictionlessness.” Later: “Let go of judgments. Let go of any bracing or rigidity. Let go of all the ways you may be subtly trying to control the experience.”

- Also let go of things you cannot control.

- As for desires, “Using noting here can really help: wanting, wanting, wanting. If you can stay with this feeling, a very liberating and powerful moment can sometimes happen: the wanting passes, and you realize you are actually fine. More than fine, happy. Content with how things are. And you realize how many hundreds of hours you have been – and will be again – lost in this pattern, robotically indulging your novelty-seeking, when, had you just thought to look, the urge would eventually pop like an empty soap bubble and you could relax.” And note that “desire can mask loneliness, agitation can cover fear, and sleeplessness can be a form of avoidance.”

- From Shinzen Young: “Suffering = Pain x Resistance. Pain is an inevitable part of life. Suffering (in his definition) is not. It comes from fighting or resisting some uncomfortable sensation or emotion or whatever. When we do this, there’s a snowball effect: tension spreads, and the original insult starts to reverberate through the whole mind-body tract, leading to even more discomfort, stress, and reactivity. The suffering amplifies.”

- The Buddhist parable about the “second arrow.” “A man is walking through the woods and he gets hit by an arrow. He immediately engages in a round of self-pitying thoughts: ‘Who shot me with an arrow? Why am I always the one who gets hit be an arrow? … These painful thoughts are the second arrow.” “We can have really old stories too: some arrowhead got snapped off years before, and it’s still festering in our chest, radiating out into our experience in the form of grudges and avoidances and lifelong convictions about how things are and should be. These patterns are reactions. We can live inside them without any memory or awareness of what they once reacted to.”

- Relative to worry, from Joseph Goldstein: “When for the eighty-seventh time you find yourself chewing over, say an impending deadline or your rival’s promotion, maybe ask yourself one simple question: ‘Is this useful?’”

- Relative to opinions, from Bernie Glassman: “When you go into any situation, think, don’t know.” Warren explains: “As in, don’t pretend you know what’s up or what’s really going on. Chill for a bit in the situation, watching, learning. There’s a humility here that is really helpful.”

- Relative to keep it going, “You should view failure as inevitable and even a healthy part of the process.” Moreover even 10 good breaths in any situation or mental state can be a useful meditation; it can be interspersed/integrated into daily activities. “Your breath is your best friend in life and in meditation. Breathing in and up can raise your energy when you are low, and breathing out and down can lower your energy when you are high.”

- You can age badly, and you can age well. I know affable old folks who sit in the park and watch the kids play, and they’ve got that good-natured, easygoing quality. A serious practice just makes that happen sooner in your life.”

- Finally this: “The truth is, I was born on third base, the recipient of an incalculable amount of unearned privilege.” It may not be true for all readers (or at least, as extreme), but what fantastic recognition and perspective by Dan Harris. Another is “These are the good old days.”½

Recommended by Linda D.
Read first 95 pages and got some useful information; reading the rest felt like it might be a case of diminishing returns (though I'm aware of what it looks like to leave a book called Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics unfinished). May try 10% Happier another time.

Notes

Page 6-7:
1. Sit comfortably.
2. Bring your full attention to the feeling of your breath, in and out.
3. Notice when you are distracted, and begin again. And again. And again.
Every time you catch yourself wandering and escort your attention back to the breath, it is like a biceps curl for the brain. It is also a radical act: you're breaking a lifetime's habit of walking around in a fog of rumination and projection, and you are actually focusing on what's happening right now.
...the goal is not to clear your mind but to focus your mind...Getting lost and starting over is not failing at meditation, it is succeeding.

"Equanimity is the capacity to let your experience be what it is, without trying to fight it and negotiate with it. It's like an inner smoothness or frictionlessness." (Jeff Warren, 45)

"Hurt more, suffer less." In other words, while mindfulness may mean you feel your irritation or impatience more acutely, it is less likely to stick around and you are less likely to act on it - to turn it into true suffering for yourself and others. (58)

Scientists who study habit formation talk about "cue, routine, reward." You can...construct a cue-routine-reward loop that gets you to meditate.
It's helpful to approach habit formation with the same attitude we hope to employ during meditation: every time you get lost, just begin again. (73)

This is an excellent follow up to Dan Harris's "10% Happier..." book about mindfulness meditation. Here we have actual mindfulness meditation instructions by Jeff Warren, a very skillful mindfulness meditation teacher, alongside with Dan Harris's unending wit and hilarious comments (I couldn't help but burst out laughing out loud at times!). The instruction is directed to everybody - either starting on the journey of mindfulness meditation or in the process of mastering it. I found it tremendously helpful, as I listened to this audiobook. I felt like listening to some chapters again and again. I have to say that I was very impressed with how Jeff Warren expanded the notion of mindfulness meditation - he offers a variety of techniques for all personality types, as well as for extremely busy people. Just as the title implies - even skeptics will get on board!

Informative guidance for folks new to the skills of mindfulness meditation. Even better for those who have sampled the practice, but judged themselves unsuccessful. A real beginners book. Thoughtful, generous and humorous, a real antidote to one's "fallacy of uniqueness". This book clarifies many of the misconceptions people have about meditation; shows how it can be practiced by anyone.

Reading this is like having your own, personal meditation coach. One who understands how easily distracted a person can be, and relates to you like a friend. Who takes the time to tell you it's okay to not be the perfect Buddha. It's given me a lot to think about, and is very encouraging!

So I took a week or so off from my normal reading routine. Why? Because I've been reading this book and putting it into practice and since mindfulness and meditation are all about focus of your intentions......I did!

Easiest book that you will ever read on meditation and its benefits. And not only does the author give clear, simple advice on the practice of meditation, he makes it incredibly fun to move through the text. Mr. Harris was so engaging that I found myself experiencing meditation (which I have only sporadically practiced) in a lighter manner; with less concern for the 'outcome' and more respect for the process. Though, I must say, as his words were the ones that kept bouncing around in my head while I practiced (very, very funny) it may have increased the challenge for me. The "free-range" meditations were great reminders that you can slip a little meditation in just about anywhere, at any time.

This book isn't just about meditation however. It's also a refreshingly light romp through relationship, community and self-love and learning to hear what our bodies are telling us and what we may even literally be saying out loud but missing because we aren't paying attention. I love that the writer shared his process and personal experiences....made me wish I'd been there for the journey!

An entertaining and fairly thorough overview of the "highlights" of our present understanding of consciousness. However, I felt this book veered off track sometimes and would have benefited from much tighter editing.½

This is a very detailed book. And I have to admit that I skimmed over parts of it I felt that were a bit overwhelming. But in most part, this was an enlightening read. And one I will be re-reading again in the future.

http://tinyurl.com/pyo8b5k

This was a great book. I'm surprised that the book barely mentioned drugs, but it doesn't; take that for what you will.

An engaging and well written account of different states of consciousness through waking and sleeping. I found the sleeping consciousness utterly fascinating since I‘ve never given it much thought. On the contrary, instead of exploring my hypnagogic states for ideas or enjoying my lucid dreams, I always tried to wake up as fast as possible from them, or just fall deeply asleep quickly. Nothing lost yet, hopefully. I have enjoyed the Wake though, without knowing the name for it.
Even though meditation, hypnosis and neurofeedback were more familiar to me, even if only theoretically, it was also very interesting to find out how they fit into the wheel of consciousness. Intriguing that sleeping and waking states of consciousness are apparently symmetrical.

I found the conclusion to the book very positive. It does not define what consciousness is, but it finishes with a very promising and exciting notion that we can learn to direct our own states of consciousness. States like lucid dreaming, hypnosis, neurofeedback and meditation all point toward the ability to self regulate consciousness and influence our brain through its plasticity. Warren surmises that whatever we experience during day or night is a kind of ‘doing” and it shapes our brain into changes.

I really liked how the book is written, with great energy and enthusiasm, cartoons and illustrations. It’s also out as an audio book I noticed, and even though I am a great fan of this way of reading, I don’t think it would be the best way to experience it just because of these great graphic additions.

nice concept, poor execution.