5.0 out of 5 stars It’s All Good

R.M. · October 20, 2025

Excellent Seller and Excellent ProductThank You Very Much!

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book to start your meditation practice

A.C. · January 18, 2018

I think is a good book to start meditating and very appealing for science-oriented people. It does right in backing up everything it states with studies. I think it’s clear the author is not trying to sell you smoke.PS: I didn’t rate it with five stars cause I leave that for books that are really really life changing for me.

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear Guide to Mindful Meditation

E.B. · February 12, 2017

I’ve been interested to read this book, which was written by my cousin. (Once removed if you’re into technicalities.) So that disclosure aside, I really enjoyed it.The books describes the basic techniques and benefits of mindful meditation. I will definitely be putting some of the practices into use. I liked the straightforward way that he walks through basic techniques and his incorporation of practical caveats. The descriptions are direct and clear, free of potentially unfamiliar jargon, and friendly for those religious or not. The book has a nice flow and is easy to read and understand.Some readers may struggle relating their own life to the experiences of someone with a lifelong focus on meditation. Also the descriptions of the benefits sometimes wander into notions of a heightened state, hindering that connection.I would recommend this to those interested in the topic - the presentation was thoughtful and the techniques applicable to anyone.

5.0 out of 5 stars great user manual

R.R.J. · June 28, 2023

Clear, no-nonsense, and at times funny. I’ve been meditating for over a decade now but this was a nice refresher, as well as being a fresh perspective on ancient meditation practices. The numerous citations to scientific articles make it all the more credible and robust.

4.0 out of 5 stars Michael Taft's knowledge, practical wisdom and genuine passion for ...

A.C. · February 23, 2016

Michael Taft's knowledge,practical wisdom and genuine passion for enriching and deepening one's connection to self and life experiences is felt from the first page to last.Darilyn Sky Farley

5.0 out of 5 stars Developing clarity and (emotional) focus in your life...

I.G. · August 14, 2016

We’re a bundle of pent up emotions, unresolved conflicts, and past and present what-if’s. You can let these emotions drive you, or you can examine them and figure out which, if any, you can affect and which you should just let pass. In this way, you can guide yourself towards better clarity and focus, and a better life… Mindfulness is not some zen state, it’s a muscle that you train each day through subtle observations and calibration of your own feelings.This book is a great hands-on manual for those of us who have semi-allergic reactions to the ‘spiritual’ messages found in most books in this field. The author does a great job of disabusing the common myths (e.g. meditation is about purging all thoughts; the goal is to be happy all the time, and so on) and provides practical advice for how (and why) you should dedicate a few minutes of your day to reflect on how you feel and what's driving those feelings.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for beginners, but with some shortcomings.

G.D.D. · January 1, 2016

1. My first comment about this book is a complaint about the very first chapter, in that the author begins the book in same way that so many other books and articles about meditation do, by over-promising the potential benefits. For example: “[Mindfulness practice has been] shown to ‘slow, stall, or even reverse age-related neurodegeneration.’” By the time you finish reading the first chapter, you’re ready to hear the author say that “meditation can prevent any and all diseases, and will also keep you from having bad breath. And it can keep you from dying, too.” There are far too many references to single studies that show one possible effect of meditation practice, studies which may or may not have been well-designed and analyzed, and which probably have never been replicated.One problem with this over-promising is that it contributes to discouragement among those who do not immediately, or even very soon, feel that they are benefiting in any way from the practice; and this includes many who begin a meditation practice. Meditation is like physical exercise; it is hard, it takes discipline and perseverance, and it does not necessarily bring rapid and readily observable benefits.2. The book does provide a very good introduction to what meditation is, and a good explanation of basic meditation methods. It's potentially very helpful for beginners. Good consideration is given to helping people be cautious about the expectations and baggage that they bring to the practice (this despite the over-playing of potential benefits in chapter one). I am not really delighted, however, on the formula the author settles on for a definition or “essence” of meditation, which he expresses as: “a psychological practice which makes the unconscious conscious and which improves life.” First, why call it a “‘psychological’ practice”? It’s an odd phrase; what does the term “psychological” even mean, when used as an adjective with the word “practice”? Second, using Freud’s terminology about “making the unconscious conscious” is not felicitous; meditation is not a method which delves into what most people think of as their “unconscious” minds. It does indeed help people become aware of thoughts and feelings they otherwise would very likely not notice, but these thoughts and feelings are readily accessible and not deeply hidden in what the psychoanalytic crowd thinks of as the human “unconscious” or in the class of cognitive phenomena that scientists term as "implicit." Third, adding “and which improves life” seems odd; meditation is meditation, whether it improves a person’s life or not. Many people start a meditation practice, stick with it for a short while, find it difficult and never see any benefit to their lives. But that does not mean they were not engaging in the practice of meditation. Maybe he would like to revise this phrase to say that the practice "is aimed at improving one's life."3. I am glad that he includes a description of the method of practice usually called “metta,” or “compassion practice.” But I’m not on board at all with the new term he chooses to use for this practice (“Focus on Positive”) because that’s not really what metta practice is all about (it’s about developing our capacity for compassion), and his explanation of the method is very limited and a bit silly, and it involves picturing someone who is already very happy, and visualizing them in the fullness and in the midst of being joyful, and wishing happiness for them. What’s the point? Traditional metta practice is easy to teach; why not stick to this method? I do understand his desire to use this modified practice to help people begin to notice and appreciate their own positive/pleasant feelings/emotions, but that might work better if he develops a different method for this instead of creating this confusing blend of compassion practice with a sort of feel-good-and-be aware-of-that practice.4. There’s a whole chapter (fortunately it’s a short one) about oxytocin, which is pointless, in my opinion. The chapter does include the sentence: “As of this writing, there is no direct evidence that meditation practice increases oxytocin.” And that’s still true; in addition, all of his speculations about oxytocin, human relationships, and meditation are highly speculative; the scientific understanding of the function of oxytocin is still in very early stages.5. His final chapter about the “default mode network” of human thinking (aka “mind wandering”) is very good and (unlike the chapter about oxytocin) it’s directly on point as to what appears to be one of the primary benefits of and the purpose of meditation practice, i.e., it helps us strengthen our capacity to “get out of our heads and into our lives,” i.e., to more frequently and regularly notice the moments of our days instead of staying lost in thought about the past or future.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for beginner to advanced meditator.

D.T. · February 17, 2023

The wisdom in this book has greatly enhanced my understanding of meditation. I love how the information is incrementally broken down into concepts that are easily comprehensible. The practical application of the meditative techniques is helpful for integrating into one's daily practice.

The most approachable and useful book on meditation I've yet found

P.S. · May 6, 2016

The most approachable and useful book on meditation I've yet found. Clear and useful. I like how he describes _why_ to do certain things certain ways. For those, like me, who are somewhat skeptical of meditation, I need to be convinced why, not just told "do this, trust me". He doesn't get caught up in the non-essential parts of many meditation practices; he sticks to the essential core.

Gutes Buch

T.B. · February 7, 2024

Mir als logisch denkende Person fiel das ganze esoterische immer schwer, aber mir war bewusst, dass Meditieren auch einen nachweisbaren Effekt auf das menschliche Hirn hat.Das Buch zeigt verschiedene Meditationstechniken auf und begründet diese mit wissenschaftlichen Studien und Quellen, also perfekt für alle die "Beweise" brauchen wie mich :)

Refreshingly practical

r.B. · February 26, 2022

I have been a meditator for a long time and read a lot of books on the subject. This one, although short, has been the most practical. I had no intention of reading another book on meditation, but some how end up with a copy of the free electronic version. On night with nothing to do I was looking for something to read and remember I had it. Once I stated I could not stop. Brought a new clarity to things I had been doing for year and has brought out a new aspect of my practice. I felt so grateful to the author for making the electronic version freely available I thought I would buy a paper back.

No complaints

T.L.C. · February 27, 2016

A good, but brief read. I saw it as a secular take on the four foundations of mindfulness laid out by Gautama. I enjoyed it, and I thought that the idea of taking the perspective of algorithms etc was an interesting one. Meditation is a hard thing to write about, so it's hard to write well about it, but Taft comes close.Recommended to anyone who is trying to get into the practice.

Feine Sache

H.W. · April 9, 2023

Sehr empfehlenswert.