Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book by Jeff WarrenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Dan Harris became famous for his candid, sometimes raw, story of how meditation changed his life. He didn't oversell meditation by honestly recognizing that a 10% happier life is realistic and a big win.
In Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, Harris comes back along Jeff Warren. The book is a narrative of the 10% tour, an idea to promote the benefits of meditation to common people in different cities across the US. But the book is more than a narrative, the "How to" part includes practical ideas and tips to overcome the most common challenges of starting a meditation practice.
The good and the not so good. Harris' description of the typical objections and struggles of common people trying to start a meditation practice is relieving. The image of a buddhist monk or quasi Indian yogi meditating in an spectacular retreat is a barrier for people to try. The image of a blank undisturbed mind is also an obstacle. In Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics we find people struggling, trying, giving up, and succeeding.
The problem with the book is that it may feed the "cheapening" of meditation. Yes, it is good to be accessible to common people but I'm not sure if running a tour like a rock star is the best way to transmit the message.
Overall, Harris, now with Warren, makes it again with an entertaining, blunt and honest book on meditation.
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