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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. From renowned Buddhist teacher Boorstein comes a small, polished gem of a book that seems somehow even more intimate and heartfelt than her previous books Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake and It's Easier Than You Think. Boorstein begins with an anecdote about a day when her writing was interrupted by a call from a friend with a very ill brother; the effort of consoling her made Boorstein forget what she had been about to write. Boorstein uses her moment of resentful impatience at the interruption to illustrate how easily the mind can fall out of caring connection. The whole idea of this book, she writes, is that restoring caring connection... and maintaining it when it is present, is happiness. This insight is a jumping-off point for Boorstein to explore three planks of the Buddhist path: wise effort, wise mindfulness and wise concentration. Her quiet insistence that the Buddhist practices of mindfulness, meditation and metta (lovingkindness) can quiet the mind, deepen concentration and lower anxiety is both convincing and inspiring. (Dec. 26)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
#1 SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE BESTSELLER
“A wonderful book, heartwarming and wise, that conveys the essence of what the Buddha taught in the voice of a gifted storyteller, teacher, friend, and compassionate human being.”
–Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness
“Sylvia Boorstein’s lessons, gleaned from a life of internal reflection and mindful teaching, are delivered with such openness, love, and affection that it feels as if you are sitting with Sylvia in her living room soaking in the wisdom of an enlightened friend.”
–Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., author of The Mindful Brain
“This book will convince you that your own happiness really is much more available to you than you may have thought.”
–Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Coming to Our Senses
“Should be required reading for all human beings.”
–Stephen Cope, author of The Wisdom of Yoga
“Reading this wonderful book is like having a heart-to-heart with Sylvia. It is wise, warm, and full of great stories that will make you smile. Best of all, it will cheer your spirit by showing you how to practice happiness.”
–Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart
“A wonderful book, heartwarming and wise, that conveys the essence of what the Buddha taught in the voice of a gifted storyteller, teacher, friend, and compassionate human being.”
–Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness
“Sylvia Boorstein’s lessons, gleaned from a life of internal reflection and mindful teaching, are delivered with such openness, love, and affection that it feels as if you are sitting with Sylvia in her living room soaking in the wisdom of an enlightened friend.”
–Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., author of The Mindful Brain
“This book will convince you that your own happiness really is much more available to you than you may have thought.”
–Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Coming to Our Senses
“Should be required reading for all human beings.”
–Stephen Cope, author of The Wisdom of Yoga
“Reading this wonderful book is like having a heart-to-heart with Sylvia. It is wise, warm, and full of great stories that will make you smile. Best of all, it will cheer your spirit by showing you how to practice happiness.”
–Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Training the Mind for Kindness, Mar 13 2008
By Dennis DeWilde "The Performance Connection" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Happiness Is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life (Hardcover)
Choosing the three mind training steps of the Eightfold Path as the focus for her book, meditation teacher Sylvia Boorstein mixes The Buddha's advice with her personal experiences to explain how to restore the mind to balance after disruptive events start a story that spirals us into a state of dissatisfaction with life or others. Consistent with Boorstein's view that the responses of a balanced mind are friendliness, compassion, appreciation; she offers a simple test for this state of unbalance or confusion, "In this moment, am I able to care?" And, for her it is this ability to restore the mind to kindness that is happiness.As do most meditative teachers, Boorstein advises that suffering results from struggling with what is beyond our control. What is past is past; let it go, "that's life." Relief comes when: The mind says, "I want something different, but this is what I have." And, when: We restore our ability to rejoice with other people. If I understand her, this is a form of wisdom that we all possess - the steps she offers are a path to finding it after the moment of unbalance.
The first of these mind training's three steps is Wise Effort, the moment-to-moment discrimination practice meant to direct the attention in its choice of focus - this is the awareness "wake-up call". Step two, Wise Mindfulness is described as then taking the "I" out of the situation, or it is that moment of seeing the situation within a larger context - rather than seeing it within our emotional frame. The last, step three, is Wise Concentration - it is composure as an antidote to the energies of; desire, anger, fatigue, worry, and doubt - the `how to' is a meditative act.
While I enjoyed reading the book, which gave me the feeling of having a wise master speak with me, I must confess it was a bit difficult to process the wisdom being given. While her stories helped me understand how the practice works, they did little to help me really distinguish the steps for daily applications. But, as I write this, I am still thinking about what she said, and maybe that is the point.
Dennis DeWilde, author of "The Performance Connection"
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Striking the Right Balance, Mar 16 2008
By David R. Halperin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Happiness Is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life (Hardcover)
Dr. Boorstein books and essays are like a franchise. You know what to expect before you even open the cover. However, like individual franchise locations, some are better than others. Her current book should win the franchise of the month award.Dr. Boornstein strikes just the right balance between conveying several fundamental Buddhist principles from original or near sources, then describes them very well in her own words. Finally she illustrates them with her trademark story telling drawn from her day to day experiences - which are really no different from our own.
She also reminds us, in what I feel is a culturally Jewish framework, that an awakened life includes profound sorry. Shut that off and you have become numb not happy.
I would recommend this book for those just wading into the water of Buddhist thought and practice, as well as for those who want to take a break from rigorous Buddhist study and concentrated meditation to immerse themselves in the cool spring water of everyday experience reflected on so gently by Dr. Boornstein.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Yin & Yang!, Mar 22 2009
By Norma Plume - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Happiness Is an Inside Job: Buddhist Teachings For A Modern Life (Audio CD)
I actually already had this book and I've found it to be life-saving, enlightening and extremely helpful to me! I refer to it on a regular basis, when I'm feeling stuck and am in need of an encouraging and truthful perspective. I ordered the audio version, so that I would be able to listen to it when I'm driving. This is purely my personal perception, but I found myself annoyed with the narrator's reading style early on and have not listened to it since. :( HOWEVER, I HIGHLY recommend this book ... and not everyone will have the reaction that I had to this particular reader.
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