In honor of January being Mental Wellness Month, I read “Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book” by Dan Harris, which was recommended by one of the counselors at Bellevue College. The book is a guide for becoming 10 percent happier through meditation.
“Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics” is a great book if you’ve heard about the benefits of meditation but aren’t quite sure where to begin. The book is written by an ABC News anchor who suffered a panic attack on live television and discovered meditation. He makes it a priority of the book to tackle some of the misconceptions around meditation and clear the air. He actually names each chapter, or section, after some self-deception that people have about meditation.
In the book, Harris, along with his friend Jeff Warren, travels across 18 states to talk to people who would meditate but have some reason not to. They try their best to help these people overcome their misconceptions with science-based hacks. Even though I was aware that meditation was good for you, I wasn’t aware of the whole scope of its effects and how much we’ve proven through science. He also talks about “gradual change,” which I appreciate because there seems to be this pressure to get your whole life together in a short period of time, which isn’t sustainable.
Personally, I found this book to be a great introduction to meditation. It is well-explained and contains helpful tips as well as answers to common questions you might have. One of my favorite parts was the little “cheat sheet” that was included with the meditations, because it helped me determine if I was doing them correctly.
