The Mindfulness Code: Keys for Overcoming Stress, Anxiety, Fear, and Unhappiness Hot

According to an article in the BBC News, recent research shows that people spend 50% of their waking hours daydreaming. After reading The Mindfulness Code by Donald Altman, I believe that an even more interesting question would be how much time each day people spend being fully present. 5%? 10%? None?

Altman posits from the beginning of the book that our habit of being “somewhere else” robs us of the true joys and rewards of life—gratitude, peace, creativity, and satisfying relationships. He offers ideas and practices for retraining our minds and spirits to fully experience the present moment.

The chapters can be read in any order, since the insights gained from any one practice contribute to understanding the next one. The text is organized under four key areas—mind, body, spirit, and relationships. Patient, consistent work with the practices brings about transformation.

At the beginning of this process, Altman asserts, is meditation that helps us observe and eventually disengage from our habitual fantasies, fears, and ego struggles. Quoted is Benjamin Libet who asserts that there is about one-half of a second between intention and action. This space of time is the home of our freedom. Mindfulness brings about awareness of this opportunity to choose compassionate actions over fearful, destructive ones.

I found the practices really engaging and productive. For example, after an experience that left me feeling a failure and unloved, I tried a practice in the chapter entitled, “Prime your mind for trust.” I brought to mind all the people who love me, including departed souls like Mother Theresa and Gandhi. I imagined them holding my hand. Taking deep breaths I breathed in the comfort of having their support. The practice finished with a Buddhist prayer for health, happiness, and peace for others and myself. The immediate effect was relaxation and a release of my self-condemnation. This practice, of course, is just one of the many offered, all of which apply to everyday situations.

With limits of time and space, I’ve only touched on certain points of the book, but it’s a rich collection of reflections ranging from the sacred nature of sound to how to overcome the effects of childhood traumas.

The author’s goals align him with such teachers as Eckhart Tolle who also believes that the next step in human evolution is a new level of compassion and interconnectedness. Altman concludes, “With enough practice, one can actually transform oneself into a human being dedicated to peace and kindness…This is perhaps the next great revolution and evolution of the human mind.” Why not join the revolution?