The Mindful Geek: Secular Meditation for Smart Skeptics

by Michael Taft

The Mindful Geek tells you how to derive the real world benefits of hardcore mindfulness meditation without drinking the metaphysical Kool-Aid. Meditation teacher, Michael W. Taft gives you step-by-step instructions in the powerful and reliable techniques of mindfulness meditation, and outlines the psychological and neuroscientific research underpinning these practices. By treating mindfulness as a scientifically-based, psychological technique, you can keep your atheistic or agnostic secular skepticism and still maintain a powerful, regular, and deeply effective meditation practice. That's because meditation doesn't require you to believe in it to work. Like any good technology, if you use it correctly, it will do the job reliably whether you believe in it or not. And-make no mistake-meditation is a kind of technology; a technology for hacking the human wetware in order to improve your life. This book is a practical, hands-on manual about how to make the most of that technology for yourself. If you are smart, skeptical, technically-inclined, and have a desire to see what meditation is really all about, this book is for you. Michael has taught a lot of meditation programs at tech corporations like Google, so this material has been field-tested on some world-class geeks.

Genres: Nonfiction, Meditation, Self Help, Psychology, Spirituality, Buddhism, Philosophy

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2015

About the author

Michael W. Taft is an author, editor, meditation teacher, and neuroscience junkie. He is currently a meditation coach specializing in secular, science-based meditation training in corporate settings and one-on-one sessions. Michael is the author of several books, including the upcoming The Mindful Geek, and Nondualism: A Brief History of a Timeless Concept, Ego (which he co-authored), as well as the editor of such books as Hardwiring Happiness by Rick Hanson and the upcoming The Science of Enlightenment by Shinzen Young.

He has taught at Google and worked on curriculum development for SIYLI. Michael is also an official advisor to the Therapeutic Neuroscience Lab. He was previously editor-in-chief of Being Human, a site for exploring what evolution, neuroscience, biology, psychology, archeology, and technology can tell us about the human condition, and was editorial director of Sounds True.

From Zen temples in Japan to yogi caves in India, Michael has been meditating for over thirty years and has extensive experience in both Buddhist and Hindu practice. Michael is a senior facilitator in Shinzen Young’s Basic Mindfulness system, and is a teacher at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. He currently lives in Berkeley, California, and is founding editor of the popular mindfulness meditation blog Deconstructing Yourself.

Reviews

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently studying for licensure exam. Will review this book in much greater detail after I pass.

In brief.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to report that the author (Michael Taft) is my lifelong best bud.

That being said, I do not think it's an exaggeration to say that he is amongst the most knowledgeable and skillful meditation teachers of our generation.

He's literally decades ahead of his time, but recently, more and more people are catching on to what he has to offer.

He has been teaching with Against The Stream for years. He's currently working with silicon valley startups as well as big dogs like Google (check out his Google tech talk) teaching meditation and creating corperate mindfulness trainings.

He developed the material in this book via teaching stressed out engineers and tech executives how to meditate and basically chill the fuck out.

If you have not already had the privilege of sitting with Michael, you can consider this book a basic primmer of what to expect.

Being a lifelong, diehard intellectual, code writing, neuroscience geek as well as a full on, go live in a in a cave in India for a couple of years meditation guy, Michael is uniquely qualified to offer a skillfully constructed synthesis of the best of the meditation traditions, with up to the minute cutting edge neuroscience and psychology.

Additionally he is an incredibly skilled, writer and editor who has been working professionally with literally the list of Who's Who in spiritual teachers (for over a decade with Sounds True) and the first string of psychology neuroscience researchers and thought leaders in the domain of mindfulness and enlightenment 2.0 (for an additional decade with the Being Human foundation).

In sum, Michael is a hard-core behind the scenes guy, geeky AF meditation dork who has finally crawled out of his cave to deliver his message.

This book is full of interesting, useful and fun, but crazy complex and (typically) confusing shit, laid out in precise, systematic and clearly understandable language that everyone with the brain can appreciate.

All I can say is, if you love nerdy science and real deal spirituality and meditation, without the really crappy religious part, look no further, you found your next read.

[Delany · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. My first comment about this book is a criticism 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.’” Really?? 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 may 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. Saying that these results "may" or "might" or "can" occur does not excuse the author from raising people's hopes without adequate evidence.

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, while visualizing this, wishing happiness for them. What’s the point? The person you are visualizing is already downright giddy with happiness! 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.

[Nicholas Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Taft has written a book that breaks down mindfulness to the bare essentials. Without any mysticism the principles and benefits of mindfulness are laid out in a clear and easy to understand manner. Many myths are dispelled about mindfulness/meditation that could have set people's practice back years. The target audience is geeks and with that comes programming metaphors and plenty or citations to research to back claims of benefits. The geek speak is not taken too far as to be off putting to non geeks. While it is aimed at a secular audience it is respectful of the religious traditions it is leaving out. I recommend it to beginners as a way to get started in mindfulness on the right track without having to spend a lot of effort sifting through metaphysical texts. Metaphysically inclined practitioners and more experienced meditaters can still get a lot out of this book seeing the practice stripped down to core principles with a more practical bent. It's a great foundation for anyone's practice.

[Tavo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for starting into meditation in a secular manner. Already suggested it to 3 people. I'm a follower of Michael's podcast so I knew he would be talking about studies about meditation, still I'm surprised he relates it to many other things and makes good analogies.
Very easy to read and very enjoyable.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meditation from a non-religious point of view, broken down scientifically.

[E.D.E. Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taft does an awesome job of breaking down different aspects of psychology research in the fields cognition and attention and then explaining how mindfulness meditation can counteract many of the biggest stress causers in our lives. As a longtime on and off casual meditation practitioner who discovered the practice through Buddhism, I was initially skeptical about Taft's science-first approach of approaching meditation secularly without discussing its historical and religious context, but he helps set up a grounded, easy to follow framework that allows the reader to branch out into other forms of meditation and potentially explore their spiritual aspects from there.

Overall, this is an excellent book for analytically minded people who are curious about meditation. It's not going to cover meditation from all angles, but if you want an excellent distillation of the past few decades of meditation presented alongside a handy instructive guide, then this is the book for you!

[Camelia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, there is a book that explains what mindful meditation is in a language that can be understood by a secular person and a science nerd like me.

I have been fascinated by meditation for a very long time. However, because of its link to buddhism, I automatically put it into "faith" category. The Mindful Geek is a meditation guide without religious content. The author employs scientific research results, mostly from neuroscience and psychology, to explain the benefits of meditation and to illustrate his methods.

The book also clears up some questions that has been troubling me, such as
- Is it necessary or even possible to empty your mind when you start meditation?
- what does "focus on present moment" mean?
- what does "acceptance", "let it go" mean in meditation?

Thank you Michael Taft!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having spent the better part of a year now tentatively practicing mindfulness meditation, this book seemed tailor-made for me: a summary of the theory and benefits of the practise without any religious woo included. It largely delivered on that, being well referenced and clear. Some of the asserted benefits of meditation felt a little hyperbolic, but then the author has better than thirty years more practice than I.

I still don't think that reading a book is the most effective way to begin learning to sit, nevertheless this is a fine reference for anyone interested in the actual research performed on the benefit of regular meditation.

[Brono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meditation is one of the most brilliant ways of disconnecting from the external chaotic world we live in and connecting to ourselves.
This books does present the readers with some good insights/techniques but having established myself a regular meditation practice I'm not so sure about what's proposed.
Also, for the subject in question, I personally think the author had a few extra words/chapters that wouldn't be that necessary to compose this long book...but who am I to say that when I myself have never even written a diary!?

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! A fantastic introduction into the basics and science of mindfulness meditation practices. The language is easy to follow, examples are light and relatable and geeky references are perfect for a new age of meditators. I look forward to reading it again and again as a reminder and refresher to return to the basics of sitting meditation!

[Brad Roepke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, well-written, informative, and enjoyable. Highly recommend for anyone (especially secularists) who are skeptical of the benefits of mindfulness meditation.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to get into meditation but it can be rather daunting especially since a lot is tied up in religion/spirituality and I still have not explored that dimension of my life. Once I got over the funky line spacing in this book it was pretty insightful with breaking different meditation types down. Some of the things in the book are things we theoretically already know but I appreciated that he cited studies and relevant research with the claims. A handful of fun tidbits: instead of taking personal responsibility for every little thing that we are feeling it is better to accept that we are feeling how we are feeling and work to change that because beating ourselves up does not make sense (and ps, your feelings are valid). Feeling bad does not mean something is wrong with you. Humans have evolved to e profoundly social — you are not whack for wanting human connection. Thanks to ~empathy~ it can be difficult to distinguish the pain of our friends from our own pain. And lastly but most alarming to me, being lonely or isolated makes you 1/3 more likely to die young BUT THE CRAZIEST PART is that this decrease is the same with genuine isolation and feelings of loneliness. Someone who has people but feels alone is just at the same risk as someone who makes no effort and just stays home. Support systems are so freaking important and I hope y’all hold yours close. Definitely suggest reading this even if you don’t think meditation is your cup of tea.

[David Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite a good book written for a newbie STEM audience and so addresses concerns about magical thinking and woo as it proceeds.
written in a light style and economically sprinkled with relevant anecdotes it actually fulfills it's mission better than (his stated) teacher's opus Shinzen Young's "science of enlightenment".
if you're a seasoned meditator, it still a good book to read for the purposes of clarity, segmentation of methods and references to scientific (or scientistic!) research.
in terms of scope, 2 limiting constraints apply:

1. the methods of meditation presented (whilst drawn from Shinzen Young's system**) lean heavily on western interpretation of largely Vipassana practices, so there may be other practices that suit any given reader. in particular over the next decade we can expect to see evolution beyond the current "best practice" pragmatic dharma methods.

2. it's useful to recognise that secular science based justification for meditation really examine only the therapeutic benefits of meditation which is only one dimension. you can decide for yourself what the others are....

** all 5 methods are a collection that is intended to overcome a lockin to a purely Mahasi dogma and can be used as a menu to choose from, which is a nice characteristic of the system as a recognition/illustration of each-person-each-moment-impermance

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I had no idea I was such a geek. This book fit me so well it was a little creepy. I can't think of one time where an analogy did not make complete sense to me, LOL.

I'm new to mediation. I had only read one book about non-spiritual mediation before this book so I don't really have a good/bad reference. The previous book was okay, and I did get something from it. However, this book, The Mindful Geek etc., was simply amazing for me.

Wonderful writing and in depth teachings about meditation without a lot of spiritual distraction. I'm not saying being spiritual is bad, I'm just not interested in that aspect of mediation. This book was perfect for me and will help me really get a grasp of basic mediation techniques.

Having only done my mediation practice for a short time, I am already feeling benefits that are quite exciting. I am certain that with practice the results will get better, and better. One thing I already know for sure ... Meditation is a wonderful thing, and more people should read about it and incorporate the way of thinking into their lives. It will make YOU a better and healthier person, and it will make the WORLD a more enjoyable place to live in.

Read it.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good intro to mindfulness and meditation for those turned off by the “religious” or spiritual overtones of some practices and traditions. I would recommend anyone interested in this book to follow up with a teacher or meditation group, perhaps in the zen or insight meditation traditions, which are largely free of magical or superstitious thinking. Be wary of mindfulness classes or modern scientific cults that want to charge you money. Legitimate meditation or Buddhist / Taoist teachers are usually associated with a longstanding tradition and only ask for a modest donation, or perhaps a fee for retreat costs. And don’t get turned off by what seem like ritualistic forms like bowing, incense or chants, which are as empty as as anything and just useful as triggers for training the body and mind. Also be wary of goals like calmness or euphoria or (shh) awakening/enlightenment. Meditation is hard work and intense and not what no practitioners imagine. Having some preconception of goals is counterproductive. It will change your life in subtle ways, but your body is already awake to the world, if you apply the discipline to listen to it, and everything.

[Suhrob · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, so 4 (maybe 5?) stars in vacuum.
However for me ~2 stars on the margin.

The book is well written, competent. But it is one in the thousands of "intro to mindfulness" and even in the micro-subgenre of secular/science-affine/geek meditation books is only one of dozens.

And it is completely fine, well written, competent, polite, etc... nothing bad with this book.
Unfortunately, nothing that would rise it above the peers either.

If you read some book from this space, you won't gain much & if you didn't this is as good a starting place as any (pretty much literally). Except The Mind Illuminted, that is... (though that one has slightly different focus).

But two big pluses:

1. If you are interested in Shinzen's approach, this is an excellent company to Shinzen's The Science of Mindfulness (which gives the conceptual background, Taft then gives the more practical intro to the techniques).

2. I really enjoy Taft's podcast - the topics are much more interesting that dime-a-dozen intro to mindfulness!

[Sequoia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty straightforward and clear book about mindfullness meditataion. Easy to read and implement -- and, the best thing for me, is that the author cites some pretty solid research to back up his claims. I personally like the chapter about the emotion the best -- between emotion and reaction/response, there's a space for you to slow down and decide what/how to react. Emotion is sort of a behavior guidance system, etc.

Two things that make this book less than ideal for me: 1) Not much new information for me. The idea of mindfulness and the techniques are familiar; 2), typos. And the missing chapter 10 -- there's just no chapter 10 in the book. Maybe I'm a bit OCD here -- but especially toward the end, I can't ignore the typos (maybe this is the increased sensory clarity working...), which is sort of annoying.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most instruction in mindfulness and meditation comes through a Buddhist perspective. So, it's refreshing to read a book that approaches these life-enhancing practices through a scientific and utterly pragmatic lens. And the evidence that Michael Taft has corralled here is very striking. Meditation actually makes the makes the brain grow, it increases creativity, improves focus, and generally leads to a richer and more fulfilling life. Do it, and you'll end up a better and happier person. So why am I still procrastinating? Good question. If any book can finally get me into a regular meditation habit it's this one. The tone and approach are so engaging that as I turned the last page, I wanted to re-read the how-to and the benefits all over again. Clever, but simple; learned but down-to-earth. A slim, valuable volume that probably ought to be handed out in all secondary schools.

[LiJi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein Buch über Meditation ganz ohne religiösen oder spirituellen Bezug, dafür mit wissenschaftlichen Erklärungen und Bezügen zu aktueller Forschung. Die praktische Übungen sind hilfreich um verschiedene Techniken zu lernen. Zwischenzeitlich hat mir das Lesen so viel Hoffnung gegeben, dass ich es als weitaus mehr als nur einen Meditations Ratgeber bezeichnen möchte.

[R.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

great user manual

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.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t say this book was an amazing read but I mostly enjoyed the layout of the book. The author presented meditation as a user manual on how to improve one’s life. A hack to reach a more fulfilling way of living by decreasing stress, letting go of anger and fear, and using mindfulness to encourage openness with others.

[Diego · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good book to start a meditation practice, specially for science-oriented people since it backs everything the author says with actual studies.

It definitely make me want to dive more into the subject.

[Panashe M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, no-woo introduction to mindfulness meditation and its benefits. The latter half of this book feels a bit weaker, as the author tries to stretch the implications of good social connections, creativity, and flow to meditation.

[Lucimara · Rating 5 out of 5]

informative

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good introduction to meditation. Mindfulness may seem like woo but it's not. I've only begun my first tentative steps into meditating, and it does seem useful to me.

[Gretchen Bedell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great non-spiritual guide to mindfulness and meditation.

[Ryan Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it alot.

It didn't have a lot of the woo that other meditative books had.

[My Business]

5 different guided meditation techniques.
The importance of entirely focusing on one thing.
Noticing all its details and approaching and reapproaching it from different sides.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ought to be taught in schools.