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Pause, Breathe, Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation Is Not Enough
Pause . . . breathe . . . smile. Three small words, yet each contains a universe of wisdom. Let the title be your guide in this inspiring book on awakening to the full depths of mindful living. The pause is about setting our intention before we think, speak, or act - the ethical dimension of mindfulness. When we breathe, we unite mind, body, and spirit, making every moment an opportunity for meditation. With a smile, we open to a wisdom beyond words. This simple trio will water your innate seeds of awakening to help you pave your own path to fulfillment and peace.
Audiobook
Published March 19, 2019
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92 people want to read
About the author
Gary Gach
14 books93 followersGeneralist.
¿ Books ?
Clerk, 2nd-hand bookshop, 8 years. Book designer / typesetter, 3 years. Book editor, 1 year. Associated with a few books* with someone's name on them identical to mine; managed not to repeat myself, as yet.
Middle school years in Hollywood commemorated by classmate James Ellroy ("Let's Twist Again"). BA + 1 year (UCLA - SFSU). Moved to San Francisco 45 years ago, where have been living since, where facilitating weekly mindfulness practice ( ... stop ... breathe ... smile ... ... ... go slow ... ... ).
______________________________
*
E.G. ————— as author, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism; editor, What Book Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop; co-translator, Ten Thousand Lives, Flowers of a Moment, and Songs for Tomorrow: A Collection of Poems, 1961–2001, all by Ko Un.
_______________________________________
: swimming in the Bay, blue skies, calligraphy, cooking, generosity, bestfriends, awakening wisdom, the heart of love
__________________________
May all beings be well.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 17, 2019
“Pause, Breathe, Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation Is Not Enough” by Gary Gach is a simple yet profound guide to a richer, more spiritual approach to life. By pausing before we think, speak or act, we bring much-needed intention to connections with others. When we breathe, we add the quiet of meditation to every moment. And when we smile, we open our hearts to an unspoken beautiful wisdom. Highly recommended for making the concept of mindfulness so approachable and practical!
Pub Date 01 Sep 2018
Thanks to Sounds True Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.
#PauseBreatheSmile #NetGalley
Pub Date 01 Sep 2018
Thanks to Sounds True Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.
#PauseBreatheSmile #NetGalley
May 15, 2019
A man—a poet, a teacher, a translator-- is walking across a busy airport terminal to board a flight to somewhere. Everyone around him is rushing past, including another traveler who is seen dragging a heavy suitcase behind him, his boarding pass held tightly between his lips. Probably this man is late for a connecting flight. As the poet watches, he notices the rushing traveler's wallet has fallen out of his trousers. The poet, who is engaged in mindful walking practice-- one foot in front of the other-- bends over and picks the wallet up. This happens as the traveler, realizing what happened spins around in a panic.
Uh oh, wallet missing...
Looking around he sees the poet calming holding up his wallet, and then --wait for it- dashes over to snatch it out of the poet's hand like "a blue jay grabbing a peanut-- and wallet back in his trouser pocket, hurries on toward Gate 53, without so much as a thank you.
The poet is Gary Gach, and he describes this incident in his book Pause, Breath, Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough. This book is in part about skills-acquisition (a how-to of mindfulness). But the book really shines when engaged in a kind of deeper looking at the world around us --and what ultimately is the meaning of our lives. I wonder if many of us won’t relate to the poet—or maybe more to the harried traveler? I mean, you have to wonder, how can anybody be any good to others, much less to themselves, if they’re relentlessly running around like a chicken with their head cut off. Constantly telling people how "busy" they are, losing all sense of humor as they take themselves so seriously, struggling like we all are to keep our heads above water financially and emotionally. Gach says a life thus lived is like a person who walks into a room and doesn’t remember why.
Gach reminds us that the word for mindfulness in Japanese (念) is composed of two parts: on top is “the now” (今) and at bottom is “heart/mind” (心). This points to a mental wakefulness; an attentiveness to most evocative manner possible the way in which mindfulness is about a heart/mind presence in the here and now. Michael Pollan, in his wonderful new book called How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, very persuasively argues that as we grow older, our minds more and more fall into mental ruts as the ego takes over completely. This ego is a kind of short-hand for the “default mode network” in the brain. This is something that is not developed fully in children or other animals, but in humans, becomes very developed as we grow into adulthood. This is the “boss” of your brain and what is very connected to our sense of self (and what we sometimes refer to as our ego). LSD seems to inhibit this part of the brain which allows different parts of the brain to become more active at the same time (hence the sense of a world infused with meaning; and the frequent experience of synaesthesia). This means not much gets done in terms efficiency and producing, consuming…. But the drug, in generating a "high entropy” state can allow for some tremendous relief and insight as well.
And even more fascinating (and moving) is the way Pollan shows the parallels between these drugs and Buddhist practices that aim to reduce the ego (by quieting the mind the aim is to reduce the default mode). Brain imaging results of a brain on mushrooms and a brain in a deep meditative state in expert meditators are very similar —similar in what parts of the mind become quiet but also what parts of the brain become active. Some very common characteristics of trips include greatly enhanced enchantment and this feeling of oneness with the universe. This latter is particularly interesting. Buddhism teaches that it is our ego attachments that are the cause of our suffering and that if we would only open our eyes to the truth of an interconnected universe we would see that the world is filled with so much joy— this is probably a common experience of many ecstatic religious experiences. Pollan is a secular atheist and is not preaching anything—well, he is preaching health in human beings and also in our world and it definitely stands to reason that this is a message that many at least need to hear.
And indeed, Gach’s book—like Pollan’s is in part cultural critique.
Toward the end of the book, Gach discusses another wonderful word from the Japanese, 無所得. This is a word coined from Buddhism and is a tough one to translate. Gach says we can think of it as “without looking for personal profit or gain.” So much do we view things from a cost-benefit of analysis that practicing this “intention” can be difficult; for not only does it insist that we look at things from a bigger perspective beyond what ‘works for me” but it even insists on a detachment from all outcomes. This is a practice that is radically other-oriented and as Gach rightly points out, study after study has suggested that generosity and giving is directly related to feelings of human happiness.
These days, you probably hear this word “mindfulness” all the time. You don’t need to walk into a yoga class in order to hear it repeated and extolled constantly. We are told we need to be mindful. But to try to be mindful without a very clear understanding what the word means could land you in the exact opposite behavior than the word is aiming. This slender book is a primer on what the concept means and ways for working to cultivate this trait in ourselves. But we need to be careful because the self we are cultivating is not the individual “self” isolated and insulated in our bodies, but rather is a self that itself embedded --and indeed inter-dependent with-- the world around us. To learn to be mindful is not an erasure of the individual self but is a recognition of our embeddedness in the world and co-existence with the people around us.
I listened to this book on Audible (with the paperback at my side in case I wanted to look things up). This added a lot to the experience as his voice was very calming. The pace is slow, which really helped me process the ideas—ideas which I wish I could say were not as challenging for me as they were. Like a lot of people, I think it is time to make some changes. Very grateful and happy that I discovered this slim book when I did!
Uh oh, wallet missing...
Looking around he sees the poet calming holding up his wallet, and then --wait for it- dashes over to snatch it out of the poet's hand like "a blue jay grabbing a peanut-- and wallet back in his trouser pocket, hurries on toward Gate 53, without so much as a thank you.
The poet is Gary Gach, and he describes this incident in his book Pause, Breath, Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough. This book is in part about skills-acquisition (a how-to of mindfulness). But the book really shines when engaged in a kind of deeper looking at the world around us --and what ultimately is the meaning of our lives. I wonder if many of us won’t relate to the poet—or maybe more to the harried traveler? I mean, you have to wonder, how can anybody be any good to others, much less to themselves, if they’re relentlessly running around like a chicken with their head cut off. Constantly telling people how "busy" they are, losing all sense of humor as they take themselves so seriously, struggling like we all are to keep our heads above water financially and emotionally. Gach says a life thus lived is like a person who walks into a room and doesn’t remember why.
Gach reminds us that the word for mindfulness in Japanese (念) is composed of two parts: on top is “the now” (今) and at bottom is “heart/mind” (心). This points to a mental wakefulness; an attentiveness to most evocative manner possible the way in which mindfulness is about a heart/mind presence in the here and now. Michael Pollan, in his wonderful new book called How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, very persuasively argues that as we grow older, our minds more and more fall into mental ruts as the ego takes over completely. This ego is a kind of short-hand for the “default mode network” in the brain. This is something that is not developed fully in children or other animals, but in humans, becomes very developed as we grow into adulthood. This is the “boss” of your brain and what is very connected to our sense of self (and what we sometimes refer to as our ego). LSD seems to inhibit this part of the brain which allows different parts of the brain to become more active at the same time (hence the sense of a world infused with meaning; and the frequent experience of synaesthesia). This means not much gets done in terms efficiency and producing, consuming…. But the drug, in generating a "high entropy” state can allow for some tremendous relief and insight as well.
And even more fascinating (and moving) is the way Pollan shows the parallels between these drugs and Buddhist practices that aim to reduce the ego (by quieting the mind the aim is to reduce the default mode). Brain imaging results of a brain on mushrooms and a brain in a deep meditative state in expert meditators are very similar —similar in what parts of the mind become quiet but also what parts of the brain become active. Some very common characteristics of trips include greatly enhanced enchantment and this feeling of oneness with the universe. This latter is particularly interesting. Buddhism teaches that it is our ego attachments that are the cause of our suffering and that if we would only open our eyes to the truth of an interconnected universe we would see that the world is filled with so much joy— this is probably a common experience of many ecstatic religious experiences. Pollan is a secular atheist and is not preaching anything—well, he is preaching health in human beings and also in our world and it definitely stands to reason that this is a message that many at least need to hear.
And indeed, Gach’s book—like Pollan’s is in part cultural critique.
Toward the end of the book, Gach discusses another wonderful word from the Japanese, 無所得. This is a word coined from Buddhism and is a tough one to translate. Gach says we can think of it as “without looking for personal profit or gain.” So much do we view things from a cost-benefit of analysis that practicing this “intention” can be difficult; for not only does it insist that we look at things from a bigger perspective beyond what ‘works for me” but it even insists on a detachment from all outcomes. This is a practice that is radically other-oriented and as Gach rightly points out, study after study has suggested that generosity and giving is directly related to feelings of human happiness.
These days, you probably hear this word “mindfulness” all the time. You don’t need to walk into a yoga class in order to hear it repeated and extolled constantly. We are told we need to be mindful. But to try to be mindful without a very clear understanding what the word means could land you in the exact opposite behavior than the word is aiming. This slender book is a primer on what the concept means and ways for working to cultivate this trait in ourselves. But we need to be careful because the self we are cultivating is not the individual “self” isolated and insulated in our bodies, but rather is a self that itself embedded --and indeed inter-dependent with-- the world around us. To learn to be mindful is not an erasure of the individual self but is a recognition of our embeddedness in the world and co-existence with the people around us.
I listened to this book on Audible (with the paperback at my side in case I wanted to look things up). This added a lot to the experience as his voice was very calming. The pace is slow, which really helped me process the ideas—ideas which I wish I could say were not as challenging for me as they were. Like a lot of people, I think it is time to make some changes. Very grateful and happy that I discovered this slim book when I did!
September 30, 2018
Pause, Breathe, Smile by Gary Gach offers a simple, yet highly effective method for cultivating mindfulness wherever you may be and whatever you may be doing. It's as simple as the title says, taking time to pause, breathe deep, and smile. This is a beneficial tool alone, and Gach teaches how to turn it into a proper longer meditation that can span twenty to forty minutes. He also teaches about variations of mindfulness meditation such as walking meditation, and the use of mindfulness bells.
I loved this book! It's easy to understand, with no frippery added. Gach has a warm inviting writing style, interacting directly with the reader. I practice mindfulness meditation myself, and found plenty of things to incorporate in my own practice. I started to use a mindfulness bell app on my phone. It had never occurred to me before, but it's been so useful! I'm also considering doing a meditation retreat. That's a scary concept for me, but Gach made it sound intriguing enough to seriously look into. This book is a great resource both for those new to mindfulness and meditation, and those with an established practise. Highly recommended!!
***Many thanks to Netgalley and Sounds True Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for the San Francisco Book Review.
I loved this book! It's easy to understand, with no frippery added. Gach has a warm inviting writing style, interacting directly with the reader. I practice mindfulness meditation myself, and found plenty of things to incorporate in my own practice. I started to use a mindfulness bell app on my phone. It had never occurred to me before, but it's been so useful! I'm also considering doing a meditation retreat. That's a scary concept for me, but Gach made it sound intriguing enough to seriously look into. This book is a great resource both for those new to mindfulness and meditation, and those with an established practise. Highly recommended!!
***Many thanks to Netgalley and Sounds True Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for the San Francisco Book Review.
May 2, 2018
A great mindfulness guide. Easy to read and easy to follow. I found myself sitting here practicing my PBS whilst reading along. Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this handy guide.
August 4, 2020
The entire book is written as a commentary. It is FULL of good information but seemed very hard to get through because it was a bit textbook-y.
I would recommend reafjng it like a recipie book, not a novel or a textbook.
Again, good information, but not a quick read.
I would recommend reafjng it like a recipie book, not a novel or a textbook.
Again, good information, but not a quick read.
September 20, 2022
Wasn’t a bad read but definitely felt a little too informational and didactic. I actually liked reading it as a meditation exercise in and of itself. I read a few pages of this here and there while studying for the bar to keep me sane and centered.
March 20, 2019
Very soft. Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hahn, and Tara Brach do similar work, on awakening mindfulness in everyday life -- and they do it more effectively.
June 1, 2019
NOPE.
July 19, 2019
Wonderfully crafted and something that invites re-reading at random.
Love this book by Gary
Love this book by Gary
September 13, 2019
This was a very nice book to listen to while I went to bed. I listened to it 3x in a row. Over all very chill.
March 4, 2022
I can’t help but smile as I read this. The authors tone is calm and content, a breath of fresh air.
September 10, 2023
This is a wonderful guide for meditation practice.
December 30, 2018
What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Mindfulness?
Now that mindfulness is the fastest-growing wellness trend since yoga, it seems as if everything is calling itself mindfulness these days. (And, since 2013, there’s been a countertrend of backlash, from various fronts, such as evangelical Christian fundamentalists and critics of neoliberal capitalism.) So I felt it an apt moment to reframe the narrative of what we talk about when we talk about mindfulness.
Five years in the making, my new book builds upon the success of scientific secularization to expand the horizon by going back to the roots. Genuine benefits from a shake-and-bake approach might be seen as an invitation for this deeper dive, into something more dynamic and consequential. Here’s a single strand upon which to string all the beads being offered, as a coherent, dynamic whole.
If we're rebranding a certain aspect of Buddhism, why not include all the simple, basic ingredients of that ancient, ever-vital recipe: moral values in action [pause], meditation [breathe], insightful worldview [smile]. The three in tandem interact as a integral whole that a general audience can access and enjoy – 24/7.
Jon Kabat-Zinn meets Thich Nhat Hanh.
Clear, depthy, and potent.
That's it – in a nutshell.
For more info: http://GaryGach.com ||| http://GaryGach.com/books/pause-breat...
A recent review, from Spirituality & Practice:
https://www.spiritualityandpractice.c...
Now that mindfulness is the fastest-growing wellness trend since yoga, it seems as if everything is calling itself mindfulness these days. (And, since 2013, there’s been a countertrend of backlash, from various fronts, such as evangelical Christian fundamentalists and critics of neoliberal capitalism.) So I felt it an apt moment to reframe the narrative of what we talk about when we talk about mindfulness.
Five years in the making, my new book builds upon the success of scientific secularization to expand the horizon by going back to the roots. Genuine benefits from a shake-and-bake approach might be seen as an invitation for this deeper dive, into something more dynamic and consequential. Here’s a single strand upon which to string all the beads being offered, as a coherent, dynamic whole.
If we're rebranding a certain aspect of Buddhism, why not include all the simple, basic ingredients of that ancient, ever-vital recipe: moral values in action [pause], meditation [breathe], insightful worldview [smile]. The three in tandem interact as a integral whole that a general audience can access and enjoy – 24/7.
Jon Kabat-Zinn meets Thich Nhat Hanh.
Clear, depthy, and potent.
That's it – in a nutshell.
For more info: http://GaryGach.com ||| http://GaryGach.com/books/pause-breat...
A recent review, from Spirituality & Practice:
https://www.spiritualityandpractice.c...
April 29, 2021
Gach offers readers a simple, easily understood and easily implemented path to mindfulness, whether you’ve never meditated before or have been meditating for decades. Right from the get-go, the book’s prose begins to relax you and help you focus. Did I mention that I highly recommend it?
Steven R. Berger, author "Ursula’s Yahrtzeit Candle" and the Sebastian Wren mysteries.
Steven R. Berger, author "Ursula’s Yahrtzeit Candle" and the Sebastian Wren mysteries.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews