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The Book of Rest: How to find calm in a chaotic world
‘Impossibly wonderful’ Daily Telegraph
Revised and updated with a brand new chapter.
Find peace in a restless world.
‘James’s heartfelt gentleness and masterful wisdom shine through in his teachings. His expertise lies in his ability to light the path for others to find their own way.’ Richard Miller, clinical psychologist, researcher and yogic scholar.
In today’s fast-paced world, we’ve never been busier. We’re surrounded by pressures from work, family, study and social media. It can feel like there’s never time to truly switch off and relax.
But the answer is simpler than you think – and it’s within you.
Through simple, easily learned techniques The Book of Rest reveals how to find a moment of peace even in the busiest of days, and a path to a calmer, happier and more relaxed you.
Revised and updated with a brand new chapter.
Find peace in a restless world.
‘James’s heartfelt gentleness and masterful wisdom shine through in his teachings. His expertise lies in his ability to light the path for others to find their own way.’ Richard Miller, clinical psychologist, researcher and yogic scholar.
In today’s fast-paced world, we’ve never been busier. We’re surrounded by pressures from work, family, study and social media. It can feel like there’s never time to truly switch off and relax.
But the answer is simpler than you think – and it’s within you.
Through simple, easily learned techniques The Book of Rest reveals how to find a moment of peace even in the busiest of days, and a path to a calmer, happier and more relaxed you.
256 pages, Paperback
Published January 7, 2021
44 people are currently reading
355 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 26, 2020
Profound and blissfully insightful
Much gratitude for this book 💙
It’s helped me through a tough time. Will be revisiting lots.
Recommend the audiobook to everyone. James’ voice is soothing AF
Some quotes:
“when we allow ourselves to do nothing and just be, we start to experience the always-OK part of our experience. Our consciousness starts to shine forth through the gaps of our however-chaotic-or-not life, and we begin to feel the truth of the possibility that our essential nature is already rested and whole.”
~~~
“proper rest will engender action that is most connected with your truest self.”
~~~
“We might find ourselves experiencing a new kind of wisdom, one that is less in the mind and more from our whole, deeper being. This deeper knowing has a quieter quality; it’s more of a whisper and less of a shout. We hear it only when we’ve turned all other noise down, and although it demands an acceptance of the unknowable qualities of life, it feels like the only truth.”
~~~
“Rest is the ultimate act of allowing everything to be just as it is. It is not dependent on anything other than a surrendering of control, desire and condition. Rest has no conditions. If you find yourself trying to control rest, remind yourself that if there is one thing you need to do about your restlessness, it’s nothing.”
~~~
“When we rest close to the edge of sleep, the two sides of that edge might fuse into a ‘waking dream’ state, when we are neither awake nor asleep. This is your opportunity to practise it:
As you find yourself unable to sleep, or get back to sleep, rather than fight the experience, can you embrace it? Consider this time as an opportunity to be with yourself, and rest...
... Allow your mind to shift from worry about the lack of sleep to a looser, more accepting state”
~~~
“Welcome unease with ease”
~~~
“approach yourself with inquisitive kindness – being with yourself, listening to yourself, sensing into your body and becoming aware of how it is feeling.”
Much gratitude for this book 💙
It’s helped me through a tough time. Will be revisiting lots.
Recommend the audiobook to everyone. James’ voice is soothing AF
Some quotes:
“when we allow ourselves to do nothing and just be, we start to experience the always-OK part of our experience. Our consciousness starts to shine forth through the gaps of our however-chaotic-or-not life, and we begin to feel the truth of the possibility that our essential nature is already rested and whole.”
~~~
“proper rest will engender action that is most connected with your truest self.”
~~~
“We might find ourselves experiencing a new kind of wisdom, one that is less in the mind and more from our whole, deeper being. This deeper knowing has a quieter quality; it’s more of a whisper and less of a shout. We hear it only when we’ve turned all other noise down, and although it demands an acceptance of the unknowable qualities of life, it feels like the only truth.”
~~~
“Rest is the ultimate act of allowing everything to be just as it is. It is not dependent on anything other than a surrendering of control, desire and condition. Rest has no conditions. If you find yourself trying to control rest, remind yourself that if there is one thing you need to do about your restlessness, it’s nothing.”
~~~
“When we rest close to the edge of sleep, the two sides of that edge might fuse into a ‘waking dream’ state, when we are neither awake nor asleep. This is your opportunity to practise it:
As you find yourself unable to sleep, or get back to sleep, rather than fight the experience, can you embrace it? Consider this time as an opportunity to be with yourself, and rest...
... Allow your mind to shift from worry about the lack of sleep to a looser, more accepting state”
~~~
“Welcome unease with ease”
~~~
“approach yourself with inquisitive kindness – being with yourself, listening to yourself, sensing into your body and becoming aware of how it is feeling.”
May 12, 2021
This book was a serious eye opener and I couldn’t recommend it more. The way it brings the exercises into the book that you do throughout really brings home each message that the authors are trying to put across. I think this has truly changed my outlook on a lot of things regarding rest, stillness and mindfulness.
It is so important in these days of being hooked up to the IV drip of information that we take a break from everything and just do nothing, it can give you a whole new perspective and show that a lot of what we feel and do is just a superficial outer layer that too often we end up starting to believe that it is our true self. I will definitely be rereading this as the messages are too important.
Ps only 99p on kindle store so I don’t know why you wouldn’t read it if you have one
It is so important in these days of being hooked up to the IV drip of information that we take a break from everything and just do nothing, it can give you a whole new perspective and show that a lot of what we feel and do is just a superficial outer layer that too often we end up starting to believe that it is our true self. I will definitely be rereading this as the messages are too important.
Ps only 99p on kindle store so I don’t know why you wouldn’t read it if you have one
December 18, 2019
A brilliant, important, wonderful book. Highly recommended.
I read on Kindle first, then got Audible version.
For me, the combination made the whole experience even more powerful.
Bravo James and Gabrielle.
I read on Kindle first, then got Audible version.
For me, the combination made the whole experience even more powerful.
Bravo James and Gabrielle.
October 7, 2019
I first encountered James Reeves as a distractingly elven-eared yoga teacher on my Ekhart Yoga subscription service. However, his classes were focussed mostly on lying down and not doing anything much, so very accessible, especially as he has a non-annoying voice.
I was interested to see that he and his partner had a new book out, and that they had called it, not Yoga Nidra, but the simple "The Book of Rest"... and that's what it is about. And very likeable it is too. I think it is probably best as an audiobook a) because James Reeve's voice and b) because the enquiries are probably most successful if you are talked through them in real time rather than reading, then doing (or not 'doing') and then reading again... although at least with a print format you choose your own duration more easily. I found it was worth paying attention... the enquiries seemed perhaps a little samey but then they do change.
The book has a simple premise, the language won't frighten the woo-hating horses and it manages to mean what it says without taking itself too seriously. Indeed, I found it quite a funny book, without feeling it was trying too hard to be. There were quite a number of very well-expressed but perspective-changing points... too many to list here, but I appreciated what was said in various places in the book about the risk of opting out of life, or even believing that acceptance requires inaction. The chapter on sleep was refreshing (!)
I was interested to see that he and his partner had a new book out, and that they had called it, not Yoga Nidra, but the simple "The Book of Rest"... and that's what it is about. And very likeable it is too. I think it is probably best as an audiobook a) because James Reeve's voice and b) because the enquiries are probably most successful if you are talked through them in real time rather than reading, then doing (or not 'doing') and then reading again... although at least with a print format you choose your own duration more easily. I found it was worth paying attention... the enquiries seemed perhaps a little samey but then they do change.
The book has a simple premise, the language won't frighten the woo-hating horses and it manages to mean what it says without taking itself too seriously. Indeed, I found it quite a funny book, without feeling it was trying too hard to be. There were quite a number of very well-expressed but perspective-changing points... too many to list here, but I appreciated what was said in various places in the book about the risk of opting out of life, or even believing that acceptance requires inaction. The chapter on sleep was refreshing (!)
August 6, 2020
Each inquiry in this book takes you on a journey to awareness of your innate inner peace. Key topics in this book include: Sleep, the fast pace of modern life and focusing too much on a better you in the future.
I felt very peaceful and relaxed reading this book and it encouraged me to question many aspects of my being.
Overall it was a great book but I found it difficult to get into and at times I found the book to be a bit too repetitive. But I suppose its good the points were reinforced because they have definitely stuck in my head.
I felt very peaceful and relaxed reading this book and it encouraged me to question many aspects of my being.
Overall it was a great book but I found it difficult to get into and at times I found the book to be a bit too repetitive. But I suppose its good the points were reinforced because they have definitely stuck in my head.
March 20, 2023
I found this book highly repetitive and rather annoying, giving up 75 pages in. The authors emphasise that you don’t need to know anything or do anything in order to rest - and frankly, I don’t think you need this book either.
Whilst the enquiries had some value, I found them very samey, and they invariably resulted in me falling asleep, which while welcome was not exactly the mindful investigation I had in mind.
Whilst the enquiries had some value, I found them very samey, and they invariably resulted in me falling asleep, which while welcome was not exactly the mindful investigation I had in mind.
July 2, 2020
Good reflection on what rest is and how it works for me and on life in general, yet the fact that they kept repeating that there is nothing you can do about restlessness and you should do nothing to rest, annoyed me at some point to be honest
May 9, 2023
Took me a while to finish this but yeah I was 'resting' and learning about the true meaning of rest..
It's a restless world and with anxiety spiking every seconds, it's vital to find the peace and fathom your own journey..
It's a restless world and with anxiety spiking every seconds, it's vital to find the peace and fathom your own journey..
October 6, 2023
Great starter book for someone who suffer with anxiety like myself
May 25, 2025
The point of this book is to do nothing
March 5, 2021
I listen to the Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi of Bach’s great b minor Mass weekly, sometimes several times a week, because of the way I rest and find myself in the music. That’s a bit like this book, where the distinctive voice of the authors, Gabrielle Brown and James Reeves, is so limpid and luminous that they are almost transparent.
And like a piece of music, what can one say about it? It’s beautiful.
I think the last 20% of the book about sleep ought to have been cut, honestly. It was as if I told you a horror story and suddenly it became a comedy for a fifth of the book. It didn’t match the rest. That part of the book also had signs of effort, in slightly poorly edited sections.
The first two fifths is a mind blower, and the end is noble too.
“Welcome unease with ease” sums up the book pretty well. “See how you are already resting and linger there.” “Value downtime as highly as you value your uptime.” “Stop trying to stop and just stop.”
I loved the warm notes of skeptical British reserve in the tone, too. So charming.
I love how it starts with a big promise: rest is always present. Is that true? I doubt it. But from “being” Bowen and Reeves build a wonderful pragmatic metaphysic.
I loved some of the inquiries. Others I didn’t care for. They would make good conversation prompts.
And like a piece of music, what can one say about it? It’s beautiful.
I think the last 20% of the book about sleep ought to have been cut, honestly. It was as if I told you a horror story and suddenly it became a comedy for a fifth of the book. It didn’t match the rest. That part of the book also had signs of effort, in slightly poorly edited sections.
The first two fifths is a mind blower, and the end is noble too.
“Welcome unease with ease” sums up the book pretty well. “See how you are already resting and linger there.” “Value downtime as highly as you value your uptime.” “Stop trying to stop and just stop.”
I loved the warm notes of skeptical British reserve in the tone, too. So charming.
I love how it starts with a big promise: rest is always present. Is that true? I doubt it. But from “being” Bowen and Reeves build a wonderful pragmatic metaphysic.
I loved some of the inquiries. Others I didn’t care for. They would make good conversation prompts.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews