8 Minute Meditation

by Victor Davich

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA

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

164 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Vui Lên · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

Sách cân bằng giữa học thuật và thực hành.

Các bài tập trong 8 tuần cũng vừa đủ hay, vừa đủ tốt dành cho người mới bắt đầu.

Gần như những vấn đề người mới bắt đầu thiền gặp phải đều được giải đáp và phân tích khá tận tình. Đọc sách kết hợp với app thiền là một cách cực tốt để có thể đưa thiền vào cuộc sống hằng ngày chứ không chỉ lâu lâu hứng lên thiền rồi lại thôi.

[Matthew Jankowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

8 Minute Meditation took me on an 8 week journey through the various meditation styles. I started as a meditation novice: each and every page and concept was new to me. I took the authors advice and read each chapter only after I finished a week of meditation in the last style laid out by the author. At the end of 8 weeks I did feel more rested, calm, and peaceful. Moreover, since I finished the book (and the 8 week course) I've continued to meditate daily.

What I think the book lacks is clear direction on what are the next steps to take. The author suggests sticking to my favorite of the 8 meditation types for a lengthy period while increasing the meditation time. I guess I need more of a roadmap than that. That said I do continue to meditate. To progress, I need to take more of the practice into my own hands. I believe Davich's book put me on the right course and would recommend it to anyone interested in the practice of meditation.

[Hạt Tiêu]

Quyển sách nhập môn thiền cho các bạn mới tập thiền.
Phần đầu gồm 8 tuần nhập môn với 8 bài tập thiền khác nhau. Mỗi bài 8 phút.
Phần sau hướng dẫn nâng cao gia tăng thời gian thiền, thiền gắn liền với các hoạt động thường nhật, thiền tâm từ mở rộng.
Sách viết nhẹ nhàng cởi mở vừa như một người thầy, vừa như một người bạn đồng hành.
Tiếc là website 8minutes.org của tác giả hiện đã ko còn nữa.

[Eduard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it is a very great introductory book for meditation.
Author is American and he removed almost everything unnecessary be it religion, jargon etc. Considering I am agnostic and may be somewhat atheistic in some topics this book was perfect for me.

Its 8 weeks of 8 exercises 8 minutes a day. From calming breathing meditations, to mindfulness and kindness meditations.
Having issues calming down before sleep? Problems with noises bothering you? Or may be pains or negative thoughts?
Well I think you can find meditations exercise here that will help you to change your relationship with those problems, for me some results were counter intuitive like I really now can go to sleep even with noises that would usually irritate me or calm down headache. o_o
I now think that meditation is just exercise for good health of your mind. And as with physical training there are different ones, some for calm mind, some for mindful mind that is always there in the moment noticing what truly is important and so on.
Try it :) If anything just for curious 8 weeks of experiments that take only 8 minutes a day. Who knows may be it will improve your life ;)

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is intended to be read over an 8 week time period, so that each week you are putting into practice what you have just learned. The tone is upbeat and it reads a lot like an infomercial. I may update this review once I finish the full course but for now I'm going to say that I believe there is tremendous value to going within and taking a mental break/taking time for your self/letting go of anything that doesn't help you or support those you love AND YET I can never manage to "find the time" to do this. So, to be clear, apparently I can find the time to read for hours every week and post reviews of the books I read but I can't find the time to sit quietly in a room and just be...and I've been actively trying to do this for a few years now. This book has me doing it...in just 8 minutes a day. For that alone: 5 stars.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted a book on meditation to help me through some troublesome spots. Guyczuk did too, and he came up with three recommendations. This was my least favorite of the three, but it might be because of the layout and presentation. There's good info in there, if you're more patient than I am, and more comfortable with some of the current American jargon and approaches to learning a certain type of skills. While I like the idea of 8 minute meditation, it somehow seems too distilled down for me, too formulaic.

[Vicci Divine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great beginner primer for those interested in meditation. It is similar to taking a course with the book being the teacher. I now meditation on a daily basis because of the techniques learned in this book.

[Huyền Nguyễn]

Đây là cuốn sách dạy thiền dễ hiểu, dễ áp dụng
- Thiền là cánh cổng dẫn tới chánh niệm, cho phép mọi thứ là chính nó. Thực tại là do tâm trí ta tạo ra
- Chánh niệm: Con đường dẫn tới hạnh phúc thực sự
- Thiền giống một ly nước cho lắng bùn. Dần dần, những hạt bùn li ti sẽ chìm xuống đáy, và nước dần dần trở nên tinh khiết.
- Thiền không phải mục tiêu: Nó là một hành trình. Thiền là sự cho phép mọi thứ là chính nó

Phần 2 của cuốn sách hướng dẫn chương trình 8 phút thiền.
Sau khi đọc xong cuốn sách có thể áp dụng ngay
Cảm ơn cuốn sách của Victor Davich

[Микола · Rating 3 out of 5]

Що мені сподобалось у книжці, це методика.
Так, я спробував усе описане протягом 8 тижнів. Раз чи два пропустив за цей раз. Планую продовжувати.
Що ще припало до смаку, то це секулярність. Не треба відмовлятися від своїх поглядів, вірувань, переконань, щоб медитувати.

Що не сподобалось, то це занадто американська, як на мене, манера викладу. Кожна теза повторюється стільки разів, що починає дратувати. Але я от прочитав і не вмер.

Готовий порадити книжку всім, кому цікава тема і зрозуміла мова.

Книжка складається з трьох частин. Вступ, методика, висновки.
У вступі весь цей популярний американський виклад, безліч разів повторені тези про те, що 8 хвилин це як реклама в телевізорі тощо.
Методика складається теж із вступної секції, інструкцій та заключних міркувань. Якщо стиль викладу не заходить, можна читати лише інструкції.
Ну і якщо її тільки читати, то я не бачу сенсу (я взагалі більше художку люблю).

Протягом 8 тижнів автор пропонує знайомство з різними техніками медитації через практику, поступово ускладнюючи завдання.
Єдина техніка, яка мені не далася з наскоку і залишила відчуття розчарування — це «приватний перегляд», де пропонується стежити за візуальними образами. Не знаю, чи це я так влаштований, чи це тому, що я за ними свідомо стежу весь час багато років, не втручатися і не аналізувати у мене не вийшло.

Заключна частина проводить рекомендації до подальшого розвитку технік. Секцію з посиланнями на книжки, курси та центри я просто прогортав, бо це треба жити в Америці.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been wanting to begin a meditation practice for a while and decided to have that be my New Year's resolution for 2013. This is the first book I used to get me started and it was perfect for that. I wasn't perfect at meditating every day, but he was so encouraging that I never felt like I was making any mistakes. Full of simple, effective direction and words of wisdom. I learned so much and have seen many ways that this habit has improved my life. Some awesome quotes...

"Everything is perfect! And there's always room for improvement."

"Even just a few minutes of observation demonstrates how much of your waking life is spent in either the dead past of the nonexistent future. It's amazing how seldom in the day you are actually present, in this very moment, which is the most wonderful place you can ever be."

"As the Buddha once said, you can search the entire world for someone who is worthier of kindness than yourself - and you will never find him or her."

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read many many books on meditation and this one is the best intro. to meditation. It is simple in "details" and yet is rich in meaning, ideal for bringing the masses to meditation (i'm sure there 'd be more people meditating if it's the first book for those first showing interest in meditation, rather than other "mystical or philosophical" writings)

Warning though: must look beyond the potential annoyance of repetitions eg. "8 minute" is mentioned more than the number of breaths you take during all your meditation sessions or that you may cite "8 minute" as a mantra instead of the usual "Omm". In addition, the book could easily be condensed down to 30 pages and not overly stretched and repeated as in its current form (but then again, there may be reason for its madness, any lifestyle change may need to be brain washed with repetitions).

[Jenine · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who is a perfectionist and is trying to practice meditation, this is a wonderful, simple book that helps you to not give up on the practice. The author repeatedly reminds you that just because you sit down, cross your legs and close your eyes that the stream of thoughts in your mind will not magically stop or you will automatically be enlightened. It is written in very simple terms and reminds you, you are human and meditation takes practice, practice, practice. "a good meditation is the one you did and a bad meditation is one you skipped"

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom bought me a copy as an early birthday prezzie, and when it arrived yesterday I sat down a buzzed through it. Davich's book is an easy read, his writing style kind of happy-go-lucky...really he reminded me of a Labrador puppy: really friendly, really enthusiastic, and really eager to help you out. This is not to say he doesn't write well. Davich pulls you right into his book, lays out clear, concise guidelines on how you can begin to meditate, and then shows you how to do it. I absolutely recommend it.

[Becki Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far it's a ton of fluff and I have to skim it because it's like a big infomercial. I have not tried the system yet, which sounds like it will be good but the book itself is pretty annoying. It's like it's written for people who are wusses and won't just make the time and take the energy to meditate without a very strict program.

[Lloyd Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book and it has really relaxed me a great deal, I can tell the difference when I when I go to sleep at night I am knocke out, and when I awaken the next morning I can't believe that I was out of it. I increased my meditation time from 8-10 minutes/day, what an incredible read, I highly recommend this book to everyone.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I completed the book as well as 8 weeks of meditation. The book was structured well but many of the weekly exercises did not resonate with me (although a few did quite a bit). The author has a very positive, although somewhat over enthusiastic style. In general, I would recommend it as a solid intro to a meditation practice.

[Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Same old story, I tried other ones, this worked!

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

great, easy, fun introduction to meditation

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great tips, very accessible. But it still hasn't motivated me to regularly meditate yet and I read it 6 weeks ago.

[Chirag · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really gives a clear look of meditation. So if you are a beginner go for it.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very practical and helpful look and a topic that is shrouded in mystery.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro to meditation book.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victor Davich wants to teach you how to meditate in 8 minutes per day. For some reason, Americans have misconceptions about how meditation works. They think you have to sit in the full lotus position on a cushion and fully immerse yourself in no thoughts whatsoever. They believe it takes hours to do or that they did it wrong, so they don't even try it.

Davich spends half of the book addressing those misconceptions and the other half laying out an eight-week meditation plan for you to follow. Davich claims that meditation is easy to accomplish. His focus is on cultivating a habit, so it is best to meditate at the same time every day.

Finally, Davich provides a list of frequently asked questions that may pop up during your meditation practice. He writes well enough for the book to flow smoothly, and because he practiced for so long, he understands the hangups that newer meditators have. For example, people try to tame their thoughts. They may think that the point is to have no thoughts at all, for your mind to be blank.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was enlightening; if you will forgive the phrase. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am clearly not the intended audience for this book, but could only laugh instead of be upset about it. The author seems to do an extreme amount of hand-holding, but I think that's perfectly fine given the target audience, who are more conservatively-oriented people that have no concept of what meditation is.

This whole book could be 1/3 of its size and still convey the exact same information. The writing style is easy but cheeky, and the examples given are pretty weak.

All of this being said, I actually enjoyed this book as it has done what it set out to accomplish: give me a foundational meditation practice that I can expand on for the rest of my life. It does this without including a religious or spiritual overlay, which I can choose to add later if I so desire. I have actually recommended this book to others even with all of its flaws, and am grateful I have been able to use it to start my practice.

[Allyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I would like to encourage meditation in any form, this book is more like a really long sales pitch than an actual guide to meditation. But maybe that’s really the point; it’s hard to use words for something that happens in your mind.

I am not going to give it just one star though because if there is a person out there who is completely new to the concept of meditation, who is searching for an answer, this might have something.

[Alli Dahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great meditation book for beginner meditators or anyone who has ever been interested in trying it out. Following along with the book, for 8 weeks you will meditate for 8 minutes a day. Thats it. Each week you’ll use a different technique to try for your 8 minute sittings. By the end you will have a lot of tools in your meditation toolbox and have a good idea of what mediation is (and isn’t!).

[Monique Guilland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent starter manual. I tried it starting with a vague idea of what meditation was, and now I've finished it with a much firmer grasp of the basics. This book was a good place to start. It doesn't have much of the spiritual side of meditation. He offers up 8 meditation techniques that you practice for 8 minutes every day for eight weeks. It was simple and strait-forward.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even after reading this book, meditation is not my thing and requires much practice to be successful. I liked that the author listed several types/styles of meditation and that the book was interactive, meaning you participate in one type of meditation for several days before learning the next meditation style.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book introduced me to meditation many years ago. Can't say that I am a disciplined meditator, but if I'm having a rough time, it reminds me that you only need 8 minutes to get back into it. I've read it a couple of times.

[Kevin Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hocus pocus.