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#OnClloudNine means being very happy & content & is said to come from the classifications of clouds with nine being the fluffiest & most attractive. But since “others claim that the phrase comes from Buddhism. In this explanation Cloud Nine is one of the stages of the progress to one who is destined to become a Buddha,” I decided to go with 2 books on my shelf about being happy. The tagged book focuses on meditation & Buddhism. ⛅️

Not a big memoir reader, but I have an interest in mindfulness, meditation, Buddhism, and so forth. That made this man‘s personal journey juxtaposed with his work as an investigative journalist interesting. Recommend if you‘re interested in such things.

I‘m really enjoying this book - I‘m listening to the audiobook read by the author, who was on the news team at ABC and dreamed of anchoring GMA or the Nightly News. I had to laugh when he recounts a meeting with his boss in which the boss bluntly tells him, “You‘ll never be a weekday news anchor. You don‘t have the looks, and your voice is too grating.” He‘s not wrong! When I started the book, it took me a few minutes to get used to his voice.

#grateful for Dan Harris and his meditation app! The book was great too! @Eggs

A concise, practical guide to daily meditation written by an extreme skeptic. The author, a journalist and national news anchor, reviews the philosophical, psychological and health benefits of meditation, interspersed with what precipitated his meditative journey via autobiographical snippets.

Back to momentary reflection on life and coping, with ABC correspondent.

“I might have disagreed with the conclusions reached by people of faith, but at least that part of the brain was functioning [the sense of awe which had atrophied]. Every week, they had a set time to consider their place in the universe, to step out of the matrix and achieve some perspective. If you're never looking up, I now realized, you're always just looking around.“

After a beginning of the morning a bit too stressed, breakfast in the sun, that will make me 10%happier ;)

I don‘t read a lot of self help but I really enjoyed this memoir/intro to meditation when I read it a few years back. I probably need to read it again!

#PersonVsSelf #ConflictedWorlds

Finishing 10% Happier by Dan Harris, and I really connected with this quote from a conversation Harris had with Sharon Salzberg.

Almost 4 hours in and read quite a lot of the tagged book on audio while I put mulch on my flower bed. I've never done this before and don't want to repeat this anytime soon, but at least the book did make me at least 10% happier. 😉 @DeweysReadathon #audioyardwork

I greatly enjoyed this book for its writing style and its content. Will I now give meditation a go? This book certainly makes it more likely.
#ShutdownReadathon book 17

Chapter 10: The Self-Interested Case for Not Being a Dick 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I don‘t know how Dan managed to keep himself from laughing when someone in the front row of his silent meditation session produced “an epic burp” 😂😂😂😂

Dan Harris on a 10-day silent retreat: “Everyone is in his or her own world, trying very hard to stay in the moment. The effort of concentration produces facial expressions that range from blank to defecatory.” 😂😂😂

« I initially wanted to call this book The Voice in My Head Is an Asshole. However, that title was deemed inappropriate for a man whose day job requires him to abide by FCC decency standards. »

This opening paragraph hooked me IMMEDIATELY ?

Dan Harris writing about his own life counts as a biography 😉

I thought this book would be more of a guide to meditation, but it was actually an autobiography about how Dan Harris came to believe in meditation. I learned a lot and laughed a lot. Dan Harris reading his own book was great!
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I try to meditate, I really do, and now thanks to this reluctant, skeptical JewBu - I googled to ensure his word was not derogatory for me to use - I‘m giving it another go. ...While reading I may even have been 20% happier! Except for live hurricane watching, I was very late to cable news, and for years my TV news came almost exclusively from ABC. Dan Harris‘s Peter Jennings storied made my day.

So this #bookishbingo #audiobookbingo #Challenge is one that I have been working on all year.

Got this one from Libby

#bookishbingo #AprilBingo #Challenge

So, I enjoyed hearing about his journey to the 10% Happier type of lifestyle. It had a lot of information regarding how he got to where he got. Now if you listen to any of his interviews or his beginner guides on the app you get a lot of the same information. (Just not as great of detail) but it was very well worth the read/listen

#bookishbingo #AprilBingo #Challenge #ChapterBreakBingo

So, I am at the part where he is talking about the retreat he went to. I couldn't imagine going so long without speaking (now that I am social distancing -- when not at work) I don't have anyone to talk to (I FaceTime with my husband so I am not crazy yet) but all day I think to myself... I can easily start talking to the computer, coffee machine, umm... anything!)

I try to meditate (using the app) and still struggle with it but getting better.

So, because I am using the 10% Happier app and using this as a daily practice to help me go through this working (I am a nurse) during COVID and dealing with the fear and anxiety daily, I decided I should listen to his story. Back story so far is interesting helps me get a more well-rounded understanding of why he began this practice. (Read by the author, which a lot of the app is him too so its a familiar voice that is oddly comforting)

How to incorporate techniques of transcendental meditation into a busy schedule and the palpable changes the author experienced.

The shelter in place has actually been good for me. I‘ve watched 10% Happier live everyday, and participated in the corresponding meditation. I‘m working on living in the present and not worrying about what I can‘t control. (This is hard since I think trump is dangerous, but I‘m glad the senate and house were able to work together) I‘m loving the communication with my Litsy friends ❤️ Read 2books.

@Chrissyreadit Thank you again for tagging me on this! I have been practicing this every day (I am on the Basics 2 so far) and I am finding the calm that I desperately needed. Also I want to start yoga soon (once I get good enough service to be able to stream videos -- any recommendations?)

Have you been using this app as well?

#IsolationInteractions

Link to this resource for anyone struggling, anyone supporting others who are struggling and anyone who is interested in general: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide?utm_campaign=cv_response_websi...

The 10% Happier app is offering a lot of free content to help deal with our current situation. check it out here: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide
#KeepLitsyPositive

#KeepLitsyPositive

#FriYayIntro @4thhouseontheleft @howjessreads

1. Maybe subconsciously. If I see a pretty cover, I will look at the book more closely.
2. For my soon-to-be mother-in-law who recently had a stroke. Her bday gift this year is all about calm and meditation.
3. I have a news app that I try to ignore. Otherwise, coworkers and fb.
4. Depends on the day.
5. I‘ll tag my new #lmpbc group! @Kappadeemom @Victoriahoperose @phatsallylee

Genre: Self-help
Author: Dan Harris
Date Started: 12/17/2019
Date Completed: 12/19/2019
How did you choose this book: Found it online, thought I could use it.
Write a brief summary of the novel:
10% Happier is a book about how to make yourself, well, at least 10% happier. It talks about how you can practice meditation and how it's better to respond to the problem rather than react to them.

Dan's narration in the audio version was enjoyable and helped me connect more with his personal journey than I might have, if I had read the hard copy. Dan's honed writing skills, sense of humor and openness to vulnerability added extra spices to the telling of his story. After finishing the book, I've listened to a few of Dan's podcasts (10% Happier podcast) and found them to be both interesting and useful.

#SelfImprovementSept | Day 6: #SelfHelpBook

Probably the only self-help type book I've ever read, and only because I worked on a Dan Harris show for a while and several copies were floating around the office.
It was okay. Ultimately I don't think meditation is for me, but I'll come back to this book first if I ever do decide to try it. But I do know I'll never be interested in a retreat, it sounded miserable!

Great intro to the benefits of meditation.

This was good. It took me a while to get through it but I took a lot out of it. I marked it up like crazy- which I've never done to a book before but I think whenever I go to pick it back up those little notes will help me.

Getting settled in for my nightly reading with this one. :)

I finished this one a few days ago. I feel like it was a useful read. More memoir than how to though. Meh. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I've been having some real problems with my depression lately and started listening to Dan Harris's podcast so I thought I'd pick up his book as well.

I have a pen with me... Now I've never written in a book and just thinking about underlining stuff is kinda giving me some anxiety. Lol. But I know I'm going to want to look back and stuff and read it again( I do not currently have post its with me)

I finished this ebook a few days ago and found it really enjoyable. Alot of great advice on being mindful and handling stressful situations.

Getting in some #LunchtimeReading today. #booknlunch This one isn‘t quite what I expected but it is good.

“The fact that you exist is a highly statistically improbable event, and if you are not perpetually surprised by the fact that you exist you don‘t deserve to be here” (p.80). I‘ll drink to that😌

I actually listened to the audiobook, which I would highly recommend. Dan Harris comes to meditation with high levels of skepticism and humor. He makes the metaphysical more palatable and actually got me practicing meditation, so there's win for sure! He narrates the audiobooks himself and he's very conversational so it just ends up a really fun listen.

I decided to start my #newyearwhodis readathon with a book outside of my typical genre realm, and, unfortunately, it didn‘t work for me. As a Canadian, I have never heard of or seen Dan Harris, an American news anchor, before picking up this book, and perhaps I would have enjoyed his story more if I could put a face/personality to the words. While this is a So-So, I fully believe that I will enjoy the rest of @LauraJ‘s suggestions much more!

I‘ve decided to deliberately choose happiness and positivity at all future opportunities. I think it might be difficult to accomplish as a goal because some experiences are truly heart wrenching and stressful. It‘s been a tough year health wise for my father and yesterday I realized how the illness of one family member impacts the entire family. The goal is small so that it is achievable. 10% like this book.👇🏽

Happiness = dinner and a book

An interesting perspective, especially if you never thought you could meditate but wondered why you might want to.

“Once you get the hang of it, the practice can create just enough space in your head so that when you get angry or annoyed, you are less likely to take the bait and act on it. There‘s even science to back this up—an explosion of new research, complete with colorful MRI scans, demonstrating that meditation can essentially rewire your brain.”

I enjoyed reading about his transformation.

Number 2 on my TBR July list. I took this book with me on vacation a few years ago and my bottle of shower gel leaked everywhere damaging this book. Now I have the added benefit of an orange cream scent while reading.