An approachable guide to mindfulness that occasionally oversimplifies the nature of suffering.
Croce explores spiritual awakening and practical ways to embrace the present moment.
Drawing from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sufism, each of the 66 chapters includes a dharma (teaching) and sadhana (practice) to help people shift from suffering to peace. The aim is to move from an agitated “monkey mind” and to instead “perceive what is truly happening in the freshness, juiciness, and awe of the present moment.” The book covers concepts like Buddha’s “Four Immeasurables”: mudita (sympathetic joy), metta (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), and upekkha (equanimity). The “spirit-like Self (felt as I am)” is differentiated from the “person-like self (identifiable as I am this or that).” Croce introduces tools such as the “6-Second Sacred Pause” (to avoid knee-jerk reactions) and urges readers to exercise their “let me go muscle” to release self-centeredness. The book advises talking back to the “voice-in-the-head” or writing a haiku to interrupt it. Croce presents “RAIN” (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture) as a way to free yourself from disturbing thoughts or feelings. Dance and karma yoga are among the recommended ways to touch the divine through physical activity, while embracing uncertainty, listening to silence, and celebrating the beauty in art are other suggested practices. Croce offers readers bite-size mindfulness advice that should be easy to implement in their lives. The author encourages self-inquiry through insightful prompts such as, “How is clinging to this negative thought and feeling working for me?” Memorable three-word mantras like “Space is Grace” or “RAIN on pain!” help readers retain each chapter’s lessons. The book incorporates stories, poetry, and quotes from legends such as Rumi, Hafiz, Pema Chodron, and Eckhart Tolle, as well as anecdotes from the author’s own spiritual journey. However, some may find questions like “Why am I choosing to suffer?” or “If I see no reason for giving thanks and feeling grateful at this moment, whose fault is that?” more reproachful than helpful.
An approachable guide to mindfulness that occasionally oversimplifies the nature of suffering.Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2026
ISBN: 9798218835187
Page Count: 352
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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