Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
$10.77
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Reconnect to moments of everyday peace with this “terrific” (San Francisco Chronicle) guide to the transformative power of mindfulness, from world-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and bestselling author Thich Nhat Hanh.
“This is a very worthwhile book. It can change individual lives and the life of our society.”—from the Foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama
In Peace Is Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us. For him, a ringing telephone can be a signal to call us back to our true selves. Dirty dishes, red lights, and traffic jams are spiritual friends on the path to “mindfulness”—the process of keeping our consciousness alive to our present experience and reality. The most profound satisfactions, the deepest feelings of joy and completeness lie as close at hand as our next aware breath and the smile we can form right now.
Lucidly and beautifully written, Peace Is Every Step contains commentaries, meditations, personal anecdotes, and stories from Nhat Hanh’s experiences as a peace activist, teacher, and community leader. It begins where the reader already is—in the kitchen, office, driving a car, walking in a park—and shows how deep meditative presence is available now. Nhat Hanh provides exercises to increase our awareness of our own body and mind through conscious breathing, which can bring immediate joy and peace. Nhat Hanh also shows how to be aware of relationships with others and of the world around us, its beauty and also its pollution and injustices. The deceptively simple practices of Peace Is Every Step encourage the reader to work for peace in the world as they continue to work on sustaining inner peace by turning the “mindless” into the mindful.
From the Publisher
![Publishers Weekly says, “[I]lluminating reminders bid us to reorient the way we look at the world.”](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media-library-service-media/85424b71-7d4b-41bc-995b-39ddd4a8569b.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___.jpg)
![Midwest Book Review says, “A useful, and necessary, addition to any Buddhist[‘s] reference self.”](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media-library-service-media/ee1d8d71-ba31-4f3f-973d-cde4f9355b54.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___.jpg)
Publisher : Random House Publishing Group
Publication date : March 1, 1992
Language : English
Print length : 134 pages
ISBN-10 : 0553351397
ISBN-13 : 978-0553351392
Item Weight : 7.4 ounces
Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.36 x 8.25 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #10,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Zen Spirituality #39 in Meditation (Books) #168 in Personal Transformation Self-Help
Customer Reviews: 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (4,514) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Jim Martin –
Peace is a Gift, & Our Life is a Work of Art!
Life is a miracle, so don’t waste another minute… What a book! This is the first book I read from Thich Nhat Hanh. What a pleasing manuscript and unique simple text (anyone can read this). There are so many `common-sense’ lessons found here which we should know already, OR we do know but don’t practice for whatever reason. In any event, how refreshing, and revitalizing it is to see some of these wonderful lessons in black and white…There are a lot of catch phrases that people say like:Don’t put something off until tomorrow because tomorrow may not comeORStop dwelling in the past because you can’t change anything.ORLife isn’t a destination but a journey.What Hanh does here is very simple and interesting – he states that there is nowhere to live BUT in the present moment. You cannot live 5 minutes from now, OR 5 minutes ago. You can only live right here / now, and in the present. This is the only way to be in touch with life. And for people that don’t understand – that means that you can’t be focusing on 10 different things because then you are distracted, and you aren’t `truly in the moment’. That goes for work, for life itself or even leisure activities. Even though we have hobbies, the trick is not to get so lost in your hobby (whether it’s music, etc.) that you lose sight of your surroundings. You must always maintain a sense of reality even as you enjoy yourself too. Forget the past and the future, for life is only found in the present, so be here mentally to witness it for all its’ splendor!Another little note to mention that I found very stimulating:Conversation is something to be watchful about. What you talk about affects your mood and your thoughts. You must try to have nice discussions and maintain a positive mental attitude. In many books I have read from “The Rule of St Benedict” to the “I Ching” to this book – they all preach — Beware of idol banter, and gossip etc. This kind of talk (which most people indulge in) is not healthy. Not only is it not nice to talk about others when they aren’t present, but there is nothing to accomplish here. All you’re doing is talking for the sake of talking, and worse yet, you are speaking about others in an unhealthy manner. Subsequently, this has an effect on your being whether you know it or not. The effect is not positive so we should refrain from it.If there is one thing from this book to take with you it is this – “Each minute, each second of life is a miracle”. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing; don’t take it for granted. So stop thinking about what you have to do next, and what you have to do after that… Simply focus on the present moment for all its’ worth. Awe-inspiring work! After this, I plan on reading “True Love”, and “The Art of Power”, both by Hanh.
W. Rashed –
A Gem: Small And Precious
Peace is not external, so we do not need to chase it. Peace is already present but we have to get in touch with it. This is attained through mindfulness: living in the present moment, in the here and now. Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen master and spiritual leader teaches mindfulness through conscious breathing and smiling. Connecting the body and mind, to find peace and happiness even in the most unlikely situations. Breathing and smiling! Is that it? You may be as skeptical as I was before practicing this exercise: breathe in, while reciting ” breathing in I calm my body” then breathe out while smiling and reciting “breathing out I smile” do this three times! This is a very easy yet very effective exercise, do this often enough, in any position at any time (sitting, lying, driving, walking, before you eat, before you wash the dishes, when you hear the phone ring….) and enjoy being calm, relaxed and peaceful.The author teaches us to be mindful of the people in our life, of the food we eat and of the environment around us…. Turn off the TV and instead walk in the park, visit a good friend, sit down for a meal with family or friends or even by yourself but before you dig in, breath smile, appreciate the food on the table, then eat mindfully, be aware of the taste, the smell, the texture, even if its only a bowl of rice, be happy, be thankful. He also teaches how to transform unpleasant feelings like anger for example into something more wholesome like understanding, using a 5-step method. By practicing understanding and loving speech instead of blaming and arguing we can help each other be happy. By knowing the true nature, the essence of the people around us we can enjoy each other. Mindfulness should lead to proactivity. We must be aware of the real problems of the world and of the suffering around us, and then with mindfulness we will know what to do to be of help.This book is written clearly and beautifully. Full of inspiring stories and parables, meditations and practices, reflecting the author’s wisdom and experience. Terrific and extremely effective, will make you calm and happy just reading it, then breathe, smile and be peaceful!
Onyl –
Peace is every step is a very nice and generous taught about how to live without getting caught by irrelevant stuff in this life.
Ale –
Estupendo! Al terminarlo quería empezar otra vez para que me siga acompañando en el día a día. Recomiendo
Amazon Customer –
The Path of Mindfulness in every day life sounds simple. We pay attention to what is going on around us and within us. In order to make the jump from our normal (at least in the West) thinking of the past and the future we are being asked to be mindful of now. Yes, this is simple to accomplish for a few minutes but very difficult to sustain throughout the day. This book contains some of the most deceptively simple teachings that I have ever read. The author shows us that red traffic lights instead of being seen as a nuisance can be seen as an opportunity to remind us to live in the present and to be truly alive to our reality. We are surrounded by opportunities on a daily and hourly basis to be aware of who we are. The author has also shown that you do not have to sit in a special position in order to meditate and we do have to be in a special building to meditate. Walking down the street can be a time of prayer and meditation.A wonderful, delightful, and informative book from an author with so much humanity and kindness,
Diane G. –
Amazing book to teach mindful living to the average person. I have given several copies to friends as well.
Henrik Kj�r –
Very impactful