“Welcome to a new way to cope with the demands of a too-busy life. Welcome to a way that requires no difficult skills, adds no new burdens, and accommodates all spiritual systems and life-styles. Welcome to all who want to do nothing—more often, more creatively, with joy, and without guilt. Welcome to one-minute retreats that can be yours at any time of the day or night.” – From the book
According to author David Kundtz, a mindful posture centered from the quiet state of your being is crucial for any undertaking. In fact, he asserts, if we do not take the time to pause with purpose, disappointment and failure awaits us.
In his book Quiet Mind, Kundtz invites us to do nothing—but to “do” it with purpose, meaning, and value. That is, to take time for ourselves, to rest, to find peace, to awaken, to remember, and to find ways to recognize what we may have forgotten, and how not to forget again.
At 370-pages, Quiet Mind: One-Minute Retreats from a Busy World is brimming with dozens of meditations designed to promote thoughtfulness, calm, and quietude. The mini-retreats, one and a half to two pages long, feature a sage quote and Kundtz’s wise and gentle commentary. At the end of each, the author offers one-sentence encouragement, inviting readers to observe life and apply the wisdom found in the meditation.
Kundtz has organized these meditations under fourteen general categories, including:
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Making Room for Life
Making Room for Life•Creating Opportunities for Serenity
Creating Opportunities for Serenity•Defining Your Values
Defining Your Values•Finding Peace at Work
Finding Peace at Work•Knowing Thyself
Knowing Thyself•Awakening to Wonder
Awakening to Wonder•Giving Back to the World
Giving Back to the WorldUnder the category Finding Peace at Work, for example, is a meditation about Weariness. Beginning with a quote from Eric Hoff saying, “Our greatest weariness comes from work not done”, Kundtz observes:
“…what tires us most is not work, but the anticipation of work still to do. Here is a time when living in the present moment is vital. The past is gone, the future is a just a concept and a projection of our minds. All you have is now. It’s all you need...”
In the section Making Room for Life, a meditation called What’s Going on Here begins with a quote by George Wilson: “Things are seldom about what they seem to be about.” Kundtz notes that all too often we narrowly focus on accomplishing a particular task that we overlook the obvious cause of pain and distress in those around us. He relates the story of a frustrated mother bringing her son to him for counseling. The boy refused to go to school, and neither the son nor the mother was very communicative as to possible causes. Kundtz couldn’t figure out what was at the heart of the problem! When he suggested they come back next week the mother replied that they could not come back next week because they were moving across the country. Aha! At last, a window into the boy’s world: he was grieving the loss of his friends and all things familiar.
Quiet Mind by David Kundtz is a delightful book, providing a much-needed respite from overloaded senses, cluttered thoughts, and hurried lives.
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