https://www.scribd.com/book/234809782/Search-Inside-Yourself-Increase-Productivity-Creativity-and-Happiness-ePub-edition
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Foreword by Daniel Goleman
Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Introduction: Searching Inside Yourself
Chapter One: Even an Engineer Can Thrive on Emotional Intel-
ligence
Chapter Two: Breathing as if Your Life Depends on It
Chapter Three: Mindfulness Without Butt on Cushion
Chapter Four: All-Natural, Organic Self-Confidence
Chapter Five: Riding Your Emotions like a Horse
Chapter Six: Making Profits, Rowing Across Oceans, and Chang-
ing the World
Chapter Seven: Empathy and the Monkey Business of Brain Tan-
gos
Chapter Eight: Being Effective and Loved at the Same Time
Chapter Nine: Three Easy Steps to World Peace
Epilogue: Save the World in Your Free Time
Acknowledgments
Notes
Recommended Reading and Resources
Index
Praise for Search Inside Yourself
Copyright
About the Publisher
See all 10 imagesFollow the Author
Chade-Meng TanSearch Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) Paperback – 2 September 2014
by
Chade-Meng Tan (Author),
Prof Daniel Goleman PH D (Author),
Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars
1,108 ratingsKindle
$10.99Read with Our Free App
Hardcover
$47.16
13 New from $28.51 Paperback
$19.76
14 New from $19.76With Search Inside Yourself, Chade-Meng Tan, one of Google's earliest engineers and personal growth pioneer, offers a proven method for enhancing mindfulness and emotional intelligence in life and work.
Meng's job is to teach Google's best and brightest how to apply mindfulness techniques in the office and beyond; now, readers everywhere can get insider access to one of the most sought after classes in the country, a course in health, happiness and creativity that is improving the livelihood and productivity of those responsible for one of the most successful businesses in the world.
With forewords by Daniel Goleman, author of the international bestseller Emotional Intelligence, and Jon Kabat-Zinn, renowned mindfulness expert and author of Coming To Our Senses, Meng's Search Inside Yourself is an invaluable guide to achieving your own best potential.
288 pages
HarperOne
Publication date
2 September 2014
Product description
Review
"Google engineer, Chade-Meng Tan's book shows that to avoid certain kinds of results, you need to change the conditions that give rise to them. If you change the habitual patterns of your mind, you can change their resulting attitudes and emotions and find peace and inner happiness." -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama
"This is a book offering much good advice. I most appreciate Meng's insight that expressing compassion for others brings happiness to oneself as well." -- Jimmy Carter, Former President of the United States
"I applaud Chade-Meng for daring to undertake the writing of a book on "Emotional Intelligence," within which lies the essence of knowing oneself. The practices he offers will help improve our lives and in the process lead to a world where greater peace and happiness is possible." -- S.R. Nathan, Former President of Singapore
"Combining timeless wisdom with modern science, Chade-Meng Tan has created an entertaining and practical guide to success and happiness." -- Deepak Chopra
"Search Inside Yourself is a practical guide to the fundamentals of emotional intelligence. This book has the potential to change lives and deliver happiness." -- Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com, Inc.
"This book and the course it's based on represent one of the greatest aspects of Google's culture--that one individual with a great idea can really change the world." -- Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google
"There is more to be discovered inside of ourselves than we will ever find by searching anywhere else, and the challenge is in learning how to look. In a simple and plain spoken way, Meng has crafted an elegant invitation we can all use to take that journey." -- Scott Kriens, Chairman, Juniper Networks director, 1440 Foundation
"This is a guidebook to help you Search Inside Yourself, as Meng's training program at Google was called, to find inside yourself the knowledge, skills, and motivation to apply to your own life as you search for meaning, peace, and love." -- Larry Brilliant, President of the Skoll Global Threats Fund
"Our friend has made an awakening contribution to this Over-Information Age. I recommend it to those aspiring self-mastery, attention training, spiritual wisdom, and the path of the wakeful life through enlightened living. Seek, and ye shall find. This is one of the best places to start." -- Lama Surya Das
"When I visited Qom a couple of years ago, a Grand Ayatollah gave as his parting words to me: May you find what you seek. I have long thought about what the Grand Ayatollah said. Chade Meng's book has pointed me in the right direction." -- Brigadier-General George Yeo, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore
"This book reveals a key part of the success of Google. Whether we are trying to create positive change in the corporate realm or our personal relationships, Meng teaches us external change can only happen if we individually spend time cultivating a better understanding our own inner world." -- Tim Ryan, United States Congressman and author of A Mindful Nation
"Full of humor and humility, wisdom and mindfulness, Meng's book is a compelling read, but more importantly, a valuable manual for living a good life. Rarely have I read a book full of so much intelligence and emotion. I want to be Meng when I grow up!" -- Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre Hotels and author of Emotional Equations
"Meng is like a wise and humorous monk who will continue to inspire you for years after you close the pages of his book. With the needs of today's world in mind, he offers practical and proven tools wrapped in the gift of timeless wisdom." -- John Mackey, co-chief executive officer and co-founder of Whole Foods Market
"This work underscores the need for compassion, awareness and empathy in our society. It is no surprise that the best venture capitalists and entrepreneurs I know possess these attributes. This is one of the best works ever in personal development. Read this book, it will change your life." -- Tan Yinglan, author of The Way Of The VC and Chinnovation
"Old wisdom is presented here with a provocative and startling freshness. The way to enlightenment begins with waking up. Meng is doing this with passion, humor and generosity of mind. This is a book to read, share, laugh with and celebrate." -- Father Laurence Freeman, OSB, director of the World Community for Christian Meditation
"Think of S.I.Y. as the Zen of Google." -- ContemplativeComputing.com
From the Back Cover
From the Groundbreaking Course at Google
Whether your intention is to reduce stress and increase well-being, heighten focus and creativity, become more optimistic and resilient, build fulfilling relationships, or just be successful, the skills provided by Search Inside Yourself will prove invaluable to you.
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Publisher : HarperOne; Reprint edition (2 September 2014)
Language : English
Paperback : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 0062116932
ISBN-13 : 978-0062116932
Dimensions : 2.03 x 14.99 x 22.61 cmBest Sellers Rank: 117,001 in Books (
See Top 100 in Books)743 in
Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts1,172 in
Personal Transformation (Books)1,409 in
Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts (Books)Customer Reviews:
4.6 out of 5 stars
1,108 ratings
Chade-Meng TanChade-Meng Tan (Meng) is Google's Jolly Good Fellow (which nobody can deny). Meng was one of Google's earliest engineers. Among many other things, he helped build Google's first mobile search service, and headed the team that kept a vigilant eye on Google's search quality. His current job description is, "Enlighten minds, open hearts, create world peace".
Outside of Google, Meng is the Founder and (Jolly Good) President of the Tan Teo Charitable Foundation, a small foundation dedicated to promoting Peace, Liberty and Enlightenment in the world. He is a Founding Patron of Stanford University's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). He is also a Founding Patron of the World Peace Festival, and adviser to a number of technology start-ups.
Meng earned his MS in Computer Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He went to Santa Barbara mainly for the beach, but didn't mind the graduate degree either. He considers himself a Buddhist "on most weekdays, especially Mondays". He is an avid meditator, because meditation facilitates in him inner peace and happiness "without doing real work". Meng occasionally finds himself featured on newspapers. He was featured on the front page of the New York Times and delivered a TED talk at the United Nations. He has met three United States Presidents, Obama, Clinton and Carter. The Dalai Lama gave him a hug for his 40th birthday. His personal motto is, "Life is too important to be taken seriously".
Meng hopes to see every workplace in the world become a drinking fountain for happiness and enlightenment. When Meng grows up, he wants to save the world, and have lots of fun and laughter doing it. He feels if something is no laughing matter, it is probably not worth doing.
Top reviews
Top reviews from Australia
Geoff Olds5.0 out of 5 stars Joy for AllReviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on 8 July 2016
Verified Purchase
Absolutely brilliant - as a technologist and into mindfulness this was a powerful book by the Jolly Good Fellow!
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R W Prescott A/C5.0 out of 5 stars Great guideReviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on 23 December 2014
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Great book well written with a sense of purpose but without making you feel that it is cult concept, with excellent examples and guidance
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Report abuseSee all reviewsTop reviews from other countries
Ron Immink
4.0 out of 5 stars Go meditateReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 6 September 2022
Verified Purchase
Play Video Search Inside Yourself is written by the guy who introduced mindfulness to Google. He wants you to meditate.
The book gives the reasons, some of the background and the techniques to do so. What you need to consider is why Google thought that was a good idea, and you can be damn sure there are good business reasons why staff should meditate. It is good for you, good for the company and good for the world.
The book reminds me a bit of Mo Gawdat's books. There are better books about meditation, but for the mission of the author alone, you should read this book.
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Mark J McMordie
5.0 out of 5 stars When it comes to corporate mindfulness training this book pioneered a new path to developing EIReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 5 August 2018
Verified Purchase
When it comes to mindfulness training in a corporate setting this book pioneered a new path to developing EI. After 10 years this programme continues to be the most popular and highly rated programme at Google and since establishing the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, it has spread well beyond Google. At SAP they've trained 6,500 people across 20 global locations and have a wait list of 5,500. Testimony to design and neuroscience that underpins the programme.
One person found this helpful
Report abuseFergus Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellant book.Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 14 March 2020
Verified Purchase
Loved this book. I would highly recommend it. As a mindfulness teacher, I will use some of the material from the book to help me redesign my courses.
Report abuseSharonjit G
5.0 out of 5 stars Draws in even the scepticsReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 25 February 2020
Verified Purchase
Must read - good strategies and well explained
Report abuseSara Silveira
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Definitely worth every penceReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 15 June 2016
Verified Purchase
Such an inspiring book!! With an engineering background, meditation was always something that I thought too bonded to religious believes which made me disregard its power. After reading Chade-Meng Tan, a whole new world and I must say it is something I really want to master. Great book! Definitely worth every pence!
2 people found this helpful
Report abuseSee all reviews Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness
Chade-Meng Tan
4.03
8,493 ratings682 reviews
With Search Inside Yourself, Chade-Meng Tan, one of Google’s earliest engineers and personal growth pioneer, offers a proven method for enhancing mindfulness and emotional intelligence in life and work.
Meng’s job is to teach Google’s best and brightest how to apply mindfulness techniques in the office and beyond; now, readers everywhere can get insider access to one of the most sought after classes in the country, a course in health, happiness and creativity that is improving the livelihood and productivity of those responsible for one of the most successful businesses in the world.
With forewords by Daniel Goleman, autho
Genres
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Self Help
Psychology
Personal Development
Business
Philosophy
Health
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288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
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Chade-Meng Tan
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Chade-Meng Tan (Meng) is Google's Jolly Good Fellow (which nobody can deny). Meng was one of Google's earliest engineers. Among many other things, he helped build Google's first mobile search service, and headed the team that kept a vigilant eye on Google's search quality. His current job description is, "Enlighten minds, open hearts, create world peace".
Outside of Google, Meng is the Founder and (Jolly Good) President of the Tan Teo Charitable Foundation, a small foundation dedicated to promoting Peace, Liberty and Enlightenment in the world. He is a Founding Patron of Stanford University's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). He is also a Founding Patron of the World Peace Festival, and adviser to a number of technology start-ups.
Meng earned his MS in Computer Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He went to Santa Barbara mainly for the beach, but didn't mind the graduate degree either. He considers himself a Buddhist "on most weekdays, especially Mondays". He is an avid meditator, because meditation facilitates in him inner peace and happiness "without doing real work". Meng occasionally finds himself featured on newspapers. He was featured on the front page of the New York Times and delivered a TED talk at the United Nations. He has met three United States Presidents, Obama, Clinton and Carter. The Dalai Lama gave him a hug for his 40th birthday. His personal motto is, "Life is too important to be taken seriously".
Meng hopes to see every workplace in the world become a drinking fountain for happiness and enlightenment. When Meng grows up, he wants to save the world, and have lots of fun and laughter doing it. He feels if something is no laughing matter, it is probably not worth doing.
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Rosie Nguyễn
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June 23, 2018
Trước đây một lần khi mình tham gia nói chuyện trong một chương trình cho người trẻ, một bạn khán giả đã hỏi: Làm thế nào để hiểu bản thân mình rõ hơn, quản lý cảm xúc của mình, biết được cái gì phù hợp với mình. Mình có chia sẻ một kinh nghiệm của bản thân là dành thời gian tĩnh lặng để soi rọi bản thân mình, viết nhật ký cảm xúc để ghi nhận trải nghiệm của mình, và nếu được, thì thử ngồi thiền. Lúc đó một diễn giả khác (tên đã bị giấu đi để bảo vệ sự an toàn cho...mình) có lẽ có ấn tượng không tốt về thiền (và cả về mình) nên đã không ngần ngại phang lại ngay, và dùng kỹ thuật nói chuyện trước đám đông để tấn công quan điểm của mình. Đó là một trải nghiệm khá ê mặt,một phần vì vị diễn giả kia quá giỏi giang và cứng cỏi, không quan tâm luôn tới các quy tắc ngầm giữa người nói chuyện trên sân khấu. Nhưng cũng một phần vì nhận ra mình còn khá non, quen lối kể chuyện có sao nói vậy, chưa chặt chẽ và chưa có hậu thuẫn bằng các chứng cứ khoa học nên mới bị vị diễn giả kia bẻ.
Khi đọc Search Inside Yourself, mình tình cờ nhớ lại trải nghiệm ê ẩm đó, và thấy nhẹ lòng. Thiền và nhật ký cảm xúc thật sự giúp ích, không chỉ cho những người đầu không có tóc mặc áo cà sa ở trên núi cao, mà cho một kẻ phàm phu tục tử sống giữa đời thường nhưng mình chẳng hạn. Mình có thể sai, nhưng tác dụng của thiền thì không thể phủ nhận. Còn tác dụng như thế nào, thì trong sách đã dẫn chứng rất đầy đủ.
Search Inside Yourself vẫn thường được quảng bá là quyển sách về thiền do một kỹ sư Google viết. Điều này có hàm ý bên trong là một người lý tính, làm việc thường chỉ dựa trên các số liệu, nghiên cứu khoa học, dẫn chứng đầy đủ như một kỹ sư mà lại viết sách về thiền sao. Thực ra, điều mình thấy tác giả đang cố làm, là (giống như Đạt Lai Lạt Ma) tiếp cận thiền và nỗ lực biến nó thành một bộ môn khoa học (giống như nhân loại đã thành công với ngành y tế). Tác giả đưa ra những cách thức rất dễ dàng và hài hước để áp dụng thiền vào cuộc sống thường ngày, không chỉ là những lúc ngồi trên nệm thiền, mà còn cả trong thiền đi, thiền nghe (hay còn gọi là lắng nghe chánh niệm, sử dụng thuật ngữ thắt nút và nhúng mình), thiền nói, thiền trong giải quyết mâu thuẫn với các mối quan hệ căng thẳng.
Có khá nhiều kỹ thuật và thông tin hữu ích, giúp mình thực tập thiền trong hiện tại dễ hơn. Mình thích nhất là các bài tập cảm thông cho người khác, ví dụ nghĩ về người mình ghét và thực tập bài: người ta cũng như mình thôi. Và các bài thực tập làm tăng tâm từ ái với hơi thở nữa. Và khi đọc quyển mình được hiểu rõ ràng hơn khá nhiều điều khác. Ví dụ là tại sao các thiền sư trong các khóa thiền mình học vẫn thường căn dặn là phải chú ý tới các hoạt động thường ngày của mình, khi đứng lên biết mình đứng lên, khi đánh răng biết đang đánh răng, khi ăn biết ăn, khi uống biết uống. Hay ví dụ tại sao phải nuôi dưỡng tình thương. Ví dụ là chuyện hướng tới cái mục tiêu tối thượng của đời mình sẽ giúp người ta vừa tham vọng vừa khiêm tốn như thế nào.
Đây thực sự là một quyển sách rất rất hay, dễ đọc, hài hước, nghiêm túc, sâu sắc và có đầu tư kỹ lưỡng. Cách tiếp cận mới mẻ về một đề tài khá khoai đem lại những góc nhìn thú vị, chắc chắn sẽ rất hữu ích cho những ai có hứng thú về thiền (mà không hề liên quan gì tới tôn giáo).
Mình hơi tiếc là mình đọc quyển sách này muộn. Nếu đọc sớm hơn thì mình sẽ trả lời câu hỏi của bạn khán giả kia tốt hơn. Buổi trò chuyện hôm đó vì không tiện đôi co trên sân khấu, và thời gian không cho phép nên mình không thể giãi bày. Nhưng nếu có dịp quay lại, mình sẽ thay đổi câu trả lời đối với đề tài nhạy cảm này, tiếp cận một cách nhẹ nhàng, chia sẻ trải nghiệm bản thân, đưa ra dẫn chứng khoa học cụ thể, chốt lại gọn ghẽ để người nghe dễ nhớ.
Viết lan man như vậy cũng để rút kinh nghiệm. Để nhắc mình nhớ rằng mình còn non nớt nhiều, và phải học thêm nhiều lắm.
한번은 청소년을 위한 프로그램에 대한 강연에 참석했을 때 한 청중이 "어떻게 하면 나 자신을 더 잘 이해하고, 감정을 조절하고, 나에게 맞는 것이 무엇인지 알 수 있을까요?"라고 물었습니다. 나 자신에 대한 경험을 공유하고, 조용히 반성하는 시간을 가져보고, 내 경험을 기록하기 위해 내 감정을 일기로 쓰고, 가능하면 명상을 시도합니다. 그 당시 다른 화자(신변 보호를 위해 이름을 숨겼습니다)는 아마도 명상에 대해 (그리고 자신도) 좋지 않은 인상을 받았을 것이므로 주저하지 않고 즉시 되돌려 사용했습니다. . 부분적으로는 연사가 너무 능숙하고 완고해서 무대 위의 연사들 사이의 암묵적인 규칙에 항상 신경을 쓰지 않았기 때문입니다. 그러나 부분적으로는 내가 아직 어리고 이야기가 전달되는 방식에 익숙하고 엄격하지 않고 과학적 증거에 의해 뒷받침되지 않는다는 것을 깨달았기 때문에 다른 연사에 의해 깨졌습니다. Search Inside Yourself를 읽었을 때 나는 그 굴욕적인 경험을 떠올리고 안도감을 느꼈습니다. 명상과 감정일기는 높은 산에서 카샤야를 쓰고 있는 털이 없는 사람뿐만 아니라 자신과 같은 삶의 한가운데를 살아가는 평범한 사람에게 정말 도움이 된다. 내가 틀렸을 수도 있지만 명상의 이점은 부인할 수 없습니다. 작동 방식에 관해서는 책에 완전히 문서화되어 있습니다. Search Inside Yourself는 종종 Google 엔지니어가 작성한 명상 책으로 판매됩니다. 이것은 엔지니어처럼 데이터, 과학적 연구, 완전한 증거에 대해서만 작업하지만 명상에 관한 책을 쓰는 이성적인 사람이라는 내적 의미를 내포하고 있습니다. 사실 저자가 하려고 하는 것은 (달라이 라마처럼) 명상에 접근하고 그것을 과학으로 만들려고 하는 것입니다(마치 인류가 의료계에서 성공한 것처럼). 저자는 명상 방석에 앉을 때뿐만 아니라 걷기명상, 듣기명상(올바른 듣기라고도 함), 마음챙김(knotting, dipping)이라는 용어를 사용하여 일상생활에서 명상을 적용할 수 있는 아주 쉽고 재미있는 방법을 알려준다. 말하기 명상, 긴장된 관계와의 갈등 해결을 위한 명상. 현재 명상을 더 쉽게 수행할 수 있도록 해주는 많은 기술과 유용한 정보가 있습니다. 예를 들어 싫어하는 사람에 대해 생각하고 교훈을 실천하는 것과 같이 다른 사람과 공감하는 연습을 가장 좋아합니다. 사람들은 나와 같습니다. 그리고 연습은 호흡에 대한 자애로움도 증가시킵니다. 그리고 책을 읽으면서 훨씬 더 명확하게 이해하게 되었습니다. 예를 들어 왜 내가 공부하는 과정의 선사들은 우리에게 일상 활동에 주의를 기울이라고 자주 말합니까? , 우리가 먹을 때 우리는 우리가 서 있다는 것을 알고 있습니까? 또는 예를 들어, 사랑을 키우는 것이 왜 중요한지. 예를 들어, 삶의 궁극적인 목표를 향해 노력하는 것이 사람들이 야심차고 겸손해지는 데 어떻게 도움이 되는지를 보여줍니다. 이 책은 읽기 쉽고, 재미있고, 진지하고, 통찰력 있고, 잘 투자된 정말 아주 좋은 책입니다. 다소 달콤한 주제에 대한 이 신선한 접근 방식은 명상(종교와 관련이 없음)에 관심이 있는 모든 사람에게 확실히 도움이 될 흥미로운 관점을 제공합니다. 이 책을 늦게 읽어서 미안해. 더 일찍 읽었더라면 귀하의 질문에 더 잘 대답했을 것입니다. 그날 대화는 무대 위에서 다투는 것도 불편하고 시간도 허락하지 않아 말을 할 수 없었다. 하지만 다시 돌아올 기회가 있다면 이 민감한 주제에 대한 답을 바꾸고, 부드럽게 접근하고, 내 경험을 공유하고, 구체적인 과학적 증거를 제시하고, 청자가 기억하기 쉽도록 깔끔하게 닫겠습니다. 이렇게 장황하게 글을 쓰는 것도 경험에서 배우는 것입니다. 내가 아직 어리고 배울 것이 많다는 것을 상기시키기 위해.
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Osman
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February 1, 2016
Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan
This book looked enticing. I am interested in meditation and concentration techniques and this promised to be an enthusiastic exploration by a keen intellect. How could one resist a book claiming to be “The Secret Path to Unbreakable Concentration, Complete Relaxation and Total Self-Control?
However I had to abandon it largely because of the style and unconsious elitism of the author, a man who wears his corporate credentials on his sleeve.
Chade-MengTan is a top Google executive; and don’t you just come to know it! From his pat corporate-speak (‘high resolution emotion’, ‘outside the box’) to his boundless lauding of the great company itself. Right from the start we learn that the ‘worlds happiest man’ - one Matthieu Ricard, a monk- had to settle for becoming happy by this route only because: “he could not join Google back in 1972- and the monk thing seemed like the next best career choice”, comparing Google to the taking of holy orders is indicative of Meng’s attitude. Yeah I know we’re not supposed to take his goofy comedy seriously but the Google namechecking starts here; building up through the book into a relentless motif. Google can do no wrong, from granting it’s employees 20% work time for their own projects (recinded now I believe), to giving them all free lunches.
On page 170 he mentions someone elses book: ‘Good to Great’, which discusses business growth. He suggests that the early developers of Google (including himself, natch) embody the tenets set out in this book - including the idea of a special type of leader: one who has great ambition as well as great humility. “These leaders are highly ambitious, but the focus of their ambition is not themselves; instead they are ambitious for the greater good.” Google is apparently run by saints only for the betterment of society.
Meng’s tone throughout is on the corny side of goofy. He employs the old American schtick of promoting himself as just one of the guys. So he might ‘ask the boss for a raise’ or he might be ‘amused that Google lets [a mere] engineer teach emotional intelligence. What a company.” Or he might pronounce: ‘I knew my engineering degree was good for something.’ (p.4) like he was justifying his paper credentials to the blue collar boys at the downtown bar.
This ‘down with the people’ attitude grates in conjunction with what we come to understand are Meng’s usual associates. His unashamed name-dropping is almost heroic: Barak Obama, The Dalai Lama, Richard Gere, will-i-am, Gwyneth Paltrow, Deepack Chopra, Bill Clinton, Natalie Portman. Most of them, whether they are celebrities or just the great and the good, turn out to be his ‘friends’ as he never tires of reporting. The unabashed enthusiasm Meng feels for CEOs and celebrities begins to pall after a while as does his queasily American equation of high power with high moral ground.
And isn’t there something incongruous in blithely squaring ancient meditative techniques with capitlism at its most rampant? “What if contemplative practices can be made beneficial both to people’s careers and to business bottom lines?” (p3). Does it not seem odd for a high-flying executive in a hugely powerful corporation such as Google (an organisation which makes money ‘aquiring’ infomation from the population at large) to be pontificating on matters ethical? For you get the feeling that though he may hanker after world peace- he also wants to make loads of money.
Meng claims to be a rational man- “being very sceptical and scientifically minded, I would be deeply embarrassed to teach anything without a strong scientific basis” (p.3) and yet he feels like a unqualified child next to his friend the multi-millionaire New-Age snake-oil salesman Deepac Chopra (p.75).
Surely the truely rational would not wish to stray so readily beyond natural phenomena as Meng does in presenting such ‘holy’ people as the Dalai Lama, who isn’t just skilled at meditation but is some sort of supernaturally beneficent indidvidual who can inspire an arch sceptic (Paul Ekman) just by holding their hand for 10 minutes while radiating “an abundance of goodness within his entire being” (p184). These wild claims belong in a haigiography rather than a serious work on meditation.
Chade-Meng Tan, though humble likes to talk about himself. You get many hokey self-references: ‘if Meng can cook so can you’ or ‘If Meng can sit, so can you’. These may seem like self-deprecating gestures, but when they proliferate you begin to see them for the self-important proclamations they really are, the message is: ‘I’m the important factor here; look to me first before you can pronounce on yourself”.
He appears to have no qualms in talking about: ‘compulsively pragmatic people like me’ (p.4), or of the “Many hundreds of strangers [who] tell me that I have inspired them” (p.126); he graces us with examples of his poetry (p.207), and proclaims, in case we should be left in any doubt: “... I find myself able to project a quiet but unmistakable self-confidence, whether I am meeting world leaders like Barak Obama... or dealing with a traffic cop... I watched a video of myself speaking at the United Nations, I was amazed at how confident I appeared. Heck, if I didn’t already know the guy on that video, I would have thought him to be very cool.” (P74). These start to seem less like the reports of a humble man; they savour more of egomania.
He appears to have become so institutionalised to corporate life that the only people he can relate to are those he associates with. Nearly all the exemplars he mentions are millionaire CEOs or celebrity ‘friends’. He gains his inspiration from entrepreneurs such as the ‘millianaire CEO Tony Hsieh’ who pushes the idea of ‘delivering happiness’ to his customers, and while corporate hot-air such as this may inspire Meng but affects me like an overdose of candy-floss.
This elite lifestyle leads him to equate the rewards of “fulfilling our higher purpose” with: “..a big bonus, a special mention by a company vice president, a story in the New York Times, or an expression of grattitude from the Dalai Lama.” (p.115) most of which are not readily available to the average non-Google citizen, and some of which just seem to reflect the brown-nosing atmosphere of trying to curry favour all the way up the greasy pole- Please, count me out: a special mention by a company vice president does not fulfill my lifes higer purpose!
And so we return to the theme of World Peace which is Meng’s forte. “My own dream is to create the conditions for world peace in my lifetime” (p.125) “I am amazed by how much my simple aspiration for world peace has resonated with so many people” (p.126) “Soon, I was building a network of allies (whom I jokingly call the ‘grand conspiracy for world peace)” (p.126)
This ‘conspipracy’ includes celebrity New-Agers such as Richard Gere, will-i-am, Owen Wilson and perhaps also the dead Pope John Paul II whom he quotes enthusiastically at the start of his ‘Three Easy Steps to World Peace’ Chapter (p.195). A pope whose contributions to world peace included covering up the vast network of peadophiles that the Catholic church embraced; demanding that those dying from AIDs in Africa should be denied condoms and condeming atheists as morally repugnant.
Meng’s other paragon of peace, Gandhi, thought it would have been better if the Jews had committed mass suicide rather than offer resistance. This would have raised the worlds attention to the holocaust in a peaceful way. But world peace cannot be as simple as unilaterally becoming a pacifist. As Sam Harris has said: what did Gandhi expect the world to do after the Jews had brought attention to the attrocity- commit suicide as well?
So how will world-peace come about? It will spread through the world from its source: Meng’s meditation workshops at Google: “The way to create the conditions for world peace is to create a mindfullness-based emotional intelligence curriculum, perfect it within Google, and then give it away as one of Google’s gifts to the world.” (p.201) Oh, Mr. Google, with your world peace you are spoiling us...
Hurrah for Google: the saviour of the world, with Meng as the prime mover.
But hold on a minute; what about Sunni and Shia; Muslim and Christian and all the other religions that look upon each other as enemies in faith and upon meditation as the devil’s work at worst or the mind-fart of impressionably naive new-agers led astray by self-help books and Deepac Chopra types at best?
There are good books on meditation techniques out there which aren’t written by self-aggrandising, delusional, fat-cats. I don’t trust Google as far as I could throw it and down-home hokiness I can do without.
Sorry Meng, you may mean well but my bullshit detector is off the scale. Still I dare say you will get a good hearing from Deepac, Gwyneth and Mr. Gere.
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Thomas Holbrook
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October 16, 2012
When a trusted friend suggested I read this popular book, I was interested but leery of reading – yet another – “step-by-step” plan for meditation. Typically, books on deepening one’s awareness or spirituality or devotional life are old plans retreated to appear as “new information” with the requisite (and obvious) reminder that daily adherence to the plan is required. This book’s power lies in it stating the truth that living and life are to be found the moments of “mindfulness.” Search Inside Yourself addresses this truth (that we have learned NOT to notice life) with clarity, humor and forthrightness while helping the reader to “wake up.”
The author, a well-trained Engineering Scientist for the internet juggernaut Google, developed the Search Inside Yourself program (during the 20% time Google allows its employees to “work on whatever they are interested in”) to help his fellow workers be more relaxed, think more clearly and be more productive. This once in house program has evolved into Meng’s new job and the charge to “bring about world peace,” a lofty goal and one he is convinced is achievable. This will be completed by the peoples of the world learning to “search inside themselves” to discover the stillness, direction and acceptance needed to cease the striving at the root of all conflict.
Because of my faith tradition, when I hear Meng speak of “mindfulness,” I hear “contemplation” as understood from the Monastic traditions. That being said, this is the best, most concise discussion of, and instruction in, meditation I have found. In reading after the desert fathers, ancient and modern mystics and contemporary contemplatives, I have been exposed to the need for this discipline but have rarely found as clear instruction as to how one is to practice it as this text. There are numerous exercises, empirically based (Meng being an Engineer cannot proffer anything without data) suggestions that lead the reader toward developing their own styles for this practice included throughout each chapter. None of the exercises are difficult to learn but will take a lifetime to approach mastery. The nature of Mindfulness is not as much about mastery as it is about developing and enhancing awareness of Self and one’s surroundings/actions/thoughts.
This is not a book to read once and put away, neither is it to be read quickly. The “how to”ness is found in the space discovered within one’s Self as one “wakes” up to the world around and inside them. Meng, and countless other writers, speaking of like disciplines, says “everything is a reason to become aware of.”
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Todd N
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October 28, 2014
Couldn’t hang with this book after somewhere around the third chapter. Just too painful. I don’t know what I was thinking getting this book.
Well, actually I do. I figured maybe it would be a nice change to give mindfulness a try instead of my usual state of slowly being consumed in a fire of all-consuming rage. Further I figured that since I worked at Google for six-ish years maybe a class designed at Google for Google employees would be well-suited for me.
I was vaguely aware of this class when I worked there from the AOL (Art Of Living) posters that were hung up all over the place, but I tended to just do my work once I got on campus. I was usually so busy that didn’t have time for these kinds of things. Maybe that’s the point. Sometimes I’d go see an interesting speaker when he or she came to campus.
[[[Aside: There were certain people who would go to pretty much every talk early, save seats for their friends, get the free books, etc. It was obvious who these people were because they were pretty conspicuous sitting alone in the front row of an empty auditorium with a sweater draped over a bunch of chairs. This is ostensibly one of the perks used in recruiting, so more power to them.
The one person I really wanted to see speak enough to show up early was economist Robert Shiller. I remember that when I reached in a box in a the back of the room for a copy of his book, Subprime Solution, I literally got my hand slapped by someone who told me they were only for people who worked for Hal Varian’s group. Fine. Whatever. It was a good talk though.]]]
Anyway, there may be actual good content in this book, but I couldn’t find it under the self-deprecation that rings false and corny jokes that warp around a smugness vortex until they become anti-jokes.
I was hoping for something scientific, or at least something both my left- and right-brain could chew on. But I think that if this book had a proper editor and an author not quite so impressed with himself or his employer, it could be boiled down to maybe a few index cards worth of material.
I am in a less mindful state from having encountered this book.
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Jessie Young
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September 14, 2012
I read this book after reading a review in the NYT. The review was actually more of a feature on the author than a review, but the topic seemed interesting and he has definitely done good work.
In the end, I didn't love it. I think that the whole "look at us we work at Google that is so hard" thing didn't work for me. Because I know people who work at Google and trust me, there are much harder jobs. I do agree that people in the workplace are too stressed these days and we need to deal with it, I just don't know if I found any novel points in this book to help with that.
The reason for two stars is that the content was pretty good, it just wasn't new to me. (don't think I actually finished this one)
Highlights:
We can usually experience emotions more vividly in the body than in the mind. Therefore, when we are trying to perceive an emotion, we usually get more bang for the buck if we bring our attention to the body rather than the mind.
Meta-attention is also the secret to concentration. The analogy is riding a bicycle. The way you keep a bicycle balanced is with a lot of micro-recoveries. When the bike tilts a little to the left, you recover by adjusting it slightly to the right, and when it tilts a little to the right, you adjust it slightly to the left. By performing micro-recoveries quickly and often, you create the effect of continuous upright balance. It is the same with attention. When your meta-attention becomes strong, you will be able to recover a wandering attention quickly and often, and if you recover attention quickly and often enough, you create the effect of continuous attention, which is concentration.
happiness is not something that you pursue; it is something you allow. Happiness is just being.
Alan Wallace: “Have expectations before meditation, but have no expectation during meditation.”
The classical analogy is ice breaking up on a frozen lake. To a casual observer, the breakup seems like a sudden phenomenon, but it is actually due to a long period of gradual melting of the underlying ice structure. In Zen, we call it gradual effort and sudden enlightenment.
Thoughts and emotions are like clouds—some beautiful, some dark—while our core being is like the sky. Clouds are not the sky; they are phenomena in the sky that come and go. Similarly, thoughts and emotions are not who we are; they are simply phenomena in mind and body that come and go.
Daniel Goleman identifies five emotional competencies under the domain of self-regulation: 1. Self-control: Keeping disruptive emotions and impulses in check 2. Trustworthiness: Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity 3. Conscientiousness: Taking responsibility for personal performance 4. Adaptability: Flexibility in handling change 5. Innovation: Being comfortable with novel ideas, approaches, and information
We have the tendency to feel bad about feeling bad. I call it “meta-distress,” distress about experiencing distress. This is especially true for sensitive and good-hearted people. We berate ourselves by saying things like, “Hey, if I am such a good person, why am I feeling this much envy?”
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Winnie Lim
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June 11, 2012
Read this in two sittings, one during dinner and one after dinner-induced food coma.
I picked up this book because I was curious what would one of the most famous Singaporeans (at least in tech) write on the intangible subject of Happiness.
I was not disappointed and actually the book turned out to be way beyond my expectations.
He advocates using mindfulness meditation as a tool to increase happiness and creativity, gives plenty of scientific evidence and statistics to prove that meditation is not just for new-agey crazy people (like me). I did not know Google actually offered this as a course for Googlers and it was very encouraging to know that the course gave a positive impact on those who took it.
The author's humor was prevalent throughout the book and simply by reading it, it made me smile.
More importantly, he also explained why he wanted to write this book and why it was important to him. I could feel his enthusiasm and passion for the subject throughout the book.
I rate this book highly for these reasons:
1. It was very enjoyable to read because of the author's humor.
2. It offered practical and easy to understand steps to learn mindfulness meditation
3. He substantiated it with science (yay for the skeptics)
4. It was very inspiring for me because this book is a great example of how something with great impact can start from a simple idea.
5. Full of great quotes like –
"wilting flowers do not cause suffering; it is the unrealistic desire that flowers not wilt that causes suffering."
life-changing
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Casey
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March 25, 2016
Meditation has turned into somewhat of a sexy practice these days, especially among techie types. Case in point: this book about meditation, written by the person in charge of meditation at Google. However, this is not some business book about increased productivity. Indeed, Chade-Meng Tan’s goal in life is to change the world through increased personal contentment and compassion.
I started practicing meditation before I actually knew what meditation was, although I certainly wouldn’t consider myself even close to being an expert. As a kid, I had guided meditation tapes (why I had them, I have no idea), and my mom taught me how to chant ohm when we got stressed out looking for parking (can you tell I grew up in Southern California?).
But, like many others, I didn’t really get into meditation until I started doing yoga. At the beginning, I wasn’t exactly putting in the best effort towards meditating during shavasana, but then I experienced something magical. During a yoga class in college, my instructor asked us to imagine a white ball of energy inside the chest. She guided us in mentally moving the ball of energy around ourselves, allowing us to focus on each part in turn. I felt surprisingly energized afterwards. I wanted to learn more about meditation.
After my first real experience with meditation, I started doing it with more frequency, but relatively timidly. I practiced the breathing exercises I’d learned to help myself go to sleep. I used meditation to stop being annoyed by traffic. I practiced breathing in positive energy and letting the negativity leave my body. Many, many years later I’ve been making a point to deepen my practice, planning time for it so that I don’t stop doing it when I need it most. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been reading as much as I can about it as well.
This book is filled with great information and meditation exercises, the same ones used in the Search Inside Yourself course at Google. Some of my favorites are the loving kindness meditation (trying to remember that Donald Trump is also a human that desires happiness is really quite difficult) and the empathic listening exercises. Search Inside Yourself is definitely a great toolbox for anyone interested in meditation.
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diane
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November 20, 2013
To people who meditate regularly, the beginning of this book will be things you already know (well, I assume so - I meditate regularly, and fee that the start of the book was a refresher course). But the science behind the examples was interesting and reinforced my commitment to meditate regularly.
And then it changed. This book took the practice of meditation and explained how it helped you at work. Like. For reals. No, really for reals.
And then it just... kept going. It kept building on the ideas that came before and there is a clear and true path to inner peace, as well as performing better at work, having better relationships, and ultimately ... world peace.
I know what it sounds like. I do. But for reals, this is one of the clearest ways I've ever read about that really does address the HOW to get there, as well as the why. But I like the HOW, since I'm a can-do kinda girl.
Read the book. It doesn't matter what religion you are, or even if you don't have religion. The practice of meditation has quantifiable results (no joke, I lowered my blood pressure to be within in normal ranges with just 10 minutes a day for a week), both physiologically but psychologically as well!
Perhaps you don't care about world peace. That's legit. But the methods in this book will help you achieve both personal peace and work peace. Those things right there make it worth reading.
nonfiction
self-improvement
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Guna
52 reviews
6 followers
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October 10, 2017
Man prieks, ka lasīju šo grāmatu tieši šobrīd. Viens no lielākajiem Eureka! momentiem ir atziņa, ka nepatiku pret citu cilvēku manī raisa nevis tas, ko viņš pasaka vai izdara, bet gan mana nepatika pret manis pašas emocijām (nespēja tās tolerēt), ko tā rezultātā izjūtu. Voila! :)
지금 이 책을 읽게 되어 기쁩니다. 가장 큰 유레카 중 하나! 순간, 나는 다른 사람을 싫어하는 것이 그의 말이나 행동 때문이 아니라 내 감정이 싫어서(감내할 수 없음) 결과적으로 느끼는 것임을 깨닫습니다. 짜잔! :)
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Duong
978 reviews
66 followers
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October 5, 2021
Nghe audio book
Nó là tổng hợp của các lợi ích của thiền, các phát biểu của những vị danh sư, mà 1 hỗn hợp các kiểu thiền "tự chế", dễ, hoặc rất dễ, lười, hoặc rất lười.
Nó bị ảnh hưởng rất mạnh bởi thiền sư Thích Nhất Hạnh, thật sự không cần đọc cuốn này nếu đã đọc sách của thiền sư từ trước.
오디오 북 듣기 명상의 이점, "집에서 만든"명상, 쉽거나 매우 쉬움, 게으름 또는 매우 게으름의 혼합 인 유명한 마스터의 진술을 편집 한 것입니다. 이것은 선사인 Thich Nhat Hanh의 영향을 많이 받았기 때문에 이전에 그의 책을 읽었다면 이 책을 읽을 필요가 없습니다.
audiobook
non-fiction
self-help
...more
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3 comments
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