This Only This

Many of us feel out of synch with our lives. We sleepwalk through experience, believing that one day-when all the conditions are just right and the stars align perfectly-we will achieve a peaceful state of mind. We spend our days wandering through the past, dwelling in fictional futures, or existing in alternating states of distraction and frustration. We're absent from our own lives-yet we wonder why we struggle to be at peace and find it so difficult to break free of the challenging states of mind that plague us.

There's a part of us that knows there is another option. And right now, in this very moment, peace is available to us. But, like swimming upstream, trying to find and hold on to peaceful states of mind can be an extremely difficult process. This book is a map that can help us on this journey.

In This. Only This., veteran workshop teacher Michael Brooks presents a unique and humorous approach to mindfulness based on two main concepts: Paying Attention and Just Being. The former explores the many states of mind we engage in daily, highlighting their trends, patterns and causes. In simple language, Brooks shows how to unravel these thorny mindsets, and thus diminish their harmful effects. In Just Being, the author discusses the concept of being present and explains why we struggle so hard against being still, both mentally and physically. The book includes a wealth of exercises to anchor the concepts and help the reader connect them to his or her own circumstances.

In this practical approach to mindfulness, there are no new belief systems to adopt or special rules to adhere to. Rather, what's required is a letting go of our set beliefs and acceptance of what simply is. In this moment, this experience, peace is within our grasp.