The gift-giving season is here! And what better way to say “I love you” than to give someone in your life the gift of happiness, sanity, and wisdom? Of course, one way to do that is to buy them all subscriptions to the Happier app. But if you’re looking for a more physically-tangible gift of wisdom, it just so happens that our teachers have published a shelf-ful of new books this year.
The gift-giving season is here! And what better way to say “I love you” than to give someone in your life the gift of happiness, sanity, and wisdom?
Of course, one way to do that is to buy them all subscriptions to the Happier app. But if you’re looking for a more physically-tangible gift of wisdom, it just so happens that our teachers have published a shelf-ful of new books this year. Here’s a sampling:
Diana Winston, The Little Book of Being. With an array of easy-to-follow guided instructions, Ten Percent teacher Diana Winston’s new book teaches a relaxed “natural awareness” form of meditation that people who say “my mind is too busy to meditate!” will love.
Oren Jay Sofer, Say What You Mean. Integrating mindfulness with the skills of non-violent communication, Oren’s book is a step-by-step guide to speaking and listening more effectively. Who doesn’t need that?
Kelly McGonigal, The Joy of Movement. The new book by bestselling author Kelly McGonigal – the featured expert on Ten Percent’s upcoming course on healthy habits – shows how exercise can and should be a source of joy, with her trademark blend of science and storytelling.
Jay Michaelson, Enlightenment by Trial and Error. Published earlier this month,Ten Percent editor Jay Michaelson’s new book is a personal account of the “deep end” of the meditation pool: long retreats and peak experiences, profound skepticism and crises of faith, and a slow transformation into a 10%-more-enlightened human being.
Cory Muscara, Stop Missing Your Life: How to be Deeply Present in an Un-Present World. Cory’s brand new book is a guide to, in his words, “softening the walls that cause us to shut down to life” with a fourfold approach to becoming more present in our lives.
Mark Coleman, From Suffering to Peace , and Koshin Paley Ellison, Wholehearted. These two new books by teachers featured in the app’s ‘Talks’ feature share a common theme: becoming kinder and more open-hearted in our relationships – both with those we love and those we might otherwise pass on the street. Much-needed for these challenging times.
Finally, here are a couple of “oldies but goodies” that we couldn’t help recommending as well:
Sharon Salzberg, Real Love. In Real Love, Sharon shows how love can be “a source of power rather than a compromised sentimentality” and how to bring more of it into your everyday life.
Yael Shy, What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond. If you or someone in your family is a stressed-out twentysomething, Yael’s book is the ideal guide to how to build and sustain a meditation practice.
Sonja Lyubomirsky, The Myths of Happiness. As she does in several talks on the app, positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky shows how the data on what actually makes people happy often diverges wildly from what we think will make us happy.
And yes, of course, let’s not forget the book that started it all, Dan Harris’s 10% Happier, and its follow-up, written with Ten Percent teacher Jeff Warren, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. But be careful – you may have given those to your friends last year!
