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The Virtue Of Stillness (2014)

by Pico Iyer(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Simon & Schuster/ TED

review 1: I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads. FTC guidelines: check!For those folks out there who haven't heard Iyer's TED talk on this topic, I would recommend that you watch it first, then read this. I read this and then I listened to the talk- almost all 18 minutes of it were taken verbatim from The Art of Stillness. So, you'll enjoy it more, I believe, if you do the opposite of what I did.Iyer approaches stillness from a Buddhist perspective, which is an excellent way to examine it. I took a qabalistic view to the book. In very few words but with excellent descriptions and life models, Iyer describes the realm of Binah: the great void, the top of the feminine, left-hand column on the tree of life, the womb of the universe. It is this creative e... moremptiness that he refers to when he says "And it's only by going nowhere- by sitting still or letting my mind relax- that I find that the thoughts that come to me unbidden are far fresher and more imaginative than the ones I consciously seek out." The Art of Stillness, pg 62. It's not a world that most people are accustomed to experiencing- a space of being rather than an active doing. But, as Iyer so succinctly illustrates, it's a realm that our fast-paced and technology addicted world desperately needs. To venture into this emptiness is a restful and required experience for the health of the mind as much as inspired action is necessary for the experience of a fulfilling life. I think that our culture has forgotten the power of stillness and the beauty of balancing our male and female energies. This book is an excellent reminder.My big takeaway from this was the idea of air travel as "a retreat in the sky" pg 56. I dislike air travel to the point where I tend to reach my destination exhausted and ready to return home the moment I land. I think if I could successfully adopt the process that Iyer describes of treating the flight as a meditative retreat that I could change my experience of air travel from a nightmare into a restful pause.There are many large ideas like that contained within this small book. For the right person at the right time, The Art of Stillness could change their life. As Iyer himself says, The Art of Stillness doesn't contain any "new" ideas but they are powerful and much needed ones. Readers who are short on time, but big on stress may really love this book.
review 2: Should you read this book? Yes.Should you have high expectations? No.It's difficult for me to dislike anything that Iyer writes, the man has a lyricism and lightness that I crave in my readings. Yet the book feels like it is missing a sense of unity — instead we have a series of vignettes that don't really add up to a cohesive body. Will you appreciate the subject of this book? Absolutely.Will you walk away with knew found wisdom? You'll need to look hard. less

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