Publisher's Synopsis
Have you wanted to try meditating but couldn't find the time or the privacy? Are you a beginner who feels intimidated by how serious or difficult some mindfulness books and gurus make it sound? Well there's one place you can always sit in peace and quiet, and now there's a book to take in there with you, to give you a practical and light-hearted introduction to meditation.Using a text he claims to have discovered hidden in the bathroom at his dead-end office job, author Michael Yew introduces readers to a range of mindfulness practices, that can help you live your day with the sense of calmness and purpose you desire."Some of the great texts of meditation have been passed down from generation to generation, first by word of mouth, then on scrolls, parchment, papyrus and eventually into bookstores and now into the online world.That's not the story of this book. I found the manuscript you're about to read tucked behind the toilet in my office building. As with all the most serendipitous of discoveries, it came at the perfect time.It had been a desperate day. To be frank, it had been a desperate year. Sometimes I felt as though if I had to spend another minute, let alone another year, as a trainee accountant, I would kill myself. What had happened to the dreams I had just the year before, while still at college? I would travel the world. I would become a journalist. A writer. I would live the dream.And here I was, living the nightmare....I lived for lunch breaks and coffee breaks and tea breaks. I didn't want to take up running, but I dashed out of the door at 5pm like a sprinter on the blocks. I even thought about taking up smoking just to qualify for extra breaks. And when I needed to visit the bathroom, I made sure I spent the longest time there that I reasonably could. It was the one place in the office I could go for some privacy, for some peace and quiet. For some rest away from the stress of the job outside.That's how I found this text. Tucked between the wall and the cistern. Hidden but not hidden, it was clearly left there intended for someone to read...So I read. I knew after a few pages that I wanted to read the whole thing, but couldn't stay away that long.Should I just take it? The person who left this behind had been so kind, taking it would feel like stealing, but I didn't want to leave it behind either, so headed for the photocopier, made a copy of the whole thing, and then dashed back to the bathroom to shove it back into its original hiding place, but with one change. On the front cover, I quickly scribbled one word."Thanks."When I checked for it the next day, it was gone.In the years that followed, I did live the dream. I travelled the world, I earned lots of money working in stressful environments, and I've even used some of what I learned in the accountants office in later life. But what I've used most is what I found in that manuscript, as it opened me up to the world of meditation and mindfulness. I hope it can do the same for you.Namaste.Michael
