Do you have any stress in your life? Want to replace stress with super calm (it’s very possible!)? You can with meditation, but it’s not what you think! Meditation does not require special ninja skills, take lots of time or for you to believe anything “mystical”, intrigued?
As a busy father, husband, grandfather, CEO and of course, one of the Christmas Tree Project’s elves, I often find myself looking for tools to help me juggle my roles with grace, without compromising on quality. Over the years I have also become keenly aware of the benefits of yoga and meditation. But while the benefits of meditation are well known, especially to relieve stress, it is exceedingly difficult to do it for 30 to 60 minutes needed every day in order to reap it’s benefits. Not just from a time perspective but because it is so hard for us westerners to quiet and focus our minds when our days are running at a mile a minute.
Looking for some faster and easier ways to reduce stress and increase my productivity, I read Mark Thornton’s book, Meditation in a New York Minute: Super Calm for the Super Busy. Not only does it demystify meditation, but it also teaches you how to maintain a VERY busy schedule and still find time to enjoy meditation, refocus your attention and revitalize your spirit. Many years have passed since I first read Meditation in a New York Minutes, and I still use these techniques all the time—they work!
Thornton makes it possible for anyone to enjoy meditating which helps reduce stress, boost energy level, and enjoy intense mental clarity, in a New York minute. “If your life is moving at warp speed,” begins Thornton, “more than ever, you need to create calm quickly and profoundly.” Meditation in a New York Minute will teach even the busiest people to relive stress, boost productivity, and build a base of calm in your life. The book teaches you how to practice meditation in 60 second increments, while you are on the go. Thorton’s trick is to take 60 seconds “micro-doses” of meditation during showers, commutes, between calls, whenever you can grab 60 seconds. During the course of a day, you can easily build up to 60 minutes, without feeling like you are taking an extra hour out of your day—which for most of us seems totally impossible.
Besides making it super easy to spend only 60 seconds on a micro-meditation, Thorton provides 19 different meditation techniques, so you can find a handful of techniques that really work for you. Combine 19 easy techniques with 60 second mediations and you are on your way to calm!
The book also covers the 8 Laws of Super Calm and the 8 Golden Keys for flipping on compassion and insight in any situation as well as the 11 Thieves along the path of meditation, and how to dodge them. “You can be super busy, super successful, and super calm at the same time,” assures Mark Thornton.
With a career in investment banking which included serving as interim Chief Operating Officer for JP Morgan London, Thornton is no stranger to stress and the demands of life. He has been a student and practitioner of meditation for over 20 years. If you want to quick and easy way start meditating and bring more calm in your life or need some encouragement to give it another chance, it is time to give it another try using Thornton’s techniques.