If you’re looking for a book or place to learn about meditation, this is a good start.

At an early age, I noticed the benefits of meditation on human physics and performance. Tales about monks who can go a few days without food by deep meditating are discussed at the dinner table. 

I remember watching a Hong Kong crime series with my mom in the early 2000s. There was a case where the criminal was able to admit unguilty for his crime under the lying detector because he’s an experienced meditator. The episode later revealed that regular meditation helped the guy to stabilize his heart rate. And the spark note for meditation practice perhaps was marked by the horrific Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018. A junior football team and their coach were trapped in the cave for nine days and got through the ordeal by practicing meditation.

For many of the great stories, I initially thought meditation was sort of out of reach until 2020 came in with the pandemic. I realize the learning of meditation opens the door for more headspace and mental wellness, and I felt especially handy in times of uncertainty and dealing with trauma/suffering. I started with the app before reading this book. But Andy has a gradual story-telling effect that perhaps the book is more suitable for readers who ponder with more questions and concern rather than a straightforward method via using the app.

In this book, Andy was openhearted when he shared his journey with meditation practice and his moments of learning and questioning. Andy walks the reader through some mental resistance that he experienced as many others would face while practicing meditation. By retelling stories from the people that Andy met, meditation is one bit closer to the reader. An easy-to-read guide to inner peace. 

One thing I love about Andy and Headspace is their effort to make meditation teaching accessible and affordable. From multiple series of guides to meditation on Netflix to YouTube videos and podcasts, the teaching of meditation has become more familiar. 

- Vũ Vy