"What I Know For Sure" by Oprah Winfrey

Quite a few people told me that they were reading this book lately, and several of them recommended it. I don't actually know much about Oprah and her life, and have never watched her TV show. This book was quite short, easy to read, and was enjoyable. It is basically a collection of positive thoughts and stories from Oprah's life, her suggestions or tips on how to live life mindfully and positively, to get the most out of your life and to be inspired to be the best version of yourself you can be.

Started reading: 31st January 2015
Finished: 4th February 2015
My score: 7/10

"Mindfulness for life" by Stephen Mckenzie & Craig Hassed

 

 

I was inspired to read this book after watching the doco "The Connection" at the Transitions Film Festival in Adelaide last October, and the follow on Q&A session after the film screening included Dr Hassed on the panel. I have been looking up a few scientific research papers on related topics lately and am very interested in the possibilities of an integrated medical approach combining modern western medicine and mind/body/mindfulness practice for combating stress and chronic diseases like cancer among other things. For someone who didnt previously know a lot about mindfulness, I found this book very informative, easy to read and really interesting. Not only does it describe what mindfulness is, it also gives details of how the practice of mindfulness can help in managing day-to-day stress, as well as how it can help people suffering from a range of chronic problems, including cancer, pain, depression, addiction, and attention deficit disorders. It is not a mumbo-jumbo book claiming that meditation will cure these illnesses without appropriate medication or doctors advice, but instead shows how meditation and mindfulness techniques can help both your body and your mind to cope with these problems better, and allows your body to heal easier than if it is in a constant state of stress for example. I really recommend this book to anyone with any type of chronic illness especially, but also just for general knowledge. I have now started attempting mindfulness meditation myself and find it very helpful even with dealing with day-to-day minor stresses.  

Started reading on my kindle: 11th November 2014.
Finished: 21/01/2015. My Score: 8.5/10 Very interesting book, a little bit repetitive in places but I really enjoyed it and learned new things from it. This book also counts towards my Aussie Author Challenge tally in the non-fiction, personal development genre, male author, new to me.