Eastern philosophy and spirituality made its first substantial impact on Western culture in the wake of the Second World War. Alan Watts, author of 1957’s The Way of Zen, and later cultural figures such as Ram Dass, among others, are responsible for opening Eastern mysticism to Americans and Europeans in a way hitherto unavailable.
The mindfulness movement is an inevitable evolution from such origins. It likewise highlights the growing multi-disciplinary approach that marries modern psychiatric principles and ideas with time-honored spiritual teachings. Ora Nadrich’s new book Mindfulness & Mysticism: Connecting Present State Awareness with Higher Consciousness doesn’t purport to have academic standing. Her background isn’t there, she is a pioneering Mindfulness expert and President/Founder of the Institute for Transformational Thinking, but her book draws from several sources.
One of those sources is biological science. Mindfulness & Mysticism never neglects to examine the pervasive influence of body chemistry over the direction of our lives and points out how it is a path to spirituality for many. The most important source, however, is personal experience. A polished and well-presented philosophy emerges from each of the book’s thirty-five chapters. Nadrich’s persona does not stride across the book’s stage demanding the reader’s attention and scolding them for their ignorance or past failures.
Her attributes as a teacher shine through. Qualities such as patience, clear-headedness, and a sense of mission exude from the text. Nadrich constructs Mindfulness & Mysticism in such a way that you can choose to tackle this book from beginning to end or randomly dive in. You will come away enriched by the experience either way. The book’s simple and classy visual presentation will appeal to readers as well.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Mysticism-Connecting-Awareness-Consciousness/dp/0578981335
Her talents as a writer, line by line, burn bright as well. Nadrich has a calm and confident style highlighted by accessible diction and a light poetic sensibility. Her reasoning is thorough and difficult to dispute. It i easy to appreciate how completely she has developed her vision of mindfulness and mysticism encompassing a broad range of human experiences. Her perception of these qualities occupying a concrete and quantifiable place in our lives rather than existing as something intangible encourages readers, newcomers and otherwise, that the book’s ideas are easily put into daily practice.
Mindfulness & Mysticism is a lengthy read. This is a fully immersive, nay exhaustive, look at the subject but, again thanks to her aforementioned strengths as a writer, it’s never laborious. Nadrich ties various threads together throughout her writing without ever favoring one aspect over another and the overall balanced point of view she brings to the book is one of its best features.
Nadrich’s reputation as a leading proponent of Mindfulness studies, one of the foremost promoters of traditional Eastern thought, and an in-demand speaker will be strengthened with the publication of this book. She has other books to her credit, and we can expect more to come, but Mindfulness & Mysticism: Connecting Present State Awareness with Higher Consciousness has the trappings of a definitive work for Nadrich.
Rachel Townsend