How to Stay Human in a F*cked-Up World audiobook

I really enjoyed this book. In many ways, it felt like it was written for someone like me who can get very overwhelmed with anger or sadness about things that happen in the world, or on a smaller personal scale, and feel completely helpless despite the deep ache of wanting to fix it all. I was able to take in a lot of the methods/examples that were presented as a guide on how to change your way of looking/reacting to people/situations, the suggested practices, the new perspectives.... As with all books like this, some things were more meaningful or powerful to me and hit home more, but overall, I thought it was a great book and very timely for me as I'm working on finding a life-long path to be more openhearted, to keep growing and learning, to be more compassionate and understanding, to be proactive instead of reactive, to listen more and talk less, to practice patience, live in the present, and be mindful of moments of joy and gratitude. I'm looking forward to reading the book of his mentor next. ❤

Amazing and practical, I liked how he walked me through his problems and the process of finding a solution. I could solve some of my issues with this book's practices. I recommend this book especially in this unnormal time (Pandemic)

I'm going to keep this review short and sweet. What a surprisingly awesome read. I came across this title at random while perusing the Self-Help shelves of Barnes & Noble. I mean c'mon, how can you say no to a title like this!? There were so many invaluable nuggets imbedded in this quick read, I truly enjoyed it.

INCREDIBLY INSPIRATIONAL BOOK! Probably the BEST book that I have ever read on mindfulness, mindful living and growing into a better, more compassionate person. Why? Because this book isn’t 100% on how to sit on your cushion and find peace. This book is about finding peace within chaos, from a place of incredible suffering and/or pain, and throughout social advocacy campaigns and democratic debates. This book is about becoming someone capable and prepared to help build a better human world. This book is about fighting for what you passionately believe in, while also holding space for the truths that those on the other side carry, and respecting their humanity and stories without loosing confidence or conviction. This book is about finding a meditation/mindfulness/yoga/qi gong practice that fills you up, and makes you the most compassionate and effective warrior you can be. Frankly, I think that this book should be read by every single social justice advocate, feminist, yogi(ni), and mindfulness practitioner living within the chaos of this modern world. Even more poignant given the current pandemic.The audiobook is very well read by the author.

This was especially poignant right now. An important read! Will return to the practices outlined.

This is one of the best self help books I have read. I really like his takes on Toxic Righteousness, Myths, and looking at cognitive dissonance in a microscopic manner.

Tim Desmond who has trained under Tich Hanh, shares his mindfulness and Buddhism philosopy for lay people presented in crisp and practical way..Author struggling with his wife's illness and financial ruin finds a away to let go gracefully..Book is divided into 12 crisp chapters with examples from his own life and Buddhism.He touches every aspect of daily sufferings like healing old wounds, fearlessness, memory reconsolidation, mindfullness training, society, loneliness, nonattachment to ideas and many more..There are really good discussions like cloud in your cup, letting your cows go, 100 years old tree and disruptive intimacy..It is very nice book to grab in your tough times and learn how to live in this inherently brutal world by altering your perception of reality..Beauty of book lies in its conciseness, practicality, enjoyfullness and synchronisation with contemporary world..Present world is approximation of reality and this book is approximation of a great teacher in your bookshelf...Thanks edelweiss plus and author and publisher for review copy.Really liked thus work.

Stop the spinningTim does a great job of expressing how we feel in this crazy world. And then he delves into navigating and growing with chaos all around.

A friend recommended this, and I didn't even need to read any reviews. I knew based on the title that it was a book I needed in my life. This is basically Buddhism Lite, and it's not new information if you've done some reading about mindfulness or meditation. However, the author makes a point of talking about how to integrate these practices into the real world, especially in overwhelming news cycles, and I really needed to hear that. By the way, I listened to this as an audiobook, which was pleasant, but I think I might purchase a paper copy too so I can review the exercises.

Sometimes a book appears at the time you need it in your life. Here, in the first week of January 2020, Australia is dealing with the devastation of massive brushfire, the United States and Iraq are at the brink of war, and I feel like this world gets more and more fucked up as the days go by. In this book, Tim Desmond takes the reader through basic Buddhist principles to remind us how to be human in a fucked up world. Unlike most books, Desmond approaches the principles from a layperson perspective that I found to be really helpful.

This book was made for 2020. It's a straightforward way through the morass of what a lot of us are feeling right now. How do we deal with our anger? Our desire to be compassionate in such a divided landscape? What if we're just f*cking exhausted by everything and everyone? Buddhist philosophies guide Tim Desmond's advice, but it's not "preachy" or incompatible with whatever other philosophy of thought you might subscribe to. There are a lot of personal examples, breaking down of some pretty abstract concepts, and simple guided exercises to illustrate his points. He doesn't claim to have all the answers, but he does provide a very human look at suffering, how we think about it, and how that view needs to change if we really want to make the world a better place.Certainly, not everything resonated with me, and that's okay (as he himself says). I did get some mindfulness exercises out of it that I'm already employing, and they do seem to help upon initial use (long term, of course, time will tell).Fast read, a nice break from, you know, all THIS, and enough actionable items to make it feel like an accomplished read.