Meditation in a New York Minute

Mark Thornton zips through this semiautobiographical meditation training manual with a cheerful Aussie smile in his voice. He attempts to allay listeners' doubts about his credentials while sharing pearls of meditative wisdom--techniques and ideas from a variety of disciplines. Apparently he has hordes of students soaking in his condensed wisdom, but in audiobook form it comes across as scattershot and arbitrary. While listeners may be able to implement some of the centering meditative techniques, the lack of a working structure makes this anything but a calming listen. The hyperbolic title is presumably a publisher's attempt to sell more audiobooks. D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

January 30, 2006
A former investment banker, Thornton worked 14-hour days, six days a week. He claims he was able to begin meditating for an hour a day during this period, without adding a single thing to his schedule. How? In a rather extreme style of spiritual multi-tasking, Thornton practiced his meditation while on the go: before and after meetings, in the shower, during commutes, or when hitting the gym. In this book, he teaches readers to follow the same strategy, incorporating stolen moments of meditation throughout the day so that they add up to a full hour. He promises that this regimen will relieve stress, boost productivity, reduce illness and build a foundation of calm and strength. Thornton's experience and skill as a corporate meditation instructor comes through here; he obviously knows the "super busy" and anticipates their objections and concerns. He organizes the book for easy reading, with sidebars, bulleted lists, diagrams and hands-on exercises sprinkled throughout. The bulk of the guide is taken up with teaching 19 different meditation techniques readers can incorporate into their to-do lists. Some of the recommendations are easy and practical, such as reprogramming a PDA or BlackBerry to read "choose calm now" as a menu heading, or "eating with awareness," chewing slowly and being mindful of every bite. Others are more complex and come with Thornton's caution that they take a lifetime to master. The book contains some old chestnuts, including the famous boiling frog story (here used as an example of how people become used to stress, not realizing its creeping dangers). Its opening chapters lean too heavily on glib promises when the book is more worthwhile and shows readers how mindfulness and meditation can be part of even the busiest schedule.