The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus Into Your Life - Softcover

Thomas M. Sterner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0977657205 ISBN 13: 9780977657209

Publisher: Mountain Sage Publishing, 2006

Synopsis

Present moment awareness is an essential ingredient in life if one expects to experience any degree of authentic peace and contentment. It has been acknowledged for centuries as the cornerstone of spiritual awakening in all traditions of Eastern thought. In the West, however, it is still a relatively unrecognized concept of living. The Western mind is always restless, never content with the moment. Its internal dialogue is always firing off thoughts filled with emotional content and pulling the individual out of the present and into the past or future. But individuals raised in Western culture are becoming increasingly more aware of their overall sense of mental exhaustion, their lack of discipline and their inability to focus on demand. They are willing to expend the energy necessary to experience inner peace and a quiet mind that is waiting to follow the direction of their will. They are realizing that the endless struggle to fulfill the insatiable appetite of instant gratification is fruitless and tiresome at best. They are ripe for a new path in life and eager for a new set of instructions. This is the purpose of The Practicing Mind. It comprehensively deals with helping the individual understand exactly what present moment awareness is, how we are raised in a manner contradictory to this, and how we change our mindset to make this a part of our daily living. This book is accessible to readers of all philosophical backgrounds. Regardless of your perspective, you will find the book's insights most compelling.
You can find the wisdom of both The Practicing Mind and The Meditating Mind in the combination package: The Total Mindset.
For your convenience, THE PRACTICING MIND is now in mp3 CD audiobook format.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

In those times when we want to acquire a new skill or face a formidable challenge we hope to overcome, what we need most are patience, focus, and discipline, traits that seem elusive or difficult to maintain. In this enticing and practical book, Thomas Sterner demonstrates how to learn skills for any aspect of life, from golfing to business to parenting, by learning to love the process.

Early life is all about trial-and-error practice. If we had given up in the face of failure, repetition, and difficulty, we would never have learned to walk or tie our shoes. So why, as adults, do we often give up on a goal when at first we don’t succeed? Modern life’s technological speed, habitual multitasking, and promises of instant gratification don’t help. But in his study of how we learn (prompted by his pursuit of disciplines such as music and golf), Sterner has found that we have also forgotten the principles of practice the process of picking a goal and applying steady effort to reach it. The methods Sterner teaches show that practice done properly isn’t drudgery on the way to mastery but a fulfilling process in and of itself, one that builds discipline and clarity.

By focusing on process, not product,” you’ll learn to live in each moment, where you’ll find calmness and equanimity. This book will transform a sense of futility around learning something challenging into an attitude of pleasure and willingness.

About the Author

Thomas M. Sterner spent over 25 years as a concert piano technician and rebuilder. Preparing instruments for the finest world class concert pianists and symphony musicians enabled him to witness first-hand the level of art afforded to those with a disciplined mind. His career also provided a strong impetus toward inner awareness, dovetailing with his spiritual search for the truth and inner peace. The solitary and monotonous nature of his work afforded him the time and opportunity to assimilate all that he has learned over the years, to infuse this knowledge into his work and daily life, and to continue to develop his practicing mind. An accomplished musician himself, Mr. Sterner lives in Delaware, happily engaged in composing music, writing inspirational, self-help books and publishing audio books through his company, Mountain Sage Publishing.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mountain Sage Publishing
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0977657205
• ISBN 13: 9780977657209
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 100