Genre: Non-fiction – Religion & Spirituality
Pages: 52
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, so I could give an honest review.
Do you sometimes feel stressed, anxious, lonely and depressed? Are you always up in your head, constantly dwelling on the past and worrying about the future? Do you want to live a more productive, stress-free and happier life? If so, then you've come to the right place. With The Meditation Beginner’s Bible, you will embark on an inner journey that will take you back to the state of peace, joy and happiness you were born to inhabit. – Tai Morello
I decided to give this book a try since I do meditate (I have been doing so for a few years now) but I wanted to know more about that specific topic. For me, the short, straight-to-the-point and informative chapters were a pleasure to read! It is also done in an easy-to-read writing and Mr. Morello uses bullet points to show us lists of facts. He made sure the reader would have no problem reading his book nor would they feel overwhelmed. It introduces us to meditation by explaining what it is and how we can make it part of our lives and also what are the benefits we can reap from it. I liked how the author categorized the benefits: health, mental and emotional, and spiritual benefits. He includes all aspects of well-being and I think it’s a good idea. Mr. Morello makes use of motivational quotes in most chapters – it’s a nice touch. It is informational on topics such as brain waves and how different areas of the brain are positively affected by the habit of meditating. Another point I found amusing was how the author debunked myths and misconceptions about meditation such as ‘’it takes too much time’’. Moreover, he goes over the common obstacles (perfectionism, outcome orientation, etc.) encountered by those who want to try to meditate for the first time or to implement it as a habit. Mr. Morello shows us different techniques we can use like mindfulness (one of my favorites!), candle meditation, mantra meditation, and others. There are also tips on how to have a better meditation experience and turn it into a habit. As for the negative points, there were two major ones I could find, in my opinion. The first one being the lack of numbers and/or percentages or case studies about the effectiveness of meditation. It would greatly help build the credibility of the facts (are they truly facts…?) Mr. Morello gives us. He rarely mentions research (twice, I think?) so it’s as though there are no proofs of what he’s saying. The second thing that bothers me is that there is no author bio – not at the beginning nor at the end of the book! How are we supposed to believe his expertise on the subject? It’s like the author wanted to remain hidden… but such information that comes from research must be presented by someone with credibility. Or at least, it’s the minimum requirements of writing such a book to let us know who you are so we can decide if we will trust you and your work. What book doesn’t have an author bio nowadays?
I give it a rating of 2 out of 5 because of the two negative points that are deal-breakers for me. For all I know, Mr. Morello could have invented half of the ‘’facts’’ in The Meditation Beginner's Bible. I give it two stars because despite it all, it was a quick and pleasant read and it looks like he did research the topic – he just forgot to prove it to us. I wouldn’t recommend this book though due to the lack of credibility.
Ad Librum Aeternam 