The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness
Andy Puddicombe's plain-language introduction to a ten-minute daily practice
Andy Puddicombe's 2011 book, first published as Get Some Headspace, on how to meditate without the mysticism. He tells stories from a decade in monasteries and a stint as a circus clown, uses everyday metaphors for what the mind does when you sit still, and lays out a ten-minute routine to try. Short sections headed What the research shows summarize the evidence for each claim. Readers coming to it skeptical tend to describe it as the book that made the practice feel doable.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Bill GatesRecommends
Microsoft co-founder · Gates Notes reading lists
He suggests it as the way in for anyone as skeptical as he was. An easy read with good metaphors, research summaries after each practice, and enough of Puddicombe's own story to show he knows what he is talking about.
Source: Gates Notes: Why I'm into meditation
Aimed at the same thing
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A philosophy for using much less technology, on purpose
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The Anxious Generation
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On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Clear Thinking
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On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Effortless
Make the most essential activities the easiest ones to do
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Essentialism
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On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
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On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it
Book entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.