I started reading at the beginning, which was something of a mistake. No book needs two forewords and an intro before chapter 1. I'm sure Chade-Meng Tan is just as lovely as everyone says he is, but there is an awful lot of the book telling you that it is going change your life, not showing you.

That's not to say the material isn't valuable - I've been practising mediation for some years, and the book Mindfulness: Finding Peace in Frantic World, by some of Mr Tan's collaborators, is a very valuable resource. But given that this is third or forth book I've read on meditation, this particular one didn't bring any particular new insights.

In my current meditation practice I've been doing breath focusing practices, and I have a habit of either getting caught up in my thoughts or seeing them as obstacles to be avoided. Taking Mr Tan's 'easier appraoch', and simply observing the thoughts as they happen, prompts a more pleasant and relaxed form of mediation, and I never fail to be amused at the nonsense tangents my brain leads itself down when left to its own devices.