The Moment: A Practical Guide to Creating a Mindful Life in a Distracted World

Achim Nowak engages readers of The Moment by introducing them to methods he has found to be effective for fully experiencing life. He touches on meditation, yoga, tai chi, as well as other eastern practices. While he doesn’t delve deeply into each practice, he illustrates how they fit into his four-part system for becoming more mindful and for improving our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual energy. The book includes notes with sources for additional reading.

It is unfortunate that, despite his extensive cultural studies and many accomplishments, he does not demonstrate an equal amount of respect for the Native American community as he does toward other cultures. For example, he describes a visit to the now-defunct Golden Phoenix retreat in Rimrock, Arizona, located on a Native American burial mound. Nowak uses the word Anasazi rather than Native American. Anyone who has truly studied Native American history would correct this error. Of course, if spending retreat time atop a burial mound of any kind is not offensive, it is unlikely that correct terminology will prove bothersome. His other reference to Native Americans occurs in the context of mescaline use. Sadly, these faux pas diminish the effectiveness of his core message.