Travel Light: Spiritual Minimalism to Live a More Fulfilled Life

Meditation teacher Watkins (Knowing Where to Look) offers an accessible introduction to spiritual minimalism—a practice that doesn’t require “clearing out your closet” but instead involves accessing one’s inner guidance to release professional, personal, or spiritual burdens. He outlines seven key principles of the approach, including becoming comfortable with discomfort, making decisions “from your heart, not your head,” and cultivating inner happiness. It’s also important, Watkins writes, to appreciate “throwaway” moments such as a fleeting conversation with a stranger­—by doing so, “you will start to... appreciate both giving and receiving small gestures of kindness, which will lead to more fulfillment with small things and an overall need for less.” Watkins weaves together mindfulness exercises; personal anecdotes, such as how a breakup and financial pressure spurred him to leave behind his life in Los Angeles and open a meditation practice in New York City; and answers to common meditation queries (readers are reassured, for example, that one should “never chastise your mind for thinking... if you practice celebrating your wandering mind, it will become settled more often”). Watkins’s tone is appealingly conversational, and his lucid prose and easy-to-follow meditation exercises help bring the sometimes abstract contours of spiritual minimalism down to earth. Spiritual seekers of all stripes will enlightened. (July)