The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going NowhereA follow up to Pico Iyer’s essay “The Joy of Quiet,” The Art of Stillness considers the unexpected adventure of staying put and reveals a counterintuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug. Why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room might be the ultimate adventure? Because in our madly accelerating world, our lives are crowded, chaotic and noisy. There’s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still. In The Art of Stillness—a TED Books release—Iyer investigate the lives of people who have made a life seeking stillness: from Matthieu Ricard, a Frenchman with a PhD in molecular biology who left a promising scientific career to become a Tibetan monk, to revered singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who traded the pleasures of the senses for several years of living the near-silent life of meditation as a Zen monk. Iyer also draws on his own experiences as a travel writer to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. He reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people—even those with no religious commitment—seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or seeking silent retreats. These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. Growing trends like observing an “Internet Sabbath”—turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning—highlight how increasingly desperate many of us are to unplug and bring stillness into our lives. The Art of Stillness paints a picture of why so many—from Marcel Proust to Mahatma Gandhi to Emily Dickinson—have found richness in stillness. Ultimately, Iyer shows that, in this age of constant movement and connectedness, perhaps staying in one place is a more exciting prospect, and a greater necessity than ever before. In 2013, Pico Iyer gave a blockbuster TED Talk. This lyrical and inspiring book expands on a new idea, offering a way forward for all those feeling affected by the frenetic pace of our modern world. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION Going Nowhere | 1 |
Passage to Nowhere | 11 |
The Charting of Stillness | 21 |
Alone in the Dark | 31 |
Stillness Where Its Needed Most | 41 |
A Secular Sabbath | 53 |
Coming Back Home | 61 |
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Common terms and phrases
album Annie Dillard Art of Stillness beauties become began Benedictine breath bring Buddhist cabin Carl Honore concert Dalai Lama dark deeper didn’t Einarsdóttir Emily Dickinson everything Eydís feel felt global Googlers happiness he’d hermitage Himalayas Iceland ideas inside IYER’S Japan journeys Kyoto Leonard Cohen less lives look Marine Matthieu Ricard Matthieu’s father mind monastery monk morning mother mountain moved movement Nepal ness never night North Korea one’s ourselves phone calls PHOTOGRAPHY PICO IYER poet quiet recalled reminded retreat Sabbath scientist seemed sense seven-week program silence singer’s sit quietly sometimes soon space spend step stress TED Books TED.com TEDx there’s Thomas Merton thought Tibet tion Torah travel writer trip turn veterans walked wander week who’d woman words writing wrote yoga Yogler young Zürich
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere TED Books |
| Author | Pico Iyer |
| Photographs by | Eydís Einarsd́óttir |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster, 2014 |
| ISBN | 1476784728, 9781476784724 |
| Length | 74 pages |
| Subjects | › › Body, Mind & Spirit / Mindfulness & Meditation Health & Fitness / Healthy Living & Personal Hygiene Self-Help / Personal Growth / Happiness |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |