David Schiller is an artist, writer, and author of The Little Zen Companion and The Little Book of Prayers. In this paperback, he focuses on mindful seeing and the return to nature. He joins the chorus of critics who see the smartphone as the major force in our lives that "insidiously severs from reality."
We have to get back to the practice of mindful seeing and Schiller has provided us with a lively series of exercises and practices to encourage us to do so. He hopes these prompts can take us back to our beginner's mind "so that we can discover the world afresh, with new eyes, and revel in the miracle of the everyday."
Schiller sprinkles relevant quotes through the book, such as this one from the philosopher Aristotle: "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous." And this one from Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki: "As soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is no longer what you saw."
The book also has a wondrous collection of contemplative photographs and drawings matched to the quotes and prompts. Two photographs of an ancient tree help us "see the passage of time in a new way, and take comfort in the cycle of seasons." A stone wall prompts us to consider "What turns up? What never goes away?" Line drawings of daffodils accompany the suggestion that we "find a bed of flowers and draw one after the other. Now you're seeing them individually and being told a richer story."
This is a marvelous book for anyone wanting to expand their mindfulness practices. We realize how important it is for our well-being to see mindfully. Visit the author online at www.davidschiller.com
