Book Review - How to Read a Book

Reading is something many people find valuable, whether it be for recreation or education—most people in today's world know how to read. Loads of people are likely satisfied with their current reading abilities, and perhaps even more do not have any intention to increase the amount of reading nor the intensify the difficulty of the books that they choose to read. In fact, many people have the ability to read but simply choose to not exercise it. However, for those of us who enjoy reading and wish to improve our reading skills, I cannot recommend How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading highly enough.

The book was originally published in 1940, and the most recent edition was published (with updated and timely content) in 1972. It aims to provide a guide for comprehensive reading for the general reader—"from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading. You learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author's message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science." (From the publisher's blurb.)

The authors, Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, introduce the concept of four levels of reading: elementary reading, inspectional reading, analytical reading, and syntopical reading. The levels are cumulative, which means that each gradation includes the techniques and skills of the lower levels.

Elementary reading is essentially the baseline ability to read that is taught at the pre-school/kindergarten, elementary and junior high school levels. These reading skills include reading readiness, word mastery, vocabulary growth and the utilization of context, and the ability to read almost anything (albeit in a relatively unsophisticated manner). This is the level of reading that perhaps the majority of the population has achieved. What is truly outstanding about reading is that once one has developed the elementary reading skills, she can teach herself to learn the skills involved with the higher levels of reading.

Inspectional reading involves two main concepts: systematic skimming or pre-reading, and superficial reading. Skimming or pre-reading involves looking at a book's title page, preface, table of contents, index, publisher's blurb, apparently-pivotal chapters, and true skimming of its content. Superficial reading is comprised of trudging through a book's content in its entirety for the first time, without ever stopping to look up or ponder the things that one does not understand right away. At this point in reading a book, one should start asking herself the four basic questions of reading:

1. What is the book about as a whole?

2. What is being said in detail, and how?

3. Is the book true, in whole or part?

4. What of it?

These questions are thoroughly fleshed out in the book, and I do not wish to focus too much on them in this review. It would be much better for you to check out this book for yourself, although I must warn you that to read it honestly is more like working through a workbook than an easy read. It takes a fair amount of effort on the part of the reader, but she is handsomely rewarded at the end of her journey.

Moving on, the book discusses note-taking techniques, which were very lacking in my own personal wheelhouse—it had been since my days at university that I regularly took notes in books, and even then, I didn't have an efficient education that demonstrated how to mark a book so that I would increase my level of understanding and retention. However, How to Read a Book certainly fills in where my formal education was lacking in this department. Even this brief section alone was worth reading the entire book, for me.

The next section of the book—the main bulk of it, in fact—covers the third level of reading: analytical reading. This part is incredibly valuable for readers wishing to improve their overall skill set, including full chapters on the following topics: pigeonholing a book, X-raying a book, coming to terms with an author, determining an author's message, criticizing a book fairly, agreeing or disagreeing with an author, and aids to reading. Again, I do not intend this review to fully explore the book's contents, and will leave it at that.

Following the section covering analytical reading, the authors explore another tangent: the various ways to approach different types of reading matter. From practical books to imaginative literature, history to science and mathematics, and a few more, this section adapts the four questions that must be asked when reading anything so that they are more applicable to specific types of reading. It was quite interesting for me to consider various types of books and reflect on my reading history and consider what I would truly like to spend my time reading in the future. The final chapter in this section discussed the reading of social science, which often requires reading multiple books about a topic. Because that is essentially the concept behind syntopical reading, it serves as a perfect segue into the next section of the book.

The final section of the book, "The Ultimate Goals of Reading", focuses on syntopical reading and the concept of reading and the growth of the mind. Syntopical reading is truly an interesting concept for me. It involves creating a tentative bibliography (generally including hundreds of books) of a central subject, quickly inspecting each book, re-inspecting all of the books that are specifically pertinent to the topic to identify the relevant passages within, creating a neutral terminology that can be used to discuss the opinions of multiple authors, establishing a set of neutral propositions by framing a set of questions to ask each author, defining the major and minor issues and assigning authors to the various sides of each issue, and providing an analysis of the discussion of the topic. This is a highly-advanced level of reading that one would embark on to do true work in a field, with the hope of providing an unheard analysis of a topic's discussion that many authors have participated in over time. It is possible that one's syntopical reading of a topic could culminate in a book that would push the discussion of a topic even further—in fact, this is indeed often the ultimate goal. The final chapter of the book offers a recap of the previous sections and discusses what good books can do for us, the various classes of books (with regard to what one can get out of reading and re-reading them), and the growth of the mind.

There are two appendices included, the first being an extremely valuable "Recommended Reading List". I must admit that this list makes my mouth salivate in anticipation of many more years of reading excellent books and the possibility of furthering my personal reading ability. The second appendix includes exercises and tests at the various four levels of reading. This is the one section of the book that I have yet to read—I may choose to explore these exercises in the future, although it will involve reading several other books from the aforementioned reading list, so it is likely to be a longterm project.

Overall, this is one of the best books I have read in the past several years. I am confident that the advice contained within it will help me improve my reading skills while simultaneously increasing the level of enjoyment that I get out of my reading practice. I must admit that when I first started reading the book, I was a bit disappointed that it is heavily biased toward non-fiction reading, when in the past I have reaped so much enjoyment from reading fiction. However, the skills that I have learned from How to Read a Book will only serve to improve my relation to non-fiction books, something that has been somewhat lacking for me previously. This is one book that I do plan on working with further in the future, whether it is simply picking it up from time to time to skim through the notes I took on its pages, choosing my next book from its impressive reading list, or working through the second appendix's reading exercises and tests. 

5/5 stars. 424 pages.

Click here to buy the book.

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Why You Should Keep A Journal

Image by Joel Montes de Oca, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

In today's busier-than-ever world, it is common to experience weeks, months, or years of life without realizing that time is flying by. The practice of keeping a journal can provide a log of your events throughout life as well as offer a cathartic release that comes from the act of recording your thoughts. Today's post will cover the benefits of journaling, various types of journals, journaling mediums, and how to start a journal.

I have kept a journal off and on since elementary school, although it wasn't until my years at university that I developed a more focused approach and found the inspiration to keep a regular journaling practice. I have found that my practice has generated many benefits for me, and no obvious negative side effects. In a sense, Think Wilder is an extension of my own personal journal in blog form. Without further ado, let's jump right into the main subject matter.

The Benefits of Journaling

Keep a record of life experiences and track your development: Writing about events that have already occurred gives you the chance to process them and find closure when it is needed. It's easy to get to the end of a month or year and have trouble recalling the events that happened. While it may be possible to look through photographs or another medium of record-keeping, I have found that writing a journal means that I will always have a record of the most important events that have occurred in my life. An additional benefit of record-keeping is that it is easier to identify the improvements that you have made over time.

Improve mental clarity, more effectively solve problems, and increase focus: It's easy to get caught up in thinking that has nothing to do with what you are trying to focus on, but it can be difficult to send those thoughts packing. By recording your thoughts in a journal, you are effectively transferring them from your head to the page. This helps clear the mind so that you can focus on the things that are important in your life, whether they are outstanding problems that need to be solved or a time-sensitive task at hand.

Inspire personal growth: If you are feeling stuck in a rut, finding it difficult to progress in life, I would highly recommend taking up a journaling practice. Consistently writing down our thoughts encourages self-development, because it gives us an opportunity to review our previous entries and identify times that we made mistakes. Once you identify a mistake, you are less likely to make that mistake in the future, and you can brainstorm alternative behaviors that more honestly reflect the person you want to become.

More fully connect with your values, emotions, and goals: It can be hard to be honest with ourselves concerning how we feel about relationships, work, or our true passions in life. Yet over time, you will find out what is truly important to you through your writing. It took many journal entries about my desire to keep up a regular writing practice before this blog was born, but through my experience with journaling I finally realized that I needed to get started with my writing projects instead of procrastinating any longer. I am sure that there are things that you want to improve on in your life, or work through your feelings on a tough issue, and journaling is a great way to facilitate that work.

Cultivate your creativity: Just like anything else, a journaling practice becomes better with time. In addition to becoming a better writer, you may also improve your abilities to process and communicate complex ideas, memorize important information, and brainstorm more effectively. I find that writing, or even thinking about what I will write later, helps me think of new ideas and projects to work on.

Types of Journals

There are several types of journals, which are not limited to those listed below. Use your imagination and think of specific types of journals that could help you on your path!

Food journal: Many of us are unaware of our dietary lifestyles. I know that I was before I started a food journal several years ago, and I was shocked to see what I was eating (and drinking!) on a regular basis. Keeping a food journal can be as simple as compiling a daily list of foods in a Fields Notes memo book, or you can take a more advanced approach, like using an application like MyFitnessPal to get a more thorough breakdown of your daily nutritional intake.

Work journal: A written record of your work performance can be a very useful thing. How often does a yearly performance review come around and leave you wondering, "What exactly did I do the past 12 months?" By keeping track of the day's events at the office, you will have a log of the things that went well, mistakes you made and how you addressed them, and successes worth highlighting in your next performance review or job interview. By recording your mistakes, you will be able to adapt so that you won't make the same mistake twice.

Dream journal: This type of journal is designed around capturing as many details about your dreams as you can remember upon first waking up. You can use the dream contents to look into their imagery and suggested meanings, or you could use them as inspiration for a new work of fiction! By writing down the contents of your dreams, you can review them later and see if there are any patterns that reoccur.

Gratitude journal: Sometimes we are so busy with all the things in our lives that we forget the good things that happen every day. A gratitude journal helps you focus on the positive aspects of life, which will shift your focus away from negative things and allow you to start appreciating even more positive things that you are grateful to have in your life.

Miscellaneous activities: All sorts of activities can benefit from keeping a log of their progress. Fitness, gardening, traveling, reading, meditation, and yoga are just a few to get you started. It can be helpful and extremely rewarding to see where you are headed and how far along you have come.

Journal Mediums

Journals were traditionally written on paper, but today's technologies have allowed additional mediums for you to record your thoughts. Some mediums will appeal to certain types of people, and other mediums will be attractive for the rest. I have firsthand experience with myriad journaling mediums, and will explore some of the options below.

Paper journals: If you like the feeling of physically writing down your thoughts, like I do, then a paper notebook may be the most appealing option for you. There's nothing quite like setting pen to paper, which gives you physical control over your writing, and there is no chance that your journal will disappear or be leaked when an online service shuts down or is compromised. However, there are no backups of paper journals, and it is possible that someone will find your journal in its hiding place and read it without your permission.

Digital journaling: Using a computer, tablet, or mobile phone to write your journal may appeal to you. Something as simple as Apple's Pages or Microsoft Word can be used, or you can try your hand at many journaling apps found online. Digital journals have the benefit of password protection, and people typically type faster on a keyboard than they can write by hand. I have tried many journaling apps and have come to the conclusion that I prefer paper journals, but your experience may be different.

Blogging: An extension of journaling, blogging is essentially a published online journal medium. This is a great option to reap the benefits of journaling, while providing an opportunity to make yourself heard all around the world. Keeping a public blog means that you have a wide audience, but this comes with the sacrifice of privacy. There are many different blogging platforms to choose from, but they all have one thing in common—the ability to share your message with the world.

How to Start A Journal

Getting started with journaling is pretty easy. You just need to pick a medium and journal type, and start writing! I would advise starting as soon as possible—even if you're not completely sure what you want to write about. One of the things that writing for many years has taught me is that you will gradually find your voice in your writing over time, but you will never find it if you don't get started. Now that you know the basics of journaling, I encourage you to start one as soon as possible!

Mantras - An Introduction

Image by mailumes, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

This is the first post in a series featuring helpful meditation techniques.

In a previous post, I explained the benefits I have experienced by committing to a regular meditation practice. One of the techniques that can be used during a meditation session is the recitation of mantras. In this post I will introduce mantras and give you some advice on how best to use them in your own meditation practice.

What Are Mantras?

Mantras are essentially words or phrases that are repeated many times, over and over again. The symbol in the image shown above is the Sanskrit text for the mantra Om, which is perhaps the most well-known mantra, and often what a novice meditator assumes he or she will be chanting during every meditation session. However, Om is not the only mantra available to a meditator, nor is it the only aspect of meditation.

As described on Deepak Chopra's webpage about mantras:

"The word mantra has two parts: man, which is the root of the Sanskrit word for mind; and tra, which is the root of the word instrument. A mantra is therefore an instrument of the mind, a powerful sound or vibration that you can use to enter a deep state of meditation."

Taken from the Wikipedia article on mantras:

"'Mantra' means a sacred utterance, numinous sound, or a syllable, word, phonemes, or group of words believed by some to have psychological and spiritual power. A mantra may or may not have syntactic structure or literal meaning; the spiritual value of a mantra comes when it is audible, visible, or present in thought."

My personal take on mantras is that using them in a meditation practice helps calm the mind and focus attention. There have been times during my own meditation sessions that reciting mantras has led me to another state of consciousness. These experiences are difficult for me to describe, but the important message I would like to share is that using mantras can be an effective meditation technique.

How Do Mantras Work?

Repeating a mantra allows the mind to focus wholly on one particular sound or meaning. When we practice mantra repetition during meditation, we allow the vibration and meaning of the mantra to meld with our subconscious mind while also detaching from the racing thoughts that often fill our mind. This leads to myriad positive results, including altering the brain's chemical balance, freeing the mind from injurious thoughts, identifying negative habits, elevating our spirituality, and healing diseases.

The practice of repeating a mantra over and over again replaces the normal thought processes that we experience. It is really easy to get caught in our thoughts without even realizing it, and mantras can help us break that pattern by refocusing our attention on one specific word, sound, or phrase. After all, it is difficult to think about one thing while focusing your attention on another!

Three Mantras for Beginners

Included below are three mantras that are excellent for novice meditators. I have included each mantra's respective meaning and pronunciation that will help you started with incorporating mantras into your meditation practice. Please note that executing the correct pronunciation of a mantra is not as important as cultivating an honest intention while reciting the mantra. In addition, there are debates about the correct pronunciation of mantras. When in doubt, just do your best.

1) Om

• Translation: Om is said to be the sound of the universe. It is generally understood to be the original vibration, representing the birth, death, and re-birth process of Samsara.

• Pronunciation: Om has an alternate spelling of Aum, which is the sound that is made when the mantra is pronounced correctly. Position your mouth as you would say the vowel "U". Start vocalizing "Aum" and finish with "M" in the form of a deep hum. Another way to recite Om is to open your mouth, begin to utter "Aahh", slowly close your mouth as it becomes "Ooh", and when you close your mouth the sound becomes "Mmm".

2) Om Namah Shivaya

• Translation: Also known as Panchakshara, the "five-syllable" mantra Namah Shivaya is a holy salutation to Shiva. Shiva is understood to be the supreme deity of transformation who represents the truest, highest self. When an Om is included at the beginning of the mantra, the phrase translates to "I bow to Shiva". When I first started using this mantra, I imagined the meaning to be "I bow to myself", which helped me dedicate myself to my then-new meditation practice and thus, to myself.

• Pronunciation: When the beginning Om is included, this mantra is simply pronounced "Aum-Nah-Mah-Shee-Vah-Yah". I found this video from Yoga Vidya to be very helpful when learning to pronounce this mantra.

3) Om Mani Padme Hum

• Translation: This mantra loosely translates to "The jewel is in the lotus" or "Praise to the jewel in the lotus". It is said that all the teachings of the Buddha are contained in this mantra, and it cannot really be translated into a simple phrase or sentence. If you are interested in further reading, this explanation on Dharma Haven gives a thorough explanation of the meaning behind the mantra.

• Pronunciation: This mantra is pronounced "Aum-Mah-Nee-Pahd-May-Hum". The vowel in they syllable "Hum" is pronounced as in the English word "hook". The final consonant in that syllable is often pronounced "ng" as in "gong".

How to Recite Mantras

Learning to recite mantras is fairly straightforward. It is important to find a physical space that is pleasant to be in for an extended period and a time of day when you will not be interrupted by others. To begin, simply sit in a comfortable meditation pose with either closed or open eyes and repeat the mantra.

A mantra is traditionally repeated 108 times, the same count as the number of beads on a mala. There are many reasons given for the number 108, ranging from numerological theories to metaphysical explanations of the amount of energy lines there are in the human body. A more thorough examination of the reasons behind the number 108 can be found at SwamiJ.com. I have found using mala beads to be extremely helpful when first learning to recite mantras.

It is okay to begin by reciting mantras out loud, however the goal in many spiritual traditions is to arrive at the point where you can recite the mantra silently in your mind. The idea behind this is that once you are able to recite the mantra silently, you are fully entering the silence of the mind. While you repeat the mantra, the process generates a conscious vibration that carries the mind into deeper levels of awareness. As you continue with your meditation, the mantra becomes less prominent in your mind, and eventually you are led to the realm of pure consciousness from which the vibration arose.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what mantras are, how they work, some mantras to begin with, and how to recite them, I invite you to give the technique a try during your next meditation session.

Namaste.

The Manual of Psychedelic Support

While perusing the May 2015 edition of Erowid Extracts, I was referred to a website called PsychSitter that has a wonderful guide that gives advice for "setting up and running compassionate care services for people having difficult drug experiences at music festivals and similar events."

The guide was published under a Creative Commons license and is available as a FREE PDF download. It includes a history of psychedelic care services, legal considerations, how to recruit, build, and train a team, the care space, complementary therapies, case studies, and much more.

Having a safe space for people undergoing powerful transformational experiences at multi-day outdoor festivals is extremely important. Unfortunately, because of the RAVE (Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy) Act,  harm reduction services can be interpreted as illegal activity in the United States.

The Act makes it unlawful to "make available for use" any place "for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance." This can be broadly interpreted to target festival and event producers who have opted to provide any form of harm reduction services whatsoever. 

This can lead to producers being wary of even providing basic necessities like chillout spaces, available drinking water, drug testing reagent kit sites, and even the allowance of glow sticks, which have been associated in some people's minds with illegal substance use. This creates a situation where an already-difficult experience can turn into a nightmare for the traveler, who may end up in a crowded medical tent or the backseat of a police vehicle.

Groups like PsychSitter, DanceSafe, MAPS' Zendo Project, and the Full Circle Tea House are just a few of care service providers that are out there spreading positive vibes where they are needed the most. A petition has been started at Amend The RAVE Act that might be worth your checking out as well.

The Benefits of the 30-Day Challenge

Image by Philip Chapman-Bell, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

A 30-Day Challenge is a highly-effective method for personal growth that involves trying something new or developing a new habit. The concept is fairly simple: choose something that you would like to do every day (or another specified frequency) for 30 days, commit to that action, and stick to it!

The first time I heard about the concept of a 30-Day Challenge was from Steve Pavlina, one of my favorite personal development bloggers who has been a huge inspiration for my continued personal development. I have attempted several types of 30-Day Challenges which have resulted in newly-formed positive habits, the stoppage of detrimental habits, and a range of new worldviews and perspectives.

Some of my favorite 30-Day Challenges that I have experimented with include trying vegetarianism (which eventually led to a 30-Day Vegan Challenge as well), committing to a daily meditation practice, writing every day, giving up coffee, flossing my teeth every day, waking up at 5AM every morning, and studying a foreign language, Not all of my 30-Day Challenges have been completely successful, but they have all taught me about myself and allowed me to experience something new for a short period of time. This can be a helpful tool that allows the participant to gauge whether or not he or she benefits from the new behavior.

We all know the challenges of starting a healthy habit or breaking a bad routine. Most of us have had this experience with New Years Resolutions, for better or for worse. Before the resolution starts, we are excited and motivated, but that positive energy can wear off before the habit itself is established.

One benefit of the 30-Day Challenge is that it is a (relatively short) medium-term commitment. It isn't difficult to try something for 30 days, because there is no need to commit to a lifelong change (which can be overwhelming and stop you before you even get started!). It's possible that the new habit will stick for longer than 30 days, but that will not happen in every case.

30 days is enough time to get past the beginning stage when the habit feels unusual and is not fully ingrained. There is less of a chance that you will prematurely stop the habit when you commit upfront to the new behavior for a minimum of 30 days. Getting past those few initial weeks when the habit feels strange can be difficult, but after about three weeks many habits begin to feel routine.

If you are interested in attempting a 30-Day Challenge of your own, here are some ideas:

1. Go vegetarian for 30 days. If you don't feel comfortable with that, how about trying to participate in Meatless Mondays for a full month?

2. Start a daily yoga or meditation practice.

3. Read or write an hour per day.

4. Unplug the TV or shut off Internet access for 30 days.

5. Give up caffeine or alcohol for 30 days.

6. Wake up early every morning.

7. Write in a journal every day.

8. Do a 30-day fitness challenge.

9. Turn off your cell phone for 30 days.

10. Go out every night to a new place. This is a great way to explore a new city or reconnect with a familiar one, and will definitely make for a lot of fresh memories!

These are just some ideas to help you get started. I have found 30-Day Challenges to be extremely beneficial for me and will continue using them to better myself and experience things that I wouldn't normally have the courage to try. I hope that this post encourages you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. The new you could be right around the corner, just waiting for your current self to come around the bend!