8 Minute Meditation: Quiet Your Mind. Change Your Life. [Paperback]

Victor Davich (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 6, 2004

In recent years, mainstream Americans have begun to come around to meditation in a big way-and scientific studies are suggesting that the physical and mental benefits are solid and real. But to many, it remains something mystical and inaccessible...and spiritually-oriented tomes on the market don't do much to make it easier.

As interest in meditation continues to grow, this book offers a simple, no-nonsense program to help beginners experience reduced stress and increased focus in only eight minutes a day. Designed by meditation expert and bestselling author Victor Davich, this program teaches the basic principles of meditation while clearing up the misconceptions and myths that too often get in the way.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...Davich's little guide to meditation is indeed humorous, wise, effective, and resolutely nonsectarian... -- Library Journal

From the Author

I wrote this book because over the years so many people have come to me and said, "I'd love to learn to meditate, but....

It takes too long

I eat hamburgers

I'm not smart enough

It's too complicated."

And the list goes on and on. 

So I created 8 Minute Meditation. It's not too long. In fact, it's the time between two TV commercials.  So if you can watch 8 minutes of CSI, SNL, or Leno--you can start a meditation practice that can quiet your mind--and change your life. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; 1 edition (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399529950
• ISBN-13: 978-0399529955
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Quick Workouts
  • #48 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Alternative Medicine > Meditation

More About the Author

If there is a Guinness World Record for "Most Attorneys Taught Stress Reduction in One Room," I would have set it when I taught 400 lawyers to meditate in the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Palm Springs.

My practice of meditation began by accident and for practical, not spiritual reasons: I was a stressed-out "One-L"--a first year law student in New York looking for a medication-free way to stay calm and focus on an incredible caseload. I began to meditate and the results were amazing: My grades got better--and I got calmer. win-win all the way.

I continued to meditate throughout a highly successful--and high-pressure--career as an attorney and producer for major corporations like Young & Rubicam, Paramount Pictures and Universal-TV. But little did I realize that my business and meditation experience would result in my creating 8 Minute Meditation, the program TIME magazine calls "The most American form of meditation yet."

My goal for 8 Minute Meditation was to provide anybody with a simple program that could lower stress,increase focus--and change their lives. Now in it's 10th printing, the book is a perennial Amazon bestseller and my Guided Meditation CD (available at CDbaby.com)is also very popular. 8 Minute Meditation has helped over 100,000 people transform their lives.

In 2010, in response to many requests for an 8 Minute Meditation program that would specifically address stress, I created 8 Minute Stress Relief. It's a brand-new 8 Minute Meditation program specifically geared to empower people to reduce their stress level, on the spot, wherever they are.

To learn more about me, 8 Minute Meditation, and 8 Minute Meditation Stress Relief, visit me at www.8minutes.org.

And oh yeah, why the pic of me in the funny hat? 'Cause I love fly-fishing! The greatest meditation there is. This was me at Henry's Fork, Idaho, catching rainbow trout---and of course, releasing them--just like I tell you to do with your thoughts.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

386 of 394 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for beginners, but skip the companion CD August 12, 2004

By Ron Cronovich TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

This is an excellent book for beginners and skeptics (and I was both). It makes meditation easy. Really! It's also very well-written, reader-friendly, easy to read, and witty.

The book plugs a companion CD, available only at the author's website for $17. I bought the CD, have used it, and would like to review it here, so that those of you who buy the book can better decide whether you should spring for the CD.

The CD contains 16 tracks.

The first eight tracks are very short (e.g. 2-minutes), and summarize some of the content from the book. These short tracks are useful reminders of some of the key points in the book, but as the CD tells you, it is not intended to substitute for the book.

The rest of the CD consists of 8 "guided meditations," one for each week of the book's 8-week program. In each of these tracks, the author spends a few seconds telling you what activity you're supposed to do, then he tells you to start, then 8 minutes later a gong sounds, signaling you to stop. About every two minutes during the meditation, the author interrupts you to say things like "Has your attention drifted? That's okay, just return your focus to your breath." This type of reminder might be useful, especially at first, but after a while, I found it intrusive. Also, the sound of his voice is not especially soothing or gentle. For me, it's better to just do as the book says - use a common kitchen timer set to 8 minutes.

Aside from the occasional interruptions, there is complete silence during the 8 minute meditations. I prefer the silence to the soft new-age music or nature sounds on some other meditation CDs.

In my opinion, the CD is not a good value: the total amount of content on the CD is about 20 minutes, maybe less. This is due to the fact that the CD has a lot of silent parts during the guided meditations; this silence is appropriate, but it reduces the amount of time available for spoken content. And, more importantly, all of the spoken content on the CD--and much more--is already in the book.

On the plus side, the service was excellent - the CD arrived two days after I ordered it.

In summary, I recommend the book highly if you're a beginner. But my opinion is that you skip the CD and save your money.

82 of 83 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Build a lasting practice. September 5, 2005

By San Diego Guy

Format:Paperback

This book is an 8 week program on meditation for beginners where each week the book teaches you a different meditation technique. The program has you meditate for just 8 minutes a day every, which taught me to concentrate on my meditation more while building a habit of meditating every day. Although I have tried some Zen meditation in the past, the techniques I learned in this book gave me better tools to meditate. After completing the book I have been able to keep up with my meditation practice. If you would like to build a lasting meditation practice in your life, I highly recommend it.

103 of 107 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Place to Start... March 25, 2008

By stoic VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Of all of the reviews that I have written on this site, this one probably is the most difficult to write. Davich does a very good job of describing the basics of meditation. But how does one generalize about meditation?

For someone who wants to get started with meditation with minimal fuss, 8 Minute Meditation is the book to use. I think that 8 Minute Meditation is fairly typical of what the publishers are focusing on these days: it is short, to the point, and it uses an easy-to-read style that helps a lot. Shorter, easy books seem to the new norm in publishing.

Davich does a good job of anticipating questions that the reader will have & he provides sensible answers. Most of his advice - in the questions and throughout the book - focuses on the practical (and not the mystical) aspects of meditation.

One thing that does keep me from giving 8 Minute Meditation a higher rating is that I think that meditation is a difficult subject to generalize about. Each person's inner world differs & each person's reaction to meditation will likewise differ. Sometimes the "one-size-fits-all" advice Davich provides struck me as lacking in depth. I've noticed that a few other reviewers found the same thing; so, 8 Minute Meditation's greatest strength and weakness is its brevity.

Having said that, 8 Minute Meditation is the best introductory meditation guide that I have seen. It will get you started on your meditation right away.