Success Through Stillness — by Russell Simmons
Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:47 pm
Success Through Stillness
By Russell Simmons with Chris Morris
Success Through Stillness is an important book in no small measure because Russell Simmons has street cred. He has been enormously successful in business having co-founded the hip hop music label Def Jam and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and American Classics among other ventures. He continues to inspire and work with the Hip-Hop community and is able to talk an entire generation.
His message is simple. Inner stillness achieved through meditation is the foundation of all his creative success. He’s right. It is the first giant step toward a creative life, a spiritual life or a life of love. The message is simply presented and extremely well written by Chris Morris. There are enough different points of view to expand his thesis well beyond materialistic attainment to success in many different aspects of life.
The book is divided into five parts.
Part One asks “Why Meditate?” The answer, to be happy, is explained through anecdotes from Russell’s own experience with a particular focus on Yoga as the pathway through which he personally was introduced to stillness.
Part Two, “Why You Think You Can’t Meditate”, addresses the major emotional blocks that people put up to avoid the practice. No time, no place and the feeling of incompetence are all addressed with understanding. My favorite part was his dismissal of the idea that “God doesn’t want me meditating.”
Part Three explores some of the scientific findings about the valuable changes meditation creates in your material being. It helps your body. This is a valuable section in particular for those concerned with physical health. I loved the part on mindful eating!
Part Four is “Living Up to Your Potential”. I came away feeling that this was the heart of the book. Living in the present, the ability to focus, success and failure, inner peace, creativity, life without judgment and compassion were some of the subjects addressed. In short all of the qualities that one comes to exhibit with real spiritual growth were described in detail.
Part Five provides a strategy on “How to Meditate”. It is of course drawn from all of Russell’s prior experience so his technique a composite of Yoga, mantra use, mindfulness and his own discoveries.
The reason this book is so important in my estimation is that many people who might not otherwise be introduced to meditation will heed his voice. In acting on his advice they will be taking a significant step forward in their own spiritual growth. For it is the truth that in inner stillness we begin to approach God. Russell’s provided a practical path.
Success Through Stillness — by Russell Simmons with Chris Morris (on Amazon.com)
Welles
By Russell Simmons with Chris Morris
Success Through Stillness is an important book in no small measure because Russell Simmons has street cred. He has been enormously successful in business having co-founded the hip hop music label Def Jam and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and American Classics among other ventures. He continues to inspire and work with the Hip-Hop community and is able to talk an entire generation.
His message is simple. Inner stillness achieved through meditation is the foundation of all his creative success. He’s right. It is the first giant step toward a creative life, a spiritual life or a life of love. The message is simply presented and extremely well written by Chris Morris. There are enough different points of view to expand his thesis well beyond materialistic attainment to success in many different aspects of life.
The book is divided into five parts.
Part One asks “Why Meditate?” The answer, to be happy, is explained through anecdotes from Russell’s own experience with a particular focus on Yoga as the pathway through which he personally was introduced to stillness.
Part Two, “Why You Think You Can’t Meditate”, addresses the major emotional blocks that people put up to avoid the practice. No time, no place and the feeling of incompetence are all addressed with understanding. My favorite part was his dismissal of the idea that “God doesn’t want me meditating.”
Part Three explores some of the scientific findings about the valuable changes meditation creates in your material being. It helps your body. This is a valuable section in particular for those concerned with physical health. I loved the part on mindful eating!
Part Four is “Living Up to Your Potential”. I came away feeling that this was the heart of the book. Living in the present, the ability to focus, success and failure, inner peace, creativity, life without judgment and compassion were some of the subjects addressed. In short all of the qualities that one comes to exhibit with real spiritual growth were described in detail.
Part Five provides a strategy on “How to Meditate”. It is of course drawn from all of Russell’s prior experience so his technique a composite of Yoga, mantra use, mindfulness and his own discoveries.
The reason this book is so important in my estimation is that many people who might not otherwise be introduced to meditation will heed his voice. In acting on his advice they will be taking a significant step forward in their own spiritual growth. For it is the truth that in inner stillness we begin to approach God. Russell’s provided a practical path.
Success Through Stillness — by Russell Simmons with Chris Morris (on Amazon.com)
Welles