By Patricia Zick @PCZick

Gentoku McCree lives a gentle life, and he shares the success of his life with others through his thoughtful books. Awareness, one of those books, offers a primer on how to become thoroughly aware and comfortable in mind, body, and environment.“Awareness is a foundational skill in mindfulness practice.” Gentoku opens Awareness with this statement. When we become aware, we are better able to live more fully. Gentoku begins by giving the four basic types of awareness:  base, engaged, open, and reflective. They are not mutually exclusive types, but rather serve as a step ladder to mindfulness in all we do.

I like the simplicity of his explanations in this book. It’s a good book for starting on a more thoughtful existence, and it serves as a helpful reminder of basic things we forget as we become caught up in our busy lives. The book itself is only twenty-nine pages so it’s a quick read with powerful information.

He provides exercises that can be easily incorporated into daily life without much effort. The majority of the eight (standing, stretching, waiting, walking, emotions, acknowledgements, form, and listening) assist in making us aware and atuned to our body. I particularly like the one for waiting. I hate waiting in doctor’s offices, in line anywhere, and in traffic. Gentoku provides a script to use in our mind to make the time go quicker. He suggests we might even be sorry when the wait ends.

Gentoku sells the book on his website for $2.99 per download.

Gentoku pulls on his background as a mindfulness-based personal trainer, former monastery resident, a yoga school student, writer, and Zen Buddhist practitioner living in Portland, Oregon. Gentoku is his Buddhist name given to him by his teachers Chozen and Hogen Bays at Great Vow Zen Monastery. His name means manifesting virtue  or present sincerity. His mission is to support others in living a more healthy, balanced, and mindful life. He’s off to a fantastic start with Awareness.

NOTE: I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation for writing this review and it in no way influenced the review.