Cory Muscara

Thank you in advance to the publisher, Hachette Books, and Bookish First for providing a complimentary review. A positive review was not required. All words and thoughts are my own.

In a world of laptops, tablets, and smart phones – things that are meant to improve our life – we’re often disconnected from that life when we try to connect to what we think is our life.

Muscara, as a mindfulness teacher, takes the reader through a non-religious and psychology free journey to find mindfulness and presence in a life that is anything but “present”. In fact, being “present” has become more of a platitude than an attitude.

For those looking for “presence” and “mindfulness” types of books without religion or spirituality, readers will be pleased to know this doesn’t contain those elements. The only mention of religion is what he learned at a monastery.

Muscara starts off with a bit of humor and a presentation about a speaker in his business class. The man wore an expensive suit, but wasn’t “happy”. And, using his six month stint at a monastery in Burma, he takes readers through a journey of how to finding the presence after peeling away the layers keeping us from enjoying life. He even points out that parts of the books are not positive and uplifting. But, it is meant to get us to see what walls we consciously or unconsciously put up. From the traumas in our lives to how hard it is to be us, this is a slow, self-guided journey.

Muscara then goes in depth with what meditation does and does not do. He gives the readers tools to gradually improve their lives. He does so without the psychology talk in an easy to read manner. It’s similar to having a talk with someone over coffee.

There are some parts that might make readers uncomfortable. Others might have no issue with them.

For those “always connected” people – he doesn’t tackle the electronic devices until chapter 11, more specifically page 193. This is the part that I truly enjoyed.

Muscara walks readers through a “device detox” (my term for it). He starts with meditating with your phone. I am not kidding. There are questions (non workbook style) for the exercise. He asks the whens, wheres, whys, hows of the phone connect – use, apps, and social media.

Using Marie Kondo’s much maligned book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”, Muscara goes into cleaning up the apps that clutter our devices. How to remove them and turn of notifications (to stop the constant pinging). His target is things that do not bring joy, inspire, or non-essential.

On page 201, he discusses social media – Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

It is here where I already heed the advice he gives; and have been for the past five (5) years. He starts off with wondering what if our feeds were filled with only the things we enjoy. And, believe it or not – that was my take when I started “social media housecleaning”. Pushing off from that, he recommends something I already do: unfriend, unfollow, and/or mute.

But, he also gives permission, though it isn’t needed but helps to reaffirm our decision to completely unfriend people not positively serving our well-being, challenging us, or growing our perspectives. Another option, on Facebook, is to unfollow their feed. Again, I have been doing this as well. So, I have to agree with the author’s methodology on this tactic.

It does work. While I see people complaining about what they’re seeing on social media, I am smiling because what I see brings me more joy than angst.

I like how he situated the chapter towards the end of the book so as not to state “social media is your problem” right off. There are some who would easily get triggered by that. He gently worked it into being one of the tools to improve our “presence” in life.

And, as the inside back flap states – he brings these teachings to people in a practical and usable way. As of note, he has “taught” people in schools, organizations, and the healthcare system. He also helps the general public through workshops and retreats. Like most self-improvement, self-enlightenment books; this isn’t one of those “one and done” books either.… (mehr)

This was a hard book for me to get into. I loved what I thought the book was going to be about. But as I started reading, I was totally lost at how I was spose to get to that place the tittle boasts about.
I have to admit I almost quit reading it. But I kept reading and I was glad I did. But I think I would have gave this book a different tittle.
I am the sort of person who reacts to things instantly with out much thought of what I do or say only to regret it after words. Cory gave a good example of how he handled a time in his life with another person he was not getting along with. And instead of continuing that path, he decided to change it.This book really gave me some insight about how to actually handle being in the moment without that trigger finger I have and I can't wait to start practicing it.
I also Loved how Cory explained how to meditate. I have always wanted to try but never thought I would be able to do it. He explained it so well. I had no problem following his direction.
This is a book defiantly worth reading.… (mehr)

While this isn't a book I would normally add on my TBR list, I can truly say that there is something worth reading about it.

Personally, I read fiction as a way to escape and have fun. That's why self-help books aren't really on my radar... ever. But, this book intrigued me and I wanted to find out what the author had to say about life. I quite enjoyed this book and surprisingly got so much out of it more than I thought. I did put it down and it took a while to finish, but overall, I think the message is important, thought-provoking, and helpful. Unless you love self-help books, this isn't a one-sitting type of read. For me, it's one of those you read, then stop and think about and then read some more.

All in all, Stop Missing Your Life by Cory Muscara was a fascinating and wonderful read that plenty of readers could benefit from.… (mehr)

I don't usually read self help books, but I really enjoyed Stop Missing Your Life by Cory Muscara. The tone of this book is helpful and informal. Cory shares aspects of his own life and how he came to be interested in mindfulness and meditation. Cory summarizes the science behind meditation and the steps and practices the reader can take to start the journey toward mindfulness. The content is practical, non-judgmental, accessible and humerous at times. Cory gives examples of some of the people he has worked with to help the reader understand his points. There are so many good ideas and strategies in this book I feel like I could read it several times and still learn something each time. The part about tidying up your cell phone to minimize time wasting distractions was particularly helpful.… (mehr)