Joy on Demand: The Art of Discovering the Happiness Within

The central thesis of Joy on Demand is that happiness is trainable through skillful meditation. I highly recommend the book because it delivers on the promise of its title by presenting a clear road map of a sequence of practical mind-training steps that help ease people into an introspective journey of discovery. Moreover, the author's trademark humor and humility belie the elegant logic as well as the textual and scientific underpinnings of his research-based findings and experiential observations.I also appreciate the open-mindedness and pragmatism that permeate the book: "[T]he paths are not mutually exclusive . . . The thing about the different paths is that each has its own upsides and downsides, so they work much better for some people than others, depending on goals, inclinations, aptitudes, and life situations. For example, the ease and joy path is good at helping large numbers of ordinary people establish a solid practice." Few have the bandwidth to immerse in intensive studies of ancient texts and erudite treatises that are replete with linguistic and interpretive challenges or to attend lengthy meditation retreats. Because the format and content of this entertainingly engaging book are highly accessible (i.e. do not require elucidation by intermediaries) and the approaches conducive to immediate experimentation (e.g. I tried many of the exercises as I read the book), the author's compassionate intention to "benefit the maximum number of people" is bound to bear fruit.As a novice to Buddhist texts and commentaries who has a keen interest in understanding the role of spiritual practices in technology and innovation driven contemporary society, I found this acknowledgment particularly insightful: "The wisdom and training methods that afforded me this dramatic change in my life trajectory come from the Buddha. In fact, all that is good in me comes from the Buddha and his teachings. I was lost, but now I'm home." The nuggets of wisdom generously sprinkled throughout the book encourage both reflective respite and the exploration of spiritual sanctuaries.Last but not least, I found great resonance with one of the conclusions: "In any kind of difficult situation, especially one that appears prolonged, I must aspire to have the determination to not give up, and also to cultivate the inner peace, inner joy, and compassion to be at ease as much as possible." The straightforward tips in this primer on mindfulness meditation provided me with not only instructive value but also expanded my positive thought-action repertoire. Treat yourself to Joy on Demand and rejoice!

I first came across "Joy On Demand" by chance when I walked into Meng's talk at the 2016 Wisdom 2.0 Conference. And boy was I glad! In the space of his short talk, he delivered several simple, quick, highly effective mini-practices to bring up joy in our lives. The overall framework has three steps: 1. Easing into joy: putting the mind in a restful state such that ease and joy positively reinforce one another. Meditation is the cardinal tool here. 2. Inclining the mind toward joy: noticing and appreciating joy that is already available to us. What's good in your life right now? What suffering is absent? 3. Uplifting the mind: focusing on goodness, generosity, loving-kindness and compassion.The mini-practices are where this book shines. As a meditation teacher, I've noticed that many find the idea of sitting still for 10-20min a day daunting. Well, the mini-practices take just a few seconds, and they can be just as beneficial. Heck, don't take my word for it -- just try these out right now and notice how they make you feel:• The "3-breath Exercise" is simplicity itself: take one deep, slow breath while you attend to the breath itself; take another breath to relax the body; and take a third to bring up some joy, perhaps with a little half-smile on your face.• Really notice and savor that first bite of food, that first minute in bed, that first minute under the shower.• Take 10sec to wish joy for 2 random people.• Uplift the mind by thinking of someone uplifting, like the Dalai Lama, Buddha, or Nelson Mandela.The book is lighthearted and easy to read, with many quirky cartoons illustrating Meng's points. If you were to incorporate even a fraction of the techniques Meng describes, you will noticeably increase the amount of joy in your minutes, days and years, and of those around you, too. "Joy On Demand" is precisely the kind of book that allows you to access a better version of yourself, and by extension, a better world.-- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil, Happiness Engineer & author of  The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible , the highest-rated dating book on Amazon for 4+ years

I've read many books on meditation over the past 20 to 30 years. I had never considered myself to be one who did it correctly…up until now. I'll just quickly summarize the reasons here:1. No more perfectionism. I used to beat myself up for not being a good meditator. If I didn't have that rhythmic feel and that subtle smile come onto my face, I consider my practice to be a big fail. The irony, of course, is that attitude makes good meditation even more out of my reach. This book pretty much says just take one breath and start from there. Focus on it. Repeat. 2. Just do it many times, and you'll get better at it. The author goes into some detail about how many hours it takes to develop a strong meditation practice. It could take 50 hours or much longer Before one sees the most profound benefits. While that is a sobering thought, it also takes the pressure off of trying to get it perfect as you stumble your way through. 3. Altogether, the book has a humorous and very human approach to learning how to meditate and benefit from it. The first few chapters avoid the usual jargon, although in later chapters it moves in that direction. But I found the first four chapters to be more impactful and beneficial than all the meditation books I've ever read combined.

O livro é de certa forma uma continuação do primeiro livro do autor, SIY, pois trata com maior profundidade alguns aspectos da meditação, apresentando com detalhes os três estados mentais que devemos trabalhar com a prática meditativa, que nada mais é que um treinamento mental.O autor poderia perder menos tempo com os estágios iniciais da prática meditativa e talvez tentar abranger outras formas de se trabalhar a inteligência emocional, como ele fez em seu primeiro livro, que era mais abrangente nesse sentido. Espero que ele assim o faça em um próximo livro.Esse livro é recomendado para quem quer iniciar na meditação e também para quem pretende aprofundar suas práticas.Gostei bastante de ele colocar de forma bem direta o número de horas de meditação até atingir uma boa maturidade da prática e até atingir um domínio já bem consolidado, pois a partir disso podemos criar metas de horas de meditação, de acordo com onde ou que estágio queremos alcançar.

Muito bom! Escrito de maneira leve e divertida...Recomendo a todos!!! Tudo ficou mais fácil de entender, muito mais fácil

Insightful and funny at the same time, and beautifully narrated, this audio book by Chade-Meng Tan has inspired me to take a step back and take action to lead my life in a more relaxed, compassionate and joyful way.

I am a huge fan of Search Inside Yourself, Meng's previous book on mind training that focuses on mindfulness meditation. This book is similar but more personal and has a lot of great stories and advice. It is funny, useful, interesting, and potentially life-changing for anyone who follows Meng's advice and suggestions. I first listened to the Audible version, which has an excellent reader. Then I read the book, which has the benefit of funny cartoons throughout (similar to SIY) that lightened up the mood of the book substantially. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who is wondering what this mindfulness thing is about, especially if you tried some meditating and found it was too hard or think it is not for you for whatever reason. The Emperor has opened the vault for you, and you just have to go fill your pockets with valuable coins!

My wife loves this book. It's her new "bible". She been giving copies of this book to pretty much everyone she knows. I haven't read it yet but will probably do so eventually. It's been helping her figure out meditation and it's not so "airy fairy". The guy worked for Google so he's very matter of fact. The illustrations are entertaining.