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a_o_anders's review against another edition
4.0
An important read for self-growth. Repetitive and overly dense in parts, but otherwise a critical book.
lilydoyle6's review against another edition
2.0
2.5: not because it wasn't well written, but because it is basically mediation described in a more academic, explanatory manner. I'd recommend it to anyone new to mediation who doesn't already practice yoga and/or meditate regularly. (full disclosure: I only got about halfway through before deciding not to finish because I felt like it was a repeat of information I already knew.)
bengal_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Very clinical explanation of mindfulness. I didn't finish just because it was too detailed for me, but I'm so glad I listened to about half of this to get the gist. There are excellent accompanying resources on practicing the Wheel of Awareness on Siegel's website. I own and reference regularly his No Drama Discipline and plan to read the Whole Brain Child.
user226's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.75
This is one of the hardest personal development books I’ve read, but perhaps the most important. Everyone can benefit from its insights, even if the method prescribed does not resonate. The challenge is the language of the book, which is part neurobiology text book and part quantum science, sprinkled with many words used (many times) in very precise ways that may not necessarily match your expectation. But preserve, even a small sample will yield great value.
apocalypse_musings's review against another edition
3.0
The Wheel of Awareness is a wonderful meditation practice that I now use daily. However, this is a very hard book to read because the sentences are excessively long and technical. I had to reread most of them multiple times. The most useful part of the book is the script for the meditation and the brief explanation of the practice at the beginning of the book. I could have skipped the rest.
_mims_'s review against another edition
If I hear the word wheel one more time I think I might have an allergic reaction. Could not stand all the made up lingo. Perhaps this book holds the secret to life, but one would never be able to identify it through the thick layer of crap concealing the message
davissandefur's review against another edition
2.0
I admit to skimming most of the second 2/3 of the book. The biggest issue with the book was that it could have easily been half as long (or less!). The points are repeated so many times in each chapter, and almost always exactly word-for-word, that one could almost spout off the whole discussion by rote at the end of one. Furthermore, apart from being redundant, the text was overly wordy. At times it seemed like the author was getting paid by the word, and was trying to make things purposefully complicated (maybe he wanted to confuse us so we'd go pay for a seminar with him near us?) The over convoluted sentences, and belabored points really turned me off of sitting down and reading it, leading me to skim. Furthermore, none of the author's research was ever cited. He claims research proves all this stuff, but never once directs the reader where to go to find it. To me, this is a huge red flag, even though I do believe the author's claims about it being backed up by science. The only things that were cited were books he directly quoted from, which is not a good way to write anything relating to popular science (and *especially* if your book has the subheading "The Science and Practice of Presence").
That said, the Wheel Practice does seem interesting, though it doesn't seem that much different from many other meditative practices in the world. I'd be willing to try one of the recorded sessions on the author's website (which he dropped as often as he could -- it does seem like he *really* wants us to take a seminar) and see how it goes, but it doesn't seem like much new was presented in this book besides the author's way of marketing meditation practices. It's a shame, really, as I thought it could be much more interesting.
That said, the Wheel Practice does seem interesting, though it doesn't seem that much different from many other meditative practices in the world. I'd be willing to try one of the recorded sessions on the author's website (which he dropped as often as he could -- it does seem like he *really* wants us to take a seminar) and see how it goes, but it doesn't seem like much new was presented in this book besides the author's way of marketing meditation practices. It's a shame, really, as I thought it could be much more interesting.
nomad_scry's review against another edition
Mlaw mlaw mlaw. Mouth noise repeating endlessly. I'm legitimately interested in the topic, but I can't handle the invented word play crap. I quit less than halfway through because I don't think the author actually hand anything interesting to say after the phrase "wheel". Just a whole lotta mouth noises with no meaning.
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