| Title | : | Tickled: Common Sense for the Present Moment |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0063036894 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780063036895 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | Published October 19, 2021 |
In 2020, nothing went according to plan. Duff McDonald had intended to write a book about society’s obsession with measurements, data, and predictions, showing how it blunts individual happiness and decision-making while fueling corporate capitalism. But in the quiet of quarantine, McDonald found himself reexamining the assumptions beneath his own life choices. He also reconsidered his book, deciding instead to reframe his approach as an exploration of his own battle with what he calls the “precision paradox”—the existential struggle between our desire for ease and our need to exert control. Drawing inspiration from an impressive range of sources—from Borges to the Buddha to Bob (Dylan) to Harry Potter—McDonald documents how he let go of his attachment to precision in favor of delving deeper into what it means to be present—in his work, his relationships, and what he calls the “science of experience.” He asks, “What should I have been doing? I should have been focusing on things that I love, not the things that anger or annoy me. I should have been focusing on things that tickle me.” Part self-help, part memoir, Tickled is a story of how to bring joy and love into your life right now . McDonald acknowledges that “tickle” is a funny, awkward word. In one context, it’s as innocent as can be. But it also runs deeper. When something tickles you, you are in the moment, experiencing reality itself—at the vortex of truth, consciousness, and bliss. “When something tickles, that’s your soul speaking to you in the language of love, thanking you for experience,” he says. As he lays out his own personal transformation, McDonald invites readers to begin their own journeys to find out what “tickles” them, too. This exploration of joy and presence—experiences that tickle—lies at the heart of McDonald’s unusual, moving, and profound book.
Tickled: Common Sense for the Present Moment Reviews
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This book is life changing.
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When I first started reading this book I was "tickled" AF. I loved it and I have many quotes written down from it. So I'm a bit surprised that I lost all desire to finish it half-way-through. I stumbled upon this at my local library when my 1 y/o kiddo tried pulling it off the shelf. I LOVE books on mindfulness and was excited to find one written by an author who didn't spend his life being a monk.
However, as I continued into the book I found more and more personal issues with the philosophical insights of the author. By page 151 I couldn't go on.
With that said, THANK YOU DUFF for really driving home the concept that the ONLY thing that matters is what I'm going to do RIGHT NOW. Of all the ways that I've heard this concept explained DUFF did the very best at convincing me to just "be here now" more often.
You know what? Screw it. 5 stars because he did such a dang good job of convincing me that living in the future is a poor use of the time that I have right now:
"The thing that numbers do that traps us into taking our attention out of the present is that they induce us to obsess about change - progress - toward some future that promises to eclipse this moment or at least render it less important than some future moment that will surely be worth the wait." (p. 115) -
I am so frustrated that I wasn't able to finish this book. I wanted to follow and understand the idea of Tickled, but found the book to hard to keep on. Although it is a number, the amount of times Harry Potter came up was too many for me. And really felt lost when mentioning the Law of Gravity and Quantum Physics. Whatever the idea may have been, a shorter book/entry may have better explained it.
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Good information
