I saw the book “Mind Full” by Dermot Whelan, appear in book shops in 2021. Initially, I didn’t realise that Dermot Whelan was 50% of Dermot and Dave from Irish radio station, Today FM. Once I had figured out who Dermot was, I thought that he had written an autobiography like other people in the public eye.
However, this book is really only autobiographical in parts. Those parts are necessary to explain how Dermot arrived at meditation.
If you have ever been curious about what meditation is, this is a great book to provide a down to earth explanation.
If you have ever tried meditation but couldn’t connect to it because it felt too abstract or far removed from your life, this is a great book to help meditation be relatable and attainable.
In different parts of the book, Dermot uses analogies that I appreciated as they offer very easy to understand explanations.
In talking about what meditation might do for us, Dermot describes it as “a vacuum cleaner for your mind”, cleaning up the unproductive and dusty thoughts going through our heads.
I like the next analogy as it is a perfect description of how to let your meditation efforts just be. There is no need to force a result.
“When we are able to engage with something like meditation without expecting any particular outcome, we allow the benefits to unfold naturally. Just as a sheet hanging on the washing line isn’t trying to get dry – it merely rests there in the wind and getting dry in the outcome.”
Dermot’s writing is amusing and easy to follow. Reading the book is almost like having a friend cajole you into trying something that is good for you. It is practical too. Dermot trained as a meditation teacher and offers simple descriptions of different types of meditation.
If you are in a hurry to find out more about Dermot and meditation, Dermot has a website which provides some background on Dermot’s story, some beginner guided meditations and a link to buy his book.
Sinead Huskisson 