Astonish Yourself: 101 Experiments in the Philosophy of Everyday Life

"I actually dog-eared pages as I read for things I wanted to go back and try. I ended up with 41 bent pages and some memorable experiences.

"#94 Think about what other people are doing" was a favorite one as was "#22 Count to a thousand".

It is not life changing so much as simply life observing in a "stop and smell the roses" sort of way. I had fun reading it and think most people will be able to find something memorable if they actually try some of the experiments."
~ Written on 2008-08-25

"Is this book pretentious? Yeah, okay, I can see that. Maybe a little. But it doesn't matter.

This book makes me smile. When I'm feeling blah and down, especially on grey winter days that are so prevalent in New England, I run to my parents' house, take it out of my old bookcase, and fall into it, leaving the world for a bit. That said, it doesn't live with my other favorites at my apartment, a small selection consisting of only the books that have changed my life, made me stop breathing, turned the world on its head. It is, of course, not a novel, and difficult to compare in that sense.

But I do like it. It didn't really change my life, it isn't groundbreaking, but it is fantastic. Ideally, people should make their own collections of such thoughts, little silly ideas they can venture into when they're feeling a bit blah. But it's a jumping point. It brings you somewhere else. It isn't the say-all, be-all, but it lets you start your adventures into your own mind when you're feeling stuck."
~ Written on 2008-02-09

"This book is so strange and esoteric that it almost borders on the occult. It reminds me of the wonderful book, "The Secret Life of Plants" for it's "out thereness". I tried a few of the experiments and one that was like a revelation to me was the one about channel surfing AM radio late at night in the dark. People don't believe that there is more of a Art Bell-type world out there than previously thought. There are so many books on the market pretending to be relevant and informative, when basically they are trivia rehashed or made to appeal to Gen X and fringe/cutting edge pop culture. This one hits a home run because some of the experiments are actually very interesting."
~ Written on 2007-08-27

"This is a very strange book, but in the end, a useful one.

Experts of the mind and human behaviour have proposed that most of us carry on throughout our lives on automatic pilot. Because of habit, daily routine and repetition, we inadvertently create mental machinery to do our tasks without too much effort. As we grow older, too, our perceptions of the world have a tendency to dull, our opinions on matters political and otherwise refuse to see other perspectives, we are less inclined to learn new things, in other words, we become set in our ways. As the old saying goes: "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". This text provides us with some absurd and interesting exercises designed to break down our mental machinery, shake up our preconceived notions of the world, our fixed ideas, and perhaps see the world from a clean slate. In some cases, as the title suggests, the outcomes can be astonishing.

For example, number 15, "Walk in the Dark". The duration should only be a few minutes and the effect is that uncomfortable sensation of disorientation. Interestingly, the world actually changes when we attempt to orient ourselves in pitch-black conditions. We cannot depend on the light and must use our other senses to move around. This exercise hones your other senses, changing your views on "reality" and pushes you to move into present time.

One of the exercises that I found most rewarding is number 67, "Watch someone Sleeping". Having been with my partner for some years now, I believed I knew everything about her from her eyebrows to that tiny mole on her left shoulder. Time and familiarity has a tendency to make one take for granted those things and people that we depend on the most. Watching her sleep, listening to her slow and rhythmic breathing, suddenly I perceive a kind of "innocence", a face that somehow appears different, more beautiful, much less familiar. I no longer take her for granted because I've seen her in a different way.

A more banal exercise, and one most of us have experienced at one point or another is number 77, "Listen to your own voice". More often than not, our response is, "That doesn't sound like me!" If you are not used to hearing yourself, it can be a dislocating experience, which is the point. The exercise tends to impose an objective point of view on us, hearing yourself as possibly others see or hear you. It breaks up our preconceived notions, providing a fresh look at "I".

As the author has stated, this book is about entertainment. These exercises can be fun, however, they also can shift your awareness slightly, creating astonishing feelings, seeing the world from different points of view.

To my way of thinking, this can only be worthwhile.



"
~ Written on 2006-05-13

"This book is like propaganda for the existentially playful. If you are neither existentially inclined nor playful, this book will do nothing for you. If, however, you are both, you will like it a lot. If you have read and enjoyed Walker Percy, that will probably help.

This is not a self-help book. If you are odd, it will probably help to make you odder."
~ Written on 2004-12-04