Happy Hour: 10 Simple Secrets for a Calmer and Happier You
May 21, 2010 by Tarcher/Penguin
Filed under DailyTarcher, Happy Hour
Appearing courtesy of BeliefNet
Easy to Use Practices for Everyday Life
These practices can be called upon at any time to bring ease and joy to your life.
By Allan Lokos
Most of us yearn for balance and a sense of inner peace. Even when all the parts of our lives seem to be in order—good health, loving relationships, a rewarding career—it can still feel like something is wrong, unsettled, missing. We yearn for a deeper daily spiritual experience, yet struggle to maintain it in these times of uncertainty and fear. Even on a good day, you never know when something will happen to throw you off balance. That is why it is so important to keep some easy spiritual remedies at the ready.
Here are 10 simple ways to calm down, clear your mind, recharge your battery, and center yourself in your heart. I call them “Pocket Practices” because you can easily reach for them any time of day.
Allan Lokos is the founder and guiding teacher of the Community Meditation Center in New York City and is an ordained Interfaith minister. Earlier in life, he was a professional singer appearing in several Broadway productions including “Oliver!,” “Pickwick,” and “The Pirates of Penzance.” This is adapted from his book, Pocket Peace: Effective Practices for Enlightened Living (Tarcher/Penguin, 2010). For more information visit, www.pocketpeace.com.
Deal with Difficult People Gently
Pocket Practice: Find a place where you can feel completely at ease, sit, and say to yourself,
Only I can destroy my peace, and I choose not to do so.
Throughout the day, when it seems as if others are making your life difficult, stop and remind yourself that you are the one who determines how you feel about what’s going on. You are the one experiencing the words and actions of those around you, and your perceptions are entirely up to you.
Consider Your Words Before Speaking
Pocket Practice: Work this sentence (or a similar one) into your conversations, especially when there is disagreement: “Let me think about that”
This simple statement can prevent us from making quick decisions that we might regret, or from speaking while angry, which we’ll surely regret. It also sends a message that we care enough about the other person that we want to take time to consider what they’ve said.
Free Yourself from Feeling Like a Victim
Pocket Practice: Consider letting someone off the hook for a deed they committed
Sometimes we have to let go of our deep desire for things to be different or to have been different—because they aren’t, and they weren’t. We might have to give up a subtle belief that because we were victimized, we are damaged and can never enjoy a meaningful relationship or a successful career. We might have to let someone else off the hook in order that we might be free.
Remember, we cannot have a better past, but we can usually have a better present.
Finish the piece on BeliefNet , or in the book: Pocket Peace.
POCKET PEACE in Sacramento Book Review
May 17, 2010 by Tarcher/Penguin
Filed under DailyTarcher, In the News
Pocket Peace: Effective Practices for Enlightened Living
Filed in Spirituality & Inspiration on April 28, 2010
By Allan Lokos
Tarcher, $13.95, 230 pages
On a chaotic hectic path of work, paying bills, chores around the household, spending time with our families and friends, we seldom find time for peacefulness. Author Allan Lokos has written a helpful guidebook to help transform everyday living into a conscious journey of practiced peace.
There have been many books published that try to teach one how to “live in the moment.” And as much as we read about it, as much as we are encouraged to do it, it feels like old news most of the time. Lokos approaches the reader like a friend, sharing stories and personal experiences, with great warmth and compassion. The book feels much like a comfortable conversation. Broken into easy to read chapters, this text shows us how to nurture virtues within ourselves, such as morality, wisdom, patience and many more. Each chapter offers steps to practice these actions with meditative exercises.
Pocket Peace – Effective Practices for Enlightened Living can change your life. After all, in the long run, life isn’t so much what happens to us, it’s how we react and respond to things that happen to us. It is what we make of it.
Reviewed by Laura Friedkin
HOW TO: Discover Your Determination
April 26, 2010 by Tarcher/Penguin
Filed under DailyTarcher, How To
We all struggle to focus and accomplish meaningful work on Monday morning. In his book Pocket Peace, Allan Lokos states, “It is determination that provides the energy for change.” To help us find our determination and focus on our goals, Lokos suggests some pocket practices.
- Remind yourself that you are mentally strong – you can do it.
- Don’t hold grudges – find a way to forgive.
- For five minutes, focus on a specific object, bringing the mind back to the object every time it wanders.
LISTEN to Allan Lokos on Voice of America
March 29, 2010 by Tarcher/Penguin
Filed under DailyTarcher, In the News
Voice of America News spoke with Allan Lokos to discuss his new book, Pocket Peace. Click the link to listen.
Listen to Allan Lokos on Voice of America
Buy the book:
VIDEO: Allan Lokos on NECN’s News Today
March 8, 2010 by Tarcher/Penguin
Filed under DailyTarcher, In the News
Check out Allan Lokos, author o f Pocket Peace, on New England Cable News Today with Leslie Gaydos.
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HOW TO: Use A Pocket Practice to Find Peace Today
February 15, 2010 by Tarcher/Penguin
Filed under DailyTarcher, How To
Allan Lokos believes that finding inner peace, like most things in life, requires practice. In his new book, Pocket Peace, he shares 50 practices that can help us reduce anxiety, improve relationships, and lead more peaceful, joyous lives. For this week’s ‘how to’, we consulted Lokos on how to use these pocket practices.
What are Pocket Practices, and how can they help people find peace?
Pocket practices are concise, incisive versions of the Buddhist teachings known as the Parami (Pali) or Paramitas (Sanskrit) that can help us think, speak, and act wisely under pressure. They are compact, but effective practices that we develop slowly so that we can call upon them quickly, instinctively.
Some pocket practices uplift the spirit, while others provide a method for dealing with disappointment, anger, insecurity, reactive patterns, and judgmental tendencies. Others simply bring us more in contact with the person we want to be––our kinder, more compassionate, more generous self––our true self. They don’t require a meditation cushion, sacred space, candles, incense, or a holy attitude—just a desire for a greater sense of inner peace and happiness.
Which Pocket Practices do you find yourself employing the most? 
I’ve worked quite a bit with each of the practices and find that different ones become my favorites at different times. For instance, right now I particularly enjoy performing spontaneous acts of generosity. They surprise people and bring joy on many levels. “Consider whether you would rather be right or be happy” is another I am practicing right now. One that I practice at least twice a year for a week at a time is, “Do not speak about anyone who is not physically present.” It’s always a challenge but it is so worthwhile.
If you could recommend just one Pocket Practice for every reader to try today, what would it be?
We are all subject to conditions and events outside of ourselves, and within, that can cause stress, anxiety, and turmoil. I would suggest that readers sit quietly for five minutes a day for a week and remind themselves that many things happen that are beyond our control. How we perceive these things, what our experience is of all events, is totally in our control. The specific pocket practice reads, Only I can destroy my peace and I choose not to do so. It is a good idea to do this practice every month or so until one truly owns it.
Author Spotlight: Allan Lokos
February 11, 2010 by Tarcher/Penguin
Filed under Author Spotlight
Tarcher gets the story behind Allan Lokos’s new book, Pocket Peace.
What inspired you to write Pocket Peace?
The idea developed from a spontaneous moment. I was teaching one morning at the Community Meditation Center in New York at a time when the global economic crisis was beginning to effect everyone in one way or another. I spoke about how important it was to be generous during these difficult financial times, not just for the sake of others but also for our own wellbeing. Then I just made up a practice for everyone to try. It was: For one week carry at least five one-dollar bills with you wherever you go and do not walk past anyone asking for help. Make eye contact with every homeless person, or those down on their luck, who reach out for your help. Engage in a short conversation, “How are you doing?” is a good starter. Give them a dollar and wish them well. The specific amount could vary in accordance with your resources, but not by judging the recipient’s worthiness. This exercise needed to be done in a completely non-judgmental way. Give for the sake of giving; be totally indiscriminate; get intoxicated with the joy of generosity.
The next week people came to me with stories of how the practice had affected their lives; some even used the word “transformative.” So I created another easy-to-learn practice, and when it received the same type of response, I knew I wanted to expand the concept of short, powerful spiritual practices, the kind one could easily pull from one’s pocket.