This isn’t exactly a book review since I’m just in the early stages of reading this title. Kinder’s book came highly recommended to me by a Buddhist friend, and then another Buddhist friend told me she’d been been on one of Kinder’s workshops. Sometimes you can’t ignore the messages!
George D. Kinder is a nationally known financial planner and Buddhist teacher. His investment strategies have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, and Newsweek. As both a committed Buddhist and a high-powered figure in the world of financial planning I just had to read this book. So far it’s been fascinating, although I’m only a couple of chapters in.
So far I’ve been reading about the stage of Childhood, in which Kinder details our finanncial Innocence (the assumptions and habits we have in relation to money that we cling to no matter how much the universe keep reminding us that they’re not true), and Pain, which Kinder describes as “the bell of awakening”. I really like that metaphor, which struck a chord with me. I’ve often found myself saying that pain is life’s way of telling you to have a closer look at how you’re living.
If you’re interested in meditation or Buddhism and want to explore your attitudes to money with a view to learning some better habits, this book is well worth looking into.