Open by Nate Klemp

 With the avalanche of information we get every day, closing down our minds and hearts seems to be the only way to survive. We close down to our inner experience by compulsively checking our devices. We close down to others by getting caught in echo chambers of outrage. But what if there’s another way? What if being more open to life is actually what brings us sanity and happiness? In this climate of distraction and division, Nate Klemp’s Open offers a path back to a way of living that is expansive, creative, and filled with wonder.

Drawing on new science, age-old practices, and personal stories, Klemp examines why we close down when faced with stressors or threats, then reveals how we can train ourselves to open up to the fullness that life offers―even when frightened, outraged, or heartbroken. Join him to explore:

• The uniquely modern challenges that make closing down easier and more tempting than ever
• Experiential stories of psychedelic-assisted therapy, opening to political adversaries, meditation, and other tools for opening the mind
• The Three Shifts of Opening―how to break the habit of mind wandering, approach instead of withdraw, and enlarge the size of your perspective
• The Open Toolkit―a treasury of meditations, investigations, and habit-changing practices to open your mind

Expanding the size of the mind may sound subtle ―yet the results can utterly transform our lives. “When we open to life,” says Klemp, “we’re no longer stuck in here fighting against our thoughts on the inside or a crazed world on the outside. We’re connected. Our minds and lives get bigger. There’s more room, more perspective, more possibility. This is what it means to be free.”

Pick up your copy here...

Open: Living with an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World: Klemp, Nate: 9781649631480: Amazon.com: Books

Here's a quick recap of the 40 or so years of my life.

I grew up in Boulder. I went to college at Stanford, where I got hooked on jazz and philosophy. There, I made the "pragmatic" decision to become a philosopher rather than a jazz musician in an attempt to learn how to live the good life.

I then got an MA at Stanford, followed by a PhD at Princeton in political philosophy. At the end of 10 years of intense philosophical training, I didn't exactly achieve my goal of realizing human flourishing through philosophy. Instead, I burned out.

I ended up working as an assistant professor at Pepperdine for four years, where I wrote The Morality of Spin, a book about the ethics of political rhetoric.

Then, I left my cushy tenure-track job in 2012 to continue exploring this crazy idea of philosophy as a way of life. That's when I met Eric Langshur, my cofounder at LifeXT, a mindfulness training company that brings optimal wellbeing to the workplace. After 8 years, we ended up merging with Mindful Magazine to become Mindful (the world's leading mindfulness media and training company).

Together, Eric and I also coauthored the NYT bestseller Start Here: Master The Lifelong Skill of Wellbeing.

In 2021, my wife Kaley Klemp and I wrote a book about relationships in the modern age called The 80/80 Marriage: A New Model for a Happier, Stronger Marriage. The book was published by Penguin Random House and was selected by the NY Times as an Editors' Choice.

You'll now find me writing a new book called OPEN: Living With an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World, which will be published by Sounds True Press in February, 2024.

You'll also find my on Instagram, where I'm exploring short videos on meditating in the wild, and on YouTube, where I'm offering mindfulness instruction.

When I'm not doing all that, you'll find me hiking in the hills of Boulder, meditating in odd places, and still playing a little jazz on the piano.