The Enlightened Spaniel does have a couple of spelling errors, but I won’t judge these harshly, and credit goes to Heads for putting such passion in to an insightful book. Now Gary is spreading his message even further with the launch of his characterful new book, ‘The Enlightened Spaniel: A Dog’s Quest to be a Buddhist’, which is told from the point of view of his own pets – Ella and Indi All in all, a neat book that tells the basics in a sweet way, but one or two narrative moments made the book a little confusing. Added Gary: “I’ve written an academic book but I wanted this one to be fun and at the same time it teaches you about meditation, mindfulness and the teachings of the Buddha. I hope people smile when they read it and look to learn from it and incorporate meditation into their daily lives. Or maybe they’ll just go off and buy a Spaniel!” Gary’s book has been illustrated by Toby Ward, who is widely known for his animated drawings commissioned to record events, such as President Clinton’s visit to Oxford and the work of the UN Peace Keeping Force in Bosnia. He also accompanied HRH The Prince of Wales on his tour of the Gulf States.

His first book Living Mindfully: Discovering Authenticity Through Mindfulness Coaching is based on teaching mindfulness to over 5,000 clients and was published in 2017. It has become a handbook for those wishing to train to teach mindfulness. After reading a book by the Dalai Lama an interest in meditation and Tibet was born which continues until this day. This has led to an appointment as a trustee of a charity working to assist the Tibetan people.

It’s tone almost comes across as a children’s book, if it weren’t for the size. It’s light hearted in approach, but the puns can vary. While some are sweet, others stretch for laughs, but don’t quite reach them. Despite this, the book is still charming, and learning about Beginners Mind and Mindfulness in a simple manner was extremely helpful. Said Gary: “I’ve taught meditation for years and a lot of the literature around it can be very academic. I wanted to reach a wider audience but I also wanted to write a book that had humour. I didn’t write the book specifically to appeal to anyone with a Springer Spaniel but it naturally appeals to them.” However, one moment did confuse me. Without ruining the book, a change in perception, while not changing at all, was slightly confusing. This happens twice, and I can’t quite seem to figure out the reason why. In 2019 his second book The Enlightened Spaniel – A Dog’s Quest to be a Buddhist was published. The book is inspired by mindfulness, meditation, Buddhism, and a love of springer spaniels. After acquiring an MSc in Mindfulness Based Approaches Gary founded one of the UK’s leading organisations delivering mindfulness services.

Gary has set up his own publishing company, Right Nuisance Publishing, and is already working on a second book about The Enlightened Spaniel and a cat who thinks it only has one life left to lead Author of ‘The Enlightened Spaniel’ Gary Heads with his two spaniels Ella and Indi. Photograph: Stuart Boulton The charming story of The Enlightened Spaniel unfolds as Indi, the narrator, and Ella set off on a journey to learn about the reason their ‘dad’ meditates. Gary has weaved all his considerable knowledge into a book, which, thanks to its Spaniel storytellers, is an easy to understand, joyful read. Gary Heads was born in Ashford in Kent before moving to the North East of England at a young age. He grew up in Newcastle and Northumberland before eventually settling in County Durham.

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