Joseph Nguyen

My wife sent me a picture of a stack of books from a post that called them “20 Books To Read In Your 20s”.
I’d read three already (and can only really recommend one of those, McRaven’s Make Your Bed), so I decided to see if there was any merit to the rest of the stack.

This one is a big NO. If you meld the blather of Chopra, Tolle, and Robert Lanza this might be what comes out.

“Therefore, it’s not WHAT we’re thinking about that is causing us suffering, but THAT we are show more thinking.”
Ffs. If you want to know what is wrong with this book in one sentence, this is one of several.

“In the previous chapter, we discussed how there is no right or wrong in this world. ”
Oh, there is definitely wrong, and lots of it. One this is this book. Idiot.

“This is why it will be a familiar unfamiliar feeling when you experience the truth.
Don’t try to use your intellect to figure it out — you won’t. As soon as you intellectualize it, you’ve missed it”
Strike one

“What I know to be the truth from the depths of my soul is that you will not be the same person as you were after you read this book.”
Okay, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” Other than that, the platitudes are continually annoying.

“I want to make it clear that this book is not the only book that contains truth. The truth lies within everyone and in everything. You must look beyond the form (the physical) to see and experience the truth (the spiritual). ”
Strike two

“Your mind has done an amazing job at what it was made to do, but now you may relieve it of its job because we no longer live in the wild where death could be right around the corner in a bush. If we keep using our minds, we will constantly stay in a state of fight or flight, anxiety, fear, frustration, depression, anger, resentment, and all negative emotions because the mind thinks everything is a threat to our very existence”
So stop using our minds. Riiiiiiiight. Idiot. Strike three? Seven? I lost count.

“Thinking, on the other hand, is the act of thinking about our thoughts. ”
I must admit this is pretty good blather.

“Thoughts create. Thinking destroys.”
But this isn’t. Idiot.

“Universal Mind is the Intelligence behind all living things. It is the life force and energy that is in all things. It is how an acorn knows how to grow into a tree, how the planets know how to stay in orbit, and how our bodies know how to heal itself when we get a cut. It’s how our bodies know how to self-regulate and keep us alive without us having to manually do everything like breathing and beating our heart. The Intelligence that knows how to do all of this and is in all things is called the Universal Mind. Many people call this God, Infinite Intelligence, the Quantum Field, Source, and other names. ”
Make up sh*t, try to sell it in a book.

“Universal Thought is the raw material of the Universe from which we can create from. It is our ability to think and create form from the energy of the Universal Mind.”
I really needed to stop there, but I didn’t.

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” ― Albert Einstein”
No evidence Einstein ever said this. Strike 17.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same level of consciousness we were at when we created them”
No evidence he said this either, but there is at least something close: “A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.”
Nguyen is all about not thinking. Einstein was all about thinking.

“When Einstein was stuck on a difficult problem, he would stop working on it and play the violin. As he was playing, the answer would come to him out of seemingly nowhere and then he’d have the solution to his problem.”
Bullsh*t. He was always thinking.

“Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think that you can or can’t, you’re right”
Another one with no evidence other than an unsourced quote by Reader’s Digest.

“Stop thinking and end your problems.” ― Lao Tzu”
I guess being dead does end problems. Oh, and… you guessed it… didn’t say it.

“Create space by surrendering any manual thinking from the personal mind and have complete faith that your inner wisdom (God/Universe/Infinite Intelligence) will give you the answer. Also surrender the how and when the answer will come to you. ”
Flag on the play: unnecessary gobbledygook

“How You Will Know If You’re In A State Of Non-Thinking”
(You will find yourself watching FoxNews)

1.5 stars generously rounded up. show less

This book claims to be "the #1 international bestseller." I'd love to see those sales figures. Nguyen's advice can be boiled down to: (1) when you realize that what you're thinking is making you unhappy, stop thinking, then (2) clear your mind, let intuition take over, and you will return to your "natural state" of peace, love, joy and fulfillment and the answers you seek will be provided to you by the universe. Or the infinite intelligence. Or God (who is a 'she', by the way). He provides show more no research to prove this thesis and I expect he has never experienced suffering that did not come from inside his head. His methods involve meditation and journalling which are far from ground-breaking techniques. Some of the statements he makes are just obviously wrong. I returned the book to the library as quickly as I finished it but I recall him stating that young children do not think about their thoughts which is why they are always in a state of joy. Nguyen should test that theory with a babysitting gig. I read the book in the hopes of finding something that would help a friend who is struggling with negativity. This book would only make him feel worse. show less

Joseph Nguyen’s Don’t Believe Everything You Think is a compact, approachable guide to understanding why so much of our suffering originates not from the world around us but from the stories we tell ourselves. Nguyen argues that peace isn’t something we achieve through effort or control—it emerges naturally when we stop identifying with every thought that passes through our minds.

The book’s strength lies in its clarity. Nguyen avoids jargon and instead uses simple, direct language show more to explain how overthinking, rumination, and self‑judgment keep us trapped. He invites readers to notice the difference between awareness and thought, and he makes a compelling case that insight—not willpower—is what dissolves emotional pain.

What makes the book resonate is its gentleness. Rather than pushing a rigid method, Nguyen encourages curiosity and presence. Readers who appreciate mindfulness, nondual teachings, or cognitive reframing will find familiar ideas here, but presented in a way that feels refreshingly accessible.

If you’re looking for a short, encouraging read that helps you step out of mental loops and reconnect with a sense of inner calm, this book delivers exactly that. show less

There aren't typically many pearls of wisdom that show up in the introduction to a book, but Nguyen gives his readers sound advice on delving further into the pages. On page 5, he says: "Don't read this book for information, read it for insight." That is a prudent way to approach any text and any author's views that purport to reveal 'the truth.' In the introduction, he goes on to say, "The words in this book are not truth; they point to the truth. Look beyond words to see the truth for show more yourself"... and sadly, that's where my eager interest in the book and its topic matter fell by the proverbial wayside.

You see, my world view is explicitly Christian and explicitly Biblical, therefore I DO believe that there is such a thing as objective truth (according to the correspondence theory of truth) and that Truth (with a capital 'T') is not just some theory or 'it,' not just some principle or idea, but is a reality that is lived in the person of Jesus Christ. When He said (as recorded in the Bible) that "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life," (John 14:6), He was uttering a divine mystery and one that I personally choose to honor in my life. Not all mysteries are to be revealed in our lifetimes nor are they to be reasoned away. God Himself is pure mystery. Isaiah 55:8-9 says: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." When human beings begin to believe that they can solve ALL of their problems by simply reordering their thinking, that belief demonstrates a kind of spiritual pride that may be tantamount to a sin of independence.

'However, that is not to say that we are to welcome every kind of suffering to come our way or that we are not to try to improve our situations by engaging in the power of positive thinking. Renowned Christian authors and pastors like Norman Vincent Peale and Joyce Meyer have written well on the topic--to the benefit of many who have followed their guidance. For a Christian who is in relationship with Christ, discernment is the key. We are to approach God to ask whether the suffering that has come our way is of our own making and whether we are being asked to bear up under the strain. Sometimes we are asked to endure--even to the point of death, as illustrated by Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: "He fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will'." Submission to God's holy will can be one the hardest things any ordinary Christian will have to cope with in this life! Jesus was not spared suffering, so why should we be expected to?

Although my worldview does appear to significantly differ from Nguyen's, I choose to emphasize his point that as human beings we can bring suffering upon ourselves by virtue of the ways in which we think about situations and by the choices we make in reaction to that thinking. That simple understanding -- thinking contributes to suffering and negative thinking exacerbates it--is a valid principle that can be appreciated by believers from a wide variety of faith traditions.

Also, it may be worth pointing out that Nguyen's teaching on thoughts versus feelings is counter to what is usually taught when someone is receiving mental health counseling or psychotherapy. In therapy, in the effort to reduce anxiety and feelings of self-blame, practitioners employ the mantra," There are no 'right' or 'wrong' feelings. They just ARE.' Feelings are believed to arise from within, some ethereal place of non-judgment and unconditional love where thoughts do not even enter the emotional equation. However, Nguyen says, "All you have to do is remember that thinking is the root cause of how we're feeling." A simple heuristic, but one that may fail someone who has an emotional disorder. This book may have the potential to help someone in emotional distress but may have the same potential to increase distress by insinuating that there is a 'quick-and-easy-fix' to life's sufferings.

However, if we take the title of Nguyen's book at face value, there is a healthy principle embedded in that statement. Human life is a spiritual battle, and the Bible teaches that we have an enemy--one who can occupy our thoughts and create havoc for us through DECEPTION. Christians and other believers are wise when they question the origin of certain thoughts that are actually temptations. Nguyen says that if we approach the journey with "an open mind and a heart of pure intention" in seeking truth, that you will get "everything you've been searching for" (page 7). Perhaps my ego is in the way, but God is far from simple and truth is not always resident in feelings. Have you ever met someone you've had an immediate dislike for, but over time came to know them as someone of great integrity who has since become a trustworthy friend? Likewise, have you ever met someone you felt an immediate affinity for, someone deemed a boon companion--only to learn later that they lacked the compassion and understanding to be counted worthy as a friend? What of those feelings? Jeremiah 17:9 says: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" As human beings, our perceptions, our feelings and even our thoughts can be incorrect. Let us seek the spiritual virtue of humility to remind us of that!

There are spiritual principles worth contemplating in Nguyen's book, but it's probably better suited to those who have walked the spiritual journey for quite a while and who can evaluate nuances in spiritual teachings.. For Christians who are seeking better coping skills in suffering, I recommend the classic book by Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho, "Suffering: Why Me?" For those who chose to read Dr. Nguyen's book, "Don't Believe Everything You Think," Dr. Cho's book would make a fine companion to provide a broader view on approaching the mystery of suffering. show less