'Need a break from the mayhem of the modern world; or maybe from the mayhem of your inner life? Then why not give yourself permission to pause?'

Such is the invitation at the heart of this book, which arises from Simon Parke's popular weekly columns of the same name in the Daily Mail, which calls them 'meditations to wake up your mind and your soul.'

The book comprises 180 short reflections, which use story, dialogue and imagery as their path in the truth journey. It is not a book of easy answers or quick fixes; but one for those who, against all odds, haven't given up on truth – truth that is deep enough to hold and transform the realities we live with day to day.

The nice thing about the ocean is that it comes in all sizes; and so although it's very big, it's also very small. If you've a real passion for discovery, you can explore its deep and mysterious floor, miles beneath the surface. That's one experience of the ocean, daring and revealing. But then again, if you wish just to paddle a little and feel the water between your toes, then that's another experience; tentative and exploratory, but still the same ocean.

And this is why I dared write my latest book, 'One-Minute Mystic,' published by Hay House this month. Because although mysticism is very big, and much deeper than the Pacific, it can also be very small, and stepped into with joy and anticipation by anyone who seeks a fresh take on reality; but hasn't got all day.

It's been said that the world is only real if I am; and this truth is where mysticism starts. Mysticism at heart is a homecoming to reality; and sweet union with it. It's a homecoming which requires much courage, of course. We'll need to lower our well-defended walls, and perhaps let go of the person we've taken ourselves to be. The poet TS Eliot noted that humans can't face too much reality, and we know what he means. But maybe we can face more than we think, and are both braver and more substantial than we imagine. I've never met a seeker who hasn't found this to be so.

Hopefully this book - through stimulating meditations, thought experiments and tiny tales - will be a friend to all with a mind and will for such exploration; to all who wish to dismantle old defences, and find their real selves and the real world. It's here to help you test the water, and see what's possible for you today - a paddle, a swim or perhaps even an occasional dive? You'd be surprised.