It all started with a noisy mind.

Mind Monkey Mischief grew out of a very simple idea: that most of us spend an extraordinary amount of time somewhere other than where we actually are.

Replaying the past. Rehearsing the future. Overthinking conversations. Creating problems that haven’t happened yet. Wondering what everything means about us.

In the book, those wandering thoughts became monkeys.

Not because there’s anything wrong with having them — we all do — but because sometimes it’s much easier to notice what’s happening in our heads when we can smile at it.

So Anxious Annie worries about tomorrow. Retro Ronnie drags out something embarrassing from 1998. Eddie the Ego takes absolutely everything personally. And before we know it, the whole crew has taken over the ship.

Mind Monkey Mischief is about noticing when they do.

Not fighting them. Not silencing every thought. Not becoming some perfectly serene human who meditates at sunrise and never gets annoyed in the supermarket.

Just noticing.

Coming back to the breath.

Coming back to what’s actually happening.

Coming back to now.

The book is where it began.

The Beach House is everything that grew around it — the monkeys, the planner, the little practices, the things I’m reading and listening to, the useful bits, the silly bits, and all the other reminders that life tends to feel a little lighter when we’re actually here for it.

More sparkle. Less spiral.

That’s really what all this mischief is about.