Hulk Not Smash: Practice Mindfulness the Mighty Marvel Way

“Be in the now.” —Hawkeye

An illustrated, accessible guide to mindfulness that explores life-improving lessons we can learn from Marvel comics characters as they face tests of perseverance, focus, community, and strength beyond just the physical.

Life is full of choices. Like the Hulk, we can smash or choose not to. We can practice flexibility like Mister Fantastic, trust our team like Rocket Racoon, problem-solve like Shuri, and develop awareness like Doctor Strange. Grounded in character and story events drawn from the comics, this inspirational collection pairs Marvel heroes with helpful real-life advice and mindfulness guidance in a light and accessible way.

Each entry presents a character spotlight with a way of appreciating their example, a related practice that readers can put into action, and a playful illustration by acclaimed comics artist Jason Loo. Featuring Hawkeye (deep focus), Groot (being who you are), Spider-Man (the gift and obligation of responsibility), Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Captain America, Shang-Chi, and dozens more, Hulk Not Smash makes it easy and fun for fans to incorporate these lessons into their lives.

FUN AND ACCESSIBLE: Amy Ratcliffe (author of The Jedi Mind: Secrets from the Force for Balance and Peace) gently demystifies the concept of mindfulness and makes it playfully accessible, rooted as it is in Marvel character examples. Anyone can put these lessons into practice.

REAL MINDFULNESS GUIDANCE: Each practice is thoughtfully paired with an illuminating character and rooted in tried and true actions and mindsets that can bring peace, including breathing exercises, paying attention to the present, examining fears, concentration, labeling feelings, nonjudgement, stretching, examining routines, and much more.

UNIQUE MARVEL GIFT: For fans of Marvel, this one-of-a-kind mindfulness book offers wide-ranging lessons and character studies to draw inspiration from, including:

• Ant-Man (Sense of Scale)
• Beast (Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover)
• Black Widow (Being Prepared)
• Black Panther (Leadership)
• Mantis (Emotion Identification)
• Professor X (Radical Empathy)
• Scarlet Witch (Accepting Reality)
• Silver Surfer (Putting Your Burdens to Rest)
• Storm (Embrace Change)

. . . and many more

Perfect for:

• Marvel fans who are seeking inner calm or resources for practicing mindfulness, self-care, and reflection
• Anyone looking for an entry-level mindfulness primer, or for practitioners who seek fresh, playful inspiration
• Fans who enjoyed the author’s similarly accessible, real-advice-plus-pop-culture approach in her book The Jedi Mind: Secrets from the Force for Balance and Peace