Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.
Psychology of Mindfulness by
In our daily attempt to make sense of life and the world, we come to realise that appropriation of life hinges upon our mindfulness. Being alert to how we dwell in the interior and exterior landscapes of our existence may yet turn around the present modes of living into a salutary condition and/or a better direction. And yet, in what sense(s) does "mindfulness" matter to us for genuinely experiencing our mortal time and for (re-)creation of the world? How successfully does "mindfulness" intervene the psycho-somatic experience of predicaments and enable us to better cope with times of distress and suffering? This book is an interdisciplinary collection of studies on mindfulness explored and discussed by the authors from different walks of life, disciplines and interests. It offers a rich set of interventions related to the practice of mindfulness meditations which effectively reduces human predicaments of menstrual-stress, neurosis, loneliness, anxiety, trauma, forgetfulness, and distress over cancer, fear of dying alone, mourning, etc., gathered by the authors through their research, teaching, and practice from the fields of philosophy, psychology, medicine, therapy, social work, education and fine arts. The authors in this volume are thus attuned to the menace of recognisable objectivism and objectification of intrinsically interconnected lives of things, and are seeking, through their studies, ways of overcoming a tyranny of the "I" under a zenith of its objectivism in our cultural climate. Accordingly, this volume includes also three informative essays on the Mahayana Buddhist traditions in India and China, Japanese Sōtō Zen practice of Dōgen, and a comparative study of meditation between the Western and the Eastern traditions of spirituality, so as to shed light on the historical and philosophical backgrounds of mindfulness meditation of the far East. This collection of essays closes with mindfulness as an issue of "interspecies, human-animal relations". In order to find a step beyond the epoch of anthropocentrism, this book will extend our alertness to non-human animals wherein the essential traits of mankind have been repeatedly drawn and appropriated in the history of man. In conclusion, the book will examine new possibilities in the mind of the reader for seeking a way of authentic co-belonging with other species and of building a new ēthos beyond the age of objectivism and anthropocentrism.
25 Lessons in Mindfulness by
The practice of mindfulness has received increasing attention and recognition in recent years as a simple, important, and effective means for maintaining physical and emotional health and well-being. Mindfulness involves focusing your attention on immediate present experiences with a compassionate, nonjudgmental attitude. This book presents a practical, step-by-step approach for establishing your own mindfulness practice. Brief introductory chapters explain the scientifically proven effects on health, as well as the philosophy behind this ancient practice. The remainder of the book consists of 25 experiential lessons that guide you through various meditative practices. You will learn to be mindful of your breath, sounds, sights, tastes, movements, physical sensations, thoughts, and feelings as you maintain a compassionate attitude toward yourself and others. With sustained attention, you will develop the ability to respond to life's experiences with calmness and acceptance, even the difficult experiences that we cannot control. Given the prevalence of anxiety, stress, depression, and other emotional turmoil in our fast-paced environment, mindfulness has become more important than ever. This book is essential reading for everyone who wants to begin or expand their own mindfulness practice
Mindfulness for Beginners by
We may long for wholeness, suggests Jon Kabat-Zinn, but the truth is that it is already here and already ours. The practice of mindfulness holds the possibility of not just a fleeting sense of contentment, but a true embracing of a deeper unity that envelops and permeates our lives. With Mindfulness for Beginners you are invited to learn how to transform your relationship to the way you think, feel, love, work, and play--and thereby awaken to and embody more completely who you really are. Here, the teacher, scientist, and clinician who first demonstrated the benefits of mindfulness within mainstream Western medicine offers a book that you can use in three unique ways: as a collection of reflections and practices to be opened and explored at random; as an illuminating and engaging start-to-finish read; or as an unfolding "lesson- a-day" primer on mindfulness practice. Beginning and advanced meditators alike will discover in these pages a valuable distillation of the key attitudes and essential practices that Jon Kabat-Zinn has found most useful with his students, including: Why heartfulness is synonymous with true mindfulness The value of coming back to our bodies and to our senses over and over again How our thoughts "self-liberate" when touched by awareness Moving beyond our "story" into direct experience Stabilizing our attention and presence amidst daily activities The three poisons that cause suffering--and their antidotes How mindfulness heals, even after the fact Reclaiming our wholeness, and more The prescription for living a more mindful life seems simple enough: return your awareness again and again to whatever is going on. But if you''ve tried it, you know that here is where all the questions and challenges really begin. Mindfulness for Beginners provides welcome answers, insights, and instruction to help us make that shift, moment by moment, into a more spacious, clear, reliable, and loving connection with ourselves and the world. Includes a complete CD with five guided mindfulness meditations by Jon Kabat-Zinn, selected from the audio program that inspired this book. Contents Part I Entering Beginner''s Mind The Breath Who Is Breathing? The Hardest Work in the World Taking Care of This Moment Mindfulness Is Awareness Doing Mode and Being Mode A Grounding in Science Mindfulness is Universal Wakefulness Stabilizing and Calibrating Your Instrument Inhabiting Awareness Is the Essence of Practice The Beauty of Discipline Adjusting Your Default Setting Awareness: Our Only Capacity Robust Enough to Balance Thinking Attention and Awareness Are Trainable Skills Nothing Wrong with Thinking Befriending Our Thinking Images of Your Mind That Might Be Useful Not Taking Our Thoughts Personally Selfing Our Love Affair with Personal Pronouns--Especially I, Me, and Mine Awareness Is a Big Container The Objects of Attention Are Not as Important as the Attending Itself Part II: Sustaining Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction A World-Wide Phenomenon An Affectionate Attention Mindfulness Brought to All the Senses Proprioception and Interoception The Unity of Awareness The Knowing Is Awareness Life Itself Becomes the Meditation Practice You Already Belong Right Beneath Our Noses Mindfulness is Not Merely a Good Idea To Come Back in Touch Who Am I? Questioning Our Own Narrative You Are More Than Any Narrative You Are Never Not Whole Paying Attention in a Different Way Not Knowing The Prepared Mind What Is Yours to See? Part III: Deepening No Place to Go, Nothing to Do The Doing That Comes Out of Being To Act Appropriately If You Are Aware of What Is Happening, You Are Doing It Right Non-Judging Is an Act of Intelligence and Kindness You Can Only Be Yourself--Thank Goodness! Embodied Knowing Feeling Joy for Others The Full Catastrophe Is My Awareness of Suffering Suffering? What Does Liberation from Suffering Mean? Hell Realms Liberation Is in the Practice Itself The Beauty of the Mind That Knows Itself Taking Care of Your Meditation Practice Energy Conservation in Meditation Practice An Attitude of Non-Harming Greed: The Cascade of Dissatisfactions Aversion: The Flip Side of Greed Delusion and the Trap of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Now Is Always the Right Time The "Curriculum" is "Just This" Giving Your Life Back to Yourself Bringing Mindfulness Further Into the World Part IV: Ripening The Attitudinal Foundations of Mindfulness Practice Non-Judging Patience Beginner''s Mind Trust Non-Striving Acceptance Letting Go Part V: Practicing Getting Started with Formal Practice Mindfulness of Eating Mindfulness of Breathing Mindfulness of the Body as a Whole Mindfulness of Sounds, Thoughts, and Emotions Mindfulness as Pure Awareness
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction by 
Mindful Crafts As Therapy by This journal publishes peer-reviewed papers that examine the latest research findings and best practices in mindfulness. It explores the nature and foundations of mindfulness, its mechanisms of actions, and its use across cultures. In addition, Mindfulness features papers that address issues involving the training of clinicians, institutional staff, teachers, parents, and industry personnel in mindful provision of services.