Mindfulness in the Academy


Book Description

This book focuses on the way academics understand, embrace and enact the concepts of mindfulness in approaching their work in demanding and dynamic contemporary higher education environments. It examines how they implement formal and informal mindfulness practices that increase the capacity to transform mind and body states by drawing on concepts such as compassion, kindness, gratitude, curiosity, self-awareness and non-judgemental stances. The book provides insights into and highlights the struggles of scholars through their experiences and perspectives in relation to their identities, practices and job enactment. Each chapter author explains their mindfulness practices and their motivations for implementing them, and explores how mindful ways of researching, writing, learning and teaching, leading, and engaging with others leads us to self-awareness and engagement in the present.




Sitting Still Like a Frog


Book Description

Simple mindfulness practices to help your child (ages 5-12) deal with anxiety, improve concentration, and handle difficult emotions—with a 60-minute audio CD of guided exercises Mindfulness—the quality of attention that combines full awareness with acceptance of each moment, just as it is—is gaining broad acceptance among mental health professionals as an adjunct to treatment. This little book is a very appealing introduction to mindfulness meditation for children and their parents. In a simple and accessible way, it describes what mindfulness is and how mindfulness-based practices can help children calm down, become more focused, fall asleep more easily, alleviate worry, manage anger, and generally become more patient and aware. The book contains eleven practices that focus on just these scenarios, along with short examples and anecdotes throughout. Included with purchase is an audio CD with guided meditations, voiced by Myla Kabat-Zinn, who along with her husband, Jon Kabat-Zinn, popularized mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a therapeutic approach.




Mindfulness


Book Description

Machine generated contents note: Foreword, Zindel V. Segal 1. Unpacking Mindfulness 2. A Map of the Mind: Attention, Perception, and the Judging Mind 3. A Map of the Mind: Being and Knowing 4. A Buddhist Psychology Map: From Suffering to Flourishing 5. An Integrated Map of Distress and Suffering 6. Transformation: A Route Map through Mindfulness Training 7. The Heart of the Practice: Befriending, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity 8. Embodiment: Living the Life We Aspire To 9. Ethics and Integrity in Mindfulness-Based Programs 10. A Final Word Appendix 1. Definitions of Key Terms Appendix 2. What Is Mindfulness Training and a Mindfulness-Based Program? Notes References Index.




The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion


Book Description

This wise, eloquent, and practical book illuminates the nature of self-compassion and offers easy-to-follow, scientifically grounded steps for incorporating it into daily life. Vivid examples and innovative exercises make this an ideal resource for readers new to mindfulness.




Master of Mindfulness


Book Description

Faster than a speeding spitball, more powerful than a playground bully, able to breeze through homework and finish nightly chores in a single bound, it’s Master of Mindfulness—here to conquer stress, worry, and any trouble that comes your way! Do you ever feel angry, disappointed, or stressed out about family problems, school, bullies, or trouble with friends? If so, mindfulness can help. Master of Mindfulness is a unique and empowering book written for kids by kids, with cool illustrations and tips that show you how to be confident, get focused, stay calm, and tap into your own inner strength so that you can be your own superhero—no matter what life throws your way! Childhood is supposed to be a carefree time, but the truth is that all kids have stress—especially when dealing with difficulties at school, at home, or with friends. Sometimes things happen in life that are hard, and you can’t stop thinking about them or you react too fast. You might be mad, sad, irritated, embarrassed, anxious, jealous, or even disappointed with yourself when things don’t go the way you would’ve hoped. And when you’re really upset, it’s hard to make good decisions—you may end up doing something that you regret later or that gets you into trouble. You could probably use some help—and fast!—but where can you turn? This book will give you the skills you need to bring up your own superpowers by showing you how mindfulness, like stopping to take a few deep, mindful breaths, can help you calm down and deal with things differently. Written by Laurie Grossman, cofounder of Mindful Schools and director of program development at Inner Explorer, and Mr. Musumeci’s fifth grade class at Reach Academy in Oakland, California, Master of Mindfulness presents helpful practices—mindful activities proven to make it easier to pay attention, accept yourself and others, manage your anger, and even get to sleep at night. The book features cool, mixed media illustrations with real kids’ drawings and stories about how mindfulness can help in different stressful situations. It even covers some of the brain science behind why mindfulness helps kids to feel better, stay in the present moment, be kind, and make good decisions. The book includes easy and fun practices, like mindful breathing, noticing your feelings, paying attention to your body, and mindful eating, as well as links to engaging audio recordings produced by Mr. Musumeci’s students. And once you become a master of mindfulness, you can help others by sharing your superpower and teaching them how to do it, too—your parents, your teachers, and your friends. When things go wrong, or when you have scary thoughts or strong feelings, you may need help to sort it all out, no matter how old you are. Learning and practicing mindfulness can make it easier to deal with the issues you face every day by showing you how to tap into your own inner strength in times of stress. So, why not use mindfulness and start being your own superhero today?




Mindfulness for Life


Book Description

Mindfulness is a form of mental training that has been widely practised for millennia, however it's only recently that science and clinical practice have discovered the profound potential of mindfulness-based practices for increasing our wellbeing. Our tendency to not be fully present in life has vast implications. Being unmindful means wasting our lifetime, missing important information, increasing our risk of physical and social accidents and communicating more superficially with other people. Importantly, it makes us unhappier than we realize and vulnerable to stress and poor mental health. By focusing on what is rather than be distracted by what isn't mindfulness can make us much calmer, happier and healthier beings. Mindfulness for Life is the only book you will ever need on mindfulness. It shows you how to apply mindfulness techniques to your own life whether you need help with medical conditions, personal development or spiritual development. Chapters are included on: stress and ageing, anxiety, depression, addiction, attention deficit orders, pain, weight management, eating disorders, heart disease and stroke, cancer, dementia and sleep; lifestyle, education, workplace, parenting and sporting enhancement; and self actualization, happiness and enlightenment development. Mindfulness for Life is written by two experts in the field who bring the medical perspective of an international authority on mindfulness and the psychological perspective of a researcher. The result is a book that translates the scientific principles behind mindfulness into a simple, practical and accessible manual to applying mindfulness - for life.




Soul-Centered


Book Description

Soul-Centered: Transform Your Life in 8 Weeks with Meditation presents a secular, mainstream view of meditation and applies it practically as a tool for personal transformation. Each week’s lesson in the 8-week program contains a key for navigating the journey of self-awareness, and each week’s meditation practice builds on those of the previous weeks, making the process accessible and enjoyable for novices and experts alike. Inspiring stories from Sarah’s own experience and from the students she’s taught in her 20-year career as a meditation teacher further enrich the text. Her approach is grounded in leading-edge brain research that shows meditating for 27 minutes a day over 8 weeks can make a huge difference by altering the gray matter in areas of the brain that govern learning, memory, empathy, and stress. Each of the lessons in the 8-week program is designed to provide a structure for creating a successful and sustainable meditation practice. As the readers build their meditation practice, they learn to undo stressful habits that don’t serve them, cultivate compassion for themselves and others, and listen to and trust their inner wisdom. The Soul-Centered journey is one of finding out who you really are; navigating your life based on that peaceful, loving, wise part of yourself; then fully and fearlessly expressing yourself in the world.




Walking the Teacher's Path with Mindfulness


Book Description

This unique book offers compelling stories to help you encounter life with mindfulness and find new vigor on your teaching path. Author Richard Brady, founder of the Mindfulness in Education Network, shares his experiences in a variety of areas, including motivation, agency and freedom, creativity, nurturing presence and community, and more. Following each story, you’ll find reflections and contemplations that invite connection with your own experiences and ultimately with action. The book can be used by educators of all levels and subject areas, for personal use and for in-service and pre-service education.




A Clinician's Guide to Teaching Mindfulness


Book Description

Mindfulness-based interventions have exploded in popularity due to their success in treating everything from everyday stress to more serious mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).This breakthrough book provides professionals with a comprehensive, session-by-session guide to teaching mindfulness, complete with the scripts and training materials needed to teach introductory mindfulness in a wide variety of settings, despite theoretical background. Mindfulness—once an ancient practice honed in Buddhist monasteries—is now a mainstream, evidence-based, secular intervention employed by trained health and mental health professionals worldwide. The rapid spread of mindfulness increasingly involves psychologists, physicians, social workers, therapists, counselors, spiritual advisers, life coaches, and education professionals trained in their respective disciplines. Additionally, research continues to show that mindfulness is an effective treatment for anxiety, depression, stress, pain relief, and many other illnesses. If you are a professional interested in teaching mindfulness, this book will provide you with everything you need to get started right away. The introductory, six-week protocol outlined in this book is easy-to-use, and can be implemented in a variety of settings, ranging from an outpatient mental health clinic to an inpatient oncology clinic, from a substance abuse recovery program to educational settings. In addition, this book will tell you what to bring to each class; provides outlines for each session; offers scripts to help you differentiate the weekly meditative practices; and provides invaluable resources for further study and professional development. If you’re looking to integrate mindfulness into your professional work, this is your go-to guide.




What Happens in Mindfulness


Book Description

Well known for applying mindfulness to the treatment of depression, pioneering researcher John Teasdale now explores the broader changes that people can experience through contemplative practices. What goes on in our minds when we are mindful? What does it mean to talk of mindfulness as a way of being? From a scientific perspective, how do core elements of contemplative traditions have their beneficial effects? Teasdale describes two types of knowing that human beings have evolved--conceptual and holistic–intuitive--and shows how mindfulness can achieve a healthier balance between them. He masterfully describes the mechanisms by which this shift in consciousness not only can reduce emotional suffering, but also can lead to greater joy and compassion and a transformed sense of self.