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14th out of 409 books
—
464 voters
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
The time-honored national bestseller, updated with a new afterword, celebrating 10 years of influencing the way we live.When Wherever You Go, There You Are was first published in 1994, no one could have predicted that the book would launch itself onto bestseller lists nationwide and sell over 750,000 copies to date. Ten years later, the book continues to change lives. In h...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
January 5th 2005
by Hyperion
(first published January 1st 1994)
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47th out of 411 books
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Dear Brother,
When you first asked me about how to practice meditation (was it last week?), I gave you a few vague answers and then dismissed it from my mind, thinking that while it is impressive that you consider it seriously, it is not really vital to you right now. But, yesterday when you spoke about how difficult it is to study for more than two hourscontinuously, Irealized that there might be more to it. That conversation set methinkingabout a concept called " Digital Natives ". You woulddef...more
This is a particularly nice guidance book on meditation and mindfulness. I especially like Zinn's focus on "non-doing," which has nothing to do with being lazy or indolent, but the ability to "simply let things be and allowing them to unfold in their own way" (44). In short, this is the art of mindfullness, which Zinn says has to be kindled and nurtured because "you can only get there if you are fully here" (131) I also like his descriptions of "mountain" and "lake" meditations where one imagine...more
Through a series of short chapters, peppered with quotes (e.g. from Thoreau, amoung others), Jon conveys something of the qualities of mindful thinking. Suggested practices are interspersed amoung his reflections; they are not collected or listed. There is no 'core set' of techniques, and so reading the book purely with practice in mind, it might seem a little dispersed.
In my opinion the book seemed to serve more as a philosophical mediation than a practical guide (for which I highly recommend S...more
In my opinion the book seemed to serve more as a philosophical mediation than a practical guide (for which I highly recommend S...more
Jan 20, 2012
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List
Shelves:
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psychology,
reference,
religion,
self-help,
spirituality,
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The introduction tells us this book "is meant to provide brief and easy access to the essence of mindfulness meditation and its applications." By "mindfulness" is meant focused awareness of the "present moment." And meditation is "the process by which we go about deepening our attention and awareness, refining them, and putting them to greater practical use in our lives." The book is divided in three parts. Part One, "The Bloom of the Present Moment" seeks to give some background and definitions...more
"Mindfulness is considered the heart of Buddhist meditation but its essence is universal and of deep practical benefit to all. In essence, mindfulness is about wakefulness. Out minds are such that we are often more asleep than awake to the unique beauty and possibilities of each present moment as it unfolds. While it is in the nature of our mind to go on automatic pilot and lose touch with the only time we actually have to live, to grow, to feel, to love, to learn, to give shape to things, to he...more
7 likes · like · see review
Aug 16, 2008
AJ
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People curious about meditation and mindfulness; individuals desiring greater well-being
Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of the pioneering medical professionals to integrate east/west practices. This book is a very easy read - yet full of insight and depth. I enjoyed the book immensely due to the luminous knowledge he provides regarding the practice and understanding of meditation and the synthesis of impressions held by various thinkers. I highly recommend this book due to his objective style and candidness, allowing for any faiths, lifestyles, or ages to perceive the truths within.
Excerpts:...more
Excerpts:...more
You don't really enjoy this book while reading it. It's more an instructional book on Meditation. And Meditation is basically just sitting and breathing. The interesting part is the meditation itself and not the reading about it. If you never experienced the power of meditation before, you will find this book very repetitive.
I would have preferred more insights about the work with the patients in stress therapy or more actual exercises. The book has no clear structure and seems a bit rushed for...more
I would have preferred more insights about the work with the patients in stress therapy or more actual exercises. The book has no clear structure and seems a bit rushed for...more
2 likes · like · see review
Jon Kabat Zin is a doctor who has used mindfulness in dealing with illness. In the course of his work he has developed simple techniques of meditation and mindfulness thathave worked for me
I'd avoided Kabat-Zinn's works in the past, lumping them into the airy-faerie category of new age fluff. Then I read about him in another book (Bill Moyers' dusty but still relevant Healing and the Mind) and was impressed with both his credentials and his views. This book is targeted to clients whose health issues (such as chronic pain) may benefit from learning to let go of hurts from the past and worries about the future, and live more fully in the present moment. Breathing, imagery, relaxatio...more
If you want to know how to actually live in the present moment, then this book is for you
I have become more midnful of my thoughts and actions, and the amount of time I spend daydreaming or assuming what someone or something else's reality is. Instead, I allow those thoughts to pass quickly, without judgement, and come back to the present, whatever it is I am doing that moment be it playing peek-a-boo with my son, cooking a meal, having a talk with my husband or friend or running a few miles.
I have become more midnful of my thoughts and actions, and the amount of time I spend daydreaming or assuming what someone or something else's reality is. Instead, I allow those thoughts to pass quickly, without judgement, and come back to the present, whatever it is I am doing that moment be it playing peek-a-boo with my son, cooking a meal, having a talk with my husband or friend or running a few miles.
Mindfulness should be an exercise all beings participate in practicing, not simply exclusive to our Buddhist traditions; a point Kabat-Zinn makes in this wonderful book. What it truly encompasses is a kind of awakening (yes, cliché) where we begin living in accord with not just all people but, also with ourselves.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, a clinic which likely has helped innumerable beings. Mindful meditation...more
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, a clinic which likely has helped innumerable beings. Mindful meditation...more
This book was given to me as a gift many years ago.
In my own path for personal growth-- I've come back to the concept of "being present" "mindfulness" and "evenly suspended attention" over and over again.
While my studies have been great at describing what these experiences are like and what the benefits of achieving this state are they have been short on conveying the practice routines that can help strengthen our ability to attain mindfulness.
The last book I read on this subject was Bruce Lee'...more
In my own path for personal growth-- I've come back to the concept of "being present" "mindfulness" and "evenly suspended attention" over and over again.
While my studies have been great at describing what these experiences are like and what the benefits of achieving this state are they have been short on conveying the practice routines that can help strengthen our ability to attain mindfulness.
The last book I read on this subject was Bruce Lee'...more
A wonderful guide to meditation for the beginner, as well as the "experienced". In this 10th anniversary edition of his book, Jon Kabat-Zinn explains in his insightful way, how mindfulness in everyday life can lead to greater peace, joy, and happiness in each and everyone who is willing to practice.
Meditation does not mean burning candles and incense; chanting or even making a "great connection with a higher power". It is much more simple than that;as the author makes clear in his in depth look...more
Meditation does not mean burning candles and incense; chanting or even making a "great connection with a higher power". It is much more simple than that;as the author makes clear in his in depth look...more
Stop and smell the roses.
I have no intention of starting any sort of formal meditation. Nor did I when I started this book. Funny enough, the author talks about how no one would pick up this book without some interest in meditation in the afterward. I picked it up because it was on a travel writing reading list. I now understand why.
This book teaches lots of methods and ideas beyond meditation. I am sure for the party interested in meditation it will work wonders, but I think anyone can benefit...more
I have no intention of starting any sort of formal meditation. Nor did I when I started this book. Funny enough, the author talks about how no one would pick up this book without some interest in meditation in the afterward. I picked it up because it was on a travel writing reading list. I now understand why.
This book teaches lots of methods and ideas beyond meditation. I am sure for the party interested in meditation it will work wonders, but I think anyone can benefit...more
I’m grateful that Hyperion came out with a 10th anniversary edition of this book, for a couple of reasons. One, I may very well never have found it in a bookstore in 2011 if not for this “new” edition. And, two, Kabat-Zinn’s afterword for the anniversary edition nicely ties up the book’s main concepts.
In the afterword, Kabat-Zinn bricks back our attention to the “clarity, sanity, and well-being that are always and already right beneath our noses, and within all of us.” A lot of us were probably...more
In the afterword, Kabat-Zinn bricks back our attention to the “clarity, sanity, and well-being that are always and already right beneath our noses, and within all of us.” A lot of us were probably...more
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Jan 27, 2011
Bill
added it
You probably know before you pick up a book on meditation whether you're on board with it. This book isn't free of the kinds of things that might steer you away from such a book, and I'm not sure any book on the subject can be - if the book's any good, ideas from eastern spiritualism go with the territory. So if that all sounds like crap to you then you probably want to go read something else anyway.
Having said that, this book comes in three sections. Each section is composed of fifteen to twent...more
Having said that, this book comes in three sections. Each section is composed of fifteen to twent...more
Damn damn damn, somebody has a hold on this, just when I was finally about to get to the Practice section! Left off p. 96
One note:
p. 75 "If you hope to bring meditation into your life in any kind of long-term, committed way, you will need a vision that is truly your own--one that is deep and tenacious and that lies close to the core of who you believe yourself to be, what you value in your life and where you see yourself going." Otherwise you'll get sick of it and quit. If I do this, the vision...more
One note:
p. 75 "If you hope to bring meditation into your life in any kind of long-term, committed way, you will need a vision that is truly your own--one that is deep and tenacious and that lies close to the core of who you believe yourself to be, what you value in your life and where you see yourself going." Otherwise you'll get sick of it and quit. If I do this, the vision...more
I learned so much from this book that I decided to buy it because I know it's one I will return to and want to reference in the future. It's a simple guide to meditation, a practice I've always wanted to devote more time to or SOME time to, to be perfectly honest. What I liked about this book is that he gives you guidance on how to find your way into practicing meditation, but he never makes stringent requirements. He talks about practicing for even five or ten minutes a day, if that's all you c...more
This is, I think, one of those books which John Green was talking about: “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
This book points at your eyes and tells you that "Look, you never paid attention to your breathing until someone pointed out! You didn't notice this task your body is performing every solitary second. You never were...more
This book points at your eyes and tells you that "Look, you never paid attention to your breathing until someone pointed out! You didn't notice this task your body is performing every solitary second. You never were...more
278 pages. Donated 2010 May.
This 10th Anniversary edition of the inspiring and practical guide to meditation, includes a brand new afterword and an audio-exclusive interview with the author
A simple and straightforward introduction to Buddhist meditation practice from one of the country’s leading authorities on stress-reduction techniques, Dr. Kabat-Zinn has taught this two-thousand-year-old Buddhist method of relaxation to thousands of patients. Through mindfulness, one makes every moment count....more
This 10th Anniversary edition of the inspiring and practical guide to meditation, includes a brand new afterword and an audio-exclusive interview with the author
A simple and straightforward introduction to Buddhist meditation practice from one of the country’s leading authorities on stress-reduction techniques, Dr. Kabat-Zinn has taught this two-thousand-year-old Buddhist method of relaxation to thousands of patients. Through mindfulness, one makes every moment count....more
This book quotes from Walden by Thoreau and the other transcendentalists: Ralph Waldo Emerson (Self-Reliance) and Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass). The author also quotes Taoist philosophers Lao-Tzu and Chuang Tzu. I've been interested in this kind of stuff since high school and the very first class I took at college was a freshman seminar called "Three Ways of Thought," which was a class about common themes in Confucianism, Taoism and Zen Buddhism. If I remember correctly, in my class evaluation,...more
If I could only have one book, this would be it. Not a novel, but a really great short chaptered book that teaches more than meditation. It asks the big questions about life and incorporates a lot from Thoreau's Walden with quotes and passages. A good mix of Eastern philosohpy and transcendentalism makes this a great book to read a chapter at a time. It will always be by my bedside.
Kabat-Zinn made an important appeal for the need of meditation, to take a step back and not let our brain with its impulses dominate our life. As the title makes clear, wherever we currently are is our only reality and Kabat-Zinn correctly argues you must engage in it. The first step to do so, is to get in touch with our selves, our inner voice, and discern our true desires. As well as find a level of happiness in simply existing wherever we are. These points are made pretty clear in the first...more
This book popped up on my Book-a-Day office calendar some time ago. I wanted to see what advice it had about lowering stress and just living in the moment. Kabat-Zinn certainly delivers all that and more - I can see why it's considered a classic.
That said, it was a bit of a chore to get it read. Since it is a book on meditation, I guess the slow pace is understandable. I gave it 3 stars because it did give some very useful tips for getting and keeping yourself in a meditative state. It's a very...more
That said, it was a bit of a chore to get it read. Since it is a book on meditation, I guess the slow pace is understandable. I gave it 3 stars because it did give some very useful tips for getting and keeping yourself in a meditative state. It's a very...more
I think because Jon writes with such simplicity, meditation becomes so simple ("but not easy") to integrate into your daily life. Jon explains the power of meditation in a very matter of fact, bare-bones, no-nonsense way. The book is an easy read, with quick one to two page chapters that are meant to be rotations in the "diamond of mindfullness". So one chapter might be on Dignity, and the next on Patience, and the next reiterates that "This is It". Not in that particular order, but you get the...more
This book is well written--I suppose that's why it's popular. The problem is that meditation is often misunderstood in the west, and this book is perfect example of how psychologists view meditation, which is interesting, but not as useful as it can be. In fact, it sounds more like a type of philosophy than an actual meditation method. While there are many types of meditation in the world, their majority is designed to achieve by far greater effect than mere stress management. For example, a new...more
Mar 11, 2013
Lady T
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
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I had a hard time getting over the whole "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy" vibe of this recording (90's SNL sketch reference) - the author reads in a monotone voice over a track of chiming flute-y music. However, the content was great.
Although this has been a subject that I've been interested in for a while, I am realizing more and more the benefits of staying mindful and present, and just beginning to discover the importance of making time for meditation, whether through yoga, quietly sitting, wal...more
Although this has been a subject that I've been interested in for a while, I am realizing more and more the benefits of staying mindful and present, and just beginning to discover the importance of making time for meditation, whether through yoga, quietly sitting, wal...more
My girlfriend in college suggested I read this book on everyday Mindfulness Meditation by Jon-Kabit Zinn - since then he has become one of my favorite authors on the subject. I approach every day as a meditation in movement. I'm currently working on being more non-reactive and awake and alive in the present moment without having any expectations of it and allowing the moment to simply "be" as it is. It is what it is. Good, bad, or indifferent - trying not to "force the river" - just allowing thi...more
The most accessible, readable, practicable guide I've come accross so far for exploring meditation. Kabat-Zinn leaves the off-putting "spiritual speak" of new ageism behind and describes in accessible language how we can incorporate purposeful awareness into our lives for stress reduction, enhanced awareness in our daily activities and overall well-being. I read this book very slowly, one section at a time while trying to incorporate the "try" paragraphs - simple suggestions at the end of each s...more
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Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., is founding Executive Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also the founding director of its renowned Stress Reduction Clinic and Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He teaches mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)...more
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“Life on earth is a whole, yet it expresses itself in unique time-bound bodies, microscopic or visible, plant or animal, extinct or living. So there can be no one place to be. There can be no one way to be, no one way to practice, no one way to learn, no one way to love, no one way to grow or to heal, no one way to live, no one way to feel, no one thing to know or be known. The particulars count.”
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“Perhaps the most "spiritual" thing any of us can do is simply to look through our own eyes, see with eyes of wholeness, and act with integrity and kindness.”
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