Small Bites: Mindfulness for Everyday Use

by Annabelle Zinser

Drawing on her experiences as a Buddhist teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, Annabelle Zinser developed meditation and mindfulness practices for a variety of everyday situations and the transformation of emotional challenges. In short chapters the author demonstrates how to connect the awareness of our breath with focusing our mindfulness on a particular topic at hand, such dealing with inferiority complex; recognizing negative thoughts and emotions; taking care of our sexuality; seeing our ancestors within us. This puts us in touch with the healing capacity of the present moment, and gives us a tool to transform even the most difficult and painful aspects of our lives into something joyful and healing. In their simplicity, the meditations follow the model of Metta meditation, aiming for the cultivation of our hearts and spirits. They always begin with focusing on the breath but from there expand to addressing a broad spectrum of mental conditions and life situations.

Written for anyone aiming to living in a more grounded and sustainable way, Small Bites offers immediately applicable guidance in applying key mindfulness practices to daily life.

Genres: Psychology

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Peter Clothier]

I got a lot of pleasure and a good number of useful insights from Small Bites: Mindfulness for Everyday Use, Annabelle Zinser's handy guide to the meditation process. The author is a Thich Nhat Hanh disciple--she received from him the Lamp Transmission in 2004--who lives in Berlin and teaches there at the Quelle des Mitgfuehls (the Source of Compassion) center. She's also the 2007 recipient of the UN's Outstanding Women in Buddhism Award.

Small Bites is a pleasant-to-read and eminently practical guide to meditation. While there are many such books available, Zinser's distinguishes itself for its brevity, its clarity, and its surprisingly (for its length) comprehensive overview of the Dharma's principles and teachings. Her short chapters--on topics ranging from the "Four Immeasurables" to "Letting Go," "Loving Kindness" and "Difficult Feelings"--each end with a clearly described meditation, with words intended to guide the practice particular to that topic with precision and, always, compassion for self and others.

Small Bites is a terrific book for beginners. But, as always with Buddhism, beginners are not only those just starting a practice, but all those of us who recognize that "beginner's mind" is the best place to be; because that's the ground on which we know that we still have much to learn.

[Emily Perkins]

Until I read this book, I never understood what meditation or mindfulness really are because people tend to talk about these concepts so vaguely, as if they are things that you should be able to discover how to do for yourself. That always felt very secretive to me. If they are things that everyone has access to, then why couldn't people be more open about sharing how the process works? Sure, it's different for everyone but that doesn't mean that they can't share some guidelines. This book lays out examples for you with very basic explanations while allowing room for the subjective experience, and even though it's basic, it still manages to delve into explanation of the tenets of Buddhism.

[Maughn Gregory]

Wonderful guided meditations good for a wide range of existential issues.

[Sanntint]

this very simple and saraightforward helps me alot to be mindfulness in every situation of daily life !

[Kent Robinson]

A Great book on mindfulness and how to be mindful in everyday life.