Mindfulness & Meditation

July is Self Care Month and today is International Self-Care Day.  There are many ways to practice self-care, today I am featuring books on meditation and mindfulness.

Bliss More: How to Succeed in Meditation Without Really Trying by Light Watkins - Imagine you're sitting on a cushion with your legs crossed, ready to tap into unlimited joy. There's just one problem- You can't get comfortable (let alone still), and your head is full of way too many thoughts.
The problem is not with meditation, or you, though-the issue may be with your approach.
When properly understood and practiced, meditation should feel easy, calming, and comfortable. In Bliss More, maverick instructor Light Watkins provides the tools for making it E.A.S.Y. (Embrace, Accept, Surrender, Yield), dispels the biggest myths and misunderstandings, and shares real-world tips and straight talk for hacking into this ancient practice. The result- a happier and healthier you, inside and out. Watkins also shares candid testimonials from people whose lives have been enriched through his method, and extensive resources for transforming a daily chore into an enjoyable activity. Even the biggest skeptic will look forward to sitting for meditation every day.

Calm: Calm the Mind, Change the World by Michael Acton Smith - Join the Calm revolution. Modern life is hectic and relentless: trains delayed, endless emails filling the inbox, kids squabbling before bedtime ... There has never been a more important time to rediscover your pause button. Calm is the book that will show you how to take back a little bit of peace, space and all-important calm. This book contains the simple tools, tricks and habits that will change the rest your life. It is a practical and pleasurable guide to twenty-first century mindfulness. Regular meditation is medically proven to be good for you - it increases focus and creativity, productivity and job satisfaction, mental and even physical health. But in reality most of us don't have time to sit on a cushion with our eyes closed for half an hour every day. And many people associate meditation with hard work and huge lifestyle shifts: you might be imagining Buddhist monks locked in a mountain retreat and living off gruel ... This is where Calm comes in. Calm is about simple, achievable habits that work with the demands of your busy life instead of pretending those demands don't exist. Calm does not require specialist training: it uses abilities that every single one of us is born with, like creativity, spontaneity and simply noticing the world around you. Calm is not a set of rules that you need to worry about following or breaking. It is inspirational, practical and non-prescriptive. Onerous, time-consuming meditation might seem out of reach but everyone can achieve calm - including you. Calm combines extracts from fascinating neurological research with wisdom from history's great thinkers and the real-life experiences of individuals across the globe. It demystifies mindfulness and shows you the many simple ways to be mindful while carrying on with your life. It is also a beautifully crafted object, filled with artwork and artistry, that will change your perspective by showing you the pleasures of the world a new. Take a walk with nowhere to go, savour a chocolate on the tip of your tongue, plant a seed, doodle aimlessly, turn off your mobile phone for five short minutes. Smile, breathe and go slowly. Calm is divided into eight sections that everyone should have in their life: nature; work; creativity; children; travel; relationships; food; and sleep. Each section contains a mixture of fascinating research, creative prompts, activities and instructions, sensory stimuli and inspiration. Pick up Calm whenever you need it, dip in and out, read it and choose which bits work best for you. Michael Acton Smith has written a game-changing book, one that will finally balance everyone's need for calm with the realities of modern life. Join the Calm revolution. Calm your mind; change your world.

The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day by Andy Puddicombe - Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, the Voice of Headspace, and the UK's foremost mindfulness expert, is on a mission: to get people to take 10 minutes out of their day to sit in the here and now.
Like his readers and students, Andy began his own meditation practice as a normal, busy person with everyday concerns, and he has since designed a program of mindfulness and guided meditation that fits neatly into a jam-packed daily routine--proving that just 10 minutes a day can make a world of difference.
Accessible and portable, The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness offers simple but powerful meditation techniques that positively impact every area of physical and mental health: from productivity and focus, to stress and anxiety relief, sleep, weight-loss, personal relationships...the benefits are limitless. The result? More headspace, less stress. Andy brings this ancient practice into the modern world, tailor made for the most time starved among us.

The Heartfulness Way: Heart-Based Meditations for Spiritual Transformation by Kamlesh Patel & Joshua Pollock - Heartfulness is an ideal, a spiritual way of living by and from the heart that is inclusive of all ideologies, beliefs, and religions. In this heart-centered book, a student in conversation with his teacher, Kamlesh D. Patel--affectionately known as Daaji, the fourth and current spiritual guide of the century-old Heartfulness tradition--present a unique method of meditation with the power to facilitate an immediate, tangible spiritual experience, irrespective of a person's faith. Our modern, fast-paced world can be an overwhelming place. Every day, we're bombarded with messages telling us that in order to be happy, fulfilled, and worthy, we must be better, do more, and accumulate as much material wealth as possible. Most of us move through our busy lives with our minds full of these ideas, multitasking as we strive to navigate the responsibilities and expectations we must meet just to make it through the day. But what if there is another way? What if, rather than letting the busyness of life overtake our minds, we learn to be heartful instead? Based on Daaji's own combination of approaches and practices for the modern seeker--which draws from the teachings of Sahaj Marg, meaning "Natural Path"--Heartfulness is a contemporized version of the ancient Indian practice of Raja Yoga, a tradition that enables the practitioner to realize the higher Self within. While many books describe refined states of being, The Heartfulness Way goes further, providing a pragmatic course to experience those states for oneself, which, per the book's guiding principle, is "greater than knowledge." Heartfulness meditation consists of four elements--relaxation, meditation, cleaning, and prayer--and illuminates the ancient, defining feature of yogic transmission (or pranahuti), the utilization of divine energy for spiritual growth and transformation. Using the method, detailed practices, tips, and practical philosophy offered in this book, you'll reach new levels of attainment and learn to live a life more deeply connected to the values of the Heartfulness way--with acceptance, humility, compassion, empathy, and love.

The Mindful Day: Practical Ways to Find Focus, Calm, and Joy From Morning to Evening by Laurie Cameron - For overscheduled professionals looking to incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives, this step-by-step guide draws on contemplative traditions, modern neuroscience, and leading psychology to bring peace and focus to the home, in the workplace, and beyond. At the pinnacle of the digital age, it's hard to imagine packing one more thing into our overwhelmed lives. But new research shows that simple daily exercises can change the way our brains work, improve focus, boost productivity, lift our mood, and help us develop greater resilience. In this enriching book, noted teacher and mindfulness expert Laurie Cameron - a veteran of Google's Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute - shows how to seamlessly integrate mindfulness practice into your life. Timeless teachings and straightforward exercises designed for busy schedules -- from the morning commute to back-to-back meetings to family dinners - show how mindfulness practice can help you navigate any situation with control and clarity. Cameron's practical wisdom and concrete how-to steps will help you make the most of the present moment, creating a roadmap for inner peace - and a life of deeper purpose and joy.

Mindful Games: Sharing Mindfulness and Meditation with Children, Teens, and Families by Susan Kaiser Greenland - Playing games is a great way for kids to develop their focusing and attention skills and to become more mindful. Susan Kaiser Greenland has had a lot of success bringing mindfulness to the classroom, and in this book she shares her experience, showing how parents, caregivers, and teachers can cultivate these qualities at home or in a school setting. She includes fifty mindfulness games that develop what Greenland calls the "new A, B, C's" for learning and for a happy and successful life- Attention, Balance, and Compassion. In a playful way, the games introduce kids to breathing practices and techniques for developing focus, concentration, and sensory awareness, and identifying and self-regulating emotions, among others skills. They include "anchor" games that develop concentration; visualization games that encourage kindness and focus; analytical games that cultivate clear thinking; and awareness games that develop all of these qualities and give greater insight into ourselves, others, and relationships. Greenland contextualizes each game and offers guidance for the parents/caregivers throughout.
Even though the games are written for kids, they can be just as fun and transformative for adults. Greenland encourages parents and caregivers to develop their own attention, balance, and compassion and explore the universal concepts that she presents. She points out that as caregivers, our own mindfulness has a powerful effect on everyone in our lives, especially our children. They notice when we're calmer, more composed, and more joyful, and learn by our example.

The Monkey is the Messenger: Meditation and What Your Busy Mind is Trying to Tell You by Ralph de la Rosa - It's a common story. Someone wants to take up meditation, but they take themselves to be one of those people for whom it just doesn't work because they think too much. And they give it up in frustration after an hour or a couple weeks or a year. But though it is often taken to be the scourge of meditators, repetitive and excessive thinking is an experience common to everyone. The Buddha famously called it "monkey mind," and that term has become nearly a household phrase. At worst, when people sit down to meditate and invariably find themselves distracted, subtle and not-so-subtle forms of self-aggression and self-recrimination tend to ensue over an experience that is as natural as it unpreventable. At best, the monkey mind is viewed as an obstruction to a deeper way of being; something to ignore, a pest to move beyond. Such an idea often crops up in today's mindfulness culture, in which a myth prevails that meditation is about "emptying out thoughts" or "shutting off the mind."
The truth is, says Ralph De La Rosa, repetitive thinking is a natural function of the human organism that, like all other aspects of our being, serves a purpose--one that is bound up with the activity of awakening. When we stop dismissing this tendency and instead turn toward it, we can discover far-reaching implications in service of well-being, emotional intelligence, cultivating lovingkindness, healing trauma, and developing compassion. Using psychotherapeutic, somatic, and mindfulness-based approaches, The Monkey Is the Messenger is a guide to working productively in meditation practice, in our psychologies, and even in the broader social issues that often lie behind threatening monkey-mind thinking. It will issue a call for readers to end the war they wage with themselves and to meet their minds in a manner that is appropriately informed, efficacious, and enjoyable.

Natural Meditation: A Guide to Effortless Meditative Practice by Dean Sluyter - There's no trying in meditation. Just as water runs naturally downhill . . . just as leaves float naturally to the ground . . . anyone can settle naturally into meditation. Not trying, just allowing - not doing, just being. The key is effortlessness. Whether you're a complete novice or you've 'tried it before,' if you can breathe you can meditate. Guided by veteran teacher Dean Sluyter's easygoing, down-to-earth approach, you'll test-drive a variety of meditative 'vehicles,' such as breath, sound, the senses, the sky, and the simple sense of 'I,' and discover which ones fit you best. You'll find all the practical tips you need for adapting these methods to your daily life, even for a few minutes a day on the subway or in an office cubicle. And as your life opens to deep happiness, clarity, peace, and creative energy, you'll be inspired to keep on practicing - naturally.

Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program by Sharon Salzberg - Thousands of years prove it, and Western science backs it: Meditation sharpens focus. Meditation lowers blood pressure, relieves chronic pain, reduces stress. Meditation helps us experience greater calm. Meditation connects us to our inner-most feelings and challenges our habits of self-judgment. Meditation helps protect  the brain against aging and improves our capacity for learning new things. Meditation opens the door to real and accessible happiness.
There is no better person to show a beginner how to harness the power of meditation than Sharon Salzberg, one of the world's foremost meditation teachers and spiritual authors. Cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, author of Lovingkindness, Faith, and other books, Ms. Salzberg distills 30 years of teaching meditation into a 28-day program that will change lives. It is not about Buddhism, it's not esoteric--it is closer to an exercise, like running or riding a bike. From the basics of posture, breathing, and the daily schedule to the finer points of calming the mind, distraction, dealing with specific problem areas (pain in the legs? falling asleep?) to the larger issues of compassion and awareness, Real Happiness is a complete guide. It explains how meditation works; why a daily meditation practice results in more resiliency, creativity, peace, clarity, and balance; and gives twelve meditation practices, including mindfulness meditation and walking meditation.

Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance by Emily Fletcher - In our high-stress, overworked lives, we think the answer to accomplishing more is to do more. But the best advantage we can give ourselves is to take a mental break--to spend a few minutes of the day giving the body and brain rest. Did you know that a brief meditation can offer rest that's five times deeper than sleep? When you make time to practice the Z Technique this book teaches, you'll actually be more productive than if you took an hour-and-a-half nap or had a cup of coffee.
A leading expert in meditation for high performance, Emily Fletcher has taught meditation at numerous global corporations, including Google, Barclays Bank, and Viacom, to help their employees improve their focus and increase their productivity levels. With Stress Less, Accomplish More, anyone can get the benefits of her 15-minute twice-daily plan. Emily specifically developed the Z Technique for working people with busy lives. Now, you can learn to recharge anywhere, anytime--at home or at your desk. All you need is a few minutes and a chair (no apps, incense, or finger cymbals required).
This is not just another meditation book. In Stress Less, Accomplish More, Emily teaches a powerful trifecta of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Manifesting to improve your personal and professional performance, clarity, health, and sleep. You'll learn how to cultivate Mindfulness through brief but powerful exercises that will help you stop wasting time stressing. Plus, you'll get Manifesting tools to help you get crystal clear on your personal and professional goals for the future.
Filled with fascinating real-life transformations, interactive exercises, and practical knowledge, Stress Less, Accomplish More introduces you to a revelatory daily practice and shows you how to make it work for your modern life.