“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” -Joesph Addison
This is your sign to try a new book.
Practicing Mindfulness: 75 Essential Meditations to Reduce Stress, Improve Mental Health, and Find Peace in the Everyday. By: Matthew Sockolov
“75 ways to find calmness, clarity, and confidence.”
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/practicing-mindfulness-matthew-sockolov/1129146140 ($14.99)
Synopsis: “Find everyday calmness and clarity with simple mindfulness meditations and exercises
Mindfulness meditations are a great way to cultivate awareness and acceptance of the here and now—Practicing Mindfulness makes it easy and accessible with 75 evidence-based exercises designed to bring calmness and compassion into your day-to-day.
From finding focus with a 5-minute The Power of the Mind exercise to embracing the experience with a 25-minute Open-Awareness Meditation, Practicing Mindfulness provides the tools you need to relieve stress, improve wellness, and practice peace of mind moment to moment and throughout the daily grind.”
The Tao of Pooh by: Benjamin Hoff
“The how of Pooh? The Tao of Pooh”
https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Pooh-Benjamin-Hoff/dp/0140067477 ($11.25)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tao-of-pooh-benjamin-hoff/1102157065?ean=9780140067477 ($8 / $15)
Synopsis: “The how of Pooh? The Tao of who? The Tao of Pooh?! In which it is revealed that one of the world’s great Taoist masters isn’t Chinese—or a venerable philosopher—but is in fact none other than that effortlessly calm, still, reflective bear: A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh! While Eeyore frets, and Piglet hesitates, and Rabbit calculates, and Owl pontificates, Pooh just is.
And that’s a clue to the secret wisdom of the Taoists.”
How To Be Mindful by: Anna Barnes
“A little bit of mindfulness everyday.”
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-mindful-anna-barnes/1124896392?ean=9781786857309 ($8)
https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Mindful-Anna-Barnes/dp/1849538972 (used: $5.31/ new: $13.78)
Synopsis: “Would you like to feel less stressed, live more calmly, and be more content? The simple ideas that mindfulness teaches can help you achieve all these things, by allowing you to live in the moment and embrace all that life has to offer. Bursting with tips, centering statements, and activities, How to Be Mindful will provide you with everything you need to make every day full of gratitude and peace.”
Book Review: “This book is a fantastic choice for anyone just starting on their mindfulness journey! It is a quick read full of tips and tricks that help you become aware and appreciative of the little things in life. The book itself is beautiful, with eye catching illustrations that made me love reading it even more so. Even better: I found it for only $8! I definitely recommend this one!” -Trystn Cardenas
Mindfulness in Plain English by: Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
“The essence of our experience is change”
https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-English-Bhante-Henepola-Gunaratana/dp/0861719069/ ($14.49 new) ($5.02 used)
Synopsis: “Bhante Henepola Gunaratana’s book on mindfulness is for people who want to completely change their lives with mindfulness and are ready to commit. It is short enough to read over and over again but long enough to make a lasting impact on the reader’s life.”
Book Review: "Wonderfully clear and straightforward." -- Joseph Goldstein
Trauma and the 12 Steps: Daily Meditations and Reflections. By: Jamie Marich
“A 3-5 minute meditation or expressive arts practice.”
Synopsis: “This book is designed to help you engage in practice that will hopefully translate into your life. Every day, you are presented with an inspirational quote from people who have deeply influenced Jamie and Steve, a trauma-informed reflection, a simple 3-5 minute meditation or expressive arts practice, and a prayer or intention. This reader is appropriate for people on all paths of recovery, however you may define recovery at this moment in your life. Whether its alcohol, drugs, codependency, food, shopping, problematic sexual acting out, compulsive Internet use, or other trauma-based dissociation that keeps you stuck, may you find ideas for helping you to engage more fully with the present day.”
The Lunar Tao: Meditations in Harmony with the Seasons By: Ming-Dao Deng
“Meditations in Harmony with the Seasons”
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lunar-tao-deng-ming-dao/1129823813?ean=9780062116888 ($19.99)
Synopsis: “From Taosim expert Ming-Dao Deng comes The Lunar Tao: Meditations in Harmony with the Seasons,bringing to life the Chinese Lunar Calendar via the prism of Taoism.
In The Lunar Tao, each day of the Lunar year is represented with a reading meditation, beautiful Chinese illustrations, and interesting facts about the festivals and traditions, providing readers with the context that gives Taoism such depth and resonance.
Ming-Dao Deng, the bestselling author of 365 Tao: Daily Meditations, shows how to bring the tenets of Taoism into everyday life.”
Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by: Thich Nhat Hanh
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anger-thich-nhat-hanh/1104321314 ($16)
Synopsis: "[Thich Nhat Hanh] shows us the connection between personal, inner peace and peace on earth." –His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Book Review: "He shows us the connection between personal, inner peace, and peace on earth." —His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Declutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking by: Barrie Davenport
“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it’s all within yourself, in your way of thinking”
https://www.amazon.com/Declutter-Your-Mind-Eliminate-Mindfulness-ebook/dp/B01KU04K5A/ ($14.99 new) ($5.69 used)
Synopsis: “S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport’s bestselling book is focused on the benefits of mindfulness, such as improved relationships, reduced anxiety, and decreased mental clutter. The authors explain how to achieve these benefits through mindfulness meditation and other exercises.The book is designed to be actionable, so anyone can pick it up and start benefiting from mindfulness right away. That fact, combined with its fairly short length, makes this a great choice for people looking for quick results.”
Book Review: "The definitive book for cleaning up 'mental clutter' holding you back!"- Scott B. Allan
America's Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal By: Larry Ward
“The key set of talks on breaking America’s cycle of racial trauma.”
https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Racial-Karma-Invitation-Heal/dp/1946764744 ($9.95)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/americas-racial-karma-larry-ward/1136470105?ean=9781946764744 ($12.95)
Synopsis: "I am a drop in the ocean, but I'm also the ocean. I'm a drop in America, but I'm also America. Every pain, every confusion, every good and every bad and ugly of America is in me. And as I transform myself and heal and take care of myself, I'm very conscious that I'm healing and transforming and taking care of America. I say this for American cynics, but this is also true globally. It's for real." So says Zen Buddhist teacher Dr. Larry Ward.
”Shot at by the police as an 11-year-old child for playing baseball in the wrong spot, as an adult, Larry Ward experienced the trauma of having his home firebombed by racists. At Plum Village Monastery in France, the home in exile of his teacher, Vietnamese peace activist and Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, Dr. Ward found a way to heal. In these short reflective essays, he offers his insights on the effects of racial constructs and answers the question: how do we free ourselves from our repeated cycles of anger, denial, bitterness, pain, fear, violence? Larry Ward looks at the causes and conditions that have led us to our current state and finds, hidden in the crisis, a profound opportunity to reinvent what it means to be a human being. This is an invitation to transform America's racial karma.”
Tao Te Ching By: Lao Tzu
“Tao means means ‘way’ in both literal (“road”) and metaphysical (“spiritual path”) senses”
Synopsis: “In what may be the most faithful translation of the Tao Te Ching, the translators have captured the terse, enigmatic beauty of the original masterpiece without embellishing it with personal interpretation or bogging it down with explanatory notes. By stepping out of the way and letting the original text speak for itself, they deliver a powerfully direct experience of the Tao Te Ching that is a joy to come back to again and again.
And for the first time in any translation of the Tao Te Ching, now you can interact with the text to experience for yourself the nuanced art of translating. In each of the eighty-one chapters, one significant line has been highlighted and alongside it are the original Chinese characters with their transliteration. You can then turn to the glossary and translate this line on your own, thereby deepening your understanding of the original text and of the myriad ways it can be translated into English.”
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to Be Calm in a Busy World by: Haemin Sunim
“Is it the world that’s busy, or is it my mind?”
https://www.amazon.com/Things-Only-When-Slow-Down/dp/0143130773/ ($15.99 new) ($7.49 used)
Synopsis: “Sunim stresses the importance of fostering healthy relationships with others and the necessity of having a strong relationship with oneself. This book can help you deepen your existing mindfulness practice, but might also convince someone without an existing practice to establish one.”
Book Review: ““Wise advice on how to reflect and slow down.”- Elle
Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration by: Meera Lee Patel
“Every answer is inside of you”
https://www.amazon.com/Start-Where-You-Are-Self-Exploration/dp/0399174826/ ($11.19 new) ($1.30)
Synopsis: “Meera Lee Patel’s bestseller is the most interactive book on this list, as it’s formatted like a journal. It includes writing prompts and creative exercises that help readers discover mindfulness in their own ways.This book is an excellent option for independent learners who prefer interactive experiences to more traditional books. It is also the clear choice for the aesthetically minded, as it is presented in a more visually pleasing way than the traditional books on this list.”
Book Review: "Remarkable, endearing, and absolutely gorgeous. A brilliant travel guide for navigating the nooks and crannies of imagination.” -Jessica Hagy,
