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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I recommend The Mindfulness Workbook, August 14, 2010
This review is from: The Mindfulness Workbook: A Beginner's Guide to Overcoming Fear and Embracing Compassion (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) (Paperback)
Even though I've read lots of good books on mindfulness this book stands out in several ways. First, I appreciate how the author links mindfulness with a basic understanding of the nervous system. When we're reacting mindlessly it's because we've activated the sympathetic nervous system. The book provides practices and ideas for how to work with our bodies and minds so we can stay open to the experiences of our lives, not getting so caught up in fear-based protective responses and "Big Deal Mind."
Second, I like how the book frames the common obstacles to mindfulness (illusion, delusion, attachment and aggression) and provides practices for working with them. Although the presentation of these four obstacles is clearly rooted in Buddhist teachings, the book has very little Buddhist jargon, thus making it useful for anyone interested in cultivating more spacious and compassionate ways to be present in one's own life.
Finally, I appreciated the author's ideas for applying mindfulness practices in daily living. He includes ideas you'll find in other books (mindful eating, walking, driving) but goes further. I especially liked the activities using haiku awareness (which added a fun element to an evening out with a friend when we did them together) and the chapter on spacious relationships, which covers a number of useful ideas, including how to explore protective strategies that get in the way of being more fully present in relationships, and how to speak with a "heart tone in your voice." Tom Roberts speaks in that tone throughout the book: kind, encouraging, and understanding of the need to keep starting over and not give up on ourselves when we find ourselves - once again! - under the influence of Big Deal Mind.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A GREAT BOOK THAT COMBINES BOTH WONDERFUL INSIGHTS AND HELPFUL PRACTICES, May 6, 2010
This review is from: The Mindfulness Workbook: A Beginner's Guide to Overcoming Fear and Embracing Compassion (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) (Paperback)
I really love this book. In a time when many of us are working and living in a way that feels out of control, reading this book is like a breath of fresh air. The Mindfulness Workbook is a wonderful guide to help you learn how to step back and embrace your life as it truly happens. It teaches you how to recognize and let go of old habits and thought patterns that are so disruptive. The book is written in a style that is down to earth and easy to relate to. It is kept interesting through many stories and examples. The Mindfulness Workbook leaves you with wonderful insights and invites you to follow some very simple practices that can have a profound effect in helping relieve tension and in creating a sense of calmness. I have found it to be tremendously helpful in learning how to respond when I feel myself falling into the turmoil of daily clatter and commotion. This, in turn, draws me closer to the stillness of my center and helps me to pay attention to and embrace what is really happening in the present moment. You can tell this workbook is written by someone who knows gentleness, kindness, patience and compassion because everything in the book that speaks of using these qualities, starting with yourself, falls so naturally into place. It is incredibly helpful in making positive change and I would highly recommend it to anyone
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended, January 1, 2011
This review is from: The Mindfulness Workbook: A Beginner's Guide to Overcoming Fear and Embracing Compassion (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) (Paperback)
Mindfulness has received considerable attention in psychology and related fields in the past ten years. Drawing on his considerable experience with clients as a marriage and family therapist, Roberts has written an excellent, experiential introduction and workbook for those interested in practicing mindfulness (whether beginner or experienced). Mindfulness involves opening up to the flow of life experiences without judgment or excessive thoughts or feelings, a limiting of the need to react (a "spacious presence"). According to Roberts, mindfulness is not a way of avoiding life's stresses and problems, but a way of facing inevitable difficulties with patience, openness and compassion, it's a way of "settling the muddy water". It is the opposite of "mindlessness" or automaticity, and of fear-based reactions (which are the cause of suffering). The book is filled with carefully guided "practice sessions" related to mindfulness (with many "points to ponder"), and an audio version guiding you through the sessions is available on Robert's web site. The practice sessions include consideration of center point breathing; common obstacles to mindfulness ("illusions" or perceiving that my troubles are permanent, lasting and solid; "delusions" or stories I tell myself that distort reality; "attachment" or the energy I expend protecting my illusions and delusions; and "aggression" or the final attempt to control life and restore a sense of safety); and cultivating mindfulness in everyday living (disrupting routines; and mindful eating, walking and driving). There's even a chapter on "Haiku awareness" (playful poems that promote mindfulness) and another describing loving-kindness meditation. I enthusiastically recommend this book without reservation to just about anybody.
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