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Stress is endemic in our culture. We live in a speedy, pressurized world, and there's often little time to really experience and enjoy our lives. Rather than constantly trying to keep up, perhaps it's time for us to stop and pay attention, to our bodies, minds, and the world. For thousands of years Eastern traditions have taught meditation to help people lead healthier, happier lives. Now, scientific research is confirming that mindfulness can help us all improve our mental and physical well-being. Written by Dr. Jonty Heaveresdge and Ed Halliwell, The Mindful Manifesto integrates the latest scientific and medical research on mindfulness with meditation’s historical context. We will see how mindfulness can:
· treat mental health problems such as depression and anxiety
· help us cope with the busyness of everyday life
· improve our physical health and manage chronic illness
· help us let go of unwanted behaviors and improve how we function in our relationships and jobs.
And why stop there? With examples of how the mindfulness movement is already well underway, we see that encouraging governments and other powerful institutions to take a mindful approach could make a massive difference to the health and happiness of the whole world.
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“A wonderful primer on the art and science of mindfulness. Includes really practical advice for easing the speed and anxiety of modern life by altering our habits of mind.”
— Susan Piver,founder of The Open Heart Project and author of How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life and The Wisdom of a Broken Heart
“The Mindful Manifestois a wonderful overview of mindfulness meditation—comprehensive, honest, and compassionate. This book helps make mindfulness accessible to all.”
— Sharon Salzberg,author of Loving Kindness and Real Happiness
“This thoughtful guide explains both why we should be more mindful and—so important—how to do it. Written in a warm-hearted and peaceful voice, this book is clear, direct, down-to-earth, and profound.”
— Rick Hanson, Ph.D.,author of Buddha’s Brain
“If you want to know why mindfulness has gone mainstream, read the first chapter. If you want to learn how it can help you, read the rest of the book. It’s as clear a presentation of mindfulness practice as you’ll find anywhere.”
— Barry Boyce,editor of The Mindfulness Revolution and www.mindful.org
“A lucid and highly practical guide to how mindfulness techniques can be of enormous benefit to our health,
relationships, and peace of mind.”
— Mick Brown, author of The Spiritual Tourist and The Dance of 17 Lives
“The Mindful Manifesto offers a fresh perspective on ancient wisdom. It is authentic, timely, and hugely needed.”
— Peter J. Conradi, author of Going Buddhist and Iris Murdoch
“A thoroughly well-written book that will serve as an excellent guide for anyone wishing to understand or practice mindfulness.”
— Dr. David Hamilton, author of How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body and Why Kindness Is Good for You
“An excellent manifesto for making small mindful changes that can make a huge difference in how you go through life. The authors are engaging, humorous, and candid about some of the common struggles with mindfulness, including their own. Heartily recommended.”
— Marsha Lucas,author of Rewire Your Brain for Love
“The Mindful Manifesto helps us to ‘be’ more and to ‘do’ less. It’s old wisdom backed by modern science, beautifully described.”
— Professor Richard Layard, Well-Being Program Director, London School of Economics
(Professor Richard Layard )
About the Author
Dr. Jonty Heaversedge is a general physician in a large practice in South East London. He completed a degree in psychology and then a Masters in Mental Health Studies, and continues to pursue a particular interest in the psychological health and well-being of his patients. Jonty is a regular contributor to television and radio, and has become an increasingly familiar face on the BBC and BBC1. Visit his website: http://www.drjonty.com/
Ed Halliwell is a writer and mindfulness teacher. He is the author of the Mental Health Foundation's Mindfulness Report (2010), and writes regularly for The Guardian and Mindful.org on meditation, Buddhism, psychology, and well-being. His journalism has also been featured in The Times,TheObserver, and The Independent on Sunday, as well as many magazines. He is an authorized meditation instructor, and a partner in Mindfulness Sussex. He is also a faculty member at the School of Life, which offers a variety of programs and services concerned with how to live wisely and well. Visit him at: http://edhalliwell.com/ and http://themindfulmanifesto.com
My interest in meditation spans three decades but only now have I found so many resources for those interested in learning this ancient practice. When I began, urged on by a fellow college student, I was simply told to sit still and be quiet. Haven't my parents and teachers been telling me that my whole life? But this kind of quiet was different: I was to try not to focus on any thoughts. Not that my thoughts were bad. The idea was to find increased expansiveness and less stress. I was clueless on how this worked, but it did.
At first I found it very difficult to banish my thoughts. I preferred the breathing exercises I learned in acting classes, where we counted our breaths for six beats, held them for six beats, exhaled for six and again, held our breaths again until all nervousness subsided. Doing these exercises, I discovered my heartbeat, and that I could slow it down using my breath. But I saw little application for my life, outside of conquering stage fright. Little did I know I was practicing mindfulness as a teenager.
For the last six years, I have embraced meditation and consider it a necessary part of my day. I try to begin and end each day with at least 15 minutes of meditation. Studying with Buddhist teachers, I've come to learn techniques that make the practice easier. I've also discovered books that have helped. None have been so comprehensive and encouraging as The Mindful Manifesto.
I think it's important for a book that encourages mindfulness to cite scientific research. Otherwise, readers may feel like I did thirty years ago when I was told to sit down and shut up. The Mindful Manifesto is not only an easy book to read, but it engagingly reports on research on why meditation works....
One of the biggest surprises as a novice meditator was my new found ability to handle surprises. Raising a young boy means sometimes having said young boy try to scare the bejeebus out of you as you round a corner in your own home. Before I started meditating regularly, I would literally jump and scream when startled. As I meditated more, my son was impressed to see me turn calmly to him and smile sagely when he jumped out at me. It may have ruined his fun, but I was stoked to have this superhero quality.
So reading why this happens, how the brain actually changes due to meditation, was an eye-opener. The authors cite studies that showed that after only eight weeks of practice, "grey matter in parts of the participants' brains had increased in density by 1 to 3 percent, affecting areas known to be implicated in learning and memory, as well as self-awareness, compassion and introspection."
The authors (Jonty Heaversedge is a medical doctor and Ed Halliwell is a writer/mindfulness teacher) share exercises and tips that help break down the steps necessary for a successful meditation session. I particularly enjoyed the ways of viewing thoughts. I know how difficult it is when you feel like you can't think whilst meditating. That's not the goal at all. Instead, the idea is to not latch onto your thoughts. Many people are taught to view them like passing clouds. But you may prefer to see your thoughts float by on a stream, or watch them pass by like trains at a station, or as an audience member watching a play. I had fun envisioning my thoughts form as bubbles being spoken on stage by Ian McKellen and floating up into the lights.
There are the standard exercises here too, like the one where you focus on a raisin (I must've read this exercise at least in three other books I've read recently) but this book is very good at encouraging the practice of mindfulness as it details the benefits gained from all the applications covered in each chapter. Their call to action is very persuasive. The authors have also set up a companion website and list other resources, in addition to comprehensive end-notes.
I'm certainly glad to have read The Mindful Manifesto; I just wish my college buddy was able to loan it me ages ago, instead of having to learn meditation "on the street" so to speak. My practice will be richer for it, and I feel better equipped to explain why everyone should "sit down and shut up" at least a few minutes a day.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.Read more ›
For those of you who are interested in mindfulness, but maybe put off by some of the religious or new-age approaches in many books on mindfulness, I recommend that you give this excellent book a try. The authors take a straightforward stance, from real life wherein we're all too busy and stressed. They make the case in an engaging way -- and they realize that you're not going to read this book and suddenly be going on month-long retreats. Rather, it's a manifesto for making mindful changes and starting small practices, towards making a huge difference in how you go through life. They're candid (and often humorous) about the common struggles with mindfulness (it's simple, but not easy!), including their own. As one Amazon-UK reviewer put it, "It's honest, uplifting and engaging with no hint of fluffiness," and I, too, heartily recommend it.
For those of you who are interested in mindfulness, but maybe put off by some of the religious or new-age approaches in many books on mindfulness, I recommend that you give this excellent book a try. The authors take a straightforward stance, from real life wherein we're all too busy and stressed. They make the case in an engaging way -- and they realize that you're not going to read this book and suddenly be going on month-long retreats. Rather, it's a manifesto for making mindful changes and starting small practices, towards making a huge difference in how you go through life. They're candid (and often humorous) about the common struggles with mindfulness (it's simple, but not easy!), including their own. As one Amazon-UK reviewer put it, "It's honest, uplifting and engaging with no hint of fluffiness," and I, too, heartily recommend it.
I'll add that as I've recommended 'The Mindful Manifesto' to others, some of the feedback has been that it appeals to men who might not otherwise be interested in a book about mindfulness, "because it's written in such a straightforward manner."
How often have we been in the heat of an argument and realised that we have forgotten the reason why we even had the argument in the first place? Or perhaps you have driven home from work to realise that you barely even remember travelling back? In the Mindful Manifesto, authors Dr Jonty Heaversedge and Ed Halliwell mention that our minds tend to have 2 modes, a doing mode and a being mode. Unfortunately as a society, we place great emphasis on the doing mode and little on just being (to the point where it is critised as lazy).
Yet as the authors mention, being stuck in doing mode only leads to various health and psychological problems, as well as burn out and stress. Yet using scientifc research to back their claims, Dr Heaversedge and Halliwell show how it is by learning to be more in the being mode (to be in touch with ourselves) that we can actually achieve more with less stress.
Furthermore, by learning to be we are able to feel greater levels of peace as well as achieve greater levels of health in our lives. A must read!
Have you heard about all the wonderful benefits of meditating but been dragging your feet about incorporating this activity into your daily life? If you're like me, you've taken a few stabs at meditating without much success. Until several months ago, I was not able to nail down a practice that felt doable and that enabled me to calm my restless mind and body.
The Mindful Manifesto shows how individuals can address common ailments such as anxiety and depression, help stabilize and cushion frenzied daily schedules, feel healthier, release addictions, and be more present and productive in all areas of one's life.
In my own life, I've found that building meditation into my daily routine - even for just five minutes at a whack - significantly reduces daily stress, helps me to sleep better (and even reduce the amount of sleep I need), and supports me in making better decisions in my personal and professional life.
The Mindful Manifesto looks at meditation from different angles - being more aware of your breath, listening to your body, managing the mind, feeling our feelings, and social implications. It's a great take on meditation and how this tool can significantly reduce stress and relieve illness. I highly recommend it!
