The Complete Idiot's Guide to Mindfulness »

Anne Ihnen, M.A., L.M.H.C., holds a Master's degree in Psychology from Antioch University. She is a practitioner of vipassana meditation and integrating mindfulness practices into her psychotherapeutic work with clients is the cornerstone of her therapeutic approach. Carolyn Flynn is editor of SAGE magazine, and she is the coauthor of several health and wellness books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Visualization.

Mind does matter.

This guide shows readers how to embrace the Buddhist concept of living in the moment to help them cope with the bombardment of information, anxiety, stress, and pressure in their days; heal both physical and emotional problems; and increase self-awareness. Readers will also learn how to sit, walk, and breathe mindfully to focus on the moment at hand; eat mindfully; heal relationships and decrease disappointment and frustration; listen deeply; and much more.

• A June 16, 2007, article in the New York Times, entitled “In the Classroom: A New Focus on Quieting the Mind,” detailed the use of mindfulness training in hospitals, corporations, professional sports, prisons, and now elementary schools

What Does It Mean to Be Mindful?     1
Mindfulness Is More Than Meditation     3
So, What Is Mindfulness?     4
It's Popular, It's Effective, It's Changing Lives     5
Who We Are, Why We Practice     7
A Simple, Singular Path     9
Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts     10
The Here and Now     11
Anyone Can Be Mindful     12
Prepare Your Mind     12
Prepare Your Space     13
Try It!     13
Keep a Mindful Journal     14
A Tool for Life     14
Mindfulness and Spiritual Traditions     15
A Tour of Tradition     16
The Christian Tradition     17
The Jewish Tradition     19
The Islamic Tradition     20
The Hindu Tradition     21
Other Traditions     22
Buddhism's Mindfulness Traditions     23
Intersections: New Opportunities for Attuned Living     25
Coming Home Meditation     26
From Spiritual Threshold to Tool for Daily Living     27
Taming the Mind     27
Living Without Blinders     29
Living in Awareness     30
The Foundationsof Mindfulness     30
Obstacles to Mindfulness Meditation     31
Out of Denial     33
Living in the Present     35
Soft Mental Notes     36
Clear Blue Sky Meditation     37
Two Tempters     37
The Perfect Moment     38
Resisting     40
Recognizing, Accepting, Investigating, and Not Identifying     41
No More Suffering     42
How Mindful Living Reduces Stress     43
Mindful Multitasking? Hmmm ...     45
Your CPU     46
The Landscape of Multitasking     47
How Did It Get This Way?     47
The Disadvantages of Multitasking     49
Recovery Time     50
Our Brains Don't Work That Way     51
The True Cost     52
Can You Multitask Mindfully?     53
Back to the Body     54
The To-Do List Meditation     55
Authenticity     56
The Physiology of Mindfulness     57
The Benefits Are Many     58
Stress Reactivity     60
Fight-or-Flight Response     61
Fertile Ground for Disease     61
Conscious Resolution      62
Interconnectivity: The Mind-Body Connection     64
Wholeness and Healing     64
Regulating Our Illnesses     66
Attuning the Mind     67
A Better Brain     67
A More Compassionate Mind     68
The Body Scan     68
Back to the Essence     70
Mindfulness Lessens Pain     71
The Beginning of the Road     72
Mindfulness Gets Results     73
What the Studies Say     74
The Way We Think of Pain     75
Pain Is the Body's Messenger     76
Why It's Not Mind over Matter     76
Pain Meditation     78
Emotional Pain: The Roots of Chronic Pain     80
Liberation from Pain     80
Mindful Therapies     81
Yoga: Mindfulness in Action     82
Pain and You     84
Mindfulness Brings Clarity, If Not Peace     85
Choices in Clarity     86
Concentration Meditation vs. Mindfulness Meditation     86
Filtered Focus vs. Denial     87
Gentle Compassion     88
Metta: Lovingkindness     89
A Metta Meditation     90
Enemies, Near and Far     91
Out-of-Control Thoughts     93
Uninvited Guests     94
Opening the Door     95
Free to See Clearly     96
Practicing Mindfulness Meditation     97
Sitting, Walking, and Writing: Nourishing Mindfulness     99
The "Doing" Mind vs. the "Being" Mind     100
Guidelines for Sitting Meditation     100
Expanding Your Awareness     102
Mindful Writing     103
Monkey Mind     104
The Mind as an Editor     105
Recall: The Resonating Power of the Present Moment     107
Walking Meditation     107
Nature Walk     108
Walking the Labyrinth     108
Mindful Driving     109
Sutras: Focal Points for Mindfulness     110
Mindful Breathing     113
The Secret Weapon of Mindfulness     113
Pranayama as a Practice     114
Shallow Breathing, Shallow Existence     115
Breath Techniques     115
Alternate-Nostril Breathing     116
Victorious Breath     117
Cooling Breath     117
Abdominal Breathing     118
Glittering-Sand Breathing      119
Fully Realized Moments     120
Focal Points for Mindfulness     121
Matching Maps     122
Being Mindful     123
Living the Mindful Life     123
Right Intention     124
Making New Choices     124
Taking a Pause     125
Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary     126
Mindfulness, Anywhere, Anytime     127
Anchors     128
Sounds     128
Words     129
The Essential You     130
Speaking to the Page     130
The Small Self     131
Taking It into Your Life     132
Practicing Mindful Eating     133
A Mindful Relationship with Food     135
Extending Mindfulness into Your Life     136
The Way to Eat: Your Way     137
Finding the Balance Point     138
Yes, No, and Maybe     139
Foods That Bedevil Us     141
Your Mindful Eating Plan     143
A New Relationship with Food     144
The Spark of Recognition     146
Learn to Prepare, Serve, and Eat Food Mindfully     147
A Burst of Flavor      148
Your Experience of Taste     148
Whole-Body Eating     149
Serving Up Nourishment     151
Slow It Down     153
Taste-the Starring Role     154
The Secret Ingredient     154
Back to the Source     155
Your One Bowl     156
Family, Community, and Culture     157
True Nourishment     158
Nurturing Respect, Growing Strong     159
Building the Connection with Your Food     160
Sustainability Movement     161
Best Food Practices     161
Going Green at Home     162
Let Your Voice Be Heard     163
Weaving Yourself into the Web     165
Ethical Living     167
Simplify and Slow Down Your Life     168
Your Ethical Living Statement     170
The Next Moment     171
Practicing Mindfulness with Love     173
Mindful Thinking Is Miraculous, Not Magical!     175
A Miracle Every Moment     176
Waiting in Line     177
Mindful Gridlock     178
Real-Life Decisions     179
Mindful Consumption     179
No TV     180
An Open Mind     181
Right Livelihood     182
Mindless Spending     183
Where Is the Miracle?     184
Making Choices     185
Who Are You?     186
Healing Relationships     187
It Begins Within     188
Attunement     189
For the Good of All     190
Reactivity vs. Authenticity     192
Reactivity Bullets     193
Not Being Attached to Outcome     194
Be a Journalist     195
Getting Off Track     197
Taking the Long View     198
Lessening Disappointment and Frustration     199
Taking It to Heart     200
Don't Think It Through     200
Back to the Heart     201
Liberation in the Truth     203
The Nature of Life     204
Turning Back     205
Placing Your Trust in Body Awareness     206
A Vehicle for Change     207
Conditional Happiness     208
Intention, Not Force     209
Our Dragons     209
Living Mindful in a Mindless World     211
When Anxiety Attacks     213
A New Relationship with Anxiety     214
Stop Running     215
Defining the New Relationship     216
Building a Tolerance     217
An Uncertain World     219
Anne's Seeds     219
Masking Anxiety     221
Weathering the Storm     222
Allow It to Pass: Narration     222
Stories You Tell Yourself     223
Triggering Inquiry: Going Within     224
The Flames of Anger     227
Meeting Your Anger     227
Getting to Know Your Anger     229
Where Did We Put That?     230
Working with Anger     232
Venting, Pausing, and Soothing "Angry Babies"     233
Rage and Other Tales of the Road     235
Mindful Driving in Traffic     235
Mindfulness of Driving     236
Creating Choices     237
Time Stress     238
Moment-by-Moment Mindfulness     239
Right View, Wise Mind     240
Deep Listening     241
Listening with Your Entire Being     242
The Deep in Deep Listening     242
Releasing Your Grip     243
Group Listening     244
Putting Deep Listening into Practice     245
Insight Dialogue     245
Nonviolent Communication     246
Holding a Space     247
Sabbaths and Retreats     248
Like Spring Cleaning     249
A Guide to Retreats     249
Like Gandhi Said: We Must Be the Change     251
Engaging the Mind     252
You Have the Power     252
The Power to Change Yourself     253
The Power in Deep Listening     254
Building Hope     255
Contentment: Happiness That Lasts     255
Creating Wholeness     256
See Your Contribution     257
Form Your Belief System     259
Changing How You Are in the World     259
Socially Engaged Buddhism     259
Caring for Creation     260
For All Beings: Compassion in Action     261
Time for Reflection     261
Resources     265
Index     273