Mindfulness in a Busy World: Lowering Barriers for Adults and Youth to Cultivate Focus, Emotional Peace, and Gratefulness

How can we increase the likelihood that people will be able to control their wandering mind, let go of upsetting thoughts and feelings, and apply the wisdom of mindfulness training to their day-to-day lives? Mindfulness in a Busy World offers a bridge between the ancient wisdom of Eastern mindfulness teachings and the busy Western lifestyle of the tech era where an increasing number of people experience stress, anxiety, impatience, and an inability to be present in meaningful interactions. While traditional practices offer incredible possibilities of well-being and development, many people struggle to access these states of mind and ripen the skills to sustain them. This book offers insights into ways of mobilizing the brain's attention systems so that distracted minds-often habituated to the constant overstimulation of screens and media-can more readily cultivate focus, calm, and kindness. Our society invests years in instructing people how to read, write, count, and think critically, but often forgets to support the crucial foundation of these abilities: focusing the mind. Learning to tame the mind allows people of all ages to live a more fulfilling life, balancing being and doing, thinking and feeling, listening and talking, compassion for self and others, and being an individual while belonging to a community. Distinctive features of this book: -Brain-based strategies that render a focused mind within reach of everyday people -Unique set of 18 breathing methods and over 27 other types of exercises which can quickly reset an agitated body or distracted mind -Activities that make visible the remarkable powers of the mind to create and dissipate experiences of emotional or physical discomfort -Specific strategies to facilitate inner peace and emotional regulation -Simple but fascinating challenges-only achievable through mindfulness-that will leave people in awe of what their minds can do -Intriguing collection of pain tolerance tests making it exciting to engage in the practices -Mindfulness exercises that move beyond individual well-being and extend to a felt sense of belonging to a diverse community -Inventive ways of bringing forth kindness, compassion, and gratitude -Engaging metaphors and fascinating facts that ignite people's curiosity about little known aspects of their physiology and help them connect to their bodies -Words of wisdom, meaningful stories, inspiring quotes, and thought-provoking questions that help participants apply mindfulness practices to real life situations

Author: Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, Kelsey Maki
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 02/24/2020
Pages: 206
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.63lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.44d
ISBN: 9781538135136

About the Author
Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, Ph.D. is the director of Skills for Kids, Parents, and Schools (SKIPS), which offers creative mindfulness programs, socio-emotional skills projects, and private therapy to youth and adults. Marie-Nathalie's life was significantly changed after participating in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program in the early 1990. She has since attended numerous mindfulness trainings with teachers such as Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Thupten Jinpa, and others, and traveled to Nepal, India, & Tibet. Kelsey Maki, MS, is working toward her PsyD in clinical psychology at the University of San Francisco. She is interested in using mindfulness in her clinical work with children and families to improve regulation and foster connectedness.