Wherever You Go, There You Are : Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

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Summary: Concentrated Wisdom - A Definite Keeper
Review: This has long been a best seller and justifiably so. Kabat-Zinn works clinically with people who are stressed and his earlier book, Full Catastrophe Living, was written for people who are almost pathologically stressed, to bring them the beneficial effects of meditation. The present book is written for average people on the street, who may not need so urgently the therapeutic effects of meditation, but in the belief that we can all of us use a healthy dose of it. It is written with no religious strings attached, and even avoiding the word "spiritual," and yet it has the ability to open up the spiritual realm for us, no matter what we wish to call it. It is an introduction for the beginner and a source of good advice for the practitioner of meditation. It's written in bite-sized chapters, in clear, easy and very readable prose. It is a delight to read. The book's three parts explore the why and how of meditation and its many applications in daily life. Many chapters conclude with suggestions for reflection or meditation. It is concentrated wisdom that deserves much rereading and a permanent place on your library shelf.

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Summary: Not Just for Buddhists
Review: This is a masterfully done book on Buddhist mindfulness meditation, presented for anyone - Buddhist or other - wishing to learn this wonderful technique. Wherever You Go, There You Are manages to be both simply written and profound at the same time. It's the type of book that can be read more than once, and each time you'll take away a little more from it. If you would like to learn something about meditation as a way to enhance your life - and mindfulness meditation is a great choice for that - this book is a fine way to get started.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just for Buddhists
Review: This is a masterfully done book on Buddhist mindfulness meditation, presented for anyone - Buddhist or other - wishing to learn this wonderful technique. Wherever You Go, There You Are manages to be both simply written and profound at the same time. It's the type of book that can be read more than once, and each time you'll take away a little more from it. If you would like to learn something about meditation as a way to enhance your life - and mindfulness meditation is a great choice for that - this book is a fine way to get started.

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Summary: "Being" is an anti-concept
Review: This is not a self-help book, it is a rationalization for living a lazy, unconscious lifestyle. Jon Kabat raves about the power of "being" but never really explains what being is. His only definition for being is not doing. But to not do is simply an anti-concept devoid of meaning like God (not man), heaven (not Earth), etc. If you come upon a problem, Mr. Kabat-Zinn recommends you "leave yourself" and watch your reactions, observe, and not really be there. In essense, you should hide away from your problems and pretend they do not exist! Note that Jon consistently defaces the word "thinking" to the point where one of his rationalizations is "just think of this (this being any thought process that would disagree with his philosophy) as 'thinking'." It should be recognized that I cannot think of "thinking" negatively, without thinking in the first place! In fact, the only way one can meditate to the highest degree, leaving themself, feeling nothing, doing nothing, thinking nothing, is through death.

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Summary: A classic you'll keep forever
Review: This is one of my favorite books. Anyone could learn from it. I can trust it to ground me when I'm stressed, inspire me when I'm down. A very beautiful, very useful book.

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Summary: A modern application of ancient wisdom.
Review: Two thumbs up. READ THIS BOOK

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Summary: A book to reread whenever life becomes overwhelming.
Review: When the going gets tough, I keep this book at my table to read a few pages at breakfast every morning. A great help in focusing on the truly important things when overwhelmed by life. A positive way to start even the most difficult day. This book earned a permanent place on my bookshelf - and it will never gather dust there for long!

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Summary: Truer than true
Review: While reading the book I felt that Jon Kabat-Zinn knew me personally and that he was speaking of me and to me. I practice this and Yoga now, and to speak frankly this has saved my life. My life is much calmer as am I. I still deal with things in my mind...BUT, I am dealing with things now that have haunted me for over 40 years. This book explains life and what is important. I wish I could give everyone this book and that they could read and understand themselves. This is better education than the masters I hold. I wish that this was taught in schools. It has truely changed my life.

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Summary: WISDOM WITHOUT ARROGANCE..................
Review: Wisdom is a gift from the divine and arrogance is a gift from the mundane. If one's wisdom is such that it evokes admiration for the thought rather than for the thinker, then one has indeed spoken well. Otherwise, it becomes a contest of arrogance, and the one who is more arrogant having the last word in the school of vanity!

Jon Kabat-Zinn's wisdom is without arrogance, thus assuring him a unique place in the school of enlightenment.