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Summary: If you are interested in meditation, or, if you want to find
Review: a way to slow the pace of your busy world, Jon Kabat-Zinn can express the "out of body" concepts of meditation in a way that no one else can. You get to choose: "Wherever you go...." is a book that can be explored over and over, that can start you on a path to a new habit to find within yourself what you need to survive today's busy world; that can help you find a new habit to renew the life you lead. Or, utilize its message just as a brief "chapter read" to jump start the positive if you are not looking for a lifelong habit. It is very difficult to express, in words, the inner activities that result in becoming comfortable in your own skin. Kabat-Zinn writes thoughtfully and honestly about how he has accomplished this, and what things might work for you. There are many treasures in this book. For me, his ability to describe the rewards one gets from practiced patience, and to impress upon the reader the simplicity of the "body scan" and how it can lead to the habit of lying down meditation are two examples of things that readers can take away at any given time from his book. Many self-help readers today are looking for the "quick fix" or some small coping practice they can employ to keep their days positive. In some ways, in addition to helping you understand why meditation works and why it can change your life, Kabat-Zinn writes a poetic and illuminating version of the "one minute help" chapters that the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" series provided to these readers in the busy working world. When you couple his vision and ideas with the lovely verse that liberally sprinkles his book (Kabir, Thoreau and Whitman are favorites) you have a quiet and inspirational message that can do more to help you understand and eliminate your stress than can all the meditation, control and organizational techniques advocated in today's America could ever do. Read "Wherever you go, there you are" and learn how mindfulness can change the course of your daily life for the better. It works.
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Summary: Inner peace, wisdom and harmony
Review: Jon Kabat-Zinn¢s ability to describe and explain living in being-mode and mindfulness is brilliant. Although these things are thought to be some "eastern things", he successfully presents them as the life things, which directly have effects on our stability, development, relationships and quality of life. The chapters of the book are interesting, meaningful and inspiring, and not forcing a reader to see the world through any religion or spiritualism; they are not written in such a style.
If you want to learn what the mindfulness is, or just to be more inspired on seeking the right path and attitudes in your life, then read this book.
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Summary: Practical, friendly and incredibly Mindful.
Review: I was introduced to this book while learning Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder. I have found this book to be extremely practical, friendly and understandable for those who may have difficulty reading this genre of book. I highly recommend this book to others as well as professionals teaching DBT mindfulness skills in clinical therapy settings. I am using these practical 'tips' in my clinical practice and find that my clients seem to enjoy learning new mindfulness techniques.
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Summary: IN MEDITATION THERE IS PEACE AND BEAUTY!
Review: If you have never tried meditation, or discovered the peace, beauty and serenity it can bring, then as the saying goes,"Don't knock it until you have tried it!" For those who live their life according to Buddhist Philosophies, meditation is a part of your life. You will know that mindfulness is a way of walking the path of life and being at peace and harmony with yourself and the world. "Wherever You Go, There You Are" is a beautifully written book; even if you do not meditate, the reader will find solace and inner peace throughout the pages of this book. It is like sitting in a beautiful, enchanted garden, where there is no suffering or pain, only peace and beauty in everything we see. If you are on a spiritual quest for a more positive, happier and harmonious life, do not miss this book. It projects wisdom, truth and mindfulness - the way to a simpler yet more fulfilling life. I also highly recommend the Dalai Lama's, "The Art of Happiness," and "Awakening the Buddha Within" by Lama Surya Das (my reviews are also available on these books.) With dedication, commitment and an open mind on the part of the reader these books have the capability to transform and enrich your life.
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Summary: Inspirational
Review: Mindfulness should be an exercise all beings participate in practicing, not simply exclusive to our Buddhist traditions; a point Kabat-Zinn makes in this wonderful book. What it truly encompasses is a kind of awakening (yes, cliché) where we begin living in accord with not just all people but, also with ourselves. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, a clinic which likely has helped innumerable beings. Mindful meditation is a letting go practice, a practice of non contriving and ultimately - endurance. It is an acknowledgement of who we already are, beneath the layers of attachments and aversion; that is of course that we are loving and generous people. This book offers a plethora of meditative exercises and mindfulness applications to employ in our daily routines. Zinn suggests utilizing sitting, walking, and even "on your feet" meditation. Metaphors of mindful actions are here using topics like parenting or even washing the dishes. This work will hopefully motivate all who read it. Great book.
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Summary: Sitting in the crossroads of here and now.
Review: I have revisited this meditation guide many times since first reading it nearly five years ago. Kabat-Zinn is not a yogi, sage or Zen master. Rather, he is a meditation teacher and the director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He also teaches Massachusetts prison inmates how to meditate. He approaches meditation in a non-spiritual way. "Meditation can be a profound path for developing oneself, for refining one's perceptions, one's views, one's consciousness," he writes. "But, to my mind, the vocabulary of spirituality creates more practical problems than it solves" (p. 264). In this easy-to-read book, Kabat-Zinn shows us how to cultivate mindfulness in our lives. The "practice, practice, practice" of meditation enables us to find our "soul path, a path with heart" (p. xvi), and to "chart a course toward greater sanity and wisdom in our lives" (p. xx). Through meditation, Walden Pond can be found in our breath (p. 24). Meditation, Kabat-Zinn tells us, "is a Way of being, a Way of living, a Way of listening, a Way of walking along the path of life and being in harmony with things as they are" (p. 88). "Dwelling inwardly for extended periods, we come to know something of the poverty of always looking outside ourselves for happiness, understanding, and wisdom" (p. 96). Besides learning how to surf the waves of life through mindfulness training, in this book you will also find words to live by on non-doing, patience, letting go, non-judging, voluntary simplicity, the delusion of positive thinking, ahimsa (non-harming), anger and parenting. Whether you are new to the meditation cushion or a longtime practitioner, if you are looking for a simple, how-to book on meditation, "this is it." G. Merritt
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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.
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Summary: Simple, yet profound.
Review: Dr. Kabat-Zin's work is deceptively simple. In order to learn about how to be mindful, this book must be read in a mindful way. Each page, each thought, each phrase is to be read and savored. Don't think about it too hard, or you will squeeze the magic out of his words. Read, but let the words talk to you; don't use mental faculties to reason, ponder over, intellectualize. A masterpiece.
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Summary: Incredible book!
Review: I have read it several times and continue to come back to it.
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Summary: A wonderful invitation to live your life more fully
Review: This book is full of 2-3 page invitations to live your life more fully! I frequently share passages with my yoga classes. It is inspiring and practical. Take it to heart!
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