Mindfulness Introduction & Resources

Prepared by Root Cuthbertson 2020

Mindfulness is a large topic with many available resources. The following resources are intended as an introduction to mindfulness. They draw from contemporary teachers who have interpreted various traditional practices for western audiences. This guide signposts a few recommendations for beginners. Start with these, and if you'd like to continue learning, there are plenty more resources to discover.   

Gentle disclaimer: It's really ok if these practices don't work for you​. We recognise that for some people e.g. those with post traumatic or chronic stress and/or anxiety may not​ find meditation/ mindfulness beneficial. Experiment and be kind with what you find. Stop if something is not working for you or try something else. If at all in doubt, seek professional advice and support before embarking on a new practice.  

Benefits of Mindfulness

(Daphne Davis & Jeffrey Hayes)

Mindfulness is being aware of one's experience in the present moment without judgment. It is a state and not a trait. It can be promoted by practices like meditation, yoga, tai chi, and qigong, and it is not synonymous with those practices. Mindfulness meditation includes practices that train the attention to keep coming back to the present and improve one's relationship with one's mental processes. These can foster benefits like increased self-regulation, mental well-being, development, calmness, clarity, and concentration. Other benefits include: 

Mindfulness Resources for Beginners

Courses 

Mindfulness Daily with Jack Kornfield & Tara Brach. 

www.soundstrue.com/collections/ 

Mindfulness Meditation with Jack Kornfield. 

www.udemy.com/course/mindfulness-meditation-jack-kornfield 

Websites

Mindful. (Barry Boyce & Stephanie Domet) 

Dharma Seed. (Insight Meditation Society) 

Secular Buddhism. (Noah Rasheta) 

The Wellness Society. (Rebeca Marks)

Prison Mindfulness Institute. (Fleet Maull & Kate Crisp) 

Podcasts

The Mindful Kind with Rachael Kable. Point of View with Barry Boyce.

Magazines

Breathe. Mindful. In The Moment. Tricycle.

Apps

Insight Timer. Calm. Mindfulness Meditation. Plum Village 

Centres 

Insight Meditation Society, MA. (Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield).

Lists other centers internationally.

Insight Meditation Center, CA. (Howard & Ingrid Nudelman, Howard Cohen, Gil Fronsdal) 

Spirit Rock Insight Meditation Center, CA. (Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein, Anna Douglas) 

Gaia House Insight Meditation Center, UK. (Christina Feldman, Christopher Titmuss)

Oxford Mindfulness Centre, Oxford, UK (University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry)  

Meditation Centre Beatenberg, Switzerland.

Written Materials 

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Mindfulness for Beginners​. (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction).Sounds True 2006.   

Goldstein, Joseph. Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening​. Sounds True 2013.

Salzberg, Sharon. “What Does Mindfulness Really Mean Anyway?” 2015

Brach, Tara. Mindfulness Meditation: Nine Guided Practices to Awaken Presence and Open Your Heart​. Sounds True 2012.   

Rosenberg, Larry. Three Steps to Awakening: A Practice for Bringing Mindfulness to Life​. Shambhala 2013.   

Kornfield, Jack. No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love, and Joy Right Where You Are​. Atria Books 2017.   

Kornfield, Jack & Joseph Goldstein. The Path of Insight Meditation (Shambhala Pocket Library)​. Shambhala 2018.   

Kornfield, Jack, Sharon Salzberg, and Shinzen Young. Beginner's Mind: Three Classic Meditation Practices Especially for Beginners​. Sounds True 1999.   

Other Mindfulness Resources 

Batchelor, Martine. Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits​. Wisdom Publications 2007.   

Boyce, Barry, editor. The Mindfulness Revolution: Leading Psychologists, Scientists,Artists, and Meditation Teachers on the Power of Mindfulness in Daily Life​. Shambhala 2011.   

Davis, Daphne M. and Jeffrey A. Hayes. “What Are the Benefits of Mindfulness.”

1. American Psychological Association. 

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/07-08/ce-corner 

Feldman, Christina and William Kuyken. Mindfulness: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Psychology​. Guilford Press 2019.   

Halifax, Joan . “Mindfulness Practices for Being With Dying.”

https://www.upaya.org/dox/Mindfulness.pdf 

Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Mindfulness Survival Kit: Five Essential Practices​. Parallax Press 2013.   

Jeffrey, Scott. “Meditation Guidance.” 

https://scottjeffrey.com/meditation-guidance-instructions/ 

Muesse, Mark W. Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation​. The Teaching Company 2011.   

Williams, Mark & Penman, Dr Danny Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World, ​Piatkus Books, 2011 

Mindfulness & Neuroscience 

Hanson, Rick. Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom​. New Harbinger 2009.   

Kornfield, Jack and Daniel Siegel. Mindfulness and the Brain: A Professional Training in the Science & Practice of Meditative Awareness​. SoundsTrue 2010.

Siegel, Daniel. The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being​. WW Norton 2007. 

Siegel, Ronald. The Science of Mindfulness: A Research-Based Path to Well-Being​.The Teaching Company 2014.   

Wright, Robert. Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment​. Simon & Schuster 2017.   

Related Inner Transition Resources 

Activity: Mindfulness - Re-centering

Self-Care: Mental Guide 

This document, prepared by Root Cuthbertson, is released under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/