“Rigorous and playful . . . an excellent perspective on the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of mindfulness practice. This book is better than chocolate!” —Tal Ben-Shahar, New York Times–bestselling author of Happier Distractions are everywhere. Our thoughts drift to what we need to do tomorrow or what went wrong yesterday. Even pleasurable things—like eating chocolate—don’t receive our full attention. As a result, we miss out on joy that is easily within reach. Drawing on both Buddhist teachings and contemporary science, David Michie teaches us how to experience a mind free of stress and dullness and gives us the tools to rewire our brains for happiness. “Mindfulness” is paying attention to the present moment, deliberately and nonjudgmentally—and those who practice it experience a wealth of benefits: ·Reduced stress ·Stronger immune systems ·More ease in breaking bad habits ·Improved self-esteem ·Enhanced mental clarity ·Sharper memory ·Overall well-being ·and better-tasting chocolate! “Full of great advice relevant to most people’s lives, with a constant undercurrent of humor.” —NOVA Magazine

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The idea that mindfulness is better than chocolate is based on research that shows we’re happiest when our minds are not wandering. This means that we’re not thinking about what we’re doing 47 percent of the time. #2 Mindfulness is the ability to be present in the present moment and non-judgmentally. It is a foundation practice that has been adopted by many different types of professionals. Meditation, on the other hand, is the practice of being mindful of a specific object for a sustained period of time. #3 The real treasure of mindfulness is its transformative power. When people are given the tools to observe the true nature of their own minds for themselves, they can never go back to their former innocence. #4 I’m a regular middle-aged corporate consultant with many personal, business, and financial responsibilities. I have found in meditation and mindfulness practices that have transformed my experience of reality dramatically for the better.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 The idea that mindfulness is better than chocolate is based on research that shows we’re happiest when our minds are not wandering. This means that we’re not thinking about what we’re doing 47 percent of the time. #2 Mindfulness is the ability to be present in the present moment and nonjudgmentally. It is a foundation practice that has been adopted by many different types of professionals. Meditation, on the other hand, is the practice of being mindful of a specific object for a sustained period of time. #3 The real treasure of mindfulness is its transformative power. When people are given the tools to observe the true nature of their own minds for themselves, they can never go back to their former innocence. #4 I’m a regular middleaged corporate consultant with many personal, business, and financial responsibilities. I have found in meditation and mindfulness practices that have transformed my experience of reality dramatically for the better.

A beginner's guide to the powerful practice of mindfulness. By reclaiming the present moment with mindfulness practice, you can improve performance and increase wellbeing - and improve chocolate too! Mindfulness practice can help you reduce stress, improve performance, manage pain and increase wellbeing. These are the reasons why elite athletes, performing artists and business leaders are taking up the practice, and why it is being introduced into the world's most successful companies, banks, business schools - even the US Army. David Michie introduces mindfulness practice and offers innovative solutions to common obstacles. Drawing on ancient Buddhist teachings and contemporary science, he also takes us beyond 'mindfulness lite,' offering lucid instructions on how to experience the pristine nature of one's own consciousness directly - an encounter that is truly life-changing. Written with warmth and good humour, Why Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate is the ultimate guide to self-discovery. It will make chocolate taste better too! 'David Michie demonstrates a fine knack for capturing the essence of this important topic and presenting it in a fun and accessible way.' - Dr Timothy Sharp, The Happiness Institute

Ever stopped to read the list of ingredients in the products you use every day? In Low Tox Life, activist and educator Alexx Stuart gently clears a path through the maze of mass-market ingredient cocktails, focusing on four key areas: Body, Home, Food and Mind. Sharing the latest science and advice from experts in each area, Alexx tackles everything from endocrine-disruptors in beauty products to the challenge of going low plastic in a high-plastic world, and how to clean without a hit of harmful toxins. You don't need to be a fulltime homesteader with a cupboard full of organic linens to go low tox. Start small, switching or ditching one nasty at a time, and enjoy the process as a positive one for you and the planet.

An accomplished and honored professor, psychotherapist, author, and chocolate connoisseur, Diane Gehart identifies surprisingly efficient and fun ways to increase your daily dose of joy. Drawing on positive psychology, Eastern wisdom, and three decades of psychotherapist know-how, she outlines a no-nonsense yet good-humored path to get you where you want to go. She will teach you step-by-step how to: Identify the essential elements necessary for life-long happiness and add them to your everyday habits. Develop an unshakable sense of inner joy that sustains you in good times and bad. Engage your most painful life circumstances to dramatically improve your life for the better. Navigate common pitfalls and challenges, including skillfully handling the most difficult personalities and relationships. Transform how you journey through life—making it a joy ride regardless of weather or other unforeseen circumstances. First, she debunks popular myths that have us looking for happiness in all the wrong places and then offers an accurate map for getting where we want to go. Next, readers will learn the hardest but ultimately most liberating lesson: making friends with life and all that is, including the good, the bad, and the ugly—which includes black widow spiders for some of us. From there, you will learn surprisingly playful and palatable options for maximizing your joy, including mindfulness, crazy wisdom, compassion, and ethical living. Finally, you will learn how to avoid—or at least survive—the common pitfalls and the dangerous snakes that line the path from where you are to where you want to go. If you have avoided meditation and similar practices for most of your life because they are dull and boring, you may find something that suits your refined and zesty taste for living here. Along the way, you will have numerous opportunities to laugh, to cry, and to reconnect with the best within yourself. You will suddenly discover your most desperate challenges dissolving before you, revealing an easier path and renewing your delight in living and loving. Worst-case scenario: You will have educational excuses to savor some chocolate delights, enjoy a few good laughs, and gain a handful of new insights about your life. Whether you are reeling from a devastating break-up; feeling adrift professionally; struggling with depression, anxiety, or more severe mental health issues; or simply wanting to feel happier given the numerous blessings in your life, this book will help you make changes that you could never accomplish before because you will now be motivated to do something different. Ultimately, this book invites you to play. To laugh. To love. To heal old heartbreaks. To overcome what was once impossible. To open your heart to life and all it has to offer: white, milk, and dark. The stresses of modern life often create the illusion that life is hard, painful, and lonely. You are only a few bites away from an entirely different approach to living a sweeter life.

Rescued from unscrupulous breeders who plan to destroy him because of his floppy ear, when the Queen's littlest corgi arrives at Windsor Castle, he finds himself in a world of red carpets, gilded chambers - and not a pile of dirty laundry to be seen. Charming his way into the affections of the royal household, Nelson offers a dog's-eye view of life with the Queen. He eavesdrops on her encounters with celebrities, philanthropists and advisers, catching rare insights into the secrets of a purposeful life. Through one of Her Majesty's most mysterious advisers, he discovers how the ancient ways and powerful symbols continue to exert a transformative presence. He also becomes familiar with the Queen's most surprising quality: her gentle but firm expectation that everyone she encounters is striving to be the best that they can be. The Queen's Corgi bursts with zest, humour and adventure. Romping through the litany of Nelson's misdemeanours are a warm-heartedness and deep wisdom sure to delight anyone who has known the smiling face and warm tongue of a dog. It is not by chance that you hold this book in your hands.

For anyone who wants to start meditating but has been struggling to get to the cushion, here are all the motivation and tools you need to achieve greater balance, better health and a more panoramic perspective of life.

Create the healthy life you desire, whatever your age! Wellbeing educator and speaker Janni Goss shares decades worth of experience and expertise in outsmarting stress and improving health and wellbeing. Wisdom comes with age, knowledge is power and freedom provides choice. If you are serious about achieving a long, healthy life, this book will guide you to improve with age. Take responsibility for your health and wellbeing to increase your enjoyment of life and improve your chances of healthy longevity. You will discover:- The art and science of wellbeing- Why laughter is the best medicine and how to enjoy more of it- How positive emotions - love, gratitude, kindness and optimis, contribute to longevity- Why you need to take responsibility for your health and wellbeing and to respect, love and nurture body, mind and spirit- How chronic stress can harm your health and wellbeing - learn to outsmart stress and calm your nervous system- Top tips for longevity from the centenarians of the blue zones- Essential things to avoid to enjoy healthy longevity Start your journey to healthy longevity today!

In this collection of short stories, David Michie offers life-enhancing insights with the same heart-warming compassion that pervades his Dalai Lama’s Cat books. “Whatever dreams he was having, Jason knew they had nothing to do with his physical body. His eyes were firmly shut and his consciousness withdrawn from his senses when all this was going on. Yet in his dreams he experienced sights, sounds and even visceral sensations much more intensely than when he was awake. From this he understood that you didn’t need a physical body to see, or smell, or endure any kind of experience with an acuteness that was more real than reality. From an early age he deduced that heaven or hell need not be material places so much as states of mind – and no less glorious or horrifying because of that. There were no limits to mind untethered from form.” What if you could re-live the enchantment of childhood bedtime—but with magic that is real? What if you felt the wonder you once sensed when you believed that anything is possible? Or were inspired to see the world through fresh eyes? In this compendium of delightful short stories, David Michie draws us into the extraordinary experiences of everyday people as they encounter those tell-tale cracks exposing reality as not quite what it seems. Four female book club members are unexpectedly propelled, by the same black and white photograph, to discover a shared purpose beyond their wildest imaginings. An earnest young seeker finds that drawing aside the veil to an immeasurably more wonderful reality, doesn’t depend so much on the arcane books he reads as on a source much closer to home. A cat-crazy woman, who wishes her beloved felines would talk to her, is shaken when she realises what they have been trying to communicate all along. Through intriguing storylines and revelations, David Michie offers life-enhancing insights with the same heart-warming benevolence that pervades his Dalai Lama’s Cat books. How better to gently unwind at the end of the day - and to prepare for the infinite possibilities we may encounter in the realms of our dreams?