Comprehensive 7-Week Course with Concepts, Skills and Research Mindfulness is not a magical panacea, but when understood and applied properly, it offers the benefits of greater wholeness, connection to others, and balance for dealing with life's ups and downs. Simply Mindful offers an easy-to-follow curriculum that is science and research-based. Written by international mindfulness expert, psychotherapist, award-winning author and former Buddhist monk Donald Altman, MA, LPC, these pages can help anyone gain the real-life benefits that mindfulness offers. Ideal for individuals, educators, coaches, counselors and business persons who want a step-by-step approach to learning and mastering mindfulness, as well as using this guide to teach mindfulness to others, either individually or in a group setting. Simply Mindful brings all the essentials you need to know about mindfulness into this one book--because it includes everything from an overview of the ancient, traditional four foundations of mindfulness and its role in Buddhism, to how it was introduced into Western healthcare and business. Plus, it delivers a clear understanding of the core concepts of mindfulness, along with 36 detailed practices and skills for learning and applying it at work, at home and in relationships. Whether using this guide for yourself or teaching others, you'll appreciate how the curriculum in Simply Mindful includes new science and research that illustrates the benefits of how mindfulness works in the brain and body. Plus, the skills in these pages can be used for developing acceptance and compassion, as well as for managing stress, improving relationships, boosting creativity, and enhancing productivity. In the pages of Simply Mindful you'll discover: - The latest neuroscience behind mindfulness and stress reduction. - Cutting-edge research about why present moment awareness improves health, creativity and productivity. - Over 35 detailed practices for learning and applying mindfulness--from mindfulness of the breath to intentional awareness and the loving-kindness practices. - The 5-Steps to G-R-E-A-T Mindful Self-Care which are like your boot-camp for preparing a successful mindfulness practice. - A Dedicated Mindfulness at Work Chapter, for building collaboration, increasing productivity, and boosting creativity--including research and practices. - A Dedicated Mindfulness at Home Chapter for applying mindfulness at home, for cultivating caring relationships--including research and practices. - Handy tools for finding practices and getting more information, such as an Index of Exercises and Practices, Biographical References, For Further Reading and Online Resources. Whether you're distracted and exhausted, or calm and connected, here's your all-natural resilience-building remedy. REVIEWS Simply Mindful is for today's coaches and leaders. It integrates science and practice to give you the essential tools help you become more productive and satisfied with your life. - John Baldoni; executive leadership coach and author, Grace Mindfulness expert Donald Altman has done it again, offering refreshing and timely mindfulness exercises and advice in an effective format. Prepare to be transformed by the end of your journey. - Chris Willard, PsyD; educational consultant and author, Growing Up Mindful Reading Simply Mindful is like taking a natural stress-reducer more powerful, longer lasting and safer than any stress relief drug. The only side-effects are more joy, calm and tranquility. - Randall Fitzgerald; journalist and author The simple and practical exercises in this well-researched guide make it perfect for teachers, therapists and their clients, or anyone desiring to live mindfully, with greater awareness, compassion and joy. - David Nez; art therapist, teacher and author, The Tree

A Complete Guide to Mindfulness Tools for Clinicians At last, an authoritative book filled with mindfulness tools that deliver an essential set of engaging, practical strategies along with key research and evidence-based information. The awareness boosting methods in this guidebook offer participants a means of reappraising and observing negative and anxious thoughts, habits, pain, and stress in fresh ways that produce new insight, positive change, and a sense of hope. Featuring over 40 easy to use, reproducible handouts and expertly crafted, guided scripts—such as working with the breath, overcoming depression with here and now pleasantness, calming the anxious mind with sense grounding, expanding a client’s strength narrative, the stress pause S-T-O-P technique, and meditations for peace, acceptance, and re-envisioning pain—this book is ideal for clinicians wanting to integrate mindfulness into their work.

'Donald Altman's Travelers is a gripping mystical journey through Time and Space, rooted in the reality of a Psychiatric Hospital. A Psychiatrist journeys into his young patient's universe and together they fight his inner demons which turn out to be both real and imagined. The outer demons make this book a real thriller in the unique microcosm of the Hospital which reverberates and expands to illuminate the forces unleashed in our world today. Both chilling and moving.' Lyle Kessler, Tony nominated playwright and screenwriter of Orphans and The Saint of Fort Washington A Mysterious Traveler. A Sentient Canine. A Psychotic Patient... Grieving psychiatrist Ben Banks can't find a way to heal from loss. But when a mystifying, miraculous and mind-bending trio arrive at the psych ward, the Doctor is forced to confront his deepest fears and beliefs about the nature of consciousness and reality - even death. With his marriage, career and life hanging by a thread, he faces demons both real and imagined, all the while being transformed forever in this inspiring story of hope, healing and renewal.

A Fresh Start to a Healthy Emotional Life Is emotional clutter blocking success in your personal and professional life? You’ve likely heard about the psychological benefits of clearing out the clutter in your surroundings, but how do you handle your emotional clutter — the psychological version of the jam-packed closet or impenetrable garage? Shutting away and trying to hide old pains and traumas creates toxic patterns that can keep you from having the life of your dreams. Integrating mindfulness and cutting-edge neuroscience, international mindfulness expert Donald Altman teaches how to modify entrenched habits and patterns with only a few minutes of attention daily. Altman first helps you realize what your baggage consists of and how to transform or jettison it. He then shows how to avoid the daily danger of accumulating new emotional clutter. No matter how fraught your life or relationships may be, you can cleanse, heal, or accept the old wounds, mistakes, and disappointments. With Altman’s lifestyle tools, you’ll discover how to address your past, better deal with the present, and cultivate the best possible future. Start fresh with Clearing Emotional Clutter.

“A 21st century book, grounded in ancient ways of practice.” —Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness In The Mindful Twenty-Something, the cofounder of the extremely popular Koru Mindfulness program developed at Duke University presents a unique, evidence-based approach to help you make important life decisions with clarity and confidence. As a twenty-something, you may feel like you are being pulled in dozen different directions. With the daily tumult, busyness, and major life changes you experience as a young adult, you may also be particularly vulnerable to stress and its negative effects. Emerging adulthood, which occurs between the ages of 18 and 29, is a developmental stage of life when you’re faced with important decisions about school, relationships, sex, your career, and more. With so much going on, you need a guide to help you navigate with less stress and more ease. The Koru Mindfulness program, developed at Duke University and already in use on numerous college campuses—including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Dartmouth, and several others—and in treatment centers across the country, is the only evidence-based mindfulness training program for young adults that has been empirically proven to have significant benefits for sleep, perceived stress, and self-compassion. Now, with The Mindful Twenty-Something, this popular program is accessible to all young adults struggling with stress. With Koru Mindfulness and the practical tools you’ll learn from this acceptance-based, proven-effective approach, you’ll be able to cultivate the compassion and mindfulness skills you need to manage life’s challenges from a calm, balanced center, regardless of what comes your way.

Being awake. Why is something that sounds so simple the primary goal of so many of the world's great wisdom traditions? In this workshop-in-a-book, Charles T. Tart shows why: the seeming simplicity of the awakened state belies its transformative effect on the lives of those who strive for it. His easy-to-use exercises put within everyone's reach the elusive art of "waking up" to life in the glorious present moment.

College Mindfulness Training is a ground-breaking book that carefully combines selected meditation exercises with guidance explaining the background, scientific context, and practical applications of mindfulness practice. More than just a meditation manual, this book details how and why personal mindfulness practice is essential for the college-aged student. In addition to extensive practical exercises for both beginner and intermediate-level meditation students, the author explores the kinds of institutions and organizations that have arisen out of the popular mindfulness movement and what career options in the field may be available in the future. Throughout the manual, the author provides readers with insights into basic meditation techniques; active and passive meditation techniques; Focused Attention Meditation in both guided and self-guided forms; Open Monitoring Meditation; informal meditation exercises; a brief history of the MBSR program and Koru meditation; a survey of current apps and meditation-supportive technology platforms; and detailed instructions for self-driven practice, and a semester-long outline for teachers. A captivating read, this book covers many of the essentials of mindfulness meditation and self-care of interest to college students, making it an essential tool for those of college age seeking to practice mindfulness meditation as well as college educators seeking a guided system to enhance their students’ emotional well-being and academic performance.

"While we have learned a great deal about mindfulness in the past 30 years, unquestionably the field of mindfulness science is still maturing, and in the chapters herein the authors have taken pains to point out how the current research is limited in its methods and conclusions, and have pointed to specific ways in which future research studies can overcome these limitations. That said, the work represented in this Handbook is among the best conducted to date, measured in terms of scientific creativity, sophistication, and insight. Our hope is that this volume offers readers both a panoramic view of the current science of mindfulness and a compass to help guide its ongoing evolution"--

Imagine an 8-week program that can help you overcome depression, anxiety, and stress--by simply learning new ways to respond to your own thoughts and feelings. That program is mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and it has been tested and proven effective in clinical trials throughout the world. Now you can get the benefits of MBCT any time, any place, by working through this carefully constructed book. The expert authors introduce specific mindfulness practices to try each week, plus reflection questions, tools for keeping track of progress, and helpful comments from others going through the program. Like a trusted map, this book guides you step by step along the path of change. Guided meditations are provided on the accompanying MP3 CD and are also available as audio downloads. Note: The MP3 CD can be played on CD players (only those marked "MP3-enabled") as well as on most computers. See also the authors' The Mindful Way through Depression, which demonstrates these proven strategies with in-depth stories and examples. Plus, mental health professionals, see also the authors' bestselling therapy guide: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition. Winner (Second Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Consumer Health Category ÿ

Meditation and mindfulness aren't easy. Most people quit, usually frustrated by problems concentrating -- the result of outdated, ritualized, dogma-based instruction. Here is a complete and practical guide that takes a groundbreaking new direction in the instruction of meditation and mindfulness. Over a decade of research at the Roosevelt University Stress Insitute has found that learning one type of meditation, meditation, or relaxation is not enough. Different approaches have different effects and work for different people. A balanced combination is more effective than a quick fix of one technique or ritual. In this program, the student first masters six foundation skills of yogaform stretching, muscle relaxation, breathing exercises, autogenics, and imagery. Then simple and fun instructions guide one through the adventure of developing a personally tailored relaxation and meditation program, one that is based on individual strengths and needs.