Top 5 Books on Mindfulness for Beginners
You’ve heard of it. People tell you that you should do it. What is it exactly?
Don’t stress out about it. Here’s my recommendations on texts that you can enjoy to begin a mindfulness practice.
My absolute favorite text on the practice of meditation is Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, a publication of informal talks from Shunryu Suzuki. This is one of the more popular American introductions to Zen meditation practice and what I really like about Zen practice is found in the thesis of this book:
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."
If we joyfully and warmly approach any practice like that of a beginner we can be more receptive to the depths of lessons contained within; it is when we become an expert that we impose limitation in maintenance of the rules of expertise.
This concept in Zen is referred to as Shoshin. James Clear writes:
Shoshin refers to the idea of letting go of your preconceptions and having an attitude of openness when studying a subject.
When you are a true beginner, your mind is empty and open. You're willing to learn and consider all pieces of information, like a child discovering something for the first time. As you develop knowledge and expertise, however, your mind naturally becomes more closed. You tend to think, “I already know how to do this” and you become less open to new information.
There is a danger that comes with expertise. We tend to block the information that disagrees with what we learned previously and yield to the information that confirms our current approach. We think we are learning, but in reality we are steamrolling through information and conversations, waiting until we hear something that matches up with our current philosophy or previous experience, and cherry-picking information to justify our current behaviors and beliefs. Most people don't want new information, they want validating information.
Meditation and mindfulness is helping men optimize their fitness goals, according to Patrick M. DeCarlo, a therapist working in South Florida.
For more neuroscience minded folks, Buddha’s Brain, by Dr. Rick Hanson, is an excellent text that provides not only expertly sourced science but exercises that you can utilize to maximize the brain benefits of mindfulness and meditation practice such as increasing empathy, relieving anxiety, improving memory, and solidifying concentration. An excerpt from the book reads:
When your mind changes, your brain changes, too. In the saying from the work of the psychologist Donald Hebb: when neurons fire together, they wire together—mental activity actually creates new neural structures (Hebb 1949; LeDoux 2003). As a result, even fleeting thoughts and feelings can leave lasting marks on your brain, much like a spring shower can leave little trails on a hillside.
For example, taxi drivers in London—whose job requires remembering lots of twisty streets—develop a larger hippocampus (a key brain region for making visual-spatial memories), since that part of the brain gets an extra workout (Maguire et al. 2000). As you become a happier person, the left frontal region of your brain becomes more active (Davidson 2004).
What flows through your mind sculpts your brain. Thus, you can use your mind to change your brain for the better—which will benefit your whole being, and every other person whose life you touch.
My book Buddha’s Brain aims to show you how. You’ll learn what the brain is doing when the mind is happy, loving, and wise. And you’ll learn many ways to activate these brain states, strengthening them a bit each time. This will give you the ability to gradually rewire your own brain—from the inside out—for greater well-being, fulfillment in your relationships, and inner peace.
Be that as it may, I am very resistant to divorcing Zen practice from its rigorousness as a spiritual and philosophic practice and simply excommunicating it to the self-help section of your local chain bookstore. Rev. Zesho Susan O’Connell in a Huffpost Article titled, “Zen Practice is Difficult and Dangerous” reminds us:
In recent times, there has been a wholesome effort to extend Zen teaching and the many benefits of zazen to more and more people. And, in order to make zazen increasingly palatable, and possible for people, this ancient radical practice is sometimes clothed in blue jeans and Nikes — and quietly introduced into the medical and mental health systems as “stress reduction.” In addition, there are other attempts to make Zen more accessible by mixing Zen practice with other traditions like Vipassana, or psychology.
I would say that all gates that lead us into exploring the most thorough and compassionate way to lives our lives are wholesome. Please choose whichever one resonates most with you. But, here is my question: In making Zen more accessible, are we forgetting to mention that what we are talking about, while including the benefits of stress reduction, goes beyond it? The Buddha said that there are three characteristics of this human life — impermanence, dissatisfaction and emptiness. Are we avoiding a discussion of the realization of emptiness?
David Lynch’s practice of Transcendental Meditation can be applied to all for their benefit, especially clients in therapy.
David Lynch knows something about emptiness, and he’s one of my favorite artists whose films, music, and artwork showcase just how much emptiness can fill a consciousness. He thanks Transcendental Meditation (a local TM chapter exists in Broward) a daily mantra-based meditation practice to the development of his art. He’s written an excellent book on meditation and the creation of art called “Catching the Big Fish.”
In brief chapters, Lynch describes the experience of “diving within” and “catching” ideas like fish—and then preparing them for television or movie screens, and other mediums in which Lynch works, such as photography and painting.
In the book’s first section, Lynch discusses the development of his ideas—where they come from, how he grasps them, and which ones appeal to him the most. He then shares his passion for “the doing” — whether movie making, painting, or other creative expressions. Lynch talks specifically about how he puts his thoughts into action and how he engages with others around him. Finally, he discusses the self and the surrounding world and how the process of “diving within” can help others to realize their vision.
Catching the Big Fish provides unprecedented insight into Lynch’s methods, as it also offers a set of practical ideas that speak to matters of personal fulfillment, increased creativity, and greater harmony with one’s surroundings.
The book comes as a revelation to the legion of fans who have longed to better understand Lynch’s deeply personal vision. And it is equally intriguing to anyone who grapples with questions such as: “Where do ideas come from?” and “How can I nurture creativity?”
Check out more about what David has to say about TM with this fantastic interview.
Want a book that merges Zen theory with Western Philosophy? Another book that was instrumental in my own meditation practice was Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy by Katsuki Sekida.
Katsuki Sekida is a leading authority on Zen Buddhism.
Shambhala Publications describes the book:
Zen Training is a comprehensive handbook for zazen, seated meditation practice, and an authoritative presentation of the Zen path. The book marked a turning point in Zen literature in its critical reevaluation of the enlightenment experience, which the author believes has often been emphasized at the expense of other important aspects of Zen training. In addition, Zen Training goes beyond the first flashes of enlightenment to explore how one lives as well as trains in Zen. The author also draws many significant parallels between Zen and Western philosophy and psychology, comparing traditional Zen concepts with the theories of being and cognition of such thinkers as Heidegger and Husserl.
The Contemplative Life draws parallels to the texts overlaps with Christian Contemplative practice, namely Centering Prayer, something I referenced in an earlier posting of mine.
In Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy, Katsuki Sekida discusses four categories of "samadhi." Samadhi is one of those terms that gets used in different ways by different authors, and this often creates difficulty when discussing the concept. In the modern Christian contemplative tradition, True Self / False Self language shares this problem. Sekida uses the term in a very general way in which it may simply be taken to mean "mental absorption." He then delineates between types of mental absorptions, or "types of samadhi."
I find huge overlap in Sekida's descriptions and what I have experienced in my own practice of Centering Prayer. More than any other Zen author, I feel like his language really speaks to my own, non-officially-Zen, experience.
Sekida's categories of samadhi are:
1. Man is deprived; circumstances are not deprived.
2. Circumstances are deprived; man is not deprived.
3. Both man and circumstances are deprived.
4. Neither man nor circumstances are deprived.
And if you’re interested in Catholic mindfulness or contemplative tradition, the all around G.O.A.T. is “The Cloud of Unknowing,” an anonymously written 14th century work written on Christian mysticism and you’ve got to read it.
Christianity has a tradition of mysticism, like that found by the author of The Cloud of Unknowing.
Fr. Richard Rohr writes in the Center for Action and Contemplation:
The author believes that the spiritual journey demands full self-awareness and honesty, a perpetual shadow-boxing with our own weaknesses and imperfections. While physical withdrawal from the world is not essential, letting go of attachments to people, expectations, and things is. This requires contemplative practice, a true spiritual discipline. Rather than teaching passivity, the path into the cloud of unknowing requires active intent, willingness, and practice—knowing enough to not need to know more, which ironically becomes a kind of endless, deeper knowing.
Much of our contemplative practice will feel like failure, but the author encourages “anyone who wants to become a real contemplative” to “let the wonderful transcendence and goodness of God teach you humility rather than the thought of your own sinfulness, for then your humility will be perfect. Attend more to the wholly otherness of God rather than to your own misery. And remember that those who are perfectly humble will lack nothing they really need, either spiritually or materially. God is theirs and [God] is all. Whoever possesses God, as the book attests, needs nothing else in this life” (Chapter 23, Paragraph 2).
In the cloud, “Thought cannot comprehend God. And so, I prefer to abandon all I can know, choosing rather to love him whom I cannot know. Though we cannot fully know him we can love him” (Chapter 6, Paragraph 2). In the later stages of the journey, of course, loving becomes its own kind of knowing—the deepest kind of knowing.
I have many other favorites and a deep personal library that I often share with my clients. Read more about my therapeutic practice that includes instruction in self-hypnosis, mindfulness, and spiritual counseling.
I also really recommend checking out the South Florida Zen Group in Southwest Broward.
Their schedule is as follows:
Regular Practice
Every Saturday morning
(Bo Hyun Sa Temple Location)All are welcome to to join us for meditation practice, for the entire 2 hour period, or a part of the time. You may leave quietly during walking meditation when you wish to go.
The first Saturday of every month includes a Dharma talk at 9:30 am8:30 – 9:00 am Meditation instruction for beginners
9:00 – 9:30 am Sitting Zen
9:30 – 9:40 am Walking Meditation
9:40 – 10:10 am Sitting Zen
10:10 – 10:30 Chanting
10:30 – 11:30 TeaMonday Evenings
at the Zen Mystery Cafe7:30pm – 8pm Sitting Zen
8pm – 8:15pm Chanting(newcomers please arrive 15 minutes early)
Tuesday Evenings
at The Sanctuary7:30pm – 8pm Sitting Zen
8pm – 8:15pm Chanting(newcomers please arrive 15 minutes early)
Wednesday Evenings
at Bo Hyun Sa7:30pm – 8pm Sitting Zen
8pm – 8:15pm Chanting(newcomers please arrive 15 minutes early)