15 Books On Meditation And Mindfulness You Must Read To Find Peace
Insight Meditation is the best thing you can do for yourself. It brings you closer to mindfulness and start learning to think clearly. Mindfulness helps you dispel ignorance, greed, hatred and graving.
Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment—and accepting it without judgment.
Here are 15 books on meditation and mindfulness you must read to find peace:
1. Make Peace with Your Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Your Inner Critic
The inner critic is the voice inside our heads reminding us that we are never “good enough.” It’s behind the insidious thoughts that can make us second-guess our every action and doubt our own value. The inner critic might feel overpowering, but it can be managed effectively. Meditation teacher and therapist Mark Coleman helps readers understand and free themselves from the inner critic using the tools of mindfulness and compassion. Each chapter offers constructive insights into what creates, drives, and disarms the critic; real people’s journeys to inspire and guide readers; and simple practices anyone can use to live a free, happy, and flourishing life.
Review
Of the many recent books on mindfulness, some have discussed the practice as a tool in one’s life or career, but Coleman focuses squarely on the goal of achieving inner peace and practicing compassion toward oneself and others. For self-improvement enthusiasts searching for ways to calm a stressed mind, this book is sure to help.
2. Declutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking
The truth is…We all experience the occasional negative thought. But if you always feel overwhelmed, then you need to closely examine how these thoughts are negatively impacting your lifestyle.
The solution is to practice specific mindfulness techniques that create more “space” in your mind to enjoy inner peace and happiness. With these habits, you’ll have the clarity to prioritize what’s most important in your life, what no longer serves your goals, and how you want to live on a daily basis. And that’s what you’ll learn in Declutter Your Mind.
Review:
When you live with constant “mental clutter,” your quality of life is compromised. It’s no wonder that so many people turn to medication, alcohol, and other mind-numbing substances and behaviors in order to escape.
But you don’t have to look outside of yourself to find relief from your mental clutter. You are not a victim of your thoughts or a prisoner to them.
3. Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body
Have you ever felt a surge of adrenaline after narrowly avoiding an accident? Salivated at the sight (or thought) of a sour lemon? Felt turned on just from hearing your partner’s voice? If so, then you’ve experienced how dramatically the workings of your mind can affect your body.
Yet while we accept that stress or anxiety can damage our health, the idea of “healing thoughts” was long ago hijacked by New Age gurus and spiritual healers. Recently, however, serious scientists from a range of fields have been uncovering evidence that our thoughts, emotions and beliefs can ease pain, heal wounds, fend off infection and heart disease and even slow the progression of AIDS and some cancers.
In Cure, award-winning science writer Jo Marchant travels the world to meet the physicians, patients and researchers on the cutting edge of this new world of medicine. We learn how meditation protects against depression and dementia, how social connections increase life expectancy and how patients who feel cared for recover from surgery faster. We meet Iraq war veterans who are using a virtual arctic world to treat their burns and children whose ADHD is kept under control with half the normal dose of medication. We watch as a transplant patient uses the smell of lavender to calm his hostile immune system and an Olympic runner shaves vital seconds off his time through mind-power alone.
Review
When writers talk about healing the mind, or spirit, or soul, they often abandon decent standards of evidence and rationality, and stop making sense. But this is Dr Marchant’s territory. Writing with simplicity, clarity and style, and covering an enormous range of material, she surveys with grace what we think we know, and what we would like to know, about the mysterious and troubling relationship between our minds and our bodies.
4. Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition): Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
Stress. It can sap our energy, undermine our health if we let it, even shorten our lives. It makes us more vulnerable to anxiety and depression, disconnection and disease. Based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s renowned mindfulness-based stress reduction program, this classic, groundbreaking work—which gave rise to a whole new field in medicine and psychology—shows you how to use medically proven mind-body approaches derived from meditation and yoga to counteract stress, establish greater balance of body and mind, and stimulate well-being and healing.
By engaging in these mindfulness practices and integrating them into your life from moment to moment and from day to day, you can learn to manage chronic pain, promote optimal healing, reduce anxiety and feelings of panic, and improve the overall quality of your life, relationships, and social networks.
This second edition features results from recent studies on the science of mindfulness, a new Introduction, up-to-date statistics, and an extensive updated reading list. Full Catastrophe Living is a book for the young and the old, the well and the ill, and anyone trying to live a healthier and saner life in our fast-paced world.
Review
This book presents the lessons of ten years of clinical experience with more than 4,000 people who took an eight-week course known as the Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of the program, defines the healing force of mindfulness as “a systematic approach to developing new kinds of control and wisdom in our lives, based on our inner capacities for relaxation, paying attention, awareness, and insight.”
5. The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
In this beautiful and lucid guide, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offers gentle anecdotes and practical exercise as a means of learning the skills of mindfulness–being awake and fully aware. From washing the dishes to answering the phone to peeling an orange, he reminds us that each moment holds within it an opportunity to work toward greater self-understanding and peacefulness.
Review
In this beautiful and lucid guide, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offers gentle anecdotes and practical exercise as a means of learning the skills of mindfulness–being awake and fully aware.
6. The Now Effect (with embedded videos): How a Mindful Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life
A leader in mindfulness psychology, Dr. Elisha Goldstein takes the mindfulness approach of helping people to connect to the present moment one step further by offering practical techniques to make deep, permanent life changes. He demonstrates how to use the space between stimulus and response to break free from habitual beliefs and thoughts that don’t serve you. These techniques allow you to connect with the good in life, approach difficulties with more grace, and get connected with what really matters. In essence, Dr. Goldstein teaches the foundation for how “this very moment can change the rest of your life—Now.”
Review
The book provides many exercises and techniques to improve your awareness of your thoughts and feelings. Once you start seeing how you react to things (physically, emotionally and mentally) then you can start to decide how to respond. The more you do this, the easier it becomes.
7. 10-Minute Mindfulness: 71 Habits for Living in the Present Moment (Mindfulness Books Series Book 2)
You can be unconscious about your lifestyle choices, habits, and thoughts. You can be unconscious about your true values, life priorities, and deeper longings. And you’re unconscious about living in the present moment because you’re preoccupied by past regrets and worries for the future.
The solution is to incorporate mindfulness through your entire day — so you can enjoy inner peace and happiness. And the simplest way to do this is to build a series of mindfulness habits.
Review
In 10-Minute Mindfulness, Wall Street Journal bestselling authors S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport show how to anchor yourself in the present moment, even if it’s for just a few minutes at a time. This book is for anyone who recognize the need to improve their focus, productivity, happiness, and peace of mind.
8. The Worry Trick: How Your Brain Tricks You into Expecting the Worst and What You Can Do About It
Anxiety is a powerful force. It makes us question ourselves and our decisions, causes us to worry about the future, and fills our days with dread and emotional turbulence. Based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), this book is designed to help you break the cycle of worry.
Worry convinces us there’s danger, and then tricks us into getting into fight, flight, or freeze mode—even when there is no danger. The techniques in this book, rather than encouraging you to avoid or try to resist anxiety, shows you how to see the trick that underlies your anxious thoughts, and how avoidance can backfire and make anxiety worse.
If you’re ready to start observing your anxious feelings with distance and clarity—rather than getting tricked once again—this book will show you how.
Review
The book deconstructs how the brain responds to “worry” (or anxiety), breaking down the reasons why people worry at a level that impacts their everyday lives. It reframes the issue as not a personality flaw, but an evolutionary response.
9. The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness
If you’ve ever struggled with depression, take heart. Mindfulness, a simple yet powerful way of paying attention to your most difficult emotions and life experiences, can help you break the cycle of chronic unhappiness once and for all. In The Mindful Way through Depression, four uniquely qualified experts explain why our usual attempts to “think” our way out of a bad mood or just “snap out of it” lead us deeper into the downward spiral.
Through insightful lessons drawn from both Eastern meditative traditions and cognitive therapy, they demonstrate how to sidestep the mental habits that lead to despair, including rumination and self-blame, so you can face life’s challenges with greater resilience. This enhanced e-book includes an audio program of guided meditations narrated by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
See also the authors’ Mindful Way Workbook, which provides step-by-step guidance for building your mindfulness practice in 8 weeks. Plus, mental health professionals, see also the authors’ bestselling therapy guide: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition.
Buy now
Review
In The Mindful Way through Depression, four uniquely qualified experts explain why our usual attempts to “think” our way out of a bad mood or just “snap out of it” lead us deeper into the downward spiral. Through insightful lessons drawn from both Eastern meditative traditions and cognitive therapy, they demonstrate how to sidestep the mental habits that lead to despair
10. The Mindful Twenty-Something: Life Skills to Handle Stress…and Everything Else
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.
Review
While perhaps not profound or particularly novel content,The Mindful Twenty-Something excels at what many books on mindfulness don’t even attempt – connection. The combination of engaging writing, laymen’s terms, practical steps, and digestible science makes this book a treat for the reader.
11. Mindful Relationship Habits: 25 Practices for Couples to Enhance Intimacy, Nurture Closeness, and Grow a Deeper Connection
It’s easy to fall in love. The challenging part is keeping that spark alive while you and your partner deal with “the real world.”
Your relationship can often seem less urgent than the day-to-day emergencies that you deal with — your job, finances, children, and that to-do list full of chores. They all demand your immediate attention. So how do you find the time to nurture your love and intimacy??
What often gets lost in the shuffle is the love you share with your partner. Maybe you’ve neglected some of the positive habits you adopted when you were dating to win over your love partner. Or perhaps all of your conversations seem to end in arguments? Or worse, you might occasionally wonder if your relationship is even worth salvaging.
Review
In Mindful Relationship Habits, Wall Street Journal bestselling authors S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport show you how to have a more mindful relationship by applying 25 specific practices. These habits will help you be more present with one another, communicate better, avoid divisive arguments, and understand how to respond to one another’s needs in a more loving, empathic, and conscious way.
12. The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution: Proven Strategies to End Overeating, Satisfy Your Hunger, and Savor Your Life
In The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution, Rossy provides an innovative and proven-effective program to help you slow down, savor each bite, and actually eat less. This unique, whole-body approach will encourage you to adopt healthy eating habits by showing you how to listen to your body’s intuition, uncover the psychological cause of your overeating, and be more mindful during mealtime.
If you find yourself eating without thinking, because you feel bored or sad, or simply because you’ve had a hard day, indulging here and there is understandable. But emotional eating can often spiral out of control, leading to problems in the long run.
The whole-body program in this book will help you learn how to listen to your body’s needs, so that you can stay healthy and happy, without giving up your love for food. In fact, according to a recent study, women in the author’s Eat for Life program reported higher levels of body appreciation and intuitive eating and lower levels of problematic eating behaviors than did the wait list comparison group.
If you want to embrace exuberant health and truly enjoy your food, the easy-to-use strategies in this book will show you how—one mindful taste at a time.
Review
In The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution, Rossy provides an innovative and proven-effective program to help you slow down, savor each bite, and actually eat less. This unique, whole-body approach will encourage you to adopt healthy eating habits by showing you how to listen to your body’s intuition, uncover the psychological cause of your overeating, and be more mindful during mealtime.
13. Making Space: Creating a Home Meditation Practice
Find peace and calm amid the busyness of your life with this new book by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Designed to be both inspiration and guidebook for those new to mindfulness practice, Making Space offers easy-to-follow instructions for setting up a breathing room, listening to a bell, sitting, breathing, and walking meditations, and cooking and eating a meal in mindfulness. Whether you live alone or with a family, this beautifully illustrated book can help you create a sense of retreat and sanctuary at home.
Review
The introduction speaks of how our physical space affects our inner being; how a peaceful space for the body brings the mind to a more peaceful state. The first step in creating a peaceful space is all about intention. Notice the original character – the intention – of the space you’re in, and work with it to help enhance a certain feeling. Do this through the use of thoughtfully-chosen colors, objects, and placements.
14. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it’s all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And that’s just the beginning.
In the forty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind has become one of the great modern spiritual classics, much beloved, much reread, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics—from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality—in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page.
Review
Whether you meditate or not, Suzuki provides useful and illuminating truths for anyone interested in becoming more mindful. Here is one of my favorite passages:
15. Mindfulness in Plain English
Mindfulness in Plain English was first published in 1994, is one of the bestselling — and mostinfluential — books in the field of mindfulness. It’s easy to see why.
Author Bhante Gunaratana, a renowned meditation master, takes us step by step through the myths, realities, and benefits of meditation and the practice of mindfulness.The book showcases Bhante’s trademark clarity and wit as he explores the tool of meditation, what it does, and how to make it work.
This book is:
- A best-selling introduction to mindfulness
- Full of practical advice on developing a meditation practice
- Written in approachable, clear language
- Containing chapters on loving-kindness and concentration
Review
it will appeal to any rational person, whether they subscribe to a particular religion or have no faith at all. This is an excellent book. It offers basic guidance for mindfulness practice and the motivation to actually take it up.