Kabat-Zinn is wonderful and having heard him speak many times, I "heard" his voice narrate this as I read. Meditation is somewhat difficult for me to master, but so very worth the time and energy it takes. This is a great read explaining some of the basics and I highly recommend!

Years ago, I read several books by Jon Kabbat-Zin, and I really feel I got a lot of them. Then along came two children and a busy work schedule. Before I realized what had happened, I fell into the get-from-one-end-of-the-day-to-the-other-on-autopilot trap. Now that my boys are older, I find myself searching again for what I once had—and maybe a bit more because it’s past time to wake up.

I was thrilled when I saw that Jon Kabbat-Zin updated a previous book with this, and is adding three more books to it to make a set. Since I pretty much feel as if I’m starting over with my practices, I am excited about learning from him again and I feel this book is a great place to start.

Here’s to new beginnings!

I will preface this review by sharing that this is the first book I’ve read about meditation. I found the chapters on meditation for stress reduction (MBSR) especially informative. Especially the concept that meditation does not refer to a specific activity but is everywhere at any moment that one is present. It gives the reader much to contemplate and presents meditation as less of a mystery and more of a state of being. It is not a quick read and I must admit I was a little lost in a couple of the chapters but felt enriched by the read and encouraged to read more on the topic.

As always, Jon Kabat-Zinn makes mindfulness and meditation seem easy. Instead of overloading readers with rules and regulations about meditation, Kabat-Zinn focuses on how to work within your daily life to practice more mindfulness and possibly even add meditation. A great book to give that stressed out friend who says they can't meditate..

I loved this book on meditation. It was highly invaluable and I felt I learned a lot. It will open your eyes to finding love in meditation and awareness.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

A deep dive into the science, history and theory of meditation. Not for beginners, unless you like all the information before you start something new.

More than a how- to learn and begin to meditate book, this starts out with a history of the practices of meditation. The writing is not meant to be entertaining or light. It is straight forward, perhaps a bit intimidating at times.
I suggest it more for those who meditate regularly already , especially for those who use it in a practice or are teaching others.

This makes for good additional reading in a Psychology or Sociolgy course.

MEDITATION IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK by Jon Kabat-Zinn is a rather dense exploration of mindfulness. Although Kabat-Zinn is a recognized authority on the subject and this book was first published in 2005 as part of Coming to Our Senses, I am not really clear on who the target audience is for this latest version. We have been working hard to develop our collection on mindfulness, stress reduction, even yoga, but this book seems too scholarly for our patrons. For example, one early chapter is titles "Witnessing Hippocratic Integrity." Kabat-Zinn aptly stresses that "Meditation is a way of being, not a technique" and further emphasizes the importance of paying attention to the present moment, but I think other texts have more images and activities which would appeal to teens. Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy.

As always Kabat-Zinn writes with a knowledge that is not commonly found in self-help books lately. His approach is less touchy feely than most books these days but the depth of knowledge is amazing. Kabat-Zinn takes a more logical and studious approach to meditation and mindfulness.

Full disclosure, I have purchased many books on meditation and mindfulness and have just not been able to grasp the concept or the importance of it. This book laid out all of the benefits of mindfulness and was easy to understand. I like that this is part of a series, as the author was able to explain things thoroughly in this book without having to cut it short due to length. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking to explore meditation and mindfulness.

Whew! Flashbacks of Psychology courses from university are dancing in my head. Don't get me wrong, I loved those classes and I was curious to receive an in depth look at the whole mindfulness culture currently trending our Western society. But people, this was also one very dry read. Our author values meditation and his purpose is clear, but it's a very analytical and historical examination of meditation. Great for a person wanting to begin their exploration of the subject, but not quite the type of book that I like to read for pleasure.

Originally written in 2005 I found this book to be very critical for today. The author explains the basis of mindfulness and meditation and the science behind it. This is a great book for background on mindfulness for those who are exploring it fully. I will utilize this book time and time again. Thank you for the ARC with gratitude which will not influence my review. I highly recommend this book for all students of mindfulness.

Meditation Is Not What You Think: The Case for Mindfulness, is the first part of the book, Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness originally published in 2005, updated with a new foreword by the author, Jon Kabat-Zinn. As research has proliferated and mindfulness has entered mainstream culture even more so since the original publication of this book and has become a water cooler topic, the title of this book is apt. As the pace of our daily life has only increased I found this book to be as relevant today if not more so than originally written in 2005. The book is divided into 2 sections. Part 1 “Meditation: It’s not what your think”, introduces meditation as not for the faint-hearted and a radical act of love. While the writing can be a bit dense at time, I found the stories and personal anecdotes really helped me connect with the ideas. I particularly enjoyed “the origin of shoes” a powerful tale I kept coming back to. While newer books may be an “easier read”, I highly recommend that people wishing to open their hearts and minds to mindfulness, read this book from a true pioneer, Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor emeritus of medicine and founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress reduction. The second part of the book, “The power of attention and the dis-ease of the world” focuses on the importance of paying attention in our 24/7 connected world. Reading this section, really resonated with what I am seeing in my daily life as technology continues to boom. What Kabat-Zinn wrote about over a decade ago has become even more prophetic today. I look forward to sharing parts of this book with my introductory psychology students and discussing it more in depth with my upper year students. This first volume is the “What” of meditation. I look forward to reading the other three volumes in the series focusing on the “Why”, “How” and “Promise” of mindfulness.

With Gratitude to Jon Kabat-Zinn for his nourishing book and sharing his journey, netgalley, and Hachette for an ebook ARC.

Publication May 1, 2018

An in-depth look into the theory of mindfulness. The first book in a soon-to-be four part series. The second in the series will get more into the practice of mindfulness, which I think will be more my interest. However, as a novice to meditation and mindfulness, I found this book to be useful in explaining to me how simple and beneficial it can be to practice mindfulness. My favorite chapter was Awareness and Freedom, which highlighted bringing awareness to moments of emotional or physical pain to lesson the intense feelings of pain. I was given an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was absolutely not helpful for my journey of learning meditation methods. This was more theory and philosophy which I have already read a lot about. I was disappointed.

Jon Kabat-Zinn is a professor who introduced Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Although I had not read his books before, I have read many books about meditation and mindfulness in its many forms. While I appreciate his contributions, the writing is difficult and repetitive and these ideas are, IMHO, better distilled and discussed elsewhere.