6 Amazing Mindfulness Books

Hello fellow bookworms!

In these hasty days of holiday stress, we bet your inner self is taking quite the beating. In fact, the holiday season is one of the most stressful periods of the year, regardless that it’s considered a time of spending time with your family in joy and love. That’s mostly because during holiday season you might be getting more things on your plate than you are able to handle, or you stress yourself out by trying to achieve perfection and make everyone happy.

Whichever it is, you are either dwelling in the past, or the future, and not the present moment. We survive the holiday season by simply practicing more mindfulness techniques, and trying to harness more mindfulness. And it’s not good for just the holiday season, but also in general, for your life, to create your own damn magic, mindfulness and staying in the present is the key! That’s why we decided to share with you a list of the best mindfulness books that we have read with you! Let’s check them out:

1. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Somehow in the rush to achieve more, joy seems to slip away from your life. Not only that but the constant focus on the past or the future never really lets you be in the present moment and enjoy it. With all of these issues, it's no wonder that you often feel disconnected and you can't help but feel like something is missing from your life. That is why mindfulness and daily meditations can help you a lot in your life. And if you are unsure where to start, well Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat Zinn is an amazing book that will help you hone mindfulness and change your life.

The book is written in a simple to understand language, and yet it explains many concepts and issues of the modern life.  Filled with a lot of subjects that will make you stop and think about how you are living your life, Wherever You Go, There You Are is perfect for anyone to pick up. It is an amazing read, and we definitely recommend to add this book to your read list!

Life on earth is a whole, yet it expresses itself in unique time-bound bodies, microscopic or visible, plant or animal, extinct or living. So there can be no one place to be. There can be no one way to be, no one way to practice, no one way to learn, no one way to love, no one way to grow or to heal, no one way to live, no one way to feel, no one thing to know or be known. The particulars count.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

2. Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh, Arnold Kotler, Dalai Lama XIV

Any book by one of the Zen Masters of the world - Thich Nhat Hanh is a great book to add to your reading list, especially when it comes to spiritual growth. However, we have chosen one of our favorites – Peace Is Every Step, as one of the must-reads for any beginner on the path to spiritual growth. It’s easy to understand, and yet there is so much wisdom in this book, that even the smallest concepts seen from a different perspective can leave you wondering, and re-thinking your life.

The hardest part for a beginner on their path of spiritual growth is to incorporate the teachings into everyday life, which is where this book comes handy the most. Through each lesson you learn, you will not only change bit by bit by its significance, but you will also discover your path to spiritual growth into everyday life as well.

We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.

Thích Nhất Hạnh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

3. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

Each day the stress and worries pile up on you. You find yourself stressed out about how tomorrow will be and regretting the past. And this isn't how life is supposed to be. Your life is NOW. Not in the past and not in the future, but right now in this moment. Everything that is happening to you is your life. The hardwood of your desk, the delicious coffee that you are drinking and the little mishaps - they are all part of your life at this moment.

So, why do you worry so much? And this is just how Mister Tolle starts his book - The Power of Now. As we promised, hard truths are a big part of the Power of Now. But so is guidance for spiritual awakening and inspiration. Mister Tolle has put all of his knowledge in this book, just so one day you will pick it up, awaken yourself and lead a more fulfilled life. It's time to live, truly live to the fullest. Maybe you won't go climbing off Kilimanjaro after you read this book, but we guarantee massive change is coming to your life. 

All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present. Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry - all forms of fear - are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of nonforgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.

Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

4. Mindfulness in Plain English by Henepola Gunaratana

Mindfulness in Plain English is written in simple English, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a simple book. From meditation techniques, tips, tricks to discussing the everyday way of life and everyday issues this book touches on so many subjects that there is no way that you can read this book without growing – even just a little bit. And sometimes, the tiniest steps can take you the furthest you have been in life.

If you take notes from books like us, then you will probably need to write 80% of this book in your notepad. We are not even kidding. On every page, there are so many good points that can really make you think about who you are, what you are doing in life and where do you want to go. Definitely, the book that you should put on your to-read list!

What you are now is the result of what you were. What you will be tomorrow will be the result of what you are now. The consequences of an evil mind will follow you like the cart follows the ox that pulls it. The consequences of a purified mind will follow you like your own shadow. No one can do more for you than your own purified mind—no parent, no relative, no friend, no one. A well-disciplined mind brings happiness.

Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English

5. Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening by Joseph Goldstein

We loved this one! If you wish to dig deeper on your mindfulness journey, we definitely recommend to check this one out. Besides improving your everyday, this book will also help you to start your journey towards spiritual awakening. In the book, Goldstein explains different levels of mindfulness and helps you to achieve them in different aspects of your life.

How does feeling our breath or taking a mindful step help anyone else? It happens in several ways. The more we understand our own minds, the more we understand everyone else. We increasingly feel the commonality of our human condition, of what creates suffering and how we can be free. Our practice also benefits others through the transformation of how we are in the world. If we’re more accepting, more peaceful, less judgmental, less selfish, then the whole world is that much more loving and peaceful, that much less judgmental and selfish.

Joseph Goldstein, Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening

6. Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation by Daniel J. Siegel

Although this books isn’t strictly about mindfulness, it holds a very strong message inside. Often our everyday lives are filled with sadness and disappointment simply because we carry with us the hardships of the past. In this book, Siegel explains how you hold the power over yourself, and how through different techniques including mindfulness  you can shift your life, for the better.

Physically and genetically, our brains may not have evolved much in the last forty thousand years—but our minds have. A baby born today would be much the same as a baby born tens of thousands of years ago. But if we were able to compare the intricate neural structure of an adult brain in today’s modern society with that of an adult brain from forty thousand years ago, we’d find huge differences.

Daniel J. Siegel, Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation