Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life - Wherever You Go

Really enjoyed listening to this it helps you get a handle on what is important and what is not. I am new to meditating so i'm not ready for the visualization guided meditation but thats just me. Would still recommend the book.

This book is pretty good. I just wish I had more time to read it. I have read about half way and my hubby too. It has some great lessons. Great to read outside on a nice sunny day that takes your cares away. I would recommend this book.

This is the first book that awakened in me a true search for the spirit. At first blush it is a simple, straightforward read that can be of immediate physical value as well.

I am immensely greatful.

was a bit disappointed with the way this was printed. The pages are uneven and it looks like a cheap binding. Its holding up ok, but its about the content right? I am using it as a daily little devotional and it is perfect for that. Also as a reading in yoga class as a part of the meditation for setting the right mode for the class. So its perfect for both purposes.
No nonsense, simple and a wonderful read.

If you are searching for answers, and many of us are, this is a MUST READ book. It helps to get your mind off of your problems and concerns and focused on WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE! Which is truly many many blessings if you will only wake up and look at them. Enjoy!

This book....Jon Kabat-Zinn ....has helped me deepen my meditation practice. But instead of just focusing on the cushion....all
of life is my teacher. His clear understanding makes the information very accessible and has given me the gentle push
I've needed for some time. I am grateful for this book and will refer to it again and again. I would recommend it to anyone
who is interesting in becoming more mindful in her life. There are many amazing benefits to be experienced when mindfulness is employed. One can expect to find a richness and deeper sense of compassion for all life for starters. Thank you!

Susan Wachter
3/29/14

Excellent exposition of mindfulness as a tool for spiritual exploration.
Very repetitious. The author could have easily condensed the meat of this book
into half the volume of words. Still a good read, and stimulus to practice.

This author writes with beautiful clarity and flow. I much prefer Kabat-Zin to Eckhart Tolle for that reason. He demystifies meditation practice and brings it into the realm of our everyday lives where it belongs. Highly recommended.

Being a beginner at mindfulness I wanted simply worded information about meditation. This book takes you on an easy path & uses MBSR training to help. It's caused me to research other information on MBSR online. Very helpful.

Such a great book for anyone looking to improve their lives. Having no experience on the topic before reading this book, I can honestly say that my life has changed because of it. Becoming mindful of everyday things and slowly improving my value of life with every chapter. This work makes the reader think and put this subject to everyday life-such a great read. Didn't want the book to end. Highly recommend to anyone looking to improve on their mindfulness of everyday life or just for a good read!

i received this book before the delivery date. the book is in excellent condition! i know this book will last for years as i read and refer back to it! I already have many bookmarks in to refer back to and the binding is very strong and will hold many more bookmarks as i insert them for me to refer back to

Just finished this book and I must say that I can see why it's very much recommended. It takes a seemingly hard subject as mindfulness and makes it more digestible for most. There's lots of practice exercises and ways to implement immediately. Very thorough and thought provoking. Excellent!

Love it, this was my second book about meditation and I wish I had read this one first. It's an excellent tool to begin this amazing journey, however, its perfectly design so that everyone into Vipassana or meditation in general can pull it up and get helpful tips to be exactly where you are.

Covers all sides of doing meditation in real life. All intricate details and nice related feelings of meditation.

If you do meditation or want to do, yo will find it extremely helpful and interesting.

Just such a great book.

I liked the book but I think the book would fit for somebody who is not really "disturbed" maybe just stressed. When I say "disturbed" I mean somebody who has suffered with anxiety and or mild depression or any other mental stress that is more bothering then just plain stress from daily life's events.
In this book, Jon is trying to advise people to "just observe without judging" all of their thoughts , without giving any emotions to any of them. While that is fine sometimes I believe that "disturbing thoughts" or upsetting obsessive thinking NEEDS TO BE CHALLENGED AND JUDGE , SEEN AS WHAT THEY ARE AND DISMISSED.
I found the book by Jeffrey Schwarts " You are not your brain" to be helpful and life changing and also all the books by Albert Ellis. If you have anxiety, depression or any other mental stress please read Albert Ellis and Jeffrey Schwarts, they changed my life more then Jon Kabat because I am a rational person who likes proofs, facts and down to earth methods to make sense of my real problems.
I would recommend reading this book after the books I mentioned above.

UPDATE: 10/16/2013

I finally found my cure for my problems ALL OF THEM. My problems were caused by low magnesium, iron vitamin B12 and vitamin D. All my symptoms are GONE. I do not feel anxious/crazy/disturbed...you name it..please look into mineral deficiencies and vitamins before you spend $$$$ on books on end with wisdom but not a cure. Thank you magnesium for saving my life!!

I debated between giving this book 3 stars or 4 stars. The main thing I took away from this book is that I was overthinking meditation in terms of concentrating too hard and expecting to achieve some feeling. I like that the book has short topics instead of long chapters. However, the format of this book starts a new topic at the top of a new page. On top of this the margins are quite large and the author excessively quotes other people. The physical size of the book could be reduced by 50%. I get annoyed by publishers attempting to make a book look longer and more extensive than it actually is. The last section/ portion of the book was a bit dry in my opinion.

I purchased this item as new and unused, paying full price, etc. It was purchased as a gift item for a friend. Upon looking it over, I found a page with a paragraph marked off in pencil. This same page also had a dog ear fold over at the top of the page. This purchase is not suitable for the purpose for which it was purchased and I feel cheated for the new purchase price I paid. Not a good the store purchase experience!.

The book is great, it blew my mind, and changed the way I see life. The delivery [of the book] was super fast. I Never received an item so soon when ordering. I was very satisfied with the whole purchase.

Quite honestly, this is not what I expected. I suppose the book would have passed as a reference manual for the tapes that he advertised at the end. I, truly expected more than this writer delivered

I am presently divorcing a man who obviously suffers from NPD. After 12 years of marriage, this book explained everything I was experiencing but couldn't put my finger on. All the lies, the cheating and the CHARM! I am now digging much deeper to the core of all the years of deceit and manipulation...It will be a long road (it is mental abuse), but understanding that they really have no remorse, no empathy, no true emotion, has really helped me move on with my life. I no longer question myself or feel the need to defend myself to his friends or family. They see what he wants them to see. The "Mr. Wonderful" they know has presented constant BS to them about me so how can you blame them? He is so convincing that I bought every line for the last 13 years! This book is HUGE! It is freedom to finally understand what you are dealing with. Even professional counseling is limited because too many counselors are not aware of what NPD really entails. Unless you've lived with NPD, it is hard to understand. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in a rollercoaster relationship that never makes sense and causes you to question your own sanity. It is so important to realize there is nothing you can do to change them so save yourself. It takes time, it is truly painful to accept your life with them was built on a foundation of sand, but this book will help you heal.

I ordered straight off this page expecting to get a copy of the book and I got a 13 inch poster instead. Looking further into the product details, it describes both a book and a poster. Misleading product. If you order from this page you will NOT get a book!

I thought I ordered a paperback, but what I got was got was 6 posters that read Wherever You Go, You Always Leave a
Footprint. Then on top of providing misleading information, it was not returnable!

This came recommended by a friend. There are some good things I have taken away from the book, buy I think the points could have been made and then move on. I could not relate tohe some of the "mystical" ideas. The principles are valid though. I would probably not recommend it o a friend unless I knew they liked that particular style of writing.

Obviously I am in the minority here, but I found Mr. Kabat-Zinn way too wordy in his exposition of a rather straight-forward technique. It's as if a Trappist monk were to grab the microphone of a rock concert level sound system to explain the reasons for his vow of silence. I only read two chapters and i felt I was in the 10th hour of Greyhound Bus trip sitting next to a person who felt obliged to point out and comment on each telephone pole we were passing. Enough already.

We ordered the paperback book, but like several others in the comments section, we received a poster instead. While the two items do contain similar words "Wherever You Go, There You Are" the paperback book, and "Wherever You Go, You Leave Footprints" the poster are not in fact the same item. The fact that it is labeled "not returnable" is further frustrating. Until they get the item corrected, you should avoid ordering it.

Perhaps it is because I have some familiarity with the eastern thought that I really didn't connect with much in this book. I didn't find anything new or novel. Perhaps if you are completely new to meditation this could be an introduction but, then again, you will have to continue well past this book if you actually want to practice and benefit from meditation. In the spirit of the message of this book, I can say that this book didn't take me anywhere and therefore it succeeded brilliantly!

I had a meditative practice for years prior to reading "Wherever You Go, There You Are". I read it with few expectations hoping to deepen my practice, but surprisingly came away with something negative. Don't read this book. Here are three reasons why in increasing order of severity:

1) It's a slog. This should be obvious from the title, but it's even worse once actually in the text. It's meandering and deeply needs editing. The topic of mediation doesn't give free license to be sloppy with language, thoughts, or structure.

2) The writing is confused and hypocritical. Kabat-Zinn tells you how you should feel -- that you shouldn't expect anything from mediation, insinuating that a desire to get something out of meditation is somehow wrong. Then he turns around and describes his work helping those with chronic pain learn to meditate. Should they also expect nothing? Worse, he does this in the most insidious way avoiding literal passages with the word "should". I can't tell whether telling me how I should feel without seeming to tell me how I should feel is calculated or confused. Either way, it leaves a bad taste.

3) Passages and ideas from the book now intrude upon my mediation. I gently sail them away like I do with any other unwanted thoughts, but "Wherever You Go, There You Are" plays a disproportionate role. It's been more than a year, and I hope that writing this review will be cathartic and help me let it go. I genuinely wish I could unread this book.

I am very disappointed in this book along with "Mindfulness for Beginners". I expected the author to really get to the introduction into mindfulness, to really expound on what mindfulness is. Instead, each section of a page two, points out some idea, without any depth. forget about depth, they are just comments. I'm not sure if this book is even necessary. The author has such a great reputation, that this book was very disappointing. I expected more. I bought some of his other books, but I haven't read them all yet. Hope they are better that these two. I do have to say that I have a spiritual teacher digging deep into the subject of enlightenment as well as being a Christian and I am used to deep spiritual work. So, I may be more advanced for these books.

Though HIGHLY recommended by a family member, I found it like so many other books out there.
Mindfulness IS a great skill, but really--reading about it won't get you there.
Silence. Slowing down. Looking inside will.

seemingly in an attempt to make spiritual concepts that are often connected to meditation more available to those unfamiliar with them, the author gets a bit caught up in trying to explain the unexplainable in simplistic terms. this makes for a misleading manifesto for the uninitiated and, at best, a boring read for the advanced student.

To those who have “cracked the cosmic code” and are experts in the major gnostic Buddhist traditions (Pali, Madhyamika, Yogacara, Zen, and Tibetan), this book is a joke – a de-esotericized, de-verticalized joke that perverts the Buddha’s original Mindfulness (Satipatthana) teaching, reducing it to psychologized pabulum devoid of en-Light-ening profundity.

Those with deep understanding of Buddhism and the practice of mindfulness will quickly recognize that this book has nothing new, nothing different, nothing provocative to offer; it’s just recycled surface-level Dharma re-packaged to sell to the mainstream masses. Author John Kabat-Zinn, a professor of medicine, is an uber-popular, best-selling author on mindfulness meditation -- but that’s eqivalent to Joel Osteen’s being the most successful Christian minister or Justin Bieber’s being the king of contemporary male vocalists.

Kabat-Zinn pushes the ideal of living in the present moment, and informs us that we are “ignoring the richness of the present moment.” The Buddha did not teach this. He taught that Nirvana is abidance in the timeless, spaceless Unborn Realm.

This book is teeming with superficial statements that are never elaborated or developed. For example, Kabat-Zinn writes, “Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing something about who that is.” How can one be other than oneself? IOW, who is one being when one isn’t meditating? Kabat-Zinn's implication is that one who doesn’t meditate knows nothing about oneself.

The author writes, “But it would not be quite accurate to call meditation a ‘doing.’ It is more accurately described as a ‘being.” When we understand that ‘This is it,’ it allows us to let go of the past and future and wake up to what we are now, in this moment.”

Kabat-Zinn never explains what one is “being,” what we are now, in this moment, or what “This is it” means. Per true Buddhism, the present moment is NOT it; the timeless, uncreated Now (Nirvana) is “It.”

In one sentence, Kabat-Zinn tells us meditation is “non-doing,” and in the next he tells us what we need to do, which is usually to concentrate. For example, he writes, “Concentration is a cornerstone of mindfulness practice… In Sanskrit, concentration is called samadhi, or one-pointedness.” Unbeknownst to Kabat-Zinn, concentration in Sanskrit is “dharana, not “samadhi.” Moreover, samadhi pertains to states of protracted spiritual engrossment, not simple one-pointedness.

Kabat-Zinnr, out of the blue, in a single paragraph, writes, “It’s not that you are actively looking for something to magically help you. Rather, you are making yourself available to higher insights, priming a willingness in yourself to resonate with energies we usually think of as elevated divine, celestial, cosmic, universal, of a higher order and wisdom.” But he never elaborates this, never explains how it pertains to waking up or who we are. And he never mentions if this “divine” higher order or energies relates in any way to a Supreme Being or the Christian Holy Spirit.

Kabat-Zinn tells us to generate the question “Who am I,” but, predictably, provides no answer. He writes, “Inquiry of this kind leads to openings, to new understandings and visions and actions… This is a good way to find the path that lies closest to your heart.”

Unbeknownst to Kabat-Zinn, the inquiry “Who am I,” properly practiced, leads to Shaktipat, the descent of Divine Power into one’s spiritual Heart-center, where one awakens to oneself as the Self, or Buddha-nature. But there is nothing about the Self or Buddha-nature in this shallow “spiritual” book. Kabat-Zinn only apes the words of other pop Buddhist and Zen authors, and not in an integrated or elegant way.

In sum, this is a grossly overrated mindfulness text by a pseudo-profound professor who has parlayed his fancy sheepskin into $$$ by packaging Buddhist meditation as present-moment pabulum.

If I could give 0 I would. This is a poster and doesn't even look like the picture. Not a paperback as listed and it is Prime and they are saying I can't return it. So disappointed and upset. I wouldn't pay 50 cents for this.

It is a nice book with a nice message. However, I can't say there was much new than Seeker 101 might have already guessed. I was hoping for a little more from this book. Basically, a pretty neutral rating depending on the message you need to get right now. Good luck.

Wherever You Go, There You Are
By Jon Kabat-Zinn

Reviewed by Jay Gilbertson

The rest of the title is; ‘Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life’ and though it was written in 1994, the concept is pretty timeless. And since the political landscape has gotten so charged, I figured it would be helpful. Similar to Eckhart Tolle’s book, ‘The Power of Now’ author Kabat-Zinn stresses the importance of being present.
Not being a present as in gift, but stepping into your life with clarity and presence of mind is the key element discussed in this guide. This is harder than you may think. One of the linchpins that the author shares, and I find useful, is to focus on breath. Don’t worry that you have to have a fancy chant, use some kind of shrine or bang on a gong. You don’t. But you do have to breathe. The author says it best;
“Think the grass is always greener somewhere else or life is better in someone else’s shoes? If so, life will constantly disappoint you. True contentment comes from within—and you can uncover the spiritual treasure buried within you through meditation.”
“Blending Western thought and Eastern practice, this is the book that introduced meditation to America…you can learn the simple practice of breathing and focus to keep yourself in the present…to let stress wash over you rather than try to shut it out…find strength where you least expect it and even take charge of your health by adjusting your perspective.”
One aspect of this book/guide I did find a tad confusing was the explanation of just exactly what is meditation. Being a semi-normal dude I want to know how it’s done, right? As if there’s this exercise that I can latch onto and power through and when I’m done, and catch my breath, I’ll have this sudden clarity. Well, it’s not as simple as that and this is why the author spends a great deal of time using metaphor and quotes to give the reader examples of meditation.
“Meditation is more rightly thought of as a “Way” than as a technique. It’s a way of being, Way of living, a Way of listening, a Way of walking along the path of life and being in harmony with things as they are.”
In other words, it isn’t something you do in physical terms, though breathing is pretty important, it is a state of mental ‘being-ness.’ Put another way, meditation isn’t a way to change how you think by thinking more. It’s the act of watching, observing thought. This is where so many who want to bring this practice into their daily lives seem to get stuck.
Being ‘mindful’ is another way of considering this.
“TRY: Setting aside a time every day for just being. Five minutes would be fine…Sit down and watch the moments unfold, with no agenda other than to be fully present. Use the breath as an anchor to tether your attention to the present moment. Your thinking will drift here and there, depending on the currents and winds moving in the mind, until, at some point, the anchor-line grows taut and brings you back to the breath in all its vividness, every time it wonders…Think of yourself as a mountain.”

• Mindful groups are forming all over
• Take a walk
• Be present

I am surprised I'm only giving this book a two star review, but I am.
I absolutely believe in mindfulness and meditation but this book just did not do it for me. As I look back on my recent reading of this book, I can't think of one single, solid practical thing I learned from it that I could tell you about.

I mean I know this guy knows what he is talking about and this book has become a classic, but there was really nothing in this book I could sink my teeth into and say, "Wow! This is what I am now going to do now." I just found this book kind of a long, tedious and kind of dry read to tell you the truth.

In my opinion Ekhart Toelle is much better!!!!! I know this book came first but I recommend anything by Ekhart Toelle over this book.

Again, my two star review surprises even me but I just didn't find this book very helpful at all.

My review title says it all. A great read, even for those who had read more than three books on meditation before. Highly recommended!

p.s. Below please find some favorite passages of mine for your reference.
We usually fall, quite unawares, into assuming that what we are thinking – the ideas and opinions that we harbor at any given time – are “the truth” about what is “out there” in the world and “in here” in our minds. Most of the time, it just isn’t so. Pgxiv
Meditation means learning how to get out of this current, sit by its bank and listen to it, learn from it, and then use its energies to guide us rather than to tyrannize us. This process doesn’t magically happen by itself. It takes energy. We call the effort to cultivate our ability to be in the present moment “practice” or meditation practice.” Pg9
A good way to stop all the doing is to shift into the “being mode” for a moment. Think of yourself as an eternal witness, as timeless. Just watch this moment, without trying to change it all. What is happening? What do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear? Pg11
Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are. Pg14
The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing. Pg17
Stress is an inevitable part of life, part of being human, intrinsic to the human condition itself. But that does not mean that we have to be victims in the face of large forces in our lives. We can learn to work with them, understand them, find meaning in them, make critical choices, and use their energies to grow in strength, wisdom and compassion. A willingness to embrace and work with what is lies at the core of all mediation practice. Pg30
Non-doing can arise within action as well as in stillness. The inward stillness of the doer merges with the outward activity to such an extent that the action does itself. Effortless activity. Nothing is forced. There is no exertion of the will, no small-minded I, me or mine to lay claim to a result, yet nothing is left undone. Non-doing is a cornerstone of mastery in any realm of activity. Pg40
When asked about his apparent lack of anger toward the Chinese by an incredulous reporter, the Dalai Lama replied something to the effect that: They have taken everything from us; should I let them take my mind as well? pg49
Sit in a way that embodies dignity: Faces relax, shoulders drop, head, neck and back come into easy alignment. The spine rises out of the pelvis with energy. Sometimes people tend to sit forward, away from the backs of their chairs, more autonomously . Everybody seems to instantly know that inner feeling of dignity and how to embody it. Pg107
These hand mudras all embody different energies. Try sitting with your hand palms down on your knees. Notice the quality of self-containment here….If you turn both palms up, being mindful as you do it, you may note a change in energy in your body. Sitting this way embodies receptivity, an openness to what is above, to the energy of the heavens. It can be quite helpful at times, especially in periods of turmoil or confusion, to emphasize receptivity in your sitting practice. Pg113
You cannot escape yourself; try as you might. And what reason, other than pure wishful thinking, would you have to suspect the things would be different or better somewhere else anyway? Sooner or later, the same problems would arise if in fact they stem in large part form your patterns of seeing, thinking, and behaving. Too often, our lives cease working because we cease working at life, because we are unwilling to take responsibility for things as they are, and to work with our difficulties. We don’t understand that it is actually possible to attain clarify, understanding, and transformation right in the middle of what is here and now, however problematic it may be. Pg195-6

I brought this book after hearing Jon on an Australian radio program and really liked hearing what he had to say. I've been meditating for about 20 years and usually practice most morning. I've read a lot of books on the subject and have visited Ashrams and studied Yoga in India on my travels. If you are new to the subject them I would recommend this book as Jon has a lot of useful and interesting things to say. If you have been doing meditation for a number of years then you will not really learn anything new. I don't want to sound arrogant but I've read most of what he has to say in other books. Meditation is basically just being in the moment. Just focusing on one thing, either an object, breath or mantra. If you are new to meditation it may be worth trying a few different styles of meditation to see what is best suited to you as we are all unique. What maybe good for one person will not necessary be good for someone else. I would also recommend reading other books on the topic. After you have read a few books they all basically say the same thing, "Just focus on the moment"

I didn't have a real good experience with this book.
I found the writing to be very boring, babbling, and without substance.
I have a hard time believing how and why this book got so many good reviews.
One review stated how it saved their life.
If that review proves not to be staged, I am going to start selling magical rocks!
My advice is save your money on this mambo jumbo and bad printing.
Check out the great books by Bhante G. and Thich Nhat Hanh if interested in mindfulness.

I buy the books for a study group. We discuss various points the author makes. The choice of book is a group effort and we have
three more to buy, study discuss. As long as I keep purchasing from the store, I am satisfied. No more surveys, please.

I picked this up on a recommendation from my boyfriend. At the time I'd already spent three months doing guided Loving Kindness Mediation on my own after learning about it in Love 2.0: Finding Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection and after seeing positive shifts in my mood and overall wellbeing with that initial exploration of meditation, I was curious to learn more.

This book on mindfulness was perfect for a newbie like me. It's very approachably and conversationally written. I found it to be a very engaging read and gave me a lot of things to think about that really enhanced my practice and illuminated places where I might not have been thinking about meditation in the right way. I enjoyed it so much I immediately picked up the audio book Meditation for Optimum Health where he collaborates with Dr. Weil and recommended another Kabat-Zinn book, Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition): Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness to my father who is experiencing chronic pain due to cancer treatment.

If you've ever been curious about mindfulness and mediation but have been worried that resources might be too "new age-y" or religious in tone or too difficult to grasp, this book is perfect

This was not the book I thought I was ordering as there are two books the same title but different authors. Recommend you make sure you have the right author. Great book I suppose if you are a Budhist.. Great price though!

This was the first book I read when I moved to San Francisco, in 1994. I didn't have any money, so I read it chapter by chapter (or bits thereof) over a couple of weeks, at the bookstore. I never did buy the book back then, and given its rather profound effect on me, I'm surprised on re-reading (the copy I recently bought) how little I remember; basically the parable of the Chinese chef butchering an ox; and cleaning the kitchen to Bobby Ferrin's music--and I still can't stand his music. I wasn't meditating in those days though, I was day dreaming. From my teenage years spent laying down listening to LPs and daydreaming of my glamorous future, to my young adult years doing a variation of the same, "Be Here Now" did not describe my life, and by the time I ended up in San Francisco, in my mid-thirties, my future that had thus far materialized was not glamorous in the least, nor was any part of my past. But, if nothing else, "Wherever You Go There You Are" drove its eponymous concept home, and suddenly I began to realize I needed to stop living in a dream world, and to start living my life. I mostly succeeded, some of the time, some times better than others, and I was at least aware of how much time I still spent mindlessly, which was an improvement over being mindlessly mindless.

So now, I've come back and read the whole book, cover to cover (okay, I skipped through the two chapters on parenting, as I don't have kids, and am unlikely to end up with any soon). I'm still impressed with the book, but let me say right away, the way I read it back in 1994 was the way to do it: Bit by bit, not cover to cover. This is a reference book, a book you keep going back to, reading and re-reading chapters, or parts of chapters, to get a deeper understanding of what was said, or to tweak a suggestion for a meditation, or some other exercise you have questions about (most chapters end with a "Try" section, suggesting some meditation or awareness exercise related to the content of that chapter).

What's nice about "Wherever You Go There You Are" is that it isn't full of New Age babble. Jon Kabat-Zinn will occasionally go off on a generalization as if it's a scientific fact when usually it isn't, and may not even be a scientifically substantiated theory (do your atoms really rearrange through some form of meditation as one line suggests? Really?), but for the most part he's not so keen on "New Age Thinking" either, and so keeps his narrative to the subject of Awareness, and Meditation. There are parts of the book where he seems to contradict himself---and I'm still not clear on whether I should be trying various types of meditations---the lake, the mountain---or simply stay with the focus on the breath for a couple of years. Years? And when do you start bringing in concepts, like "what is my path" and how do you do that? Just repeat the phrase over and over like a mantra, or say it once and let it float out there--and when it floats off, then what?

So, the book hasn't been shelved with the other stuff I've read and might eventually re-read or thumb through for a factoid; it sits on the coffee table to be picked up and perused for insights on a daily basis, perhaps to help firm up a wavering commitment to meditation, or to help buck up my patience as I enter a meditative session.

If you've read self help books and "spiritual" books, and found yourself snickering at the psycho-babble and the beliefs presented as Universal Knowledge And Fact, but still haven't given up and are now considering meditation (but don't want to access it through a religion) I would happily urge you to give "Wherever You Go There You Are" a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

This book changed my life. I was really confused about meditation and mindfullness before, the purpose, methods, and ideas. I was intimidated by eastern teachings, wondering why anyone would spend time just sitting there.

Now I see that mindful living is truly gratifying and a vehicle for inner peace. I've pbserved changes in my behavior, drive, moods, and relationships.

I read the book once through, and now I read one chapter every morning prior to my own meditation practice. It's a beautiful way to start my day. I focus on loving kindness meditation or mindfullness meditation in the morning and practice mindfullness throughout my day.

I really recommend this to anyone who is ready.

I’d avoided this book for many years because I didn’t like the title and I assumed it would be too much of a pop-mindfulness book. But I kept stumbling across people I respect who swore by it so I finally gave in — and loved it. The chapters are about 3 to 7 pages each so it’s perfect to read before bed. And the information is profound and deeply useful. Many of the chapters include exercises to try. One of my favorite parts was about “voluntary simplicity.” This wasn’t about possessing or buying less, but about doing less, not trying to fill every second with some sort of accomplishment like reading one more email or checking the headlines yet again. Just do less in order to be present to what’s around you more. The book is a conversational read while being infused with the best of empirical experiments on mindfulness and stress reduction, Buddhist teachings, and moral philosophy. I wish it was on audio so I could spend even more time with it. Grade: A

5 out of 5 for the CONTENT OF THE BOOK:
You've probably heard the saying that life does not come with a training manual. This book comes close to it. It helped to remind me that the answer is already inside me, and is as simple (or difficult) as living in the present moment. It takes effort to be aware, and yet so easy to fall back into unconsciousness. This is a wonderful, easy to read guide on how to be aware of each precious moment, to be conscious and mindful in the here and now, instead of falling back into unconsciousness.
3 out of 5 for the book distributer: TOTAL BOOKS:
My order took 12 days to receive. It was shipped from New York, so I'm not sure why it takes so long, but it arrived within the 3 week guaranteed delivery date.
1 out of 5 for the PAGES OF THE PAPERBACK BOOK:
The condition of the book itself on arrival was excellent, and there is a bound protective cover. However, the pages are deckle edge pages, which means the pages are uneven at the edge. While this seems to be the new trend for manufacturing books, I do not like it. I found it more difficult to turn the pages, and the paper caused my nose to itch and sneeze, and my eyes to water. It was difficult for me to focus on the words on the page since the paper was so irritating to my nose and eyes.
5/5 for the e-book VERSION:
Since I couldn't tolerate the horrible paper and deckle edge pages, I ended up purchasing the e-book for $9.99 and reading it on my tiny 3.5 inch iPhone screen instead. You can go to iTunes, download the free "Kindle for iPhone" app, which allows you to go directly to the store to download the e-book (Kindle version). The download was quick and I was reading this wonderful little book immediately.

Simply a beautiful little book, beautifully written. I would be curious to know if others are reacting to this book the way I am: I feel compelled to rave about it. I read the book for the first time weeks ago, yet tonight in the grocery store I found myself slowing down, marvelling at the sight of my daughter gaily picking out tomatoes, and consciously basking in the moment. And I'm a middle-aged Republican, not particularly predisposed to spiritual impulses! The author of this book has something timeless and important to impart, and he does so with unusual intelligence and grace. I really like this book -- indeed, I hope I'm forgiven for suspecting that it is a work of genius. I also hope that the author happens to read this review, because he should know how much his work is appreciated!

Practicing Meditation is not something that comes easy for me. However, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life struck a chord with me early on. From the outset I was drawn to the poetic nature of the book and the way the author seemed to be killing me softly with his words. I immediately felt that this was going to be a life changing experience.

I came across this book after reading How to Get Out of this World Alive: The Ultimate Self-Empowerment Handbook (Volume 1) Alain Forget. It is also another book in the genre that introduced me to higher thinking of self. It allowed me to think at a larger scale about my work and how to grasp my career in a way that would bring me fulfillment. Combined with the meditation techniques, I can honesty say that I see and feel in ways that I never thought I was capable of. If you feel something in you that is telling you to reach new mental heights, I would recommend these two books. It will surely be a powerful experience!

"Wherever You Go, There You Are" means that regardless of where your body goes in the world of time and perceptions, the Observer self always stays stationary and anchored in a location and time that is called “here and now.” The Observer self is ageless, and it witnesses the body age and move within the phenomenal world. If you think of the Observer Self as being like a person that is looking at a mandala, the observer self stays stationary while the body that represents you moves about from place to place within the mandala.

It seems like the book is divided into three sections: What, Why, and How

What is mindfulness?
Why do you want to practice?
How do you practice?

1. What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness involves stopping what you are doing and becoming aware of the present moment. In the present moment, you will find choices that you can make and resources that you can use. Mindfulness emphasizes the "planning" phase of action over the "doing" phase. You can save a tremendous amount of effort if you take a lot of time to examine the available resources and choose your direction before you start trying to get somewhere.

“The Water of Life”, a fairy tale in the Grimm Brothers' Collection, is used to emphasize the importance of gathering information from the present moment before proceeding. In this tale, there are three princes. These three princes are all sons of an old King that is dying. The King can be brought back to life if he is given the water of life. Two of the princes are selfish and greedy, but the third one is kind. The first prince sets out to find the water and meets a dwarf along the way. The dwarf asks the prince if he knows where he is going and the prince replies that he does and pushes the dwarf to the side. The prince's mistake is that he does not where the water is even though he does know what he wants. This leads the prince to travel for a very long distance only to reach an impasse where it is impossible to turn around. The same fate happens to the second prince. However, the third prince tells the dwarf that he does not know where the water is located. The dwarf replies that he knows where it is, and the dwarf helps the prince to easily get the water that is needed to save the king. The moral of the story for us is that we can gain a lot by stopping to examine what is going on in the present moment, instead of just proceeding on autonomously.

The main feature of mindfulness is that it does not involve doing anything. It involves being in the present moment and becoming aware of the many resources and choices available to us in that moment.

Mindfulness is like a diamond that has many facets. Since mindfulness does not involve doing anything, but rather being in the present moment, many of the facets of mindfulness relate to this stationary property of just being. Here are some of the facets of mindfulness:

A. Patience - When we are wanting to do something, it is often because we are angry at the way things currently are. For example, suppose someone is hitting you with a stick. In this situation we are not angry at the stick. Instead, we are angry with the person hitting us. If we reflect on this situation further, we may realize that the person that is hitting us may have been abused, and so on. The chain of causality for the beating ultimately leads us back to the universe itself. Upon realizing that being angry with the entire universe gets us no where, we learn patience. This patience helps us to have compassion for the person hitting us because we sometimes hit others, and we would appreciate it if the person that we hit had compassion on us. Viewed from this perspective, anger is actually the “fuel” that leads us to patience and compassion.

B. Letting go - Let go of our desires. Let the stream flow over awareness without trying to grasp the water.

C. Non-Judgment - Being, or non-doing, accepts everything as it is. This helps us to leave all possibilities open. We should not filter out possibilities based on our idiosyncratic likes and dislikes. We cannot stop the judgmental thoughts, as that is impossible. However, we can just observe them as they occur, and then let them go.

D. Trust - Bad things will sometimes happen in the mandala of the world of perceptions, but the Observer self is always safe.

E. Generosity - just as the entirety of the universe "blooms" out of the present moment, we should learn to be more generous in what "blooms" out of our self.

F. Concentration - the practice of stopping to examine our sensations and the world around us in the present moment builds up our power of concentration, which can be helpful in solving problems.

2. Why Do You Want to Practice?

You need to become clear as to why you want to practice mindfulness. Otherwise, you will not do it as it takes a good bit of time and dedication each day. If you do not have a clear vision as to why you want to practice, you will give up easily. Jon Kabat-Zinn likens the practice to "bucketing out a pond." It does not happen easily or all at once so you need to become very clear on why you want to do it.

3. How To Practice

A. Sitting - "Mountain meditation" - The mountain meditation says that when we sit down to meditate, we should think of our self as being like an unmovable mountain. Even though seasons pass and all types of weather occur around the mountain (storms, etc.), the mountain remains firmly planted in the earth.

B. Lying Down - "Lake meditation" - The lake meditation says that our self "contains" all of our experiences just as the lake contains the water within it. The self is not changed by any of the experiences that it observes just as a lake is not altered by all the things that happen to it. As Thoreau says when describing the lake at Walden: “It is a mirror which no stone can crack, whose quicksilver will never wear off, whose gilding Nature continually repairs; no storms, no dust, can dim its surface ever fresh.”

C. Walking Meditation- It is best to walk in some form of a loop to remind us that we are not trying to "get anywhere." While in meditation we are practicing stopping the autonomous process of always trying to get some where so that we can take a moment to reflect on where we really are.

So-called innovations are gratefully seized on as an excuse for poverty of imagination and in the same way, the long descriptive passages that so overburden modern novels are a sign of sterility, for it is obviously easier to describe a dress or the outward appearance of an object than to trace the subtle development of a character or portray the emotions of the heart. Eugene Delacroix 1856 journal

Meditation CDs [ASIN:B004K4CAQE Mindfulness for Beginn], [ASIN:B0035YM5V0 Mindfulness Meditation For Pain Relief], [ASIN:B0086HKEFU Guided Mindfulness Meditation] book Mindful Way Through Depression by Jon Kabat Zinn contains his meditation CD (body scan, breath, standing yoga, resting wakefulness, awareness)

Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness was my introduction to Jon Kabat Zinn's response to National Geographic: Stress - Portrait of a Killer. I learned meditation from Kabat Zinn in 1985 when meditation was not accepted in mainstream medicine. My friend and mentor was Chief of Radiology at a teaching hospital with cancer who experienced healing (not cure) as mindful. At a medical meeting in Boston Kabat Zinn PhD and David Eisenberg MD discussed complementary therapies to traditional medicine addressing chronic pain uncontrollable even with high dose narcotics and surgery.

With daily meditation and Tai Chi at times I notice current moments, positive and negative, without feeling a need to express an opinion, comment, criticize, question or judge. Mindfulness, Tai Chi, yoga, body scan, prayer, calligraphy, bonsai, painting, writing, bookbinding, cleaning toilets are all potential meditation practices Dhamma Brothers

1993 Bill Moyers taped the PBS series Healing and the Mind (5 VHS tapes or DVD). Moyers' first segment follows David Eisenberg in China exploring Tai Chi, acupuncture, qi gong, herbal medicines used for healing for 7000 years. The third segment displays an entire 8 week MBSR Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class 2.5hr/week in patients with chronic intractable pain led by Jon Kabat Zinn Healing & the Mind (Programs 1-5). MBSR segment follows individual patients whose doctors have been unable to control pain with surgery or medication. Chronic pain patients are sent to Jon Kabat Zinn to learn to be WITH their pain, watching it lap up into consciousness like waves on a shore, then ebbing away like a tide without attaching any emotional meaning to it, just observing, noticing and bringing the mind back to the breath. The MBSR class segment of Healing and the Mind is worth viewing to asses how useful Mindfulness Meditation might be for the individual. View Kabat Zinn leading a meditation for Google employees in TechTalks 2007 on YouTube.

Mindfulness meditation, a 2500 years old Buddhist practice, offers patients an empowering approach to healing mind body and spirit, learning, writing, painting, building, showering, eating, brushing teeth. Wherever You Go, There You Are reminds us that if you are in the shower, don't already be at work, or angry frustrated and resentful at some past unchangeable. Feel the water on your skin now, here. Be here where you are. Or you may miss your entire life by never being where you actually are.

The effort to live in this moment absent self-pity, indignation, vindictiveness is its own reward: forgiveness and acceptance of humanity, our own and that of others.

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately,
I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life,
To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die
Discover that I had not lived.
Henry David Thoreau

View Kabat Zinn hour long YouTube TechTalks for Google employees on Mindfulness Creativity and Stress Reduction. He presents research data on his work with chronic pain and offers a meditation lecture. Overview permits assessment of whether the effort of mindfulness meditation is worthy of becoming part of your daily discipline.

Vipassana meditation training is free as 10day silent retreats (no cell phones, computers, reading material, no talking, no writing materials, no recreational chemicals, no alcohol nicotine caffeine, no red meat) throughout the United States. The only request is that you return to assist at future retreats, cooking toilet cleaning serving food so others may learn mindful awareness. The proscription against marijuana and other mind altering drugs is to avoid the delusion of consciousness without effort My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. Pain is the motivator for effort toward personal efficacy, growing beyond the child of your parents to becoming your self.

Mindfulness is effortful awareness of positive and negative simultaneously without judging, gently observing what appears and disappears and letting go.

We must practice new behaviors 10,000 times before we are ready for our habits to change Groundhog Day. Meditation is a daily practice 45minutes per day, silently being with oneself, welcoming in whatever happens for what it has to teach, just noticing our breathing with patience, a beginner's mind, trust, nonjudging, nonstriving (Wu Wei), acceptance and letting go.

The pleasant can ruin your life. Jon Kabat Zinn PhD

We can re-know ourselves with awareness of now. . . or not.

5 star highly recommended.

Other reflective DVDs: Like Father Like Son gentleness by Kore-Eda Hirokazu Cannes Jury Prize 2013 Japanese with English subtitles, Departures Oscar Best Foreign Film Japanese with English subtitles, The Razor's Edge natural consequences of choices, [ASIN:6305416222 Lost Horizon] Ronald Coleman search for Shangri-La (Bhutan) in the Himalayas

I highly recommend this book to anyone that is seeking contact with their deepest self. In this beautifully written book, Jon inspires us to experience and embrace the present moment, and the high price we pay for not doing so. He also reminds us of the inherent value of each breath we take, and the dream that lives in each one. Jon Kabat-Zinn has thoroughly convinced me to pay attention and listen to my heart. It is so simple and straightforward, laced with wisdom, simplicity, and obvious experience. A real case to bridge the mind, heart, and soul, lack of which causes so many human ills. This book lays a golden path for you to walk back into the castle where your real self awaits you. But you can only get there through mindfulness meditation in your everyday life. Are you ready to travel there? In my book: "Trauma and Transformation: A 12-Step Guide", I fully explore the spiritual side-effects of trauma, and how the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is a powerful systematic approach for the trauma survivor seeking a spiritual solution.

Respectfully Yours,
Rivka Edery, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Author of: "Hear Me Sing: Book I" (2016)
“Trauma and Transformation: A 12-Step Guide” (2013)

In the introduction to his classic mindfulness book, author Jon Kabat-Zinn writes, "This book is different. It is meant to provide brief and easy access to the essence of mindfulness meditation and its applications. It is offered particularly for those who resist structured programs and for people who don't like to be told that to do but are curious enough about mindfulness and its relevance to try to piece it together for themselves." In exquisitely austere prose, this text describes the rationale for mindfulness practice in daily life, enumerates formal meditation exercises, and introduces applications and perspectives on incorporating mindfulness in daily living.

Kabat-Zinn is lightly witty throughout the text. In `Keeping It Simple' he writes, "every time you get a strong impulse to talk about meditation and how wonderful it is, or how hard it is, or what it's doing for you these days, or what it's not, or you want to convince someone else how wonderful it would be for them, just look at it as more thinking and go meditate some more. The impulse will pass and everybody will be better off--especially you."

The 10th anniversary edition of Wherever You Go There You Are is a durable paperback on heavy paper stock with jacket flaps meant to be used as bookmarks. I made notes in the wide margin of my copy, highlighting the "TRY" paragraphs with specific meditation or reflection practices of appeal to me. I enthusiastically recommend that you pick up this book from your local library. You will be buying your own copy soon enough. Each of Kabat-Zinn's three books (of which this is the second) is also accompanied by a set of audio CDs that can be ordered from the author's website.

I'm grateful that Hyperion came out with a 10th anniversary edition of this book, for a couple of reasons. One, I may very well never have found it in a bookstore in 2011 if not for this "new" edition. And, two, Kabat-Zinn's afterword for the anniversary edition nicely ties up the book's main concepts.

In the afterword, Kabat-Zinn bricks back our attention to the "clarity, sanity, and well-being that are always and already right beneath our noses, and within all of us." A lot of us were probably wondering where we had left our clarity, sanity and well-being.

With this book, Kabat-Zinn doesn't provide a "how-to" on meditation as much as he describes the context and benefits of meditation. (If you're looking for guided meditation, he sells CDs.)

I was especially impressed that he included two chapters on parenting. Too often, books based on Eastern philosophy seem divorced from the messiness of reality.

The title is more than a catchy restatement of the "here and now" principle. Kabat-Zinn puts the emphasis on "you". It doesn't matter where "here" is. Wherever it is, you're going to be there. So it would behoove you to get your act together, although Kabat-Zinn would never phrase it so indelicately.

This book had me conflicted.

On one hand the concepts are invaluable. I have plenty of friends and family members going through life unquestioned. Filling the smallest of their free time with games on their phones, and the largest portion working at jobs they put up with but aren't fulfilled by. This book is a detox to that mentality, encouraging the reader to pause and inquire about their life, direction, feelings and so on. To take a step back and rather than mute anything that is boring or uncomfortable, face it, examine it, and maybe notice what you've otherwise been missing.

On the other hand, it did little if anything to foster my meditation. I've been practicing mindfulness on and off for a year. The last 4 months very consistently. His tips and "try this" activities are muddled and all over the place. Ironically I started overthinking my meditation a bit (and he has a chapter that addresses that!), but I was hoping to really cement my practice and build upon it. This book really doesn't help with that.

So you're a human... You want to learn to be more at peace, have less stress in your life, be more alive, enjoy life more, be more loving to the wife or kids... etc....

This is the book to read.

Even if you don't want to sit and meditate every day or every other day you should read this book. It shows how you can "meditate" while doing every day tasks like washing dishes or cleaning the house or just walking to the bathroom, etc...

And why is this important? Because it helps you get in touch with the Now moment, to live fully in the Present. And that is what this book is about, and what will make your life better.

This book is great! I don't know what happened between this and his book "Coming To Our Senses", but the other book is very wordy, very incohesive, and generally not that good. THIS book, however, is a gem, and I truly wish I could get all my friends and family members to at least read it.

But they will not, and I suppose that is only fitting, as one has to come to something like this on one's own. You are reading this review. That means you are ready. You won't find a better book on the hows and whys of meditation and mindfulness. And you won't find a better way to reduce stress and come alive and be more at peace within yourself and in the world.

This is a good book on the basics of mindfulness and meditation. Its focus is on the importance of being aware of the moment, of attending fully to that which is at hand now. It stresses the importance of simplicity, of choosing those things that are meaningful to us and saying no to those things that are mental clutter. How we live our lives should reflect our priorities and our core values.

The book provides the basics to begin meditation. What is most important is that we choose to meditate and devote a part of each day to the practice. There is no one way or body position that is required for successful meditation. What is required is that we choose to practice meditating and prioritize it in our daily lives.

Kabat-Zinn suggests that we all ask ourselves what our job is on this planet. What are we here to do, to create, to fulfill? In asking ourselves this question, we provide meaning to our lives and give ourselves a direction, a north star so to speak.

As a therapist, I found the book very well-written, easy to follow and laid out in a very readable manner. It is a book I will recommend to my clients should they want a basic book on meditation or self-realization. Other books on this subject that I find helpful are Handbook for Constructive Living (Latitude 20 Book) and Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection.

I think that the most important message in this book is that how we live our lives and what we do every day should be a reflection of our core values and what is most important to us. So often, we go with the flow, do what we think we should do and not give our actions much thought. Kabat-Zinn encourages us to think about what we do and CHOOSE our actions wisely. Being mindful of the moment is important as the moment is what we have. Life is not a dress rehearsal and the author encourages us to focus on the here and now and fully attend to our lives.

When Kabat-Zinn wrote "Wherever You Go, There You Are" he exposed the reader to the fifth wall of mindfulness. What is the fifth wall? Having an actor in the family is quite educational. You learn things you might never know otherwise like the concept of the fourth wall. The fourth wall is the invisible boundary between the audience and the actors. The fifth wall takes it even further. How do I mean? Well, television has been described in the Encyclopedia of Television as the fifth wall because we can see beyond the four walls. On television, we can observe the wings of a bee moving in 'slow' motion.

Kabat-Zinn's book inspired me to gear down. What I got from the book was simple. If I focus hard even and I am still enough in my thoughts, I can see beyond the four walls of my mind's chatter. I can observe the tiny imperfections in the tile and I can taste the cold water on a hot day that seems so refreshing and enjoyable. I have meditated off and on for many years. I even studied with a "master" for a brief time. Unlike Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom or Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening this book is more of a guide. It takes a simple, clear path to the concept of meditation.

Liked WHEREVER YOU GO THERE YOU ARE: MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
IN EVERYDAY LIFE, written and read by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

The author, founder and director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University
of Massachusetts Medical Center, does a fine job in presenting an introduction
to Buddhist meditation . . . the key is to practice "mindfulness," a more than
2000-year-olld method of living fully in the present while observing ourselves,
our feelings, others and our surroundings without judging them.

WHEREVER YOU GO is broken down into three parts. The first explores the
reasons why you should take or or deepen a personal practice of meditation. Part
two explores some of the basic aspects of any mediation practice. And part three
explores various applications and perspectives on the concept of mindfulness.

I liked the fact that the book wasn't full of jargon, and that it was easy to both
understand and apply . . . I also liked Kabat-Zinn's amusing stories of how
mindfulness could be applied to everyday life, including "Cleaning the Stove
While Listening to Bobby MdFerrin," "Cat Food Lessons" and the two chapters
on parenting as a form of meditation (and how he called children "live-in
Zen masters").

Although I don't presently meditate on any sort of regular basis, the author
has gotten me to revisit that practice.

A very helpful book, I was able to understand some things that I did not understand before. The book in general is very easy to follow, very easy to understand, all the information is about meditation. There are some specific suggestions and exercises to follow. There is no guided meditation as such (if yours is an audio book), but you are given instructions how to meditate and the common misconceptions and obstacles are also discussed in the book. This book is valuable, because it is suitable for anyone with the 'beginners mind', that is, even if you know something about meditation already, or you've meditated before you will still find this book useful. I loved it. This is like 'all you wanted to know about mindfulness meditation' book. Very simple to follow and understand but very wise and informative too.

A wonderful guide to meditation for the beginner, as well as the "experienced". In this 10th anniversary edition of his book, Jon Kabat-Zinn explains in his insightful way, how mindfulness in everyday life can lead to greater peace, joy, and happiness in each and everyone who is willing to practice.
Meditation does not mean burning candles and incense; chanting or even making a "great connection with a higher power". It is much more simple than that;as the author makes clear in his in depth look at slowing down, finding time to "go within", being aware of your own breath and your surroundings. His writing style reminds me of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen Buddhist monk. With saying that, I must clarify that this book is not recommending becoming a Buddhist, or any direct correlation with any religious sect. It does however, recommend slowing down in this life's hectic pace, going within, finding oneself, and experiencing life, in full consciousness. This is not a book, meant to rush through reading either. I would say to anyone, just give it a try.

I'm not a self help type person. I'm a high stress type A++ personality who tunes out when people start talking about meditation and spirituality. It's not that I don't believe in these things, but really, who has the time? My mother in law gave me this book for Christmas and it sat under my bed for two years. To cut a long story short I eventually read it and it changed my life. Years later, I am still calm (thanks to this book) and I re-read it when I feel myself starting to slip. I've never read any other spiritual books and I don't need to. If you're like me, then this book could save you. It's simple to read and the effects are immediate. I even got off Xanax for panic attacks when flying thanks to this book. If you're a stress mess, don't wait!

If you have ever wondered about meditaion and its possible
benefits to your hectic life, but have been put off
by its mystical, religious or paranormal associations
in the popular culture, author Jon Kabat-Zin offers a
gentle, secular introduction to the art of Being Here Now.
"Now" is the present moment in which, with mindfulness, we
can act with volition and not automaticity; to not simply
react robotically, but break the cause-and-effect chain of
external and internal stimuli. "Now" is where we can become
authentically ourselves, and marshal our full potential.
But focusing in the "Now", being aware without reacting,
without abstractly analyzing, takes practice. Kabat-Zin
shows us how to find our "Now" in the sensation of our
breathing, either during meditation practice or in a
mindful pause just before a meal. Then he shows us how
to carry mindfulnes into the activity of our daily lives,
so that we may find ourselves naturally proceding along
"The Way". Throughout, Kabat-Zin's narrative and personal
references are totally credible, evoking a surprisingly
accessible intimacy with the reader. You will enjoy and
benefit from this book even if you never sit on a pillow
to meditate, but you will gain even more if you do.

This book is about being in the present. It contains over seventy short lessons on mindfulness and meditation from what I believe is basically a Zen Buddhism viewpoint but which are useful for anyone regardless of religious or spiritual orientation.

Mostly, each little chapter contains an anecdote plus help on how to apply and use the information, frequently in the form of questions to ponder. Sometimes, there are also related quotations from a variety of sources from Thoreau and Whitman to people from India whom I have never heard of and whose names I cannot spell or pronounce without great difficulty.

With such a wide range of lessons, this book is useful to people with various degrees of familiarity with mindfulness and meditation and the art of being. My approach has been to flip through until something catches my eye and then to study that little chapter in depth. It has proven helpful in reducing stress by encouraging and supporting me in being more mindful.

Mindfulness should be an exercise all beings participate in practicing, not simply exclusive to our Buddhist traditions; a point Kabat-Zinn makes in this wonderful book. What it truly encompasses is a kind of awakening (yes, cliché) where we begin living in accord with not just all people but, also with ourselves.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, a clinic which likely has helped innumerable beings. Mindful meditation is a letting go practice, a practice of non contriving and ultimately - endurance. It is an acknowledgement of who we already are, beneath the layers of attachments and aversion; that is of course that we are loving and generous people.
This book offers a plethora of meditative exercises and mindfulness applications to employ in our daily routines. Zinn suggests utilizing sitting, walking, and even "on your feet" meditation. Metaphors of mindful actions are here using topics like parenting or even washing the dishes. This work will hopefully motivate all who read it. Great book.

I picked this book up because I found such a great price on it. I never dreamed it would influence me so much. The book is about mindfulness, living fully in the moment without judgment, and how to cultivate it. It consists of a series of short and highly readable chapters with insights about mindfulness, and mindfulness exercises periodically thrown in. Even though the book's concepts are largely based on Eastern philosophy, Kabat-Zinn presents the material in a way that this Westerner could appreciate and understand. He regularly references and quotes Western authors (such as Thoreau), and does not employ many Eastern technical terms. Because of this, I didn't really view the book as a religious text, but rather as a book about focusing one's mind and life in a helpful way for greater wellness.

One basic technique that Kabat-Zinn teaches is to focus on one's breath as a way to live in the moment, which is advice given in many meditation books. Another technique involves sitting in a way that is dignified. There are many more. The techniques are not fancy or difficult, but mindfulness is not difficult to comprehend, even if it can be challenging to master.

At first, being mindful for even a few seconds is difficult, but it gets easier with time, especially since the results are very rewarding. I find that when I am mindful, I become more relaxed and open. I notice things I wouldn't have otherwise noticed (such as details on the wall I am facing). When I was hiking outside on a winter day, I used some of the techniques, and I suddenly noticed rich details all around me: birds singing, the wind blowing, and the red and brown colors of nature became so vibrant to my mind that I still vividly recall the image months later. I also find that my worries about the future vanish and my sense of time seems to change. Just reading the book has changed my perspective, and made me realize how much the past and future control my life, and how very little I actually appreciate the present.

This book is not about learning to be passive or how to follow your every desire (as "living in the moment" can often mean in popular usage). Living in the moment is about fully being aware of the present and being in a relaxed focus. The book is not a "how-to" textbook in the Western sense, but, if you read the whole book, and use the exercises, you will learn and experience what it means to be mindful.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The book's techniques and philosophy not only help me put life in perspective, but have allowed me to appreciate "the moment" more. I am amazed how many people (including myself) are controlled by their past and future, but fail to adequately live in the only time they can really live: the present. Living mindfully transforms normal, seemingly mundane experiences, into meaningful moments, and opens up possibilities in every situation.

This is one of the greatest classics on meditation that I have ever read. Written in simple and insightful language, this book offers a way of looking at mindfulness as not just something that you do on the mat (or chair or floor), but something you do everyday. It's not written in the format of "10 Tips to Meditate Better". It's written in the style of Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" inviting you to be more mindful and offering different ways for you to try it in your own life.

I am a voracious reader of books of all types, with a strong interest in Buddhism, and particularly Buddhist psychology. This book is one of a precious few that I hold close to my heart.
Kabat-Zinn has managed to write a book that is gentle, comforting, and practical. That the book is comforting and gentle does not mean that it shallow or filled with simplistic platitudes. Rather, comfort flows naturally from the quiet passion of a teacher sharing earthy wisdom.
That the book is practical does mean that it is dry and monotonous, or that it emphasizes technique at the expense of the heart. Instead, Kabat-Zinn gently touches on what meditation and what meditation is not. Without arousing anxiety or dampening enthusiasm, he refutes misunderstandings and guides the would-be student around the common snags and obstacles of a new meditation practice.
The book is organized in short "chunks" that can be read a digested easily. I carried the book with me on the subway where I found that I had enough time to read and contemplate one chunk before reaching my destination.
Reading Kabat-Zinn's book is a meditation in itself. This book is one of my treasures. I highly recommend it to anyone who is exploring meditation or Buddhism, particularly those who may be depressed or discouraged and in search of solid, caring wisdom.

This has long been a best seller and justifiably so. Kabat-Zinn works clinically with people who are stressed and his earlier book, Full Catastrophe Living, was written for people who are almost pathologically stressed, to bring them the beneficial effects of meditation. The present book is written for average people on the street, who may not need so urgently the therapeutic effects of meditation, but in the belief that we can all of us use a healthy dose of it. It is written with no religious strings attached, and even avoiding the word "spiritual," and yet it has the ability to open up the spiritual realm for us, no matter what we wish to call it. It is an introduction for the beginner and a source of good advice for the practitioner of meditation. It's written in bite-sized chapters, in clear, easy and very readable prose. It is a delight to read. The book's three parts explore the why and how of meditation and its many applications in daily life. Many chapters conclude with suggestions for reflection or meditation. It is concentrated wisdom that deserves much rereading and a permanent place on your library shelf.

Jon Kabat-Zinn has produced a wonderful book with Wherever You Go, There You Are. Compiled from his years of work in the field of mind/body medicine, Kabat-Zinn offers an easy to read format for using mindfulness meditation for health care issues.
This books format allows for easy, and quick, readings with short blurb like sections. Simple, everyday language conveys the deep and profound message of applying mindfulness meditation to your life.
Most importantly, this book is presented in a way that encourages you to try the technique. All too often we read a book as fast as we can, so we can get the knowledge and go on to the next book. Kabat-Zinn interjects sections where we can apply what we have just read into our life. In this way we are able to begin new habits, this time healthy and good-for-us. I highly recommend this book and hope you enjoy it, and the resulting benefits, as much as I have.

i don't have any particular credentials to convince you this book is pure gold, and a part of me says why bother trying anyway, but here goes. if you're the kind of person who believes in serendipity, who believes that when the student is ready the teacher appears, then "as eggs are eggs" (my father's favorite saying) you will stumble across this book in your own sweet time. i should know; i've stumbled across it twice. the first time some years ago i was intrigued but not ready. the second time some months ago i fell on my knees. as far as the sheer joy of meditation is concerned, i direct your attention to lorin roche's accessible "meditation made easy". but for the full effect, i recommend you follow up with "wherever you go..." wherever you go. apart from being a beautiful treatise on life, it'll deepen your understanding of the process and pick up "meditation made easy's" slack -- a remarkable work in every sense, don't get me wrong. with this book, kabat-zinn has fashioned something of a small miracle. and i, for one, intend giving away as many copies as i can in the vain hope you will stumble across one of them! until then, good luck navigating your way through this amazing, infuriating, beautiful, ugly, ordered, chaotic life.

For someone growing up from a Buddhist culture, I feel the author has captured the essence of meditation. Specifically, the author reminds to practice meditation without feeling that you are better than everyone else, which is what I have felt. He also suggests to practice meditation without the goal of becoming a better person, more calm, more relaxed, more focused... etc. These are merely by-products of practicing meditation. So why do we do it? Better read the book to find out!

A reviewer who gave it 1 star says that "the book puts you to sleep." This indeed happened to me a few times when I listened to the audio version of the book while trying to meditate. When I have much stress, this is actually a great way to get sound sleep without any meditation and therefore any side effects. And for this quality alone, I wish I can award the book 6 star.

In today's world the everday person experiences incredible amounts of stress. Since 9/11 we have had to deal with watching innocent people jump out of burning buildings, airplanes explode midair, and now the recurrent fears of bio/chemical attacks. These are stress factors that we can only add to the previous ones we already had to deal with such as family, work, home, and school. Basically, we are a VERY stressed nation.
Fortunately, we do have several anti-stress options at hand and this book features several including seated meditation, walking meditation, and mindful yoga. Even if none of these methods work for you personally, this book features some very simple, very effective advice: everday take some time to just lie silently on the floor and breathe. It's that simple.
However, if meditation is of interest to you, you have come to the right book. Jon Kabat-Zinn has taken the study of meditation seriously with the Western practioner in mind. He has done studies and research on the awesome powers of meditation to help patients with both psychological and physical ailments. The results are astounding and encouraging. Best yet, Kabat-Zinn's work with patients has helped him establish specific suggestions that will help you gain the tremenous benefits of meditation.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in need of stress relief, but may not be ready for an spiritual journey inward.

Easy to understand and helps explain the purpose of meditation. Helps provide some actions to take to improve the discipline as well as several different types of meditation to help you find which is best for you.

I honestly don't understand why this book is a best-seller. It contains the same information that you find in many other books on meditation or mindfulness. It tells you about meditation in different traditions, such as Buddhism or Yoga, and distinguishes meditation from those traditions, emphasizing its benefits. The author, however, offers very superficial recommendations on how readers can make meditation useful in their lives. If you're like me and want something you can use, then read the book Secret Techniques for Controlling Sadness, Anger, Fear, Anxiety, and Other Emotions by Vlad Koros. While Koros doesn't talk about meditation per se, his book focuses on the somatic experiences (description of which is amazingly nuanced and precise) that you feel during meditation and on specific techniques for regulation of those experiences. Secret Techniques, unlike Wherever You Go, There You Are, is very practical and both of these books are fun to read.

I don't write many reviews, and I don't have much time to write this one, but what a great book. I have so much enjoyed reading this book. While it obviously is about mediation, it is also so much more. I bought the book because of a little interest in mediation, but while I have not succeeded in consistently mediating in my life, this book has still led me to be much more "mindful" than I ever was before. This is one of the nicest books I've read about anything. Highest praise.

People consider this book a contemporary classic on meditation for good reasons. It's lovely and accessible. Jon Kabat-Zinn tackles the difficult task of explaining the nonverbal practice of meditation, which many find alien or even threatening, and makes it accessible, useful and even homey. He explains meditation not only with references to classic texts, but also by recounting his own experiences, drawing parallels with Thoreau, and discussing work and family contexts. The chapters are brief, some as short as a page, each focusing on a single topic. Many are accompanied with prompting questions or simple exercises you can try immediately. getAbstract recommends this book to people interested in reducing their stress, deepening their self-awareness and sharpening their focus.

this is way too many CD's and not good for a beginner. It was a waste of money. If you have too much time on your hands, this may work for you but being a mother, I don't have even close enough time to incorporate into my life.

Jon Kabat-Zinn's book Wherever You Go, There You Are was my first introduction to mindfulness meditation. Since then I have taken up yoga and attended courses on mindfulness and stress management. Yet I still find new insights in this book.

Readers looking for a "how-to" guide on meditation may be disappointed, but Wherever You Go beautifully introduces the spirit of the practice. Kabat-Zinn chooses to introduce mindfulness not through direct instruction, but rather by sharing his own reflections on mindfulness and its application to daily living.

The chapters are brief, making them ideal as readings to start or end the day. I highly recommend the book to anyone wanting to explore mindfulness for the first time or deepen an established practice.

For those who want basic instructions in mindfulness, try Kabat-Zinn's CD series Guided Mindfulness Meditation, Series 2. In addition, the author's book Full Catastrophe Living offers a scientific look at stress, how it affects our bodies and minds, and how mindfulness can help us manage its effects.

Wherever You Go, There You Are (ROUGH CUT)

Life changing. I was dealing with stress and anxiety that felt too much to manage, this book was suggested to me by a therapist. From the moment I began reading, I noticed a shift in my thoughts to be more positive. My levels of anxiety were less and less with implementing routines and boundaries mapped out in this book and I had FUN! This was a fun way to gain a new perspective. Absolutely would recommend to anyone in this face paced world.

I whole-heartedly agree with review: "More than pleasantly surprised
By A Customer on September 19, 1999."

"I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for
which we are ready, and which have gone a little further down our
particular path than we have gone ourselves." E. M. Forster

This is a book that is very easy to read and introduces a western person to concepts of Budism without the religious part. It is a great way to learn concepts that are helpful in daily life. It can help a person to be more focused and effective in life by being mindful. This is a must read. He also has CDs or Tapes for meditation which are very easy to learn to meditate from. It is not religious either. It is just focusing on your breath. This is budism that can be incorporated into the life of anyone of any faith because it is just the concepts and not the religious aspects, but after learning these things one might want to explore more into a faith that creates such wonderful things.

If you are interested in spirituality and/or meditation and are looking for a book that is both deep and clear, this is the book to read. You will find that the book is worth several book on the same subject by other people -- and it does it in an articulate, elevated, succint, no-fluff manner that will impress the heck out of you as few books ever will. I must ad a warning, more about the subject matter than about the book per se: Not everyone is ready to assimilate its contents (or any other equally serious meditation book's content, for that matter). The saying that you have to be ready for something in order to understand it applies very much in this case. I can imagine that it could be taken as too ethereal by some people -- those who are not ready. You would need to have lived and realized that there are matters of the soul that you need to take care of to receive its message. But if you are genuinely thirsty about spiritual matters: order it right away! This makes what we normally take as "Eastern" concepts accessible to an educated Western mind, and you realize that there is no need to think of it as Eastern or buddhist or use any label at all. I am really thankful for this book. You will be too.

Jon Kabat-Zinn changed the way I look at life with this book. It taught me that I don't have to react to everything in life, that how I CHOOSE to react can determine my future. I remember when I was a child my mom always to.d me to "look at life though rose colored glasses". She was an eternal optimist. Jon Kabat-Zinn takes my moms simple concept to a whole new level. You will be a better person for reading this book.

This is a book you have to be ready to read in order to get the benefit out of it. You will either think it is just scribbles of others' notes. Or you will think that it is a masterpiece. I bought this book sitting on my shelf a year ago. Why? Because at that point of my life I could not stop my racing thoughts (the need to do something all the time) enough to experience what the author - Jon Kabat-Zinn, tries to communicate. Some how, life turned around a little (probably when I started reading Eckart Tolle's books). My thought pattern starts slowing down and I start living in the present moment with consciousness of thoughts. A year later, I pick up this book again and start reading. Suddenly, it is truly a bundle of joy. It is a book I would like to read when I am at the coffee shop or even just to enjoy a great Saturday afternoon. I feel that this book is truly a rare jewel you find on Earth. The author picks up the most delicate moment where human beings can meditate. He gives me great inspiration/ways to slow down thoughts/thinking.

But again, meditations, staying in the present moment isn't something we need to read a lot about. We can read on the world's greatest books and still not able to find peace and joy in life. Just like what the author had said in one chapter. One can jump from one teacher to another looking for salvation from the outside. However, it is working on the inner self, focusing on the inner thoughts and patterns that rise one's mindful/peaceful thinking to the next level (yet rising just means further centering and grounding).

From experience, it is about letting the human ego die every day and letting go of fear and judgement. Letting go of the seemingly unbearable pain and attachment. It is truly about having full awareness of thoughts and beliefs and process those things on a piece of paper/therapist. Then, sooner or later, one will find a taste of what mindfulness truly mean. You might still endure physical pain because of illness. But the pain gets easier every day when we are aware of our mind and body.

This is a book to experience. Speed-reading will not help you to taste what the author is trying to offer.

Insightful and easily adaptable is my description of the authors suggestions in this book. Jon Kabat-Zinn describes simplistic methods on self awareness in a mellifluous writing style that is pure pleasure to read. As a meditating novice I found the information to be practical and extremely helpful in diminishing the stessors of daily life. However, with any self awareness or motivation book, to realize benefit the reader must challenge himself or herself to incorporate the learned material into their lives. I suggest highlighting inspiring points so they may be easily read again and again.

While reading the book I felt that Jon Kabat-Zinn knew me personally and that he was speaking of me and to me. I practice this and Yoga now, and to speak frankly this has saved my life. My life is much calmer as am I. I still deal with things in my mind...BUT, I am dealing with things now that have haunted me for over 40 years. This book explains life and what is important. I wish I could give everyone this book and that they could read and understand themselves. This is better education than the masters I hold. I wish that this was taught in schools. It has truely changed my life.

This is a masterfully done book on Buddhist mindfulness meditation, presented for anyone - Buddhist or other - wishing to learn this wonderful technique. Wherever You Go, There You Are manages to be both simply written and profound at the same time. It's the type of book that can be read more than once, and each time you'll take away a little more from it. If you would like to learn something about meditation as a way to enhance your life - and mindfulness meditation is a great choice for that - this book is a fine way to get started.

Absolutely! :) I guess I would just like to echo the various voices already singing this book's praises. Meditation IS possible in the world we live in today--and Jon Kabat-Zinn shows us how in a very beautiful, easily readable, yet thought-provoking manner. I had the pleasure of meeting both the author and his wife at a recent seminar on mindful parenting and sense that they truly LIVE these words, though each in their own unique way. And perhaps that's the beauty of mindfulness meditation--for ALL of us!
Destined to be a classic (if not already.) Read it. Learn it. Live it. You won't regret it.

I have read many books about Buddhism and living in the present moment by different authors and Jon Kabat-Zinn has written about these things so eloquently and simplistically! From the first few pages I knew that he would become one of my favorite authors because he doesn't try to fill your head with nonsense, but instead encourages you by introducing new ways of thinking and being more open minded. I really enjoy this book and look forward to reading more by him.

My best friend tends to take life slowly and accept it on its own terms...and that facet of his personality has always driven me crazy! :-) The words "slow" and "languid" could never be applied to my lifestyle. I have always hurried through life at such a frantic pace...regretting yesterday and dreaming of tomorrow, yet never truly living in the moment. A year ago I happened upon this book, and it has made an enormous impact on my life. This literary jewel took me to a place I'd never visited before: the realm of 'moment mindfulness.' As the author so eloquently writes,

The lack of mindfulness "...scavenges to fill time, conspires with my mind to keep me unconscious, lulled in a fog of numbness to a certain extent. It has me unavailable to others, missing the play of the light on the table, the smells in the room, the energies of the moment. Stillness, insight, and wisdom arise only when we can settle into being complete in this moment, without having to seek or hold on to or reject anything."

Learning how to immerse myself in this moment, and this moment alone, has been incredibly difficult. Yet the serenity, peace and soul satisfaction experienced therein are priceless. The "Non-Judging" chapter alone is worth the price of the book. Realizing my propensity to constantly evaluate my experiences and hold them up against expectations and standards that I create, often out of fear, has been tremendously liberating. I largely thank this book, and my best friend, for that lesson learned. :-)

I enthusiastically recommend this book to everyone. I find it especially useful to my clients who struggle with childhood abuse issues. Therapy clients who suffer from bi-polar, COPD or Borderline Personality disorders could also be helped significantly from learning the meditation techniques in this book.

We exist as we are, on this plane, in this realm, at this moment in the timeless here and now. And that is enough....more than enough.

I thank you, Jon Kabat Zinn, for writing this book. I have been practicing Yoga for 8 years and teaching it for 2. Mine is an ongoing quest to understand my self. I practice the 8 limbs of Yoga on the mat and off it.The Yoga Sutras and the works of other Yoga masters guide me daily. Yet there have been times when I have needed something more to bring presence into my daily life.

'Wherever You Go There You Are' has provided me with what I have been looking for. The works in this book help me see myself a little bit better, a little bit clearer. They provide direction on how to proceed when I feel stuck or confused. They also provide techniques and tools to overcome the bumps or challenges that I may be experiencing at any one moment.

So, thank you so much for this insightful piece of work. You are a true guru. Thank you.

A family member bought this book. I found it sitting on a shelf, glanced at the cover and involuntarily thought to myself "uh oh, granola time," and came within a heartbeat of dismissing the book out of hand. Luckily, I did not. Instead, I read the introduction, and then found myself -- almost in a state of disbelief -- reading on and on. I was amazed to find that the book is not just one more new age book muttering away about a world none of us really lives in. To the contrary, the book is written by someone with a profound understanding of everyday reality, who is astonishingly good at sharing that understanding. This is simply a beautiful little book, beautifully written. I would be curious to know if others are reacting to this book the way I am: I feel compelled to rave about it. I read the book for the first time weeks ago, yet tonight in the grocery store I found myself slowing down, marvelling at the sight of my daughter gaily picking out tomatoes, and consciously basking in the moment. And I'm a middle-aged Republican, not particularly predisposed to spiritual impulses! The author of this book has something timeless and important to impart, and he does so with unusual intelligence and grace. I really like this book -- indeed, I hope I'm forgiven for suspecting that it is a work of genius. I also hope that the author happens to read this review, because he should know how much his work is appreciated!

I was shown this audio book a few years ago and it has been a big part of my life since. I think mindfulness practice has helped me get past a period of intense anxiety. I also own the book, but it's not as powerful as hearing the audio straight from JKZ.

John Kabat-Zinn didn't start with Buddhism. He started with America, the place where the establishment of liberty justifies, enables, and confuses the pursuit of happiness. At some point, big cars, big houses, and big stressors don't feel like happiness; they feel like a barren death wish. Enter Thoreau, enter Whitman, enter Jon Kabbat-Zin: It's time for a trip to the interior, not for mystical experience, but to recover liberty as a state of awareness, the whole point to begin with.

Kabat-Zinn is a doctor turned philosopher turned doctor again, developing the Buddhist practice of mindfulness into a remedy for stressful living. It's all here: the life experiences, the short tips on practice, the understanding of loss and the pining for new experience, the possibility of being in a way that opens up the moment to a radical freedom. The problem isn't the idea or the methodology. It's the writing.

Occasionally Kabat-Zinn is a master of sublime understatement ("Standing meditation is best learned from trees.") He also understands his patients'/readers' maladies and constructs a gentle bedside manner. But sometimes it feels as if a quarter of the prose is in the shape of questions that don't need to be answered (an entire paragraph of questions-with-understood-answers on p. 131). And the use of the metaphysical, especially in the "tips," make the most difficult of undertakings seem like simple next steps ("See if you can give yourself gifts that are true blessings, like self-acceptance.")

Don't get me wrong: This book is full of important statements and observations, not only about a particular to way to be, but about the world that envelops and structures being. Just be prepared for mindless judgments and deep yoga breaths when the philosopher's brilliant perceptions drift into the doctor's wordy empathy.

This book on CD is really great - easy to understand and follow. Life changing & simple. I have manic-depressive disorder and have found these principles useful for mindfulness therapy which has helped me decrease need for some medications. Leads to peace, less side effects of meds - if practiced and understood.

I loved this book. Great techniques for everyone. I loved that it promoted spirituality but left it open and available to people of all religions. I do wish there was a tiny bit more variety and perhaps even tips on quick ways to pull ourselves out of the super charged world we live and into a place more comfortable to be "ourselves". That was my only desire. I'll probably re-read this book again and again over the years. Highly recommend!

I liked Wherever You Go for its clarity. The book tries to make mindfulness practical, but it still remains largely philosophical. I bought it along with few more books on mindfulness. The most in-depth guide to meditation and how to use it in every-day life was Secret Techniques for Controlling Sadness, Anger, Fear, Anxiety, and Other Emotions, which says nothing about the meditation or its background. But Wherever You Go helps to understand where Secret Techniques come from. I highly recommend both these books.

I have long had an interest in meditation and bought the audio version of this book a while ago. I have listened to it on and off and find the mindfulness aspect to be quite useful. While confirming to the Buddhist tradition, it is quite secular and easy to understand and practice and with visible benefits.

I have since had the good fortune to take meditation classes with Erhard Vogel (Nataraja Ashram) and use the companion book, Journey Into Your Center, Second Edition. The meditation is loosely based on the Advaita school of Hinduism but is equally secular as the mindfullness school. I like Erhard Vogel's appraoch way more.

I feel that the acceptance of equality among all and consequent divinity of all to be intrinsically positive and affirming. It takes away many of the false constructs that are the reason for most misery and frames life as a gloriously positive thing. Since we are all equal and equally divine, there is no reason to hate, fear, indulge in vanity, greed, pettiness etc. When these normal pre-occupations of the mind are removed, our time and energy is now availabe to discover what fulfills us in truth and to allign our actions and experiences in accord to that. Our mind then is required to fuifill one (and only one) important function - which is to reflect our personal divinity at all times and to frame all our experiences in this context. We can then use our faculties (mind, body, senses, feelings and emotions, intellect and intuitition) to choose actions (at will) that fulfill us and also express our gloriousness. This is not the same as saying one must repress normal life experiences and consequent emotions - it is to view them in the right context and with the right perspective and to let them pass if they are contrary to the true being that we are. This allows for normal life experiences in all their colorfulness without the associated attachment and long term baggage.

I am a very scientific person and have never felt that the approach takes away from my curiosity about things, my scientific scepticism and experience and experimentation-based mode of learning. In fact most Advaita schools and definitely Erhard Vogel's approach is for participants to learn only through their own experiences.

While easy to understand, living in accord with our divinity and pricinples takes practice and real courage. The meditation program iteslf is three year long (and available to anyone in the world through the Internet) - but the benefits are available from the very beginning. I am six months into it and am a whole new person. I went from a big company, cushy job without any rensposibilities to leading the systems group of a small company. Less money, more learning and fun and more responsibility to get things to work. (I have no ego about the lead job, BTW :-))

While the mindfullness approach and Kabat-Zinn's books in particular were useful, I found (and still do), the Erhard approach to Meditation (where you don't "do" meditation but it is how you live) to be very holistic and much more beneficial.

This is not to say it is better, only that it suits my temperment and intellect a lot more. I am sure others might come to a different conclusion. I would nevertheless encourage everyone to look at the Advaita tradition as well. It will not take away from your learning and can only add to it.

When the going gets tough, I keep this book at my table to read a few pages at breakfast every morning. A great help in focusing on the truly important things when overwhelmed by life. A positive way to start even the most difficult day. This book earned a permanent place on my bookshelf - and it will never gather dust there for long!

While I recognize that the power of some books rest only in that they come along at the right time of one's life...this book was simply beautiful. From the first chapter until about 3/4 of the way through, I was completely drawn in and found most of what Kabat-Zinn wrote to be compelling, relevant and so totally perceptive. He spends the first half of the book building the case for meditation and what it means for live life in the present moment of everyday. He then goes into detail about how to effectively meditate. I also purchased the tape companion meditation tapes and have used them to great effect. The book and the tapes have been a great introduction to the power of meditation in one's life.

My husband received this book as a gift, and I really enjoyed reading most of it while we were away on vacation. It contains profound truths about life and truth, but I haven't finished it yet, so that's why I only give it 4 stars.

The phrase "wherever you go, there you are" may seem silly at first thought. But as you read Jon Kabat-Zinn's thoughts on mindfulness and meditation, it becomes clear what he is talking about. We must live in the present, the "now". That means being aware of all aspects of your personal environment. Meditation is a gateway to that state of being but, the author points out, is not for everyone. Nor is there a "one size fits all" form of the practice. Yes, this is a "deep" book but well worth exploring. Highly recommended.

Learning to be present is a skill that we can all stand to learn and develop. This is a ask that Jon has taken to heart and describes so well in his books. Being fully present in the moment allows us to experience the full richness of life as well as creating a more compassionate space in which suffering can heal and transform. A great read. If you would like to read more about the theory and practice of mindfulness, I also recommend 'The Path of Mindfulness Meditation' by Dr Peter Strong, an in-depth exploration of mindfulness meditation.

I came upon this book by accident and it was the title that drew me to it. Absolutely enjoyed the book from beginning to end. It's something you can keep by your bedside, read a chapter (3-4 pages) and take in a little at a time. In our fast paced world this is just what the doctor ordered to listen to your inner voice. My once advice is DO NOT order the mediation cd's at the end of the book. These are possibly the worst meditation cd's I've ever listened to. Stay with the book and enjoy

This book is gem--it delivers on its promise, to convey the depth of daily meditation with some prointers on "how-to", and the impact it can have on your life. Clearly written, it never panders or digresses, and is as pleasant and informative a read as I've seen on such a weighty subject....a must! Dr. S

The chapters in this book are very short and profound. I have gotten into the habit of reading one each day at the beginning of the day. If you are looking to start or deepen a mindfulness or meditation practice, this book does have some solid practical advice, but I find it most useful as a reminder of the usefulness and benefits of such a practice. The author's graciously shared worldview and wisdom are great companions in a demanding, hectic world.

This book is a classic. I often give it to friends who are struggling or are just looking for a new way to live more freely. I also give them FREE YOUR MIND by Sensei Anthony Stultz. His book makes all of Kabat-Zinn's ideas more clear and in a how-to fashion that is really pragmatic. I highly recommend them both (I read Free Your Mind while in the UK where it is a bestseller).

This book has changed my life. My boss gave it to me as a gift and it has completely change my focus and priorities and slowed me down so I can enjoy life instead of just going through it like a robot not recognizing or enjoying anything. The title is misleading. The book helps you focus and look closely at things you do automatically without any regard or enjoyment. I use this as a reference...going back to different chapters that apply to my current state. I think everyone should own this book.

I was introduced to this book while learning Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder. I have found this book to be extremely practical, friendly and understandable for those who may have difficulty reading this genre of book. I highly recommend this book to others as well as professionals teaching DBT mindfulness skills in clinical therapy settings. I am using these practical 'tips' in my clinical practice and find that my clients seem to enjoy learning new mindfulness techniques.

I love this book. I use it meditatively every morning during morning devotions. When I get to the end, I plan to start over again and again. It's so rich and I'm sure I'll get even more each time I explore it.

This book is poetry in motion. Pick it up, read a chapter and let it soak into your being for days or a week. Something to savor and covet! Kabat-Zinn has collected wisdom through the ages and presented it in a simple, logical and comprehensive manner so that you know, they are all saying the same thing. If we had but ears to hear! I have probably given thirty copies of this book to friends, perhaps the highest compliment I can give it.