A Lovely, Moving Book

Jon Kabat-Zinn's Coming to Our Senses is simply a loving, moving book, one that, if you are open to it, will inspire you and motivate you to open your mind, open your senses. I began this book with a bit of scepticism. Would it hold my interest? Would it have relevance to my life? Yes to both questions. Kabat-Zinn is an excellent writer--his prose is beautiful. The substance of what he is advocating is even more beautiful. His message of mindfulness may start you on a journey, or take you further down your chosen path. This book is not for everyone, but, if you are interested at all in meditation or mindfulness, I think you ought to read this book. It will not disappoint.

Buy This One Now, Don't Wait For The Garage Sale

I bought "Full Catastrophe Living" by Kabat-Zinn for $1 at a garage sale in 1997. Since then, I've yellow highlighted, paperclipped, dog-eared pages and written in the margins of that old book. Integrating mindfulness has enriched everything....relationships, work, spirituality. It is a deliberate and effort based skill. I've read many others on this topic, but Kabat-Zinn is the master. He proves that with "Coming To Our Senses". He always pushes this to places I not yet thought. Either people get this ( you can almost see it in their eyes) or they don't (you can read it in their book review). Fortunately for me, the lady running that garage sale didnot.

An Enriching and Enlightening Experience

As a teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, I admit that I am biased in regard to Dr. Kabat-Zinn's work, but that having been said, this book is truly a treasure that I will take great pride in recommending to the most important people in my life (family, friends, patients, colleagues).

Dr. Kabat-Zinn has the unique ability to act as the ultimate matchmaker: introducing (or re-introducing) each of us to our very own lives. He does this well in the first part of the book where he refines and deepens the ideas and practices he has talked about in his previous works. Then he goes on to take mindfulness into the broader context of the "body politic" and does a masterful job of putting aside any agenda and simply observing how mindfulness and resting in awareness could benefit our "dis-eased" political and social environment in profound ways. His description of making an "orthogonal rotation" in consciousness of the problems faced in our modern world (as he has taught about doing in our personal world as well) is truly radical and potentially highly impactful if our leaders take heed of his suggestion.

All in all, a deep, moving and potentially important book on many levels. I highly recommend it!