Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

By: Mark W. Muesse, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Mark W. Muesse

Meditation - the technique of mental focusing for enhanced awareness and self-mastery - offers deep and lasting benefits for mental functioning and emotional health, as well as for physical health and well-being.

This practice is closely related to "mindfulness," which Professor Muesse defines as "a deliberate way of paying attention to what is occurring within oneself as it is happening. It is the process of attentively observing your experience as it unfolds, without judgment or evaluation."

"Meditation," he adds, "refers to certain exercises that can be used to enlarge and refine mindfulness." Meditation cultivates mindfulness by training you to develop deep attention to the present moment, allowing the mind to become settled and centered. These 24 detailed lectures teach you the principles and techniques of sitting meditation, the related practice of walking meditation, and the highly beneficial use of meditative awareness in many important activities, including eating and driving. You will also learn how to use the skills of meditation in working with thoughts and emotional states, in deepening sensory awareness of the body, and in becoming deeply attentive to the operation of your mind.

You'll come away with a solid basis for your own meditation practice and for bringing meditation's remarkable and empowering benefits to every aspect of your life.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2011 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2011 The Great Courses

Stop Going on Autopilot, Listen to This

I listen to a lot of audiobooks, usually in the background. This book gives you techniques to keep you mentally present whatever you're doing. It demystifies meditation and sophisticated techniques, giving it to you in easy-to-use guidelines.

A Welcome, Thorough Course

Meditation is easy to learn and easy to begin... in theory. It's quite possibly the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life, which is why I was eager to have a longer course like this one. I've done this sort of thing off and on for years, and I've seen the benefits of it for myself. But my physical restlessness and my "monkey mind" have always been my worst enemies. This course breaks everything down slowly and thoroughly. Everything you need is here, and there is plenty of advice concerning props or environments to go along with it for those who wish for that that.

The hard part is still actually meditating. It's just not as daunting as it used to be.

Informative and Inspiring

This course was excellent. I've listened to it twice, and have started my own mindfulness practice. The course is well-planned and a thorough introduction to meditation. Professor Muesse is a wonderful speaker, and infuses the course with personal anecdotes to illustrate concepts. I highly recommend this course, along with another Great Course, The Science of Mindfulness with Professor Ronald Siegel. Both are inspiring to listen to, and both are excellent introductions to meditation.

Not what it's supposed to be

This wasn't an introduction to meditation in my opinion. It was a hodge podge of misc topics that made no sense. I only liked a couple chapters so it was a waste of time.

Eye opening

I make this caveat up front, I haven't gotten all the way through this course yet. I don't normally do this, but I have a purpose in writing the review before I have completed the whole series. That purpose is in the first 2 lectures. This course is worth it if all you do is listen (carefully) to the first 2 lectures. The whole course is about using meditation as a tool, but the goal is mindfulness. If you can stand to look at yourself critically, listen to the first 2 lectures and then objectively consider where you fall on being mindful. Just the mere understanding of this concept, which is expertly explained and demonstrated, is eye opening. If you want to get more out of your life, your day-to-day existence, take 1 hour and listen to the first 2 lectures.