Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation

By: Mark W. Muesse, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Mark W. Muesse

Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Good book

Very informative and it helped me get started with meditation.
Gies very in depth and i sort of skipped some parts like mindful eating or the different examples of meditation like death or compassion one.
I will listen to it again and revisit those sections once im more experienced and comfortable with meditation

Not practical

I thought it should be some instructions I could follow, but it’s not. Instead of taking advantage of the audio form, it’s just an audio version of a common book. A little disappointed.

Very practical

Very good overall. Well split by topics and objects of meditation. The narrator has a very clear speech and I particularly liked the lay approach. It’s a good book to come back to whenever you need to review the concepts or get you back on track/motivated.

More than just a guide to meditation.

This audio book covers just about every aspect of being more mindful. Not just during meditation, but in everyday life.

Well rounded.

History. Practice exercises. Accessible information. Philosophical. All aspects of Buddhism, mindfulness, references to other resources ... very well rounded overview of the topic which ranges from the philosophy to the actual physical practice.

Very worthwhile

I am certain that, in time, I may want to raise my rating to a 5. I know I will listen to this again. It is certainly ambitious and profound. I am not sure I got all that is here on one listen.

Want a life without suffering, know how to live it and don't run away from pain

Recommended as it discusses the teachings of Buddhism and how mindfulness helps and aids in achieving it.

Life changing

This was long and at times tedious but so incredibly insightful and powerful. I'm sad that it's over. Truly remarkable

An Enriching Experience

A time well spent over the many weeks it has taken me to wander through this course

Absolutely Excellent

This was exactly what I was looking for. A comprehensive overview of meditation that I have not been able to find anywhere else.