A Mindful Year: Daily Meditations: Reduce Stress, Manage Anxiety, and Find Happiness in Everyday Life - Hardcover

Aria Campbell-Danesh; Seth J. Gillihan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1982501839 ISBN 13: 9781982501839

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc., 2019

Synopsis

From two experts on the psychology of behavior change comes A Mindful Year, the first book of its kind to join the age-old wisdom of mindfulness with cognitive behavioral science the best-tested set of practices for alleviating stress and anxiety.

At a time when there have never been more ways to connect with one another, it has also never been easier to lose track of the people and passions we hold most dear. The demands of the day can leave us feeling exhausted and uninspired, while alerts and notifications constantly tug at our attention. We fall into unhealthy patterns that can be all too difficult to break.

Written from friend to friend, one day at a time, A Mindful Year invites you to start a new pattern one that begins with taking just a few quiet moments to reconnect with what is most important, each day. As practical as it is inspirational, A Mindful Year marries moments of mindful reflection with calls to action daily nuggets of wisdom paired with friendly encouragement to live in a way that is grounded, authentic, and compassionate.

It s so easy to get caught up in the flood of everyday life, to become disconnected from the things that really make us us to get lost. Thankfully, simply being open and attentive to the present moment can help us find a sense of space and ease and get back on the right track. With A Mindful Year as your guide, reconnect with what matters most.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh, DClinPsy, CPsychol, is a high-performance psychologist and an expert in the fields of behavior change and long-term health (dr-aria.com). A mindfulness specialist and creator of the FIT Method, he works internationally with clients on their mindset, exercise, and nutrition. He is regularly featured in popular lifestyle publications such as Women s Health and Marie Claire. Dr. Aria is a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society and Senior Associate Member of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Seth J. Gillihan, PhD, is a clinical assistant professor of psychology in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Pennsylvania with a private practice in Haverford, Pennsylvania (SethGillihan.com). He is the author of Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Made Simple.

Review

''A Mindful Year is a conversation between two cherished friends. It is a collection of the authors' back-and-forth correspondence, down-to-earth, practical, and insight-full daily meditations. There are a variety of ways to enhance one's mindfulness meditation practice. A Mindful Year is a very good one.'' --Sharon Salzberg, New York Times bestselling author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

''In this wonderful volume the authors offer many useful windows into the day-to-day practice of mindfulness/presence. With their often insightful, poignant, or just wise observations and stories of how these practices arose for and affected them, they show us how to incorporate small, simple, but meaningful changes toward mindfulness/presence in our own and our clients' lives. A welcome and practical addition to any clinician's toolbox!'' --Kevin T. Kuehlwein, PsyD, coeditor of Cognitive Therapies in Action: Evolving Innovative Practice

''I'd like to say that this blessing of a book grew from the seeds of Dr. Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth Gillihan's time that they shared while on the campus that I call home, but that would only be true in part. The wisdom found in the daily readings of this book have grown from their patient study of mindfulness, their personal spiritual practices, and most beautifully from their generous hearts. This book is meant to be read one breath at a time. It will slow you down in the best of ways. More importantly it will allow each step that you take to carry you at a more healthy and a more savoring pace. I will be sharing this with many a student and friend.'' -- The Rev. Dr. Charles Lattimore Howard, University Chaplain of the University of Pennsylvania and author of Pond River Ocean Rain

''This book is a gift! Here are two real people who have made a deep connection in their own lives. Out of that they are offering us riches from their experience. Aria and Seth clearly want to live the gift of life to the fullest with all its subtleties. I was touched by their generosity in letting us share their exchange of the ups, downs, and discoveries of their own lives. They offer us practices and challenges for each day, our ordinary days so that we too can live more deeply in touch with the gift of life.'' -- Bishop Alison White, Diocese of York, Church of England

''This is more than a book. It is a companion, a wise guide that accompanies us each day. We find meditations here that sustain our optimism about who we are and what we can be. They both challenge and comfort us, just the combination we need if we are to awaken fully.'' --David Richo, PhD, author of The Five Longings: What We've Always Wanted and Already Have

''This book's 365 daily invitations encourage and guide us to become more aware, learn new ways of knowing and being, and realize that in each moment we have a choice about how to respond. It is imbued with practical wisdom and compassion, alongside a grounded reality of how difficult this work can be. Starting each day with these reflections and committing to enacting them in our lives could enrich our lives, and those whose lives we touch both directly and indirectly. A unique feature of this book is that it was written on the foundations of a friendship between the two authors, that is clearly infused with love and mutual respect. The authors bring out the very best in each other, and in so doing potentially in readers as well.'' -- Willem Kuyken, Ritblat Professor of Mindfulness and Psychological Science, University of Oxford, and coauthor of Mindfulness: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Psychology

''A Mindful Year is jam-packed with entertaining, thought-provoking insights and creative invitations to be mindful as you go through your day, every day, for an entire year. The authors' stories about their experiences demonstrate how often we have opportunities to pay close attention to the events, big and small, that transpire in our own lives. The daily observations are fascinating, deeply personal, and always engaging. After each entry, readers are presented with invitations to be mindful each day, so they can learn to respond with understanding, self-compassion, or action that aligns with their values. Throughout, the principles of mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy are used to show the value of maintaining contact with the present moment, accepting authentic thoughts and feelings, and exploring different ways of understanding experiences. A Mindful Year is a wonderful book.'' -- Joel Minden, PhD, clinical psychologist and author of Show Your Anxiety Who's Boss

''The Buddha taught that life is full of suffering but mindful compassion will help us both cope and gain insight into the nature of our minds. Mindfulness asks us to pay attention to our reactions as they unfold moment by moment. In this gentle book, Aria Campbell-Danesh and Seth Gillihan offer 365 reflections and invitations to be mindful in specific ways. They range over paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, and actions; noticing our bodies from our hands to our feet; noticing our sensory capacities and our desires and disappointments; noticing the way we may start each day with a hope, a rush to do,' or a dread. Drawing on a multitude of contemplative and scientific thinkers, this book is full of wonderful ideas for mindfulness practices for each day of the year that lift us out of the treadmill of the automatic pilot. Looking through these ways of focusing our attention reveals new vistas of experience if we learn to pay attention. The world grows around us and becomes deeper and more multitextured.'' --

Prof. Paul Gilbert, PhD, OBE, author of The Compassionate Mind and Living like Crazy

''This book helps us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary and to allow ourselves to be more present. The interaction between the mind and body is so powerful that as the mind becomes more emotionally balanced we reap the benefits in our physical health as well.'' --Marilyn Glenville, PhD, founder of the Glenville Nutrition Clinics and the UK's leading nutritionist in women's health

Edition details

• Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1982501839
• ISBN 13: 9781982501839
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 400