This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
There are so many Mindfulness books on sale as Mindfulness is the new trend. However unlike most trends it is here to stay and the good thing is that there are many ways to embrace it. The three Mindfulness books I have chosen are all newly published and are completely different so choose the one that will interest and help you.
Live Happy: 100 Simple Ways to Fill Your Life with Joy by Bridget Grenville-Cleave and Ilona Boniwell.
This is a part self-help book, part psychology primer, which features 100 tips on taking positive steps to increase your happiness level. It is written by leading experts and contains the latest thinking on positive psychology.
Based on thorough academic research with information gathered from over 100 journal articles, books and reports, the book includes tools and strategies across a range of situations. it shows how different aspects of life affect our level of happiness and what you do to change them. Of course, people are individuals with their own wants and needs: what works for me isn’t necessarily the same for you. Science shows us, however , that there are some aspects of happiness that are pretty widespread, so most of the factors in this book will be relevant to your own life.
I have not read this book cover to cover but I use it as a pick up and apply one tip to my day. I want to share the second tip in this book: Get Better With Age. Typically happiness levels start high, then decline, reaching a low point around the mid-40s, and then increase again. This may be because, as we mature, we reprioritise, redirecting our energies away from things we can’t do towards thing we can, focusing on more meaningful social and emotional goals rather than on material acquisition.
So don’t worry that you’ll be a grumpy old woman, in all likelihood you’ll be happier than you were in your 40s! I wholly agree with this!
To purchase this book from Amazon click HERE.
Ikigai & other Japanese words to live by: Mari Fujimoto
This is an inspirational book for a more mindful way of life through 42 Japanese words and phrases.
Some say discovering ikigai is the secret to happy longevity. Ikigai or ‘something to live for’, is the kernel of enjoyment and motivation that gets us up each morning and keeps us going each day. Combining passion, vocation and mission, each person’s ikigai will be unique: seeking answers to those difficult questions of your feelings and values (What makes you happy? What is important to you?) maps the path to locating your onward momentum in life, and this positive force of fulfilment is subject to flux.
Whilst it may be a lifelong project, to work towards and idea of your ikigai is to come to an understanding of what is rewarding and worth focusing on for you, as opposed to those forces that are distracting .
This book is beautifully illustrated with photographs by Michael Kenna, one of the world’s leading landscape photographers. I often mentally take one of these pictures and focus on it during my meditation.
I am currently learning all about Wa, the fundamental expression of harmony and the peace that this implies. It is an absolute necessity for us to come to peace with what nature brings, from the harvest to cyclical natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, or even the wars of history. Instead of fighting and putting your own gain first, we must work together, to find and give help within your community for the better good. Remember that if we are in a difficult situation we are not alone and can find the solution in wa.
To purchase this book from Amazon click HERE.
Oneness with All Life by Eckhart Tolle
This is the third book from my Mindfulness Books selection. I recently wrote about my quest to meditate and improve my quality of life. (Click HERE to read the full post) My Buddhist teacher gave us a book, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, to read. Reading it really helped me to understand how living in the Now can help us so much. I then bought the book Oneness by the same author.
This is a book for dipping into and reflecting upon. It is full of nearly 200 inspirational quotes and passages.
This is what others say about Eckhart Tolle.
“An otherworldly genius” (Chris Evans)
“I keep Eckhart’s book at my bedside. I think it’s essential spiritual teaching. It’s one of the most valuable books I’ve ever read.” (Oprah Winfrey)
“I would do anything to be anywhere in the vicinity of Eckhart Tolle.” (Jim Carrey)
A gentle journey, one that could take you to a spectacular and very special place of new awareness and deeper understanding. (Neale Donald Walsh, Author of Conversations With God)
One of the best books to come along in years. Every sentence rings with truth and power – the power to bring you into the gap, the space between our thoughts, where we find, as Eckhart so beautifully puts it, deep serenity, stillness, and a sacred Presence. (Deepak Chopra, Author of The Seven Spiritual Laws od Success)
To purchase this book from Amazon click HERE.
Mindfulness books are in abundance but hopefully I have chosen three very different ones so that you can find one which appeals to you.