Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness

You wouldn’t go through your day after having left your leg at home, so why are so many of us living lives with our minds left behind? Smalley, a former professor of biology, and Winston, a former Buddhist nun, answer this question and enable readers to remedy the absent-minded lifestyle. As founder/director and director, respectively, of UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, the authors draw on their experience of bringing mindfulness to the masses and present the scientific side of mindfulness with an artful approach that results in a well-rounded synthesis accessible to scholars and laymen alike. Research studies, personal accounts, and practical applications illuminate mindfulness as a form of meditation; with activities as simple as breathing, listening, and walking, the practice can be easily incorporated into any lifestyle. Though a surprisingly extensive list of benefits from mindfulness is supported by what current research exists, the authors simultaneously acknowledge that more needs to be done and they find encouragement in positive results that reveal mindfulness as a simple yet profound solution to daily problems. Smalley and Winston will pique interest in living a completely present life, even if what that means has yet to be fully understood. (Aug.)