Buddha's Book of Stress Reduction: Finding Serenity and Peace with Mindfulness Meditation - Softcover

Emet, Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0399167331 ISBN 13: 9780399167331

Verlag: TarcherPerigee, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

From stress to well-being—give yourself the gift of the Buddha’s peace.

No, it is not all in your head: life is stressful, and some lives more so than others. Yet people react to the same situations differently, and recognizing the difference between what we can control and what we can’t is crucial for stress management—and it is an awakening in and of itself. This practical book is designed to bring the benefits of mindfulness meditation practice to stress reduction. Unlike other stress-reduction books, Buddha’s Book of Stress Reduction also helps you develop the positive values of a calm and constructive attitude. It takes you from stress—where many of us find ourselves—to well-being.

From the author of Buddha's Book of Sleep--which won  the 2013 COVR Award for Best Book of the Year.

Buddha's Book of Sleep includes a foreword by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Joseph Emet trained with Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village in France, and was made a Dharma teacher in Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition. He has a doctorate in music from Boston University and is the author of Buddha’s Book of Sleep—winner of the 2013 COVR Award for Book of the Year.The founder of the Mindfulness Meditation Centre in Montreal, Emet lives in Pointe-Claire, Canada.

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Foreword

Mindfulness is a child of the Buddha.

This book presents mindfulness teachings in a practical way, with exercises that show us how to apply them in various areas of everyday living. Knowing how to be mindful in everyday life is an art, the art of mindful living. Stress is a pervasive challenge of our time, and when we live mindfully, we live with awareness of the roots of stress in ourselves and in our society. Once we recognize the roots of stress, it is easier to live without allowing stress to destroy our happiness and our health.

May this book be a step on your journey into the art of mindful living.

Introduction

If you think of stress as one problem among many, please consider the following:

Major psychological challenges such as burnout, depression, and anxiety all have a stress component, and burnout in particular is thought to be caused directly by excessive and prolonged stress.

Stress contributes to accidents and to suicide as well as to illnesses that are the primary causes of death, such as heart disease, cancer, lung diseases, and cirrhosis of the liver. Because it interferes with the functioning of the immune system, it aggravates most infectious diseases.

It is a factor in sexual disorders and in conjugal violence, and it erodes relationships. It fuels addictions and substance abuse. It aggravates sleep problems.

Perhaps in recognition of its import, some prominent translators of Buddhist texts now often render the key Buddhist word “Dukkha”—which is usually translated as “suffering”—as “stress.”

• • •

This book proposes to take you all the way from stress to well-being.

It starts by making you aware of how you are creating extra stress in your life with your attitude and your reactions. No, it is not all in your head: life is stressful, and some lives more so than others, and different people react to similar situations differently. Yet there is a part of stress that is in your head. That is the part that all stress books address because that is the part that you can control. Recognizing the difference between what we can control and what we can’t is crucial for stress management—and is a sort of awakening in itself. Are you barking up the wrong tree, the tree of other people and what they are doing? Are you spending your energy wishing that others would change their ways? If so, change trees, because this will only serve to tire you out. Become more aware of your own reactions to things, and how your reactions contribute to your stress. Come back to your own tree and take care of it. Enjoy its shade and its fruits. You will get more out of life that way. This book shows you how to achieve this with a series of exercises at the end of each chapter. Some of these exercises are guided meditations and some are meditation themes.

As much as stress constricts our field of vision, a relaxed attitude and good feelings broaden it.

As much as stress is associated with negative emotions like fear and anger, well-being is linked with positive emotions like love, inspiration, and serenity.

As much as stress tends to act like blinders so that we see only the negative side of events and circumstances, positive feelings expand our perspective so we see a more complete picture that takes account of the good things as well—which are everywhere around us, in the blue sky, in the bloom of flowers, and in the joy of simply being alive.

As much as stress makes us aware of possible danger, positive emotions take stock of opportunity. A direct result of this is that stress can get us stuck in inaction, whereas positive emotions like hope, inspiration, and interest help propel us forward toward success.

And last but not least, as much as stress is associated with ill health and a shortened lifespan, research shows that positive feelings improve our health and make us live longer.

If stress is one side of the coin, well-being is the other—literally. While one side of most coins may have only numbers (the bottom line), the other side has a human face, a natural symbol, or a reminder of our national heritage—a broader vision of life. Stress is woven into the fabric of our life, and in order to reduce how much stress we feel, we need to examine all aspects of our life. During this process, we gain more intimacy with ourselves and more wisdom. This, in turn, brings a sense of well-being and contentment. Stress reduction can lead to growth if done right, and to do it right we need to keep in mind that our goal is not only moving away from stress, but also moving forward toward well-being.

Positive feelings of joy and gratitude are themselves an antidote to stress. In addition, as discussed in chapter 6, living by values that are personally important to us leads to fulfillment and a sense of well-being. Values influence our actions in the present moment. In contrast, goals are in the future. The pressure to achieve goals may bring extra stress. Living by cherished values brings contentment.

Stress is made up of many elements—things with names like Worry, Irritation, Anger, Fear, and Difficult Relationships. It also has much to do with the way we think. Many of these issues are discussed in separate chapters in this book.

We all need the mindfulness mantra: BE HERE NOW. We all have the ability to be in our thoughts, instead of with the person we are with. We all can be mentally somewhere else instead of enjoying life as it unfolds in and around us. Mindfulness meditation training helps us all to moderate these common habits and lead a happier life.

Sometimes it is a difficult childhood or a childhood trauma that prevents us from being fully present. When we have indigestion, we are still trying to digest last night’s meal in the morning. Similarly, when we have past wounds, we may still be licking them now. That keeps a part of us there, instead of here.

• • •

When we need to feel better, we may reach for alcohol, drugs, or food. They are available off the shelf, and their effects are direct and immediate. These effects, however, also disappear quickly. They do not lead to long-term change.

Consider this: if you try to make yourself feel better with a few beers, you are still on square one at the end of the day. After a day of mindfulness practice, you are now on square two. And the effects of mindfulness practice continue to add up. After a year of distractions, you are still on square one, whereas after a year of mindfulness practice, you are now on square 365—a much better place to be! Distractions may have their place, but they do not give you self-knowledge and freedom from the tyranny of automatic thoughts.

There are many books on stress—a whole stress literature. There is also a well-being or happiness literature. This book straddles the two areas. My aim in writing this book has been to bring these two fields together and show how they are related. Learning to go from stress toward well-being is a major thrust of the Buddhist tradition, a teaching that I absorbed during my training in mindfulness practice with the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. I emphasize this forward-looking approach in my own stress-reduction classes, and I would like to bring this important teaching to you with this book. I call this process Mindfulness Training for Stress Reduction and Personal Growth. The relationship between these two goals will become clearer as you make your way through the book.

PART ONE

The Mind

1.

The Stress Blues

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Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: TarcherPerigee
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0399167331
• ISBN 13: 9780399167331
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 224
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
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