With so many people glued to screens every day, we’re all becoming a bit more disconnected from each other, comparing our lives to others just a bit more, and feeling like we’re coming up short. Turning towards mindfulness, we can all become a bit more aware of how our words affect others, how our decisions alter our life paths, and how to build bridges with people who cross our paths. In this article, we’re going to examine various mindfulness books that you should read, practice exercises from, and develop the habit of mindfulness from.
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11 Mindfulness Books to Read and Learn From in 2024
1. The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker
In this mindfulness book, you’ll notice how distracted you’ve become from doomscrolling through social media and recognize that it’s time to be more aware of what’s going on in real life around you. You’ll learn how to better slow down to notice the little things that happen in your day. Finding time to connect with others will become a must as you read this book about mindfulness. Plus, you’ll become better at managing your time. Instead of trying to multitask, such as folding clothes while watching television, you’ll focus on doing one activity at a time to give it your full, undivided attention.
2. The Little Book of Mindfulness by Patrizia Collard
If you’re looking for a book on mindfulness that’s jam-packed with five to ten minute exercises you can practice every single day, then you’ll want to check out Collard’s book. You’ll have practices for so many little moments throughout your day, from mindful eating to daily gratitude practices. You’ll feel motivated to learn how to better handle conflicts at home, how to show compassion to the people around you, and how to live more mindfully. And with each exercise, you’ll be one step closer to rewiring your brain to become more mindful overall.
3. Learned Optimism by Martin E.P. Seligman
The more time people spend in their heads and on their phones, the more likely they are to have negative thoughts. We often compare ourselves to others and get stuck in pessimistic thinking. But Seligman challenges the fact that we’re born optimistic and pessimistic by arguing that you can learn how to become optimistic. This mindfulness book will give you a deep dive into understanding how negative self-talk occurs and how to transform it into positive self-talk. You’ll also learn that there’s way more upside to optimism than pessimism. While pessimism used to be a required survival skill, in today’s society, it holds most of us back instead of propelling us forward. You’ll discover so many benefits to becoming more optimistic while building out the actionable skills you’ll need to learn to become a more positive thinker.
4. Introducing Mindfulness: A Practical Guide by Tessa Watt
In Tessa Watt’s mindfulness book readers will find exercises they can follow along to and easily implement to help them with mindful living. The goal of the book is to help people live in the present moment every single day and let go of the negative thoughts that people get stuck in. The book is jam-packed with examples to help new practitioners understand how they can stop time traveling between the past and the future to stay in the present moment. Readers will also find that by implementing mindfulness through the exercises in the book, they’ll be able to reduce anxiety and gain a better grasp on managing their emotions.
5. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life Marshall B. Rosenberg
This book about mindfulness is all about mindful communication. In everyday interactions, people get into conflicts with coworkers, their spouse, friends, and more. This book shares principles about looking at situations without judgment, identifying your feelings, meeting people’s needs, and more. You’ll also learn how to ask for help with tasks instead of making demands or telling people what you want them to do to improve your chances of having your needs met. Readers will also learn how to develop better empathy towards others so they can have more meaningful conversations. Ultimately, if you find yourself having conflicts with others regularly, this is a good book on having mindful conversations to resolve conflicts peacefully and fairly for everyone involved.
6. Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.
The Buddha’s Brain is an insightful book about mindfulness and neuroscience. Our brain’s often have a negativity bias, which has helped us survive throughout history but isn’t as practical for us today. You’ll learn how to balance your positive and negative emotions through mindfulness and meditation while also learning to become more resilient. This book will also teach you how to gain more positive emotions through actions, such as gratitude, compassion, and love. With the neuroscience aspect of this book, you’ll learn how neuroplastic your brain is, proving that achieving this positive shift in thinking is in fact possible and can be done. Weaved within the chapters are exercises, meditations, and practices for mindfulness. Mindfulness is also one of the Four Pillars of Well-Being that are taught in this book.
7. Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness books are more than just a guide to mindfulness meditation and being present. That’s why Jon Kabat-Zinn also explores how to let go of the past and stop fearing the future. It’s hard to stay present when we’re stuck in another time period. You’ll also learn how to become more aware of things non-judgmentally. Readers will find that this book helps them reduce stress while improving their well being to experience a more profound inner peace. But reading it isn’t enough. You’ll need to dive in to practice the meditation techniques taught in the book to incorporate more mindful awareness into your everyday life to really reap the benefits of the messages taught in this book.
8. The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh is a brilliant person to learn mindfulness from. Living as a Buddhist monk, he incorporates mindfulness in all his daily activities and offers his practical insights to readers to help them experience the same type of benefits. Mindfulness isn’t just about living in the present but it’s also about being hyper aware of every action you take and every experience you have. You’ll learn how to be more mindful when breathing, walking, eating, or doing any other common task. Those little every day moments are perfect opportunities to really deepen your awareness and connection to the moment you’re living right now. With Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings, you’ll be able to use mindfulness in your everyday life to increase a greater sense of peace and understanding.
9. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle shares his journey with his own spiritual awakening to help others on their journey towards mindfulness and present living in this mindfulness book The Power of Now. In his book, he emphasizes that the present moment is the only time that truly exists. So spending your time feeling burdened by your past or anxious about your future is really what stops you from experiencing happiness and fulfillment in the here and now. It’s true that your emotional pain or negative thinking can take over your mind and shift you away from the present. But it’s equally true that you can cultivate more awareness and practice mindfulness through your habits and actions. Eckhart Tolle will challenge you to become the observer of your thoughts without judgment to truly connect with a deeper level of consciousness.
10. 10% Happier by Dan Harris
If you’re looking for mindfulness books to read as a meditation skeptic, then consider 10% Happier by Dan Harris who was hesitant about trying meditation for the first time but found that it had an enormous positive impact in his life. This memoir slash self-help book highlights Harris’ journey from being a stress-ridden news anchor to finding and enjoying the benefits of meditation. So, if you’re thinking meditation is too woo-woo for you, you might end up finding this mindfulness book somewhat relatable and still come out of it wanting to give it a chance. You’ll learn about the common misconceptions of meditation and learn how to use meditation as a coping mechanism for lowering stress and becoming 10% happier (hopefully more though!) By the end of this read, you’ll find yourself more open minded to the world of meditation.
11. The Things You Can Only See When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim
Mindfulness books like Haemin Sunim’s The Things You Can Only See When You Slow Down encourages readers to find peace of mind and happiness regardless of their busy lives and schedules. Each chapter focuses on topics ranging from love to self care. It blends life topics with mindfulness to help you slow down and become more mindful and present in your thoughts and actions. You’ll be able to do some simple yet life-changing exercises and have opportunities to reflect. By the end of this mindfulness book, you’ll be able to let go of things that hold you back and feel more gratitude in your everyday life.
Conclusion
Reading mindfulness books can be a great way to learn a little bit more about how to be more mindful. If you’ve been thinking about becoming a more mindful person to embodying more mindfulness into the rush of everyday life to become more present and slow down, you can always start a meditation practice. Declutter The Mind is meditation app with hundreds of meditations to choose from for any mood. Sign-up to start meditating today.
