What's Beyond Mindfulness?

Book excerpt: A life-changing guide to the incredible benefits of living with a radical, hopeful and dharma (Buddhist practice)-based perspective that includes mindfulness but goes way beyond it. A uniquely practical and accessible exploration of Buddhism in everyday life that will have appeal to people of any faith and of none. "A deeply nurturing and illuminating book." - Jon Kabat-Zinn If mindfulness is the gate to the awakened life, this book describes the garden that lies beyond: a magical, rich and fulfilled way of living that comes when we act according to Buddhist principles. Mindfulness - or the practice of paying attention to the present moment - is a part of this, but only one part. This book reveals exactly how radical, exciting and life-changing the full picture of Buddhist ideas about concepts such as compassion, joy, detachment and liberation can be. Its key aim, however, is to do this in a way that appeals to everyone, whether they are interested in Buddhism or not. Written in simple, straightforward language, the book contains 50 essays covering every aspect of modern life, ranging from the mundane to the spiritual. Topics include how to be fulfilled at work, how to relate to money, what mindfulness really means, how to find the magic of the moment, what being authentic means, how to age wisely, how to be friends with your own body, how to step off the treadmill of daily life, what the concepts of emptiness, unity and enlightenment really mean ... and much, much more. This book will imbue your life once more with the sense of magic and mystery that you felt as a child; it will allow you to put down the burdens of anxiety, joylessness, restlessness or a judging mind - it will do all this by enabling you to shift your experience of the world in a truly profound way.