Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

This was a good exercise in bearing witness to my own judging mind and my uneasy relationship to the more spiritual aspects of meditation.I originally started it before reading Full Catastrophe Living, put it down about 1/3 way through for a few months, and then came back to it as I wrap up my 8-week mindfulness workshop.Whether or not it's a good fit for me, I do think it's interesting to at least have some exposure to the lovingkindness practice while I continue to experiment with making mindfulness and meditation an ongoing part of my life. I also think it's valuable to gain a sense of context for the Eastern spiritual traditions (such as meditation and yoga) that we've imported to the West. While written for Western audiences, this is essentially as much of a beginner's guide to Buddhism as it is a beginner's guide to meditation.If you're looking for a practical meditation guide, definitely start with [b:Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness 589455 Full Catastrophe Living Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness Jon Kabat-Zinn https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1441601293s/589455.jpg 16180], which is much more down-to-earth. While this one does contain some exercises, I found them much easier to understand once I had a little practical meditation experience under my belt.