Which Kabat-Zinn book first?

[stopitaggers]

I'd appreciate some views on which of Jon's books I should read first. Does it matter what order they are read in?

As a novice, my only book so far has been "Mindfulness for Dummies", which I found quite comprehensive and written in a gentle, supportive way.

I was lurking in Waterstones bookshop the other day and skimmed through the "Rough Guide to Mindfulness" (yes, there is one - and pretty good too) and the suggestion there is to read "Full catastrophe living" first, then move on from there.

Thoughts anyone?

Dave

[Gareth]

I read "Wherever You Go, There You Are" and it changed my life, I then went on to read the others after that. I'm not too sure that it matters the order that you read them in.

[JonW]

I started with "Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world" by Mark Williams and Danny Penman and then moved on to JKZ's "Wherever You Go..." Then I read JKZ's "Full Catastrophe Living" and "Coming To Our Senses". That order worked for me. "Full Catastrophe Living", in my opinion, would be too challenging a read if one hadn't read "Wherever You Go..." first.
For beginners I'd also highly recommend Oli Doyle's "Mindfulness Pure & Simple", "The Mindfulness Manifesto" by Dr. Jonty Heaversedge and Ed Halliwell, "The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness" by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal and JKZ, and "The Miracle Of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh.
If you fancy looking into Zen, the works of Alan Watts are indispensable. Roshi Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars Of Zen is a great starting point.
Cheers, Jon

[phmoisan]

"Full Catastrophe Living", in my opinion, would be too challenging a read if one hadn't read "Wherever You Go..." first.

I had that order in mind, thanks for confirming it, Jon

Philippe

[JonW]

Kabat-Zinn's Coming To Our Senses is, for me, the perfect book to read just at the point when mindfulness is a natural part of your everyday life. Not only is it the greatest book about mindfulness I have read, it's one of my favourite books period. Every page is packed with gentle wisdom. Not available on Kindle and new copies are a little pricey. But Amazon usually have good offers. It's currently available for £11, less than half its recommended retail price. But it is a whopping great door-stopper of book so you more than get your money's worth.

[stopitaggers]

Thanks guys, "Wherever you go ..." has just arrived and after I've read that I will follow your recommendations.

Dave

[JonW]

Let us know what you think, Dave. A masterpiece, in my view. So beautifully written, so utterly wise.

[FeeHutch]

I am thinking of getting 'Coming To Our Senses', I haven't read that much JKZ and this sounds like the book most fitting to where I am right now.
I need to factor in more reading time in to my day when the children are back at school. I have so many books and articles I want to read and somehow I don't have the time. I know that is because of the time I spend mindlessly watching the TV. I found the recent exercise on avoiding social media gave me a lot more time too so I need to take this forward I think.

I will report back in due corse

[JonW]

Coming To Our Senses should keep you occupied for a while, weighing in at 600+ pages.
I loved it so much I ended up rationing myself, allowing myself only a few pages at a time so I could savour it properly, like a raisin.

[FeeHutch]

Coming To Our Senses should keep you occupied for a while, weighing in at 600+ pages.
I loved it so much I ended up rationing myself, allowing myself only a few pages at a time so I could savour it properly, like a raisin.

That made me smile