New Books in Spiritual Practice and Mindfulness

In her debut book, Vanessa Linsey takes us on an uproarious journey of spirituality, humor, and humility. Metta Mom: A Mindful Guide to Managing Your Mood & Your Brood (Bowker, 2019) brims with stories unheard outside our most intimate moments like teenage slumber parties, deathbed confessionals, and appointments with a gastroenterologist. Each humbling tale brings lifetimes of powerful lessons gleaned from healing and miracle-making.Metta Mom provides sanity-seeking parents with heroic, yet tangible steps to creating the harmonious family life they thought possible only in their dreams.Kristie Adloff, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist and mindfulness teacher with an office in Brookline MA. You can visit her website at www.drkristieadloff.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Deborah Eden Tull's new book Relational Mindfulness: A Handbook for Deepening Our Connection with Ourselves, Each Other, and the Planet (Wisdom Publications, 2018) is a guidebook on how to embody compassionate awareness in all of our relationships — with self, one another, and our planet in an age of global uncertainty.We all struggle at times with how to bring meditation off the cushion and into the beautiful, dynamic, and messy realm of relationship.At a time when humanity seems to have forgotten our inherent interrelatedness, this book offers an inspiring set of principles and practices for deepening intimacy and remembering the interconnection that is our birthright. Eden Tull interweaves heartfelt personal stories, sharing her journey from seven years as a monastic in a silent Zen Monastery to living and teaching in the megatropolis of Los Angeles and beyond, with teachings and mindful inquiry to help the reader connect personally with the principles of Relational Mindfulness.In a voice that is transparent, vulnerable, and brave, she shares possibilities for integrating mindfulness. In gentle yet powerful tone, she covers topics ranging from balance and personal sustainability to sexuality to conscious consumerism. Relational Mindfulness is based on the simple understanding that the most subtle form of love is attention. While a revolution usually means to evolve and change, this shift is actually a return to a simple and sacred understanding we seem to have forgotten —one we can only remember when we are present.Eden Tull offers retreats, online courses, and consultations internationally. For more information about Eden’s work you can visit her website at http://deborahedentull.com/ Elizabeth Cronin, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist and mindfulness teacher with offices in Brookline and Norwood, MA. You can follow her on Instagram or visit her website at https://drelizabethcronin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

A former advisor to tech companies on how to make their products habit-forming, Nir Eyal found that his own smartphone use was adversely affecting his family life. He took a deep dive into research and literature on the subject, and emerged with this new book (with Julie Li), Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life (Bloomsbury, 2019). The takes his expertise and applies it to consumers, to give us all a fighting chance to maintain control of our lives – online and off.Based on research and punctuated with personal experience, Indistractable offers a theoretical framework for the powerful distractions each of us encounters every single day, and offers practical suggestions for managing our most valuable and truly limited resources, our time and attention.Renee Garfinkel is a Jerusalem-based psychologist, writer, and Middle East commentator for the nationally syndicated TV program, The Armstrong Williams Show.. Write her at r.garfinkel@yahoo.com or tweet @embracingwisdom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

As you may know, university presses publish a lot of good books. In fact, they publish thousands of them every year. They are different from most trade books in that most of them are what you might called "fundamental research." Their authors--dedicated researchers one and all--provide the scholarly stuff upon which many non-fiction trade books are based. So when you are reading, say, a popular history, you are often reading UP books at one remove. Of course, some UP books are also bestsellers, and they are all well written (and, I should say, thoroughly vetted thanks to the peer review system), but the greatest contribution of UPs is to provide a base of fundamental research to the public. And they do a great job of it.How do they do it? Today I talked to Kathryn Conrad, the president of the Association of University Presses, about the work of UPs, the challenges they face, and some terrific new directions they are going. We also talked about why, if you have a scholarly book in progress, you should talk to UP editors early and often. And she explains how! Listen in.Marshall Poe is the editor of the New Books Network. He can be reached at marshallpoe@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

The things that make people academics -- as deep fascination with some arcane subject, often bordering on obsession, and a comfort with the solitude that developing expertise requires -- do not necessarily make us good teachers. Jessamyn Neuhaus’s Geeky Pedagogy: A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to Be Effective Teachers (West Virginia University Press, 2019) helps us to identify and embrace that geekiness in us and then offers practical, step-by-step guidelines for how to turn it to effective pedagogy. It’s a sharp, slim, and entertaining volume that can make better teachers of us all.Stephen Pimpare is Senior Lecturer in the Politics & Society Program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of The New Victorians (New Press, 2004), A Peoples History of Poverty in America (New Press, 2008), winner of the Michael Harrington Award, and Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen (Oxford, 2017). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Most test prep books, textbooks, and classes miss the mark by only focusing on strategy and content. This essential guide tackles the other half of test prep: mindfulness and your mental performance.Mindfulness is widely embraced in the business and athletic communities as a valuable technique to optimize performance. Author Logan Thompson, an expert in both test prep and mindfulness, says that it's about time the test prep community embraces it as well.In his book, Beyond the Content: Mindfulness as a Test Prep Advantage (Kaplan Publishing, 2019) Logan Thompson explains, "The other half of test prep is the world of fleeting thoughts and emotions, always flickering, always murmuring inside your head, usually going unnoticed and unremarked upon. They shape our perceptions and perspectives. And, they dictate our performance on tests. The other half of test prep is happening all the time, whether we like it or not. Your mental and emotional state, your surfacing memories, your underlying beliefs are always there. The good news is that, by acknowledging the other half of test prep, exploring it, and working with it, you can gain access to your full potential."Elizabeth Cronin, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and mindfulness meditation teacher with offices in Brookline and Norwood, MA.  You can follow her on Instagram or visit her website at https://drelizabethcronin.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

In every spiritual tradition, we find teachings on the virtues and qualities that we most want to pass on to our kids―such as generosity, kindness, honesty, determination, and patience. Today, a growing body of research from neuroscience and social psychology supports these teachings, offering insights into cultivating these virtues in ourselves and in our families.In his new book Raising Resilience: The Wisdom and Science of Happy Families and Thriving Children (Sounds True, 2017), Christopher Willard offers a practical guide for parents and educators of children from preschool through adolescence, detailing ten universal principles for happy families and thriving children.  Bridging the latest science with Eastern wisdom to explore ourselves and share with our children, Dr. Willard offers a wealth of teachings on:Getting through Giving―the many types of generosity we can model for kids, and the fascinating new findings on the power of givingWhy Doing the Right Thing Is the Right Thing to Do―living in harmony with oneself, one’s family, and one’s communityLess is More Parenting―how letting go of what’s no longer necessary creates space, freedom, and the possibility for something newBuilding a Wiser Brain―three types of wisdom and how to steer kids’ "under-construction" minds toward wise actionEven the Buddha Had Helicopter Parents―releasing anxiety about over- or under-parenting and the desire for the "perfect" familyThe Buddha and the Marshmallow―patience in spirituality and science, including practices to strengthen patience in yourself and your childrenWhat Sets Us Free―how truthfulness and honest behavior create safety and freedom for everyoneGrowing Up with a Grit and Growth Mindset―the best ways to encourage resilience and determination through reinforcing and rewarding the "growth mindset"The Kindness Contagion―cultivating lovingkindness, compassion, and empathyFinding Balance in a Broken World and Staying Steady through the Stress―how to abide life’s inevitable ups and downs through the attitude of equanimity"The practices in this book ultimately come together to help us build thriving, happy, and resilient families and communities, regardless of how we categorize them," writes Dr. Willard. Raising Resilience is an accessible resource to help each one of us and our family members, "evolve and grow into our best selves."Elizabeth Cronin, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and mindfulness meditation teacher with offices in Brookline and Norwood, MA.  You can follow her on Instagram or visit her website at https://drelizabethcronin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

In this episode of New Books in Law Siobhan talks with Candy Gunther Brown about her book Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools: Reforming Secular Education or Reestablishing Religion? (UNC Press, 2019). Dr. Brown is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. She is a historian and ethnographer of religion and culture.Yoga and mindfulness activities, with roots in Asian traditions such as Hinduism or Buddhism, have been brought into growing numbers of public schools since the 1970s. While they are commonly assumed to be secular educational tools, Candy Gunther Brown asks whether religion is truly left out of the equation in the context of public-school curricula. An expert witness in four legal challenges, Brown scrutinized unpublished trial records, informant interviews, and legal precedents, as well as insider documents, some revealing promoters of “Vedic victory” or “stealth Buddhism” for public-school children. The legal challenges are fruitful cases for Brown’s analysis of the concepts of religious and secular.While notions of what makes something religious or secular are crucial to those who study religion, they have special significance in the realm of public and legal norms. They affect how people experience their lives, raise their children, and navigate educational systems. The question of religion in public education, Brown shows, is no longer a matter of jurisprudence focused largely on the establishment of a Protestant Bible or nonsectarian prayer. Instead, it now reflects an increasingly diverse American religious landscape. Reconceptualizing secularization as transparency and religious voluntarism, Brown argues for an opt-in model for public-school programs.This episode is part of a series featuring legal history works from UNC Press. Support for the production of this series was provided by the Versatile Humanists at Duke program.Siobhan M. M. Barco, J.D. explores U.S. legal history at Duke University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

In his recent exposé, McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality (Repeater Books, 2019), Ronald Purser Ph.D. takes a hard look at the mindfulness movement that has taken society by storm. Purser opens the book by questioning elements of the movement that have lead to its success: its scientific credibility, its secular façade, the prevailing discourse in society around stress, and other topics. Purser’s main concern, however, is that mindfulness is being used to reinforce the capitalist system by absolving companies of any responsibility for its negative consequences, for example work-related mental health problems, and shifting full responsibility onto the shoulders of the individual. Purser also points out how mindfulness is being used in questionable ways in schools, the US military and national governments. Purser ends the book by discussing his vision of a revolutionary, socially-minded, collective-based form of mindfulness. Full of humor and eye-opening anecdotes, McMindfulness is a thought-provoking book that forces readers to look at the mindfulness movement in a new light. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

In her book, The Mindful Twenty-Something (New Harbinger, 2016), Holly Rogers presents a unique, evidence based approach to help you make important life decisions with clarity and confidence.  As cofounder of the extremely popular Koru Mindfulness program developed at Duke University, her work with students serves as inspiration for this book.As a twenty-something, you may feel like you are being pulled in dozen different directions.  With the daily tumult, busyness, and major life changes you experience as a young adult, you may also be particularly vulnerable to stress and its negative effects. Emerging adulthood, which occurs between the ages of 18 and 29, is a developmental stage of life when you’re faced with important decisions about school, relationships, sex, your career, and more. With so much going on, you need a guide to help you navigate with less stress and more ease.The Koru Mindfulness program, developed at Duke University and already in use on numerous college campuses—including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Dartmouth, and several others—and in treatment centers across the country, is the only evidence-based mindfulness training program for young adults that has been empirically proven to have significant benefits for sleep, perceived stress, and self-compassion. Now, with The Mindful Twenty-Something, this popular program is accessible to all young adults struggling with stress.With Koru Mindfulness and the practical tools you’ll learn from this acceptance-based, proven effective approach, you’ll be able to cultivate the compassion and mindfulness skills you need to manage life’s challenges from a calm, balanced center, regardless of what comes your way.For more information about the Koru Mindfulness program at Duke University please visit their website at https://korumindfulness.org/Elizabeth Cronin, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist and mindfulness teacher with offices in Brookline and Norwood, MA.  You can follow her on Instagram or visit her website at https://drelizabethcronin.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness