New Books in Spiritual Practice and Mindfulness

In the information age, knowledge is power. Hence, facilitating the access to knowledge to wider publics empowers citizens and makes societies more democratic. How can publishers and authors contribute to this process? This podcast addresses this issue. We interview Professor Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, whose book, The Good Drone: How Social Movements Democratize Surveillance (forthcoming with MIT Press) is undergoing a Massive Online Peer-Review (MOPR) process, where everyone can make comments on his manuscript. Additionally, his book will be Open Access (OA) since the date of publication. We discuss with him how do MOPR and OA work, how he managed to combine both of them and how these initiatives can contribute to the democratization of knowledge.You can participate in the MOPR process of The Good Drone through this link: https://thegooddrone.pubpub.org/Felipe G. Santos is a PhD candidate at the Central European University. His research is focused on how activists care for each other and how care practices within social movements mobilize and radicalize heavily aggrieved collectives. 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

Meido Moore Roshi is the abbot of Korinji monastery in Wisconsin. He studied under three Rinzai Zen masters: Tenzan Toyoda Rokoji (under whom he also endured training in traditional martial arts), Dogen Hosokawa Roshi, and So’zan Miller Roshi. All are in the lineage of Omori Sogen Roshi, perhaps the most famous Rinzai Zen master of the 20th century, who was further renowned as a master of calligraphy and swordsmanship.In 2008 Meido Roshi received inka shomei ("mind seal"), designating him an 86th-generation Zen dharma heir and a 48th-generation holder of the lineage descended from Rinzai Gigen. Like many of the teachers in this lineage his instruction stresses the embodied nature of Zen realization, often making use of physical culture and fine arts as complementary disciplines. In particular, he has stressed instruction of the internal energetic practices transmitted in Rinzai Zen.Meido Roshi's book The Rinzai Zen Way: A Guide to Practice (Shambala, 2018) is out from Shambhala Publications in March 2018.Greg Soden is the host "Classical Ideas," a podcast about religion and religious ideas. You can find it on iTunes here. 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

Essentialism is a systematic discipline designed to support making life decisions that help you to make your highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter. In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Yael Schonbrun interviews Greg McKeown , author of the best-selling book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. They discuss the importance of distinguishing the essential from the nonessential, how to identify what is most essential, and strategies to support the disciplined pursuit of what is essential to you. Greg McKeown is the author of the best-selling book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. He is also afrequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, a sought after keynote speaker, a repeating guest on the Steve (Harvey) show, and his work on Essentialism is regularly written about in media (see Resources). Greg is also founder/CEO of McKeown, Inc., a strategy design center.Dr. Yael Schonbrun is a clinical psychologist in private practice, an assistant professor at Brown University, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock.  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

Emotional Intelligence involves self awareness, self control, relationship management and social awareness. Being emotionally intelligent can make you a better leader, parent, friend and partner. In this episode, interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Goleman, a pioneer in the field of positive psychology, about the neuroscience of emotions and why it is important to foster emotional intelligence in kids and leaders. Dr. Goleman also explores how meditation can result in permanent trait changes so that we are better able to regulate emotions and survive an “amygdala highjack.”Daniel Goleman, best known for his worldwide bestseller Emotional Intelligence, is most recently co-author (with Richard Davidson) of Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body(Avery, 2017). A frequent speaker to businesses of all kinds and sizes, Goleman has worked with leaders around the globe, examining the way social and emotional competencies impact the bottom-line. Goleman’s articles in the Harvard Business Review are among the most frequently requested reprints of all time: his article there, “The Focused Leader”won the 2013 HBR McKinsey Award for best article of the year. Goleman has been ranked among the 25 most influential business leaders by several business publications including TIME and The Wall Street Journal. Apart from his writing on emotional intelligence, Goleman has written books on topics including self-deception, creativity, transparency, meditation, social and emotional learning, ecoliteracy and the ecological crisis.Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock.  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

Increasing self-compassion and compassion for others, may just be the key to your well-being. In this this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Christopher Germer, leader in the integration of mindfulness in therapy and co-developer of the international Mindful Self Compassion Program. Germer discusses “Self-Compassion 101” while also exploring how they practice self-compassion on and off the couch.Chris Germer, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist in private practice and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He teaches on the faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, both based in Cambridge, MA. He is a co-developer (with Kristin Neff) and popular teacher of the Mindful Self-Compassion program (which has been taught to over 50,000 people around the world), author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, co-author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook (which is consistently the #3 book in Social work on Amazon since its release) and co-editor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy.His next book, written for professionals, Teaching the Mindful Self Compassion Program will be released in Summer 2019.Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. 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

What role does mantra play in the lives of Hindu practitioners? Mani Rao takes us on a journey to three sacred sites across India’s Andhra-Telangana region. The practitioners she engages at these sites offer insight into their transformative embodied experience of mantra. Rao dovetails scholarship and practice to grapple with the captivating, eye-opening, mind-blowing narratives of the practitioners she engages. Living Mantra: Mantra, Deity, and Visionary Experience Today (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018)broaches compelling questions such as: what is the relationship between mantras and deities? Texts? Gurus? Do practitioners relate to mantra as vehicles of meaning, or as aesthetic entities? What is the relationship to sound and visions in mantra practice? What is the role of imagination here? Celebrating lived experience, Living Mantra documents the modern-day existence of seers (rishis), thus underscoring the open, ongoing nature of divine revelation in Hindu traditions. 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

McKenzie Wark’s new book offers 21 focused studies of thinkers working in a wide range of fields who are worth your attention. The chapters of General Intellects: Twenty-One Thinkers for the Twenty-First Century (Verso, 2017) introduce readers to important work in Anglophone cultural studies, psychoanalysis, political theory, media theory, speculative realism, science studies, Italian and French workerist and autonomist thought, two “imaginative readings of Marx,” and two “unique takes on the body politic.” There are significant implications of these ideas for how we live and work at the contemporary university, and we discussed some of those in our conversation. This is a great book to read and to teach with! Carla Nappi is the Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh. You can learn more about her and her work here. 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 this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill talks with Dr. Kelly Wilson about kindness and the common humanity of feeling inadequate and broken. Dr. Wilson describes the evolutionary science behind suffering and how “evolutionary mismatch” plays an important role in modern day physical and psychological illness. Dr. Wilson, co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), demonstrates acceptance and compassion as he describes his personal path to self-care and the regular self-care practices he engages in. On the eve of his retirement, Dr. Wilson shares what’s next for him on his ongoing journey towards kindness and meaning.Kelly G. Wilson, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the University at Mississippi. He is past and founding President of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS). Dr. Wilson is one of the founders of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and has devoted himself to the development and dissemination of ACT and its underlying theory and philosophy for nearly 30 years. Dr. Wilson has published more than 90 articles and chapters, as well as 11 books including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change(Guilford Press, 2016), Mindfulness for Two, and Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong. He has central interests in the application of behavioral principles to understanding topics such as health and well-being, purpose, meaning and values, therapeutic relationship, and mindfulness. Dr. Wilson is the founder of Onelife Education and Training, LLC and has presented workshops and provided consultancy in 32 countries.Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. 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 the practice of mindfulness permeates mainstream Western culture, more and more people are engaging in a traditional form of Buddhist meditation. However, many of these people have little interest in the religious aspects of Buddhism, and the practice occurs within secular contexts such as hospitals, schools, and the workplace. Clinical trials show that practicing Buddhist meditation has benefits regardless of whether or not one subscribes to the religion, raising fundamental questions about the nature of Buddhism itself. Today’s book, Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World (Yale University Press, 2017) is a collected volume of Stephen Batchelor’s writings which explore the complex implications of Buddhism’s secularization. He explores questions such as, Is it possible to recover from the Buddhist teachings a vision of human flourishing that is secular rather than religious without compromising the integrity of the tradition? And, Is there an ethical framework that can underpin and contextualize these practices in a rapidly changing world? Ranging widely—from reincarnation, religious belief, and agnosticism to the role of the arts in Buddhist practice—Batchelor offers a detailed picture of contemporary Buddhism and its attempt to find a voice in the modern world. Stephen Batchelor is a teacher and scholar of Buddhism, as well as a cofounder and faculty member at Bodhi College based in the UK. He trained as a monk for ten years in traditional Buddhist communities and now presents a secular approach to Buddhist practice, having also written the bestselling book, Buddhism without Beliefs. Carrie Lynn Evans is a PhD student at Université Laval in Quebec City. 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, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Dan Siegel about his new book, Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence (TarcherPerigree, 2018). Dr. Siegel describes interpersonal neurobiology and how he has learned from mathematics, anthropology, biology, physics, sociology, and neuroscience to understand the mind. He discusses a powerful practice called The Wheel of Awareness, which cultivates focus, interoception and inter-connection. Dr. Siegel dives into quantum physics to describe how thoughts arise as a flow of energy in the mind, and tells listeners how they can grow a healthier, more integrated brain. Dr. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute which focuses on the development of mindsight, which teaches insight, empathy, and integration in individuals, families and communities. Dr. Siegel has published extensively for both the professional and lay audiences. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. 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