Meditation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield

Meditation for Beginners Reviews

• 
  Danny Kelly

  This is a perfect book for those who have never practiced meditation before. Although it is a relatively short and simple book, it actually took me much longer to get through than other longer books I have read. The reason is that there was so much educational and instructional value, and I took notes, and I would put it down for a bit to practice the principles I had just read.
  
  I also appreciated that Kornfield does not approach meditation instruction with any type of push or bias towards any singular religion. This probably makes the book more appealing to a wider audience.
  
  I will be continually challenged to practice kindness and compassion in both my daily meditation and outside life and am thankful I read this book.
• 
  ¶Montse~

  Cumple con lo que promete ✌💙
• 
  Alex Wilson

  I have been meditating my whole life & my friends always wanted to know how I did it. How I stayed so calm with everything. I bought this book for my close friend & he's a changed man. I've never seen him so calm & relaxed. He doesn't stress anymore. We all meditate in our own way but this book is GREAT for showing you how to start the process. I couldn't be happier with the end result it has given my husband. Thank you Jack Kornfield.
• 
  Roan Steward

  My partner and I are neophytes to meditation. This CD came highly recommended by a friend who has been meditating for years.
  Kornfield leads through the process in a very comforting manner. His advice on how to stop "outside thought" enroaching was amazingly valuable - so simple and yet so effective!
• 
  Emily Peebles

  Accessible and unpretentious.
• 
  Consuelo Culver

  A humble book review of one of the books to read during quarantine isolation lockdown that will help you explore your feelings and emotions with loving kindness.
  
  Start your own self-care and self-awareness journey with Jack Kornfield easy meditation in his book, Meditation for Beginners.
  
  (/..\) WATCH the complete Book Review at YouTube/Consuelo.Culver.
  
  'Quarantine Books to Read Book Review: Meditation For Beginners by Jack Kornfield'
  (LINK Below -and- Bio)
  
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mem3q...
• 
  Illiterate

  Short simple guide. Relatively little hype.
• 
  Denise

  This is a great intro to meditation. I learned a lot in the short two hours of audio. I plan to listen again, this time all in one sitting. Highly recommend!
• 
  Ema Winters

  5/5 ⭐
  
  Un libro bellísimo con muy buena información y enseñanzas sobre el tema de la meditación.
  
  Como dice el autor, con estas prácticas no pretende que te conviertas en budista o alguien espiritual, sino que te brinda la posibilidad de ser una persona más atenta, amorosa, presente, compasiva y despierta. Con esto último se refiere a estar más atento al presente, a cada instante y con una visión más clara, porque nuestra mente puede divagar en el olvido, en la fantasía, sucesos e historias pasadas o futuras, y no es que eso esté mal, pero no podemos dedicarle la mayor parte de nuestra vida a eso porque no está sucediendo en nuestro presente. Con la meditación, tomamos conciencia del tiempo que perdemos sumergidos en los pensamientos, y se trabaja con los sentimientos y emociones de nuestro ser de la manera más compasiva, atenta y abierta.
  
  Todo en la vida está en un constante proceso de cambio, ya sea en lo externo, como las personas y la vida misma, como lo interno, nosotros mismos, nuestros pensamientos, sentimientos, nuestro cuerpo, etc. Entonces el problema viene cuando queremos aferrarnos a algo que una vez fue y que perdure, pero ese algo no dejará de cambiar, y el aferrarnos a eso no hace más que generarnos decepción y sufrimiento. Con la meditación, se aprende a fluir con el cambio (ya sea placentero o doloroso) porque vamos a vernos menos afectados a él, lo vemos como una transformación y podremos estar más relajado en medio de la incertidumbre.
  
  A medida de que se avanza en esta práctica, nos damos cuenta de que aferrarnos a algo placentero o temer a lo doloroso y escapar de lo que nos desagrada, esto no nos lleva ni a la paz ni a la felicidad, sino que genera otro sufrimiento que no debemos cargar. Aprendemos a soltar, y como dice en el libro, esto no es despreocuparse de las cosas, sino cuidar de ellas de un modo más sabio y flexible.
  
  En este libro se comenta y se práctica la técnica respiración, que va a ser nuestra base. Después trabajar con las sensaciones corporales. Luego el trabajo con los sentimientos y emociones. Después de esto, los pensamientos. Y así sigue, hasta ser 8 ejercicios más consejos para poner a prueba, como el de ponerlo en práctica dando un paseo. Recomiendo este libro!
• 
  Clif Brittain

  When I was in college, I tried Transcendental Meditation. Then I got busy and dropped it. I regret that I did, but after a third of a century, I'm back.
  
  This book is good and simple. I would give it a higher rating, but I don't know how well it works yet, so I may revisit the rating.
  
  I meditated for the first time for 20 minutes. The book is vague on what a good meditation time is. I did 20 minutes because that's what I remember as the TM time. It was a very, very long 20 minutes. First, there was the discomfort factor. I never sit that still. Second there was the puppy mind. I am always thinking about at least three things, and not the same three things for more than ten minutes at a time. My mind is sort of like shuffling a deck of cards.
  
  The book offers eight meditation techniques, one of which is a walking meditation. Three of them seem very, very similar. I'm going to try each of them for a week and see if I find any of a greater benefit.
  
  Of course the biggest problem for me will be discipline, carving out the time. Maybe the Sodoku will have to go.
• 
  Sonja Arlow

  I bought this book almost 3 years ago and it took that long to work through each chapter ….Yes I know that’s not very Zen of me.
  
  I would recommend this to anyone who would like to explore the practice of meditation as the content is not to over the top and more importantly the book comes with a CD that allows you, after each chapter, to practice what you read with the guidance of a master. It gently reminds you through your meditation to re-focus and (vital to a restless beginner like me) indicate when each meditation session is done.
  
  Books that explore eastern practices normally feel intimidating and foreign but this one is worth the effort. You don’t need to buy into all the theory behind this practice as it allows you the experience of (trying) to being still, mindful and present in the moment – something most people cannot even contemplate.
  
  I cannot claim that this book has converted me completely to the practice of meditation, what it has done is made me understand the starting point and given me a work in progress I can revisit anytime.
  
• 
  Amanda

  Trying several directions on meditation from books beforehand with relatively little success and a lot of frustration, Jack Kornfield was a breath of fresh air. Remembering what it was like for him as a meditational novice, he starts beginners at square one, offering reassurance that your failings are part of the process. The book comes with a CD in which Jack Kornfield himself gives a brief meditational session, guiding you with his voice throughout in soothing tones to help you get started. A useful book from a very wise man and recommended certainly.
• 
  Will

  While I've meditated for a number of years now, I felt that this text offered new insights. I discovered how a person can deal with intrusive thoughts - just acknowledge them/don't beat yourself, and bring your your attention back to your breath. You can't fight your thoughts so don't try to.
  
  I appreciated the section on mindful eating meditation which has you focusing on different aspects of the experience, utilizing all your senses, and paying attention to the different voices at place (i.e. "that was good, let's have more" or "it's not healthy to eat this).
  
  Great beginner's guide.
• 
  Matthew Lowe

  Jack Kornfield is a great Western Buddhism teacher and this book is a fun and easy primer on different forms of concentration and insight meditation. I have been learning to meditate in the Vipassana style for the past 6 months and this book cleared up some questions and misconceptions that I have had.
  
  My only complaint about the book is that Kornfield doesn't treat the book with much academic rigor; there isn't a single footnote, reference, or proof of his claims- and that leads the book to delve into shaky territory. In one chapter he quotes a Chicken Soup for the Soul story (in the chapter about Metta/Loving kindness meditation) and passing it off as true... And then, later in the same chapter, tells about a medical study that I can find no corroborating evidence for on Google (leaving me to believe that it is also an urban legend passed off as true.)
  
  Overall, I love his breezy writing style and the included audio that helps practice the meditation style after reading about it. Learning to meditate from books- without a live teacher- has been a challenging journey. This book has helped.
• 
  Kimberly W

  A good, simple overview of the basics of meditation. While I don't think I learned anything particularly new, you can't really have too much of a good foundation for practice. I especially appreciated the chapter on an eating meditation.
• 
  Cristian Gallegos

  Trata-se de um livro bastante pratico, simples e direto - portanto, respeita o seu título e atinge o seu objetivo. Dicas bastante claras para o inicio da pratica. É aquele tipo de livro que merece ser consultado frequentemente.
• 
  Breanne

  I set my audiobook timer for 15 min and it helped me sleep.
• 
  Amanda

  Read this during a Buddhist meditation course. It really helped bring a lot of concepts together for me about the purpose of meditation in the context of Buddhist philosophy, in a very accessible and practical way.
• 
  Saul Souto

  Terminado. Con lo que hoy se sobre este tema, me atrevo a recomendarlo entusiastamente.
• 
  Ricardo Costa

  Great for begginers
  
  Simple but effective. It's a great book for someone who wants to start meditation. If you already know how to meditate this is not for you
• 
  Confessionalpoetess

  this was a nice, basic book that seems like an excellent primer for beginners who want to learn how to meditate. But I found out after I bought the Kindle edition that the printed book comes with a CD. I wish that had been stated more clearly on amazon's Kindle shop.
  
  I am looking to begin meditation after starting--and giving up--more than 20 years ago. This book lives up to its promise of starting from scratch. Kornfield intertwines basic,understandable tenets of Bhuddist philosophy and reassuring advice without inundating would-be practitioners with too much information. My one complaint is a couple of anecdotal references towards the end of the book describing the power of positive thinking and prayer; he cites one study done on prayer groups and presents it as fact, stating only that the results were published in "a scientific journal." I'm not saying I doubt it, but in such instances I think naming the specific journal would lend more credibility. If you're going to publish something in a book,the author should make as much effort as possible to provide facts for the information presented.
  
  This book is a very quick read. I will re-read it once and then I'll start to use the exercises. Meditation isn't exactly an overnight process, so it's impossible to review this book based on the expected results. Instead, I've based my review on what I was hoping to get out of this book:
  
  1. Is this an easily accessible overview on the subject? Yes.
  
  2. Are there easy-to-follow meditation exercises? Yes.
  
  3. Is the author's tone down-to-earth and friendly? Yes.
  
  4. Do I need a Ph.D in Eastern Theology and Philosophy
  to understand this book? No.
  
  I feel more calm and relaxed already.
  
  
• 
  Ally Atherton

  
  I have always been interested in things of a spiritual nature and this is a good beginners guide to Meditation. It comes complete with a CD of guided meditations to go along with the book. However I only listened to meditation 'one' and found it easier to just read the book itself. It is easy to follow and is focussed on 'Insight' or 'Vipassana' meditation and I have enjoyed following this programme. I am hoping to continue to use it on a daily basis. I like the idea and think it could have lots of health and stress busting benefits but I guess only time will tell. It is well written and convincing, without any new world bullshit.
  It's well worth a read if you are into this kind of thing as much as I am.
• 
  Bob

  zen buddhism and meditation have been coming up a lot in my life so i grabbed this from the hands of bob to read before her. which i think worked out because she then started reading the four agreements which she has totally embraced and shared with me so we cross fertilized.
  
  anyway, this is a simple little book with lots of exercises for meditation and not too much theory. it also comes with a cd of guided meditations which i haven't listened to yet. Having just finished reading the art of zen i could connect more with the why of the meditation practices then was presented here. It was a good combination.
• 
  Steve Woods

  This is a really simple and accessible introduction. It's one of those immutable laws of life, and my own experience that if you just follow these instructions with honesty an open mind and willingness it will all come together. Meditation is about getting to know who we are, about waking up and then giving up old our old ways of being. It can happen for anyone, it is the key to the chains of the bondage of self. Consistency same time same place every day for 20 minutes no matter what you feel like. Simple but not easy. Just do it for a month and see.
• 
  X-Man Francis

  This book is good for exposing newbies on the different types of meditation and how to use them. I was a little disappointed because I thought it would entail research and studies related to the benefits of meditation. Thus, it teaches you the "how" but it barely covers the "why."
• 
  Samantha

  This audiobook was fantastic! I learned a lot about meditation and enjoyed listening to the author's peaceful wisdom and experiences. It included 4 short guided meditations that were great practice. I will definitely listen to this book over and over again as I continue to learn how to meditate.
• 
  Yolanda Blanch Ruiz

  A must read for everyone interested in meditation and mindfulness. Short, clear, to the point, insightful...
• 
  Emily Culver

  This book takes a very simple and straightforward approach to teaching you where to get started. It is more like a workbook than a text- you could probably read the whole book in less than an hour. It contains a few introductory chapter and then eight different meditations. I would read a chapter and try out that meditation before moving on.
  
  One meditation was paying attention to the sensations in the body and noticing them come and go. This was probably the most enjoyable and cool experience for me in the book as I felt itches, named them, and then didn't itch them. A number of moments later I'd notice I wasn't sensing it anymore. I have rarely had experiences like that.
  
  Another meditation was about feeling feelings. This one was the most challenging for me because I am really disconnected from the body sensations that make a feeling. I actually found that after the time I tried this meditation I became more observant of the feelings when situations arose in my day to day life and tried to use the experiences to trigger the feelings and then focus in on the feelings. This is one I think I will be growing in for a long time.
  
  Through the exercises I gained a much better understanding of how focus on breath works with specific meditations like focusing on your body sensations or the loving kindness meditation. Your breath is always there to bring you back when you get lost in thought, but you can then use it to focus on other present things like feelings or body sensations. This made me much more engaged with meditation and understand how it connects you to various aspects of the present, rather than just being a mind forcing exercise.
  
  I still feel I am just starting the journey into meditation, but this book really have me a clear understanding of what it's about and how to not judge myself in any experience, particularly since my mind likes to run the show. I feel confident I can do meditation on my own daily and not worry about if I'm doing it right or why I can't get rid of thoughts, because I'm not supposed to get rid of them, but just observe that they're happening and whenever I can refocus on the sensations of breathing or even the other sensations in the present. I will continue to keep this book nearby to refer back to the specific meditations on days when I want a little inspiration.
  
  Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in trying meditation out or is struggling with thinking they're not meditating the "right way."