Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, is perhaps the best-known proponent of using meditation to help patients deal with illness. (The somewhat confusing title is from a line in Zorba the Greek in which the title character refers to the ups and downs of family life as “the full catastrophe.”) But this book is also a terrific introduction for anyone who has considered meditating but was afraid it would be too difficult or would include religious practices they found foreign. Kabat-Zinn focuses on “mindfulness,” a concept that involves living in the moment, paying attention, and simply “being” rather than “doing.” While you can practice anything “mindfully,” from taking a walk to cleaning your house, Kabat-Zinn presents several meditation techniques that focus the attention most clearly, whether it’s on a simple phrase, your breathing, or various parts of your body. The book goes into detail about how hospital patients have either improved their health or simply come to feel better despite their illness by using these techniques, but these meditations can help anyone deal with stress and gain a calmer outlook on life. “When we use the word healing to describe the experiences of people in the stress clinic, what we mean above all is that they are undergoing a profound transformation of view,” Kabat-Zinn writes. “Out of this shift in perspective comes an ability to act with greater balance and inner security in the world.” –Ben KallenFeatured on Bill Moyer’s PBS special Healing and the Mind, this practical guide to mindfulness, meditation and healing from the author of the bestselling Wherever You Go, There You Are is a classic in the field of alternative medicine.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars No Longer Afraid To Take A Bow!
This book truly speaks to the mind, body and soul. It is the FULL TILT BOOGIE! Am on the mend thanks to this wonderful book of wisdom. It was recommended to me by a dear friend who always has one handy to share with onother suffering human being. I plan to do the same. The breathing lessons have been so valuable and restoring…I can continue to live my life with mindful presence, making each day better than the one before. Thank you Jon Kabat Zinn for sharing your wisdom and essence of life.
5 Stars Just what the doctor ordered
I read this book upon my doctor’s recommendation after serious childbirth injuries years ago. After a recent painful accident I purchased my own copy. It’s more than a how-to. It is informative, serious, and humorous. It contains passages of extraordinary beauty, insight, and compassion.
Purchasing the accompanying CDs has allowed me to put this wisdom into practice.
I recommend this book and the guided mindfulness CDs without hesitation.
3 Stars Comme ci, comme ca
I’m getting tired of repeating myself. Your service is uniformly good, you charge too much shipping for two or three week delivery, and your products have been completely satisfactory, with the exception of a lousy DVD I bought that didn’t work because it had obviously been played a thousand times. What am I supposed to do, incur a three buck charge by sending it back for a refund of $2.99? Keep up the good work, speed up delivery and/or charge less shipping.
5 Stars Full Catastrophe Living
Although Jon Kabat-Zinn can be a little verbose at times, he tells a great story. He’s excellent at presenting difficult information in a coprehensible, functional and life altering way. This book is a great guide for the beginning meditator as much as for one suffering with debilitating pain, both physical and emotional. Kabat-Zinn takes you through a journey leaving you with the tools to cope with life’s challenges in a more positive and productive way so that you can live a more fullfilled and joyful life. Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
5 Stars This book keystoned a deep and meaningful change in my life
Becoming mindful of the variety of situations life brings is the essense of this book. The process of becoming mindful is richly explained, and a thoughtful chapter on the attitudes of mindfulness deeply valuable. This book can serve as a beginning manual to meditation as well as a clearing of cobwebs for those returning to their practice.
The author evokes a deep empathy for people and their daily struggles. I’ve meet Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and he is just as kind and present in person as the words in this extraordinary book are. The benefits of impartial observation of life unfolding helped me become free of past habits, presented options when choosing responses and deepened my connection to myself and others.
Filed under: Personal Development Book Reviews