Beginning Mindfulness: Learning the Way of Awareness

"Weiss's sincerity and caring come shining through in this book, and he has some great ideas that he tries to synthesize into a structured program, but there are some deficiencies that in the end made me give up his program. Foremost is that the program he offers makes things WAY too complicated.

You are expected to remember numerous things to do throughout your day, as well as memorizing key words for "guided meditations" or hathas, and you are expected to remember different things to do in different parts of your meditations, in certain sequences. It is just too much, and eventually you feel like you are constantly forgetting something that you were supposed to be doing, or should have done.

For example: By the fourth week you are supposed to remember to do four different things throughout the day in a mindful manner, use a bell signal to stop and be mindful, do three different things in a certain order during your formal meditation, do mindful walking when you go to the restroom and after your sitting meditation, eat at least one meal mindfully, and use a hatha for at a least one activity throughout the day. This seems ridiculous to me. How could anyone possibly remember all of that? It eventually led to frustration and seemed contrary to one of the characteristics of mindfulness practice: that it should be a simple procedure.

The second problem, I felt, was poor explanations for the procedures. This is strange, because his explanations of the concepts of mindfulness were exceptional clear and practical, but when it came time to explain how to do something, it fell far short.

For example: at one point fairly far into the book, he says something to the effect of making the first segment of your meditation at least 5 minutes, the second 10 minutes, and the third at least 5. Yet, I had no idea what "segments" he was talking about. I thought I missed something and skimmed back through the entire book twice, but found no reference to these "segments", so I began guessing at what he might be referring to, but that just led to more confusion.

Not saying this to be true, but the FEELING I got was that this program is something that hasn't had a lot of refinement and use.

Compare this book with "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Bhante H. Gunaratana. There you will find a program that is incredibly simple, and that has a feeling of "tried and true".

I can certainly appreciated what Weiss is trying to do here, and I applaud him for such a sincere and honest effort, but I just think the program needs to be critiqued and refined a bit more."
~ Written on 2008-08-13

"This book has a lot of great ideas for ways to practice mindfulness. You don't need to know a lot about the theory of mindfulness to benefit from the exercises in this book and the suggestions are quite practical and easy to incorporate into every day activities."
~ Written on 2007-01-16

"I first found this book in my local library, but after finishing it knew that I had to have a copy. It's one of the most practical mindfulness/meditation courses I've ever encountered. This offers plenty of techniques for fitting meditation and daily life mindfulness into a busy schedule, while not skimming over the more intense practices. It would probably be of most use to someone using it in a group, as that would give more potential for feedback, but it's still an excellent resource for a solitary meditator."
~ Written on 2007-01-11

"This book offers a structured, ten week course in learning the way of mindfulness as a spiritual practice. Because of this, I find it useful. It is good for the very new person, and for those like myself who are studying without yet having a teacher and who may not be naturally self-disciplined.

It begins with a four week section designed so the reader knows how to set up the basic elements - breathing, sitting meditatin, daily life practices and such, both formally and informally. After this phase is completed, the student will have the basics as part of a schedule and can move on.

In the fifth through eighth weeks, the student learns to focus on mindfullness of body, feelings, thinking and objects of mind (this last chapter focuses on thoughts, feelings, or object of perception which our mind is focusing on - and includes mindful conversation and deep listening).

In the third section, weeks nine and ten, one practices loving kindness and compassion.

At the beginning of each section there are two guided meditations you can use, breathing in, breathing out (and specific sentences to help guide you)

The final section has ways to continue this.

This book is very good as a help to those working alone. A good-sized book, it offers over 200 pages of instructions, not including introduction, appendix, index and other comments. It is a book I can use over and over...someday I'll grow out of it but not just yet."
~ Written on 2005-05-31

"Accessible, simple, straightforward -- this is the sort of meditation instruction book that Andrew Weiss offers. It's not preachy, doesn't profess to offer answers. Rather, it offers a direct way into what some consider a difficult, even unattainable practice. Mindfulness is a miracle, Thich Nhat Hanh says and to be present to what is actually happening -- pleasant or unpleasant -- is a great accomplisment. To be present for another person is a great gift. It's what our partners, children and friends really want -- our true presence. Here's a guide about how to get here.

So, in this book, there is a path laid out, with infinite variations possible, for bringing more mindfulness into the lives of individuals, families and communities. Goodness knows we need guides like this in these times of fear, violence and uncertainty. They steady us on the path and allow us to discover our connections with all beings."
~ Written on 2004-04-25