This book, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, covers familiar territory. Many people's first exposure to Kabat-Zinn was on Bill Moyers' PBS special Healing and the Mind. His earlier books, Wherever You Go There You Are and Full Catastrophe Living, introduced us to mindfulness meditation and helped us apply it to chronic illnesses. This book takes things a step farther.
A Wider Audience
Kabat-Zinn's earlier books were written for particular audiences. Wherever You Go There You Are was written as an introduction to mindfulness meditation; and Full Catastrophe Living was written for people who have a chronic illness. Coming to Our Senses is for both audiences.
This book is 609 pages long, but some chapters are as short as two pages. Is there really that much more to say about mindfulness? Coming to Our Senses moves beyond helping people focus on the present moment in their lives, to also look at the present moment in the world around us. Kabat-Zinn begins the chapter "Healing the Body Politic" with the words "Everything that we have touched on so far in our explorations of mindfulness on a personal level applies equally well to our behavior as a country and as a species." This is new territory for a book on mindfulness, and not everyone will appreciate this part of the book. Becoming mindful of what we are doing to the planet may not make Kabat-Zinn popular with everyone, but it does make sense.
Who Is This Book For?
I recommend Coming to Our Senses to anyone who has read one of Kabat-Zinn's other books and found it helpful. It is also a good introduction to mindfulness, but the extension of mindfulness into politics and ecology may bother some. If it bothers you, start with Wherever You Go There You Are instead.
