A video documentary featuring Jon Kabat-Zinn and the art of mindfulness:
The modern world often seems chaotic, too fast and overwhelming. Recent statistics show there has been a huge increase in the amount of people turning to prescribed medication in order to deal with the turbulence of modern day living. Mindfulness can offer an alternative way of dealing with such issues, its methods are simple: sit down, breathe and be yourself in awareness.
Underneath the Surface is an exploration into mindfulness and the way we cope with the strains of modern life featuring Prof. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the very pioneer in meditation research. Mindfulness is the secular form of Buddhist meditation which is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative method to antidepressants, pain relief and penal reform. It is also having positive effects on business strategy, social networking, even education. From prisoners to chronic pain patients, from classrooms to law-firms, from Oprah to Twitter – this documentary follows film-maker Nick Oakley’s first steps into the world of mindfulness, as he meets different people from around the globe in the hope that he may begin to understand his own life more clearly.
Having had very little experience of any form of meditation, Nick will speak to people from a variety of backgrounds about their experience of mindfulness. Some may use it simply as a way of relaxing after a stressful day at work, or to help them relate to themselves and those around them more easily. For others it may be a way to deal with severe feelings of anxiety, to enable them to atone for a serious crime, or assist in a battle with terminal illness, addiction or depression. Through each of these stories, Nick will begin to understand more about the effect mindfulness has on such a broad variety of people, including himself.
For other posts featuring Jon Kabat-Zinn on this blog see here.
A great book by Jon Kabat-Zinn that introduces mindfulness in a wonderfully accessible way is: Wherever You Go, There You Are. I recommend this to people who are completely new to meditation, but it’s a great book for anyone really.
Here are a couple of other books of his that are popular. You really can’t go wrong:
Everything matters 