Clif Smith - Mindfulness without the Bells and Beads

1 Cover

2 Title Page CLIF SMITH

3 Copyright

4 Dedication

5 Foreword

6 Introduction Notes

7 Part I: My Journey with Mindfulness and an Introduction to the Fundamentals Chapter 1: The Power of the Trained Mind Three Skills That Changed My Life The Three Skills Applied Notes Chapter 2: Why Mindfulness Now? Notes Chapter 3: (Some of) The Science of Mindfulness Mindfulness Changes the Brain Mindfulness Reduces the Size and Activity in the Amygdala Mindfulness Increases Activity in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) Mindfulness Increases the Size of Your Hippocampus Mindfulness Increases the Size of Your Insula Notes Chapter 4: How Do Our Brains Work outside a Brain Scanner? Note Chapter 5: Finding the Signal in the Mindfulness Noise Notes Chapter 6: The Fundamentals of Cultivating Mindfulness Focused Attention Meditation Open Awareness Meditation Chapter 7: Your Journey Note

8 Part II: Diving Deeper: An 8-Week Journey to Exceptional Performance, Leadership, and Well-Being Chapter 8: Introducing the Course Motivation What Do You Need to Give Up? Establishing the Practice Dealing with the Excuse-Making, Judging, and Controlling Mind Note Chapter 9: Week 1: No Trivial Moments Waking Up to Your Life Mindfulness and the Body Chapter 10: Week 2: The Mindset You Bring to Your Experience Matters Nonjudging Patience Beginner's Mind Trust Non-striving Acceptance Letting Go and Letting Be Gratitude and Generosity Shifting from Doing to Non-Doing, aka Being Common Themes, Challenges, and Questions Notes Chapter 11: Week 3: Do You Have the Story or Does the Story Have You? Mindfulness of Sounds, Thoughts, and Emotions Common Themes, Challenges, and Questions Note Chapter 12: Week 4: The Saber-Toothed Tiger of the Modern World: Everything Stress and Our Stress Response Common Themes, Challenges, and Questions Note Chapter 13: Week 5: Delving into the Difficult Responding versus Reacting Common Themes, Challenges, and Questions Notes Chapter 14: Week 6: In the Same Boat S.P.A.R.R.ing during Difficult Interactions Common Themes, Challenges, and Questions Notes Chapter 15: Week 7: Who Watches (Out for) You? Empathy Compassion Kindness Cultivating Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness Common Themes, Challenges, and Questions Notes Chapter 16: Week 8: Maintaining Momentum A Mindful Day Common Themes, Challenges, and Questions Note Chapter 17: A Final Word

9 Acknowledgments

10 About the Author

11 AppendixResources Formal Practice List Informal Practice List

12 Index

13 End User License Agreement

1 Chapter 13TABLE 13.1 Responding thoughtfully to the inevitable challenges in life reduces...

2 Chapter 14TABLE 14.1 What Alice and Sarah are thinking during the conversation.

1 Chapter 1FIGURE 1.1 PICTURE OF ME AT SO'S TAE KWON DO TAKING A TEST FOR MY NEXT BELT ...FIGURE 1.2 EXCERPT FROM THE SAME ARTICLE DISCUSSING THE CONTEST FOR LOW-INCO...FIGURE 1.3 CATCH AND RELEASE.

2 Chapter 6FIGURE 6.1 AWARENESS OF BREATH MEDITATION CYCLE.

3 Chapter 7FIGURE 7.1 PLAN VERSUS REALITY.

4 Chapter 11FIGURE 11.1 SITUATION–INTERPRETATION–REACTION MODEL.

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2 Table of Contents

3 Begin Reading

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CLIF SMITH

Copyright © 2021 by Clifton T. Smith II. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.