Toronto Method Mindfulness Handbook: Six Lessons in Embodied and Compassionate Meditation

Toronto Method Mindfulness Handbook is a thorough guide to the fundamental theory and practice of contemporary mindfulness meditation. It is a stand-alone resource for both beginning and intermediate practitioners. Through six lessons, Ari Kaplan explains the importance of balancing present moment awareness with loving-kindness, curiosity with non-identification, and intentional practice with the spontaneous experience of pure beingness. His teachings are rooted in recognized research methods, such as the Toronto Mindfulness Scale and Emotion-Focused Mindfulness. Reading or listening to this book is a meditative experience in and of itself and offers tools to: - Enhance self-awareness and insight, - Relieve stress, - Notice biases and social conditioning, - Alleviate mental suffering, - Improve relationships, and - Be naturally present, anytime. Kaplan blends science, law and philosophy with personal stories. He illustrates the likelihood of avoidance or spiritual bypassing on the way, and how self-compassion practices can open a doorway to healing deep pain.