Books on Meditation and Mindfulness

When reality seems to be more surreal than true, it is time to take care of your inner self. When things seem to be out of your control, change your focus. From there you will be able to support your family, friends and kids. Self-care is as important as skin care. Botanical perfumes lie on the border between the two, as they can act as aromatherapeutic and beauty products depending on your goal. To get the most out of natural perfume, combine perfume application with quiet moments for yourself: reading a book, meditating or simply watching natural elements such as trees, rain, wind, found objects in nature, etc. By stopping and doing absolutely nothing, we stop the rush we constantly feel and try to catch up with which is then reflected in our mental health. Remember to use the three essentials: solitude, silence and simplicity.

Here is the list of books I highly recommend if you want to practice one of the following: meditation, mindfulness, yoga and other slow practices including contemplative writing, walks, etc. Botanical aromatics can serve as an additional medium and tool in the process. Use botanical scent to help fully immerse yourself in the ritual, explore new aromas in nature, pay attention to simple and most familiar aromas around you: around the kitchen, clothes, dried flowers, old books, etc.

Use the below list as a guide to connect with your local nature: birds, trees, flowers. The process of ‘gazing’ is the most simple activity you can do to stay in the moment. I recommend the books but you are free to use those which focus on your local flora and fauna. Study plants, aromatic, medicinal; study trees around your home, collect leaves, make it a purpose of your walk, do it with your kids or a friend; watch natural cycles of leafage change, light and dark periods getting longer and shorter; go bird watching in a local park, forest, garden or even out of your window, if possible. Any slow activity becomes a ceremony for something important and meaningful, while some may say, it is a waste of time, for most people it can be an escape from reality into the one surrounding us and the one we forget to notice and respect. Slow activities as mentioned above are all part of mindfulness practice, whether you are simply sitting trying to clear your mind or studying a dry fall leaf found in your yard, it is about stopping for a moment. Make it as regular as you can.

Recommended activities for mindfulness: writing, walking, meditation, yoga, nature gazing, tea ceremonies, olfactory sessions (testing and experiencing botanical scents), botanical study, bird watching, poetry reading (aloud if possible), etc. Add such tools as candles, natural scent, body perfume, incense, music; open a window, combine with a walk, even if it is just around the block, whatever makes you feel better from your own experience.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Choedroen

“Pema Choedroen reveals the vast potential for happiness, wisdom and courage even in the most painful circumstances.
Pema Choedroen teaches that there is a fundamental opportunity for happiness right within our reach, yet we usually miss it - ironically, while we are caught up in attempt to escape pain and suffering.
This accessible guide to compassionate living shows us how we can use painful emotions to cultivate wisdom, compassion and courage, ways of communication that lead to openness and true intimacy with others, practices for reversing our negative habitual patterns, methods for working with chaotic situations and ways to cultivate compassionate, energetic social action.
Pema Choedroen is a spiritual teacher for anyone - whether they have a spiritual path or not. Her heartfelt advice and wisdom (developed in her 20 years of practice as a Tibetan Buddhist nun as well as her years previously as a normal `housewife and mother') give her a wide appeal. This advice strikes just the right note, offering us comfort and challenging us to live deeply and contribute to creating a more loving world.”

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line of Shunryu Suzuki's classic. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And that's just the beginning. In the thirty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern Zen classics, much beloved, much re-read, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics - from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality--in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page. It's a book to come back to time and time again as an inspiration to practice.”

The Miracle Of Mindfulness: The Classic Guide to Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh

“In this beautifully written book, Buddhist monk and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh explains how to acquire the skills of mindfulness. Once we have these skills, we can slow our lives down and discover how to live in the moment - even simple acts like washing the dishes or drinking a cup of tea may be transformed into acts of meditation.  
Thich Nhat Hanh's gentle anecdotes and practical exercises help us to arrive at greater self-understanding and peacefulness, whether we are beginners or advanced students. Irrespective of our particular religious beliefs, we can begin to reap the immense benefits that meditation has been scientifically proven to offer. We can all learn how to be mindful and experience the miracle of mindfulness for ourselves. “

New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

“New Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Merton's most widely read and best-loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative tradition of St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing, and the medieval mystics, while others have compared Merton's reflections with those of Thoreau. New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken the dormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man, to nurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. For Merton, "Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the soil of freedom, spontaneity and love." 

Writing Down The Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

“With insight, humor, and practicality, Natalie Goldberg inspires writers and would-be writers to take the leap into writing skillfully and creatively. She offers suggestions, encouragement, and solid advice on many aspects of the writer's craft: on writing from "first thoughts" (keep your hand moving, don't cross out, just get it on paper), on listening (writing is ninety percent listening; the deeper you listen, the better you write), on using verbs (verbs provide the energy of the sentence), on overcoming doubts (doubt is torture; don't listen to it)--even on choosing a restaurant in which to write. Goldberg sees writing as a practice that helps writers comprehend the value of their lives…”

The Audubon Reader by John James Audubon

“This unprecedented anthology of John James Audubon's lively and colorful writings about the American wilderness reintroduces the great artist and ornithologist as an exceptional American writer, a predecessor to Thoreau, Emerson, and Melville.
Audubon's award-winning biographer, Richard Rhodes, has gathered excerpts from his journals, letters, and published works, and has organized them to appeal to general readers. Rhodes's unobtrusive commentary frames a wide range of selections, including Audubon's vivid "bird biographies," correspondence with his devoted wife, Lucy, journal accounts of dramatic river journeys and hunting trips with the Shawnee and Osage Indians, and a generous sampling of brief narrative episodes that have long been out of print--engaging stories of pioneer life such as The Great Pine Swamp, "The Earthquake," and "Kentucky Barbecue on the Fourth of July." Full-color reproductions of sixteen of Audubon's stunning watercolor illustrations accompany the text.
The Audubon Reader allows us to experience Audubon's distinctive voice directly and provides a window into his electrifying encounter with early America: with its wildlife and birds, its people, and its primordial wilderness.”

Medicinal Plants of Britain and Europe by Wolfgang Hensel

“This indispensable guide to the Medicinal Plants of Britain and Europe is part of the new Black's Nature Guide series. Over 350 species of plants are covered, each beautifully illustrated with detailed paintings and clear photographs. The images not only show you what the medicinal plant looks like in its habitat, but also focus in on specific features such as the leaves, flower head or berries to aid identification. Clear and concise information is provided, such as when the plant is in flower, the approximate petal size and preferred habitat.”

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. Discoveries from a Secret World. by Peter Wohlleben

“In this international bestseller, forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland. After learning about the complex life of trees, a walk in the woods will never be the same again.”

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

“Called the work of "a mesmerizing storyteller with deep compassion and memorable prose" (Publishers Weekly) and the book that, "anyone interested in natural history, botany, protecting nature, or Native American culture will love," by Library Journal, Braiding Sweetgrass is poised to be a classic of nature writing. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer asks questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces indigenous teachings that consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take "us on a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise" (Elizabeth Gilbert). Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices.“

Beneath My Feet. Writers on Walking by Duncan Minshull

“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well being and walk away from every illness.” Soren Aaby Kierkegaard

“Duncan Minshull has always walked, and in the last twenty years has made use of it by writing and publishing books on the subject. He has described the whys, hows and wheres of traveling on foot for various magazines and newspapers including The Times, The Financial Times, Conde Nast Traveller, Vogue, The Lady, Psychologies. And he has edited two other collections on walking: While Wandering (originally The Vintage Book Of Walking) and The Burning Leg.

Walking and writing have always gone together. Think of the poets who walk out a rhythm for their lines and the novelists who put their characters on a path. But the best insights, the deepest and most joyous examinations of this simple activity are to be found in non-fiction – in essays, travelogues and memoir. Beneath My Feet: Writers On Walking rounds up the most memorable walker-writers from the 1700’s to the modern day, from country hikers to urban strollers, from the rationalists to the truly outlandish. Follow in the footsteps of William Hazlitt, George Sand, Rebecca Solnit, Will Self and dozens more. Keep up with them – and be astonished.”

Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems

“Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems is a collection of poetry that provides a refuge of quiet clarity very much needed in today's restless, chaotic world. Every reader will find favorites to share and to return to, again and again. The diverse group of contributing poets includes contemporary favorites such as Wendell Berry, Joy Harjo, Jane Hirshfield, Li-Young Lee, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Derek Walcott, as well as poets of the past such as Hafiz, Pablo Neruda, Li Po, and Rumi. Readers of the poems in this book will begin to find themselves becoming less stressed, more balanced, and more fully present in the world. “