Breaking Free: Mindfulness for Anxiety
Reading Resources
Thank you for joining me at the workshop! Below are the suggested readings I include in the handout with links to the free PDFs offered by the monastics. I hope you find them helpful!
Books
Unwinding Anxiety, Brewer, (Penguin, 2021)
Whole Brain Living, Bolte Taylor (Hay House, 2021)
Monastic PDFs
Ajahns Amaro and Succito are Theravada Buddhist monks practicing in the Thai Forest tradition for ~40 years. They are both Englishman who’s writing I find practical, insightful and entertaining.
Succito, Breathing Like a Buddha
Breathing Like a Buddha very skillfully describes mindfulness of breathing with helpful instructions. I’ve used this to create several meditations for my Wednesday class. Chapter 5, Direct Knowing, pages 56-69 is what we touched on in the workshop.
Amaro, Catastrophe/Apostrophe
Catastrophe/Apostrophe explains the The Buddha’s teaching on Dependent Origination (the wheel of birth and death, or cycle of addiction). The second exit point from the cycle, Vedana (feeling), pages 87-110, was the central theme of the workshop. I attended a 10-day silent retreat with Ajahn Amaro in July 2024 on Dependent Origination and the Four Noble Truths and continue to practice and live by these insightful teachings.
A Mindful Moment for a Busy Day
This brief meditation (7 min.) is an invitation to slow down and get curious about the breath on a busy day. Giving ourselves a brief pause to center, ground, release tension and take refuge in the breath can be a valuable nervous system reset. You may find that some part of it really resonates and can develop your own 60-90 second check in when you need it.