Self Help

[The] journey toward health and sanity is nothing less than an invitation to wake up to the fullness of our lives as if they actually mattered . . . --Jon Kabat-Zinn, from the Introduction

Jon Kabat-Zinn changed the way we thought about awareness in everyday life with his now-classic introduction to mindfulness, Wherever You Go, There You Are. Now, with Coming to Our Senses, he provides the definitive book for our time on the connection between mindfulness and our physical and spiritual wellbeing. With scientific rigor, poetic deftness, and compelling personal stories, Jon Kabat-Zinn examines the mysteries and marvels of our minds and bodies, describing simple, intuitive ways in which we can come to a deeper understanding, through our senses, of our beauty, our genius, and our life path in a complicated, fear-driven, and rapidly changing world.

In each of the book's eight parts, Jon Kabat-Zinn explores another facet of the great adventure of healing ourselves -- and our world -- through mindful awareness, with a focus on the sensescapes of our lives and how a more intentional awareness of the senses, including the human mind itself, allows us to live more fully and more authentically. By coming to our senses -- both literally and metaphorically by opening to our innate connectedness with the world around us and within us -- we can become more compassionate, more embodied, more aware human beings, and in the process, contribute to the healing of the body politic as well as our own lives in ways both little and big.

I am deeply grateful that so many of you have found this book Courageous Conversations Connect, helpful as you embark on your healing journey.

I have learned over the many years of being a therapist as well as being a part of lived and shared experiences personally, professionally, relationally, familially and spiritually, that there are times in our lives when we all need to muster the courage to have difficult talks which I like to call Courageous Conversations. I believe that most times, we are fearful of having these conversations because we are unsure of the outcome and ultimately believe that it will lead to disconnection, cut-offs or loss. In my experience over the years, if we are courageous enough to have the conversation; the outcome more often than not, leads to us connecting with ourselves and the people who matter to us most. These conversations do not have to lead to despair, sadness or disappointment. As a matter a fact, they have the power to lead to quite the opposite; hopefulness, joy and contentment.

Thus, the following can result from reading this book about how Courageous Conversations Connect.

This is why I have chosen to call this book Courageous Conversations Connect and I am confident that reading it will make a difference in your life as well as in the relationships you value and treasure most.

Enjoy your journey, one Courageous Conversation at a Time!

Dr. Argie J. Allen Wilson, Ph.D.