Deeper Mindfulness: The New Way to Rediscover Calm in a Chaotic World

by J. Mark G. Williams, Danny Penman

Use the hidden foundations of mindfulness to rediscover calm and reclaim your life in our chaotic world

There are moments in life that decide your fate. They ripple into the future and dictate how you experience the world in the moments that follow; either positive and uplifting, dark and chaotic, or flat and dull.

What if you could recognise these moments before they seized control of your life? What if you could use them to set sail for a better future? What if all moments, big and small, could be harnessed this way?

In Deeper Mindfulness , Oxford Professor Mark Williams and Dr Danny Penman reunite to present a new eight-week guided meditation programme that takes mindfulness to the next level. Deeper Mindfulness reveals how the latest advances in neuroscience, combined with millennia old wisdom, can be used to transform your life. These discoveries open the doors to a deeper layer of mindfulness known as the 'feeling tone'. This sets the 'background colour' that tinges your entire experience of life. It is also the tipping point from which you can reclaim your life in an increasingly stressful and chaotic world.

Proven effective at treating anxiety, stress and depression, the practices in Deeper Mindfulness offer a new and more fruitful direction for both novice and experienced meditators. It also allows the rest of us to approach life with renewed strength, vigour and equanimity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Meditation, Buddhism, Mental Health, Psychology, Philosophy

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 25, 2023

About the author

J. Mark G. Williams, D Phil, is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and Wellcome Principal Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Experimental Psychology. He has held previous posts at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, the Medical Research Council Applied Psychology Unit (now Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit) in Cambridge and the University of Wales Bangor, where he founded the Institute for Medical and Social Care Research and the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the British Academy. He was educated at Stockton Grammar School, Stockton-on-Tees, and at the University of Oxford.

His research is concerned with psychological models and treatment of depression and suicidal behaviour, particularly the application of experimental cognitive psychology to understanding the processes that increase risk of suicidal behaviour in depression. With colleagues John D. Teasdale (Cambridge) and Zindel Segal (Toronto) he developed Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for prevention of relapse and recurrence in depression, and two RCTs have now found that MBCT halves the recurrence rate in those who have suffered three or more previous episodes of major depression. His current research focuses on whether a similar approach can help prevent suicidal ideation and behaviour. His articles also focus on how autobiographical memory biases and deficits affect current and future vulnerability.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Yamini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeper Mindfulness is a directional way of living your life. The book helps us understand the impact of little moments in life. The ones that dictate your next course of action. Like standing on the edge of a knife and momentarily deciding which way to tilt to start the snowball effect of your thoughts, feelings and decisions.

The book introduces you to an 8-week guided program that you can read+listen to and implement in real life. My favourite part about this book was that each chapter starts with a story, that acts as an example. From there, take you to the concept discussed in that chapter. There are proofs to back up the claims of the book, but the beauty of the book is that it does not feel like a research paper. The way the writer connects the stories to facts and exercises makes it interesting to read.

After completing the book I am already rereading the program sections to implement them in my life. It's easier to do it each day when someone guides you on a day-to-day basis. And a few of my favourite highlights are:

💫 Learning to respond - not react
💫 We can flee from situations but can't escape our whole life
💫Dont approach emotional problems logically
💫You can never fail at mindfulness

I wanted to thank @gcpbalance for gifting me a free copy of this book. I just feel I might have missed so much if I had not read this book. It is transformational!

Genre: #nonfiction #selfhelp
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️

[booksbikesbooze · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars...

intro into medidation and how our brain functions - I found this interesting & useful.

Thank you @balance @GCP for my #gifted copy.

[Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been learning about mindfulness and Buddhism (which mindfulness is based on) for a while now so I am coming from a non-expert, but not a beginner perspective. As someone with a bit of experience, I found this book both familiar but with a unique format for exploring a particularly key aspect of mindfulness. I followed the book as prescribed, one chapter each week using the provided meditation tracks although I wasn't always able to do the full recommended time each day. I appreciated the explanations and connections to current neuroscience research. I find it helpful to know how and why things work. I also appreciated the connection to Buddhism and the origins of mindfulness. I don't often give 5 stars to these types of books and this one isn't without its flaws. Although the included testimonies were very helpful in illuminating potential roadblocks and issues that might be encountered, some were a bit heavy handed with the praise. Not that it didn't seem authentic, but was occasionally a bit much. However, the book is so well structured and the author did such a good job of keeping it simple but still including a number of very powerful techniques and important ideas it was too close not to round up. I think the simplicity, good writing, and tight structure will help make this book accessible to beginners. As someone who has been studying mindfulness a while, I found this a well done introduction of Buddhism topics into a mindfulness framework more graspable to a Western mindset. I really like the way the author framed the covered concepts so I think it is likely I will continue to revisit the meditation tracks and sections of the book I highlighted.

I received this book in Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the author and publisher.

[Katharine Chestnut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeper Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman is a cool guide that takes you through an eight-week mindfulness journey. Building on their previous book, they mix modern neuroscience with ancient wisdom to show how mindfulness can change your emotional experiences.

The main idea is about recognizing key moments in life that shape your future. They introduce the concept of ‘feeling tone,’ which is like the emotional background color of your life. By tuning into these tones, you can better navigate chaos and find calm. It’s similar to what we might call mindset or limiting beliefs, and I found it really relatable.

What I loved most about this book is its practical approach. The guided meditation program is available for streaming or download, which makes it super flexible—kind of like using Insight Timer but with more targeted options. I did find the interface a bit clunky at first, but once I got the hang of the separate audio files, it became easier to pick meditations that fit my needs.

The guided meditations are a real highlight. The soothing voice of the narrator adds a nice touch, making each session enjoyable. This connection is key since a good meditation experience often depends on how much you vibe with the guide.

Overall, this book is a fantastic resource for anyone, whether you’re new to meditation or have been practicing for a while. It offers great insights into managing stress and anxiety, helping you approach life with more strength and calm. Plus, the price feels fair for all the valuable content you get.

In a chaotic world, this book can help you find a calmer, more intentional way to live. If you’re looking to boost your meditation practice or just need some tools to handle life’s ups and downs, this book is a great companion on your journey to rediscovering peace.

[Michelle Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered meditation and mindfulness during the worst depression of my life. It's been beneficial for me regarding day to day mood, complex PTSD, and overall sense of gratitude. Meditation and mindfulness is one of the best things I've ever added to my life and I wish this sense of peace to everyone.

I read the authors’ previous Mindfulness and found it extremely helpful as an addition to my own meditation. So I knew that I wanted to read Deeper Mindfulness as well. I'm glad I had the opportunity to do so.

Though I wasn't able to listen to the guided meditation tracks with the advance copy of this title, I found the overall message positive and will be getting a physical copy of this for my own.

Recommended (if you're new to the authors work or mindfulness, I would suggest starting with their earlier work, Mindfulness).



Thank you to Balance (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the DRC!

[Teaching Little Fishies · Rating 4 out of 5]

🧘🏽 This book is a follow-up to the bestseller, Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World. Within this book, Professor Mark Williams and Dr Danny Penman deliver a new eight-week guided meditation program.

🧘🏼‍♀️ Filled with advances in neuroscience research, aged-old wisdom and activities for you to put into practice straight away, this book is an easy read. If you are wanting to understand more or build on your current knowledge of the world of mindfulness then go no further than this book.

🧘🏽 There is no pressure to launch yourself into this world and become a mindfulness and meditation expert but this is simply another gateway to broaden your mind and reap the potential benefits.

[Michaeline Perry]

Not going to rate this one. I DNFed within the first few pages, not because there was anything wrong with the book, just because I realized it's not a topic I'm all that interested in anymore. I requested this book from the publisher when I was still planning on going into social work and was building up my professional library and using books to continue my education. Since that's no longer the case and meditation isn't one of my personal coping mechanisms, I decided this book is not for me. I will be either giving it to friends of mine who work in the mental health field or popping it in a little free library.

[Gerry Grenfell-Walford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The follow-up to the immensely impactful 'Mindfulness: a practical guide', this builds on further developments and refinements but will stand alone without having read the previous work.
With this book, as with the previous, you get out what you put in. Yes, the narrator on my audiobook had a deeply soporific voice. Yes, having to switch back and forwards then back again between the tracks to get the right meditation or pick up from where you left off last time is a faff.
That said, diligence pays off and this book goes a long way into establishing and filling out good, useful practices for calming and focusing the mind.

[Paul]

Since mindfulness requires thought and practice, this is not a quick read. This includes some strong ideas that will help many readers. There's a great deal of time spent on meditation, which will likely most helpful to those with little or no experience with it. And there is other help info as well.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

[SandraViz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used/use the audiobook book in German with all the wonderful meditations/practices. I finished the book / the first round of the 8 week course but I will keep using them and of course the knowledge of vedana itself will influence the way I live. It’s a wonderful concept to simplify the awareness of our “emotional body”

[Alexandra Baradi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be about how to be better at being mindful towards others and that was not it at all - this is a book about being mindful to yourself and it was a read I didn’t know I needed. Very informative with lots of meditation suggestions. I enjoyed it

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book just kept telling you to read the authors' first book and what's the point of that??

[Brandi Andress · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am re- reading this book from last year!! So much information!

[Imants Gliemezis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about this book in The Times and I felt it could help me in the periods when I get stuck ruminating on some kind of a negative fantasy of mine.
I would say that it does, but the reason I am giving it only three stars is that the voice of the narrator for the audio supplement (the actual meditations) is so horribly dull that it honestly prevented me from doing the exercises.