A treasury of meditations for living from your heart―from a top teacher at the #1 online meditation service InsightTimer.In our noisy, noisy world, it can seem nearly impossible to find ways to turn off our busy minds, which so often flood us with worry and unending lists of tasks. So how do you find your way off the negativity treadmill? When you feel overwhelmed and afraid, how can you return to a place of groundedness and connection?“When we turn toward our hearts, we arrive like a bolt of lightning in the present moment, and all our arguments against ourselves and life go quiet,” teaches Sarah Blondin. “No matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, you can touch this place in yourself to feel free and alive.”With poetic brilliance and skillful instruction, this renowned teacher brings you a treasury of meditations and spiritual teachings to help you detach from your busy mind and tune into your feeling heart. As the students of her popular online trainings can attest, these simple and powerful practices can instantly bring you into a deeper connection with yourself and others. And you can go back to these meditations whenever you feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or afraid.Read Heart Minded from front to back for a full course in living a life guided by the wise heart―or open to any page for a reminder that, beneath your burdens and troubles, you are fundamentally whole and free.This book includes links to free guided meditations on audio, presented by Sarah Blondin.
There are few books I can say genuinely changed my life, this is one of them. Her voice is an absolute gift, I am so grateful to have been able to hear and know it.
I started this book in 2020, after listening to Sarah Blondin’s (free) guided meditations on the Insight Timer App for a few years. I finished it this morning.
Sarah’s guided meditations which appear at the end of each chapter or you can follow the easy URL links and listen to them (recommended) are wonderfully unlike any other I have experienced.
The reason for this has to do with why this book is now in my top 5 reads of all time.
First and foremost, Sarah is an exquisite writer. Her words, each one of them, feel so deliberate, intentional. She writes with experience, clarity, imagery, ease and conviction.
Put simply, this is a book about how to learn again (because we did this as kids), how to live a life guided by our hearts. It sounds simple and cheesy, as a practice it is anything but.
Often, I hear people describe themselves as Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist etc.These labels mean little to me personally apart from insight on how they were raised and info about their culture.
Show me who you are on a daily basis. How do you engage with people at home and at work when life is hard? What are your practices when life is falling apart or just plain disappointing? That is what interests me most because that is the (daily) work of being human. And often it is hard. And often it is joyful.
This is a book of encouragement and practice. It’s a guide about trying again (and again) to embrace life with grace and love and it is permission to feel all the feels.
This is hard work sometimes easier when it’s a practice. I am glad I took my sweet time reading this small book with so much wisdom. Some mornings I reading a few paragraphs and just let the words work their magic on my sad, foul or angry mood. A little goes a very long way with this special book. This is one I will keep close and happily gift again and again.
Beautiful book and, more importantly, beautifully read by the author herself who has an amazingly relaxing & almost soporific voice - perfect for the meditations at the close of each chapter. I’d highly recommend the audiobook version for that reason. I do believe that the paper copy also carries a code to access the guided meditations (though I cannot vouch for this as I haven’t got the book)
It’s a book that one needs never ‘finish’ reading and I will come back to it time and time again for its insightful content and also for the sublime meditations.
I discovered Sarah Blondin’s work through Insight Timer. You can check it out first if you have any doubt about whether or not to purchase the book.
Wow wow wow! Absolutely adore Sarah Blondin. Highly recommend getting the audio book. Her voice is the key.
She guided me out of some of the darkest moments of my life. This book doesn’t disappoint if you already followed and listened to Sarah over the years. This isn’t a book you ever really finish or really ever one you read. You pick it up again and again...
This book will remain by my bedside. I will study it continuously as it contains such tender guidance. I will listen to the affiliated meditations daily as part of my mindfulness practice. If you haven’t heard of Sarah Blondin I encourage you to research her, to listen to her meditations and podcasts. She is the divine mother I miss everyday. She’s tender and loving and all things we need in this terrifying world.
Thank you Sarah, for the peace and the permission you have given me to feel.
One of the most beautiful and helpful books I have ever read. The guided meditations were like taking a bath in a warm bath of light and love and helped me to open my heart and reconnect with myself every time.
My mom told me to read this book, that it was all the things she wished she could have told me (so, she did tell me them). With that beautiful framework, I was able to get the most out of this. I was already familiar with Sarah Blondin from some of my favorite meditations on the Insight timer app. She, as she acknowledges, is saying nothing new but speaks truth to the power of love in a really beautiful way. I really recommend reading with both a physical copy you can return to and an audiobook for the meditations and Sarah’s incredibly calming voice.
This is one of my favourite books of all time. It has truly changed my outlook on life. This book just felt like a warm hug and it came to me at exactly the right time. I’m so grateful that I found it randomly at my library! 💗
This is one of those books that you have to be open and ready for- when I first started it I can honestly say I wasn’t and it didn’t sink in as much as it does now.
It has quickly become one of my favorites for the pure ness of heart and her meditations that go with each chapter. It’s a truly beautiful read when you’re in the right place to receive all that it has for you.
The strength here seems to be in the quality of the audiobook. If you are looking to be soothed, then I think this is highly recommended and the five-stars are extremely justified. Listening to the audio on 2.5x approximates our normal speaking rate to give an idea of how deliberately paced it is. That’s not necessarily a criticism. The world is much too rushed.
But *plenty* of better books for practical self-intervention, reflection, and improvement exist. This book is a pretty picture. And a pretty picture is worth a 1000 words. But for reflection, I don’t want words. I want thoughts, ideas, actions, and substance. I want long-lasting change that makes me get to the foundations. I felt this was supposed to relax me temporarily and didn’t give me much to subsist on.
Usually, I’d chalk this up towards this not being the book for me, but the subtitle is explicitly a “how to” and it should be geared more towards the meditative.
Sarah has a brilliantly beautiful gift for guiding others to the depth of their hearts in a gentle and graceful way. I remember the first time I came across one of her meditations. She moved me in a way no other meditation teacher has.
Her book Heart-Minded is truly out of this world! Eloquent and exquisite are the two words I think of when I think about her writing which is deep to the core. The meditations that accompany this fine body of work that has brought me to new depths, released many tears and helped me stand even stronger in the light of who I am.
I’ve already gifted this book to a friend and also recommended it to several of my clients…and this isn’t the end, as I will continue to spread the word about this book that will no doubt help many in some pretty powerful and potent ways.
I first discovered Sarah Blondin on the Insight Timer meditation app. Her lovely voice and heartening words have guided me through many difficult days. I looked forward to reading her book and originally checked out a copy from my neighborhood library. I quickly realized Heart Minded was a keeper and bought a copy for myself. I have read chapters and listened to the accompanying mediations over the past several months and have been soothed and comforted each time. I couldn’t have found a better companion for the past year or for the years ahead. I know that I will return to this book and these meditations often and come away a kinder, more loving and thoughtful person. I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially to anyone struggling through these darkest days of the COVID pandemic.
Soothing. Nourishing. Lovely. There is a lot of spiritual fluff out there, especially in the self-help world, and this is not that. I have loved Sarah Blondin’s meditations through the Live Awake podcast for years, so when I saw she had a book out I knew audio was the way to go. And it did not disappoint. Her voice is so present and calm, but you can still hear a passion for each word she has written. True authenticity. This book brought up a lot of emotions and it’s one I plan to come back and work through again soon. It hit me at just the right moment but it’ll probably take a few reads to “metabolize” everything as she says. Glad to have it as a tool on the self love journey. Highly recommended as an audio book.
Beautiful book. I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook because Sarah’s voice is amazing and she guides you through the meditations. She shares such important insights and has helped me become at peace.
I really enjoyed this! Recommended on audio to hear SB read her meditations. This whole book reads like one long guided meditation. I love her meditations so much! Good if you want to be in a meditative state. Probably not the best for people looking for direct and concrete advice. It was missing a little bit of down to earthness for me, but there is a lot of beauty and poetry here.
I tried so hard to keep an open mind through this but just couldn’t love it like others did! I had to listen at 1.5x to get through it and found it too grandiose, with nothing tangible for me to take away.
I would follow this woman to the end of the earth. Sarah’s voice is so calming and enjoyable to listen to. She has a way that captures your attention immediately as she nurtures you through some very eye opening meditations. As long as you are open hearted this book WILL speak to you. Maybe not all the meditations but the ones that stick I won’t forget. I would recommend this book to anyone going through any sort of life change or perhaps just in a point of life that feels uncertain or scary and allow yourself to listen and open up.
Beautiful soul; mesmerizing voice; eloquent book. I discovered Sarah through the Insight Timer app and was astounded by her insight, hypnotic voice and gentle soul. Her book continues that deep conversation.
I wish I had had Sarah's wisdom for myself and for my children. All I could do was urge my daughter to listen to her and pretend it was me, saying all those things I wish I had known to say.
Soulwork is hard. Sarah touches those hard places and guides me to acceptance and grace. She extends beyond simple Buddhist meditation and into the realm of the Spirit, the Divine. This is one of the many reasons she resonated with me. I'm currently struggling with my intimate relationship right now and she challenges me to see the rough spots as portals into our greatest fears. I'm not sure I'll succeed at facing those fears but who knows?
I am calmed, knowing she is there to speak to me through her audiobook or her meditations on the Insight Meditation App.
One of my favorite teachers on the Insight Timer meditation app, Sarah Blondin, explains how to overcome the overwhelming disease in your life caused by the way we were raised, including yelling and time-outs, etc. She explains how to live our best life by being guided by your wise heart. The cover and book presentation is misleading because it makes the book look like it is only about romantic love and not a prescription for your whole life. The book's best feature is a link to the wonderful meditations that correspond to book chapters, delivered by the author in her engaging style. Sarah Bondin's meditation practices can be life-changing.
I love this teacher and highly recommend this book. I listened to this book on Audible and she is the narrator which was just perfect. She accompanied me on many hikes and drives. I would recommend listening to her on Insight Timer or her podcast to see if you like her style. I think her writing is pure poetry and a personal love letter.
Introduced to Sarah Blondin's podcast called Live Awake, I was hooked on her slow, calm cadence as she leads guided meditations. This book is a further exploration of how to heal through introspection. I turn it on at night and fall asleep to her soothing voice, allowing the words to subliminally clear my mind and spirit. I'm on my third round of listening to every page...
I first discovered Sarah Blondin leading metta meditations on insight timer. I downloaded her book and audiobook. I absolutely loved her narrative that explored the tension interplay between anxiety and love. I had a deeply moving experience lead by Blondin’s artful language and ethereal sound recording meditations.