The Art of Mindful Singing is an enlightening insight into how we can all experience well-being through the meditative beauty and power of music. Jeremy Dion explores how singing can create a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us through its sacred notes of melody, bliss, and joy. Through personal anecdote and expert insight, he reveals how mindful singing provides a pathway to experiencing flow, a pure psychological state of bliss. Alongside practical meditations, we realize how releasing our voices is a universal, healing chord to promoting harmony and meaning in modern life.

“Singing is as human as breathing, and this book tells us why.” —Mark Guarino, contributing music writer, The Guardian Celebrated yogi-musician Girish opens new possibilities for transforming your life through song, combining the ancient art of singing mantra with twenty-first century neuroscience research. For as long as he can remember, Girish has created rhythm to accompany life. His first experience of music as sacred art came in college, playing with jazz bands. “During improvisational sessions,” he recalls, “there were these unexplainable moments of synchronicity and intuition that felt like magic.” This led Girish to an unexpected journey—a seeming detour to live as a monk in an ashram for five years that inadvertently nourished his musical artistry. Here, he studied Sanskrit as a means to understand the deeper meanings of ancient chants, which sparked a life-changing event that led him back to music—and to combine music with Sanskrit chants. Now he shares what he’s learned to help people of all ages, backgrounds, and traditions to transform body, brain, and life through mantra and music. With Music and Mantras, Girish has created an interactive toolkit—including more than ninety minutes of companion audio material—for personal transformation through singing, sharing his own experience as a musician, yogi, and former Hindu monk. Weaving simple, elegant mantras from ancient traditions with neuroscience, Girish shows us how to achieve greater peace of mind, clarity, calm, focus, and even improved health and wealth through the yogic art of chanting—an ideal practice for singing our way to happiness, health, and prosperity.

"Making Music for Life is the adult novice's friend. First, it cheerleads for music's salutary benefits to the music-maker's soul. Then it becomes a useful how-to handbook: finding a teacher and learning how to practice once you have one. How do you hook up with like-minded enthusiasts and what are all the ways you can learn to make music together? How about performing for others? And maybe you will end up teaching others yourself. This useful book is a doorway into the endless joys of making music, for everyone at any age." — Bernard Holland, Music critic emeritus, The New York Times and author of Something I Heard Do you hope to expand your musical circle? Need inspiration and practical ideas for overcoming setbacks? Love music and seek new ways to enjoy it? Roots musician Gayla M. Mills will help you take your next step, whether you play jazz, roots, classical, or rock. You'll become a better musician, learning the best ways to practice, improve your singing, enjoy playing with others, get gigs and record, and bring more music to your community. Most importantly, you'll discover how music can help you live and age well. "A keen road map that supports musicians and the expansion of their craft. Gayla's done the work. All you have to do is step on the path and follow her lead." — Greg Papania, music producer, mixer, composer "Gayla Mills shares the nuts and bolts of fostering one's hidden musical talent. But perhaps most importantly, she shares the power behind music. . . . anyone seeking to awaken their musical passion will find this book ideal." — Dr. Lynn Szostek, psychologist and gerontologist "Making Music for Life absolutely fascinated me. It's beautifully written and engagingly constructed and it helped me better understand why music has remained central to my life. I found it entrancing." — Steve Yarbrough, author of The Unmade World and guitar player "Gayla Mills' precision with language, delight with music, and intrinsic joie de vivre make her the perfect author for Making Music for Life. Everyone who has tapped a foot or hummed along with a band will love this book, and maybe, just maybe, make music a bigger part of their lives." — Charlotte Morgan, author of Protecting Elvis "Gayla Mills shares the nuts and bolts of fostering one's hidden musical talent. But perhaps most importantly, she shares the power behind music. It boosts creativity and reduces stress. It strengthens social bonds, helping us find harmony while resonating with others. From amateur musician to Grammy-winning performer, anyone seeking to awaken their musical passion will find this book ideal." — Dr. Lynn Szostek, psychologist and gerontologist "What better way to counteract boredom, stress, anxiety and even depression than playfully learning a new instrument, singing, jamming, or just learning to hear the pitch, rhythm and timbres of sounds around you. Gayla Mills, in her book, Making Music for Life, offers tips for learning to hear and live life like a musician, while boosting your dopamine and improving cognition at the same time." — Dr. Jodie Skillicorn, psychiatrist "Gayla and I were part of a motley group of musicians who gathered monthly to play and sing. The years passed. My guitar strings rusted; my piano went out of tune. I felt remorse and sadness. But now I realize that I'm the perfect audience for this thoughtful, detailed book, and I'm very thankful she had the vision and heart to write it." — Liz Hodges, author and guitar/piano player "Music can be a powerful part of your life even if it is not your livelihood and Gayla's book Making Music for Life is like a table setting for this magical, mystical, musical table setting of love." — Michael Johnathon, musician and WoodSongs Old-time Radio Hour producer "As a scientist who frequently speaks about the benefits of music on the brain, I'm often asked: is it too late for me? Mills provides a highly readable and practical guide that democratizes music's promise." — Dr. Nina Kraus, Professor, Brainvolts Auditory Neuroscience Lab, Northwestern University

"The beautiful new book from Salon bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud ... explores how reading mindfully enhances our lives and asks, if reading is our daily nourishment, how best should it be consumed?" - Damian Barr The healing power of reading has been renowned since Aristotle; focus, flow and enlightenment can all be discovered through this universal act. The Art of Mindful Reading embraces the joy of absorbing words on a page, encouraging a state of mind as deeply therapeutic and vital to our wellbeing as breathing. Bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud asks if reading is our daily nourishment how best should it be consumed? How should you read mindfully? And why will reading mindfully help you to read better? She explores how reading mindfully can shape the person you are, give you your moral backbone, and teaches empathy with others. Through meditative exercises, engaging anecdote, and expert insight, she reveals the enriching potential of reading for mindfulness.

"Peppered with intriguing exercises and motivational quotes" - BBC Music mag “Mark Tanner has written a mindfulness manifesto for music” - BBC Radio 3: Music Matters "Mindfulness in Music is both informative and thought-provoking - a fascinating read on many levels" - Julian Lloyd Webber Mindfulness in Music is a joyful exploration into the meditative nature of music and its holistic beauty. Mark Tanner reveals how composers and musicians have always embraced mindful connections, and how everyone can cherish the same life-affirming chords. Whether listening to a forest soundscape, playing trombone in a ska group or listening to Beethoven or Beyonce, he reveals the natural ecology to all forms of music, and the creative mindful instinct we share. Through unique meditations, personal reflections, and holistic notes, this astute author shines a spotlight on the humanity and spirituality in music.

TV, radio, traffic, telephones, pagers - our minds are bombarded daily by constant noise and clutter. No wonder so many people find it increasingly difficult to listen and comprehend. Simple pieces of information such as names go "in one ear and out the other." Poor listening may have tragic consequences such as the Challenger disaster and the Potomac River crash of 1982, or it can result in smaller tragedies such as lost promotions, stalled marriages, and troubled children. Rebecca Shafir assures us that we can transform every aspect of our lives, simply by relearning how to listen. The Zen of Listening is grounded in the Zen concept of mindfulness, a simple yet profound way of learning how to filter our distractions and be totally in the present. Rather than a list of tricks, this book is an all-encompassing approach allowing you to transform your life. Readers will be amazed at how simply learning to focus intently on a speaker improves the relationship, increases attention span, and helps develop negotiating skills. Learn the great barricades of misunderstanding, find out how to listen to ourselves, discover how to listen under stress, and boost our memory. This is a fun and practical guide filled with simple strategies to use immediately to enjoy our personal and professional lives to the fullest.

Our world is brimming with sound: from the detonation of distant thunder to the drip, drip drip of a rusty drainpipe. Once we’ve been shown how to listen more attentively and creatively, we can access a deeper, more lasting meditation. Our thoughts, dreams and daydreams might be carried along a stream of birdsong, or punctuated by a rush of unexpected laughter. Learning about sound––where, how and why it comes into being––is learning about the world itself. In Mindfulness in Sound, Mark Tanner encourages us to consider afresh the origins of resonance and the wider impact of natural sound in our daily lives. Through simple meditations, he shows us how we can become more receptive to a hinterland of beautiful as well as challenging noise, and tune into the soundtrack of our own imagination. As we consider the nature of sound––and the sound of nature––we will find ourselves connected more vibrantly to the world we live in and to a more sustainable inner peace.