Healing the Heart and Mind with Mindfulness

Healing the Heart and Mind with Mindfulness is a practical book that provides strategies using mindfulness to manage stress, anxiety and depression, as well as ways to cultivate psychological wellbeing. Uniquely, it combines a traditional Buddhist approach to mindfulness with contemporary psychology and current perspectives. Drawing on the author’s many years of clinical experience as a psychologist as well as his personal experience in Buddhist meditation practices, it outlines how the Buddha’s four applications of mindfulness can provide a pathway to psychological wellbeing, and how this can be used personally or with clinical populations. This accessible, user friendly book provides strategies for healing the heart and mind. Malcolm Huxter introduces mindfulness as it is presented in Buddhist psychology and guides the reader through meditations in a systematic way. The practices are clearly explained and supported by relevant real life stories. Being aware that mindfulness and meditation are simple but not easy, Huxter guides the reader from the basics of mindfulness and meditation through to the more refined aspects. He provides a variety of different exercises and guided meditations so that individuals are able to access what suits them. The guided meditations can be streamed or accessed as free audio downloads. Healing the Heart and Mind with Mindfulness is aimed at anyone who wishes to use mindfulness practices for psychological freedom. This book provides insight and clarity into the clinical and general applications of Buddhist mindfulness and will be of interest to mental health practitioners, students of mindfulness, professional mindfulness coaches and trainers, researchers and academics wishing to understand Buddhist mindfulness and the general public.

"This is a wonderful book with many treasures. Written by a clinical psychologist, who has been deeply engaged with Buddhist practice for many years, his wisdom and experience of both Eastern and Western practices clearly shines through. Huxter not only has an extraordinary depth of knowledge but is a wonderful writer and makes complex things clear. I learnt a lot from this very accessible and wise book and will be returning to it many times; it is an illuminating gift to all those interested in this area and a must read." – Professor Paul Gilbert, PhD., FBPsS, OBE, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust "It was become very popular nowadays to "secularize" Buddhism in such a way that it is stripped of the depth and richness of the practices and theories that are based on the Buddha's teachings and the wisdom that has grown from the Buddhist tradition. In a refreshing departure from this reductionist tendency, Malcolm Huxter has brought into dialogue many core themes of Buddhism with the practical concerns and insights of modern psychology. Authentic Buddhist practices and ideas have much to contribute to alleviating psychological distress and to cultivating exceptional states of mental health and balance, and this book has much to offer in this regard." - B. Alan Wallace, President, Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies"This is a deeply sincere and touching integration of the core of Buddhist wisdom and modern psychology. It’s immediately practical, bringing the power of mindfulness and compassion to everyday life, and it also contains many guided meditations. Filled with the author’s own depth of practice, this is a life-changing book" - Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom"For therapists and others who wish to understand the roots of mindfulness, look no further. This book beautifully encapsulates the traditional literature on mindfulness and is written with the sensibility of a real-world psychotherapist and lifelong meditation practitioner. Importantly, the author unpacks how mindfulness is inextricably related to wisdom, compassion, and ethical behavior. As mindfulness goes mainstream, this book will surely be a valuable resource for curious minds." - Chris Germer, Clinical Instructor, Harvard Medical School, Author, The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, Co-editor, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy

Malcolm Huxter has extensive personal experience in Buddhist meditation practices and is also a clinical psychologist. Huxter currently works as a clinical psychologist and teaches Buddhist meditation practices such as mindfulness and the cultivation of heart qualities (loving kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity) between his home in Northern NSW Australia and the UK.