To begin to meditate is to look into our lives with interest and kindness, and discover how to be wakeful and free. We have so many ideas and beliefs about ourselves. We tell ourselves stories about what we want and who we are, smart or kind. Often these are the unexamined and limited ideas of others that we have internalized and then gone on to live out. To meditate is to discover new possibilities, to awaken to the capacity that each of us has to live more wisely, more lovingly, more compassionately, and more fully. – Jack Kornfield from Meditation for Beginners
Meditation for Beginners is Jack Kornfield’s most popular entry-level training course, with over 60,000 copies sold. Created specifically for novices, this course is a complete introduction to meditation and features four classic mindfulness exercises based on insight or vipassana meditation which is said to have originated with the Buddha himself. Clearly articulated and skillfully presented, Meditation for Beginners is designed to bring the peace and power of mindfulness to our everyday lives.
In this classic video from Sound’s True, Jack Kornfield explains how meditation may help us to live with greater compassion and how to incorporate sitting meditation into living in a more awakened state.
Jack Kornfield has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the primary teachers to introduce Buddhist and mindfulness practices to the West. After co-founding the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, he went on to be the founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. He is trained as a clinical psychologist and has a warm and engaging teaching style.
We invite you to participate in the upcoming 7-week training and mentoring program with world-renowned mindfulness teachers, Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Learn more here.