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The Mind Illuminated

Written by: Culadasa John Yates PhD,Matthew Immergut PhD,Jeremy Graves
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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Publisher's Summary

The book that best-selling meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg raves "brings the path of meditation to life", The Mind Illuminated is the first how-to meditation guide from a neuroscientist who is also an acclaimed meditation master. This innovative book offers a 10-stage program that is deeply grounded in ancient spiritual teachings about mindfulness and holistic health and also draws from the latest brain science to provide a road map for anyone interested in achieving the benefits of mindfulness. Dr. John Yates offers a new and fascinating model of how the mind works, including steps to overcome mind wandering and dullness, extending your attention span while meditating, and subduing subtle distractions. This groundbreaking manual helps you work through each stage of the process, offering tools that work across all types of meditation practices.

The Mind Illuminated is essential listening, whether you are a beginner wanting to establish your practice or a seasoned veteran ready to master the deepest state of peace and mindfulness.

©2015 John Charles Yates (P)2017 Tantor

What the critics say

"A systematic, hands-on manual, The Mind Illuminated will be a great help to anyone who wants to completely fathom the process of meditative development in all its stages." (Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness)

What listeners say about The Mind Illuminated

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Better get the actual book or kindle version

There is a lot of very good information and step by step advice to meditate in this book. However, because it can get a bit technical at times and you can get lost trying to remember each step and the order, I think this is a book that is better to get either as an actual book or a kindle version.

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9 people found this helpful

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All good, one bad...

Incredibly useful and enlightening instruction on meditation, probably the best instructional and explanatory manual of meditation I’ve seen.
My only criticism is that the chapters are only numbered, and are missing the names and headings given them in the paperback version.
This would help immensely when searching out particular topics for specific information.

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4 people found this helpful

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A very complete book on a difficult topic

I would recommend this book to anyone I treated in starting meditation. the approach is easy to understand and not as etherial as some other books on the subject.

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1 person found this helpful

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Clearest method to achieve mindfullness

This is literally the only book you need for mindfulness. There are other books that talk better about the three characteristics of experience, impermanence, dissatisfaction and no-self. But, the basis to quiet the mind is only well explained in this book.

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A very important work

I had to read is several times to absorb the information and make it useful to me. My mind is open now and I’m aware of the momentum that is trying to close it again. I know the efforts needed to not only stay open but move forward.

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An extremely insightful book

I read many books on meditation and Buddhism. This is the best I have read. It is not only insightful and actionable but also beautifully written. Thank the authors for sharing

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A brilliant book.

A brilliant book written by a brilliant mind to develop your brilliant mind! Step by step instructions to get you through each stage. Good stuff!

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Great book on decluttering your mind

I love to Meditate and this book is a really good read on Mindfulness from basic to advanced technics. I will be getting the paper copy and relistening to the Audio at the same time. #Audible1

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  • Emil
  • 2017-06-02

Brilliant mediation guide!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I've been looking for comprehensive guide to meditation for years and know that found one now. By far the best book on meditation you can find. I've bought several hard copies of the book to be able to give as a gift.

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29 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2017-07-14

A Great Guide

Very practical and smart. Simple step by step system presents a very logical process, yet the author only says what is necessary to lead one to deep and profound levels of understanding. not much fluff and vibey language. I'll listen to it several times.

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26 people found this helpful

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  • E. Cardoza
  • 2017-06-28

Good content, narration is distracting

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Get a different narrator.

What didn’t you like about Sean Runnette’s performance?

He is an award winning narrator and I don't understand why. He consistently pronounces the "s" sound as "zsh" or similar, like he's clenching his teeth or something. It wasn't that "dizschtracting" in the audio sample but listening to it over time took me out of the book. I'm sure I'm in the minority here; maybe I'm just over sensitive. Drove me crazy.

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26 people found this helpful

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  • Cian
  • 2017-09-26

the most useful guide to the mind

This is the best mediation manual I've read, and I've been through a lot. It gives a nod to tradition but also dives deep into the psychological transformation that happens during meditation and explains the phenomenon that you will experience. it also gives very detailed and explicit instructions for each stage and warns about some traps that exist.

I found in stage 5 a trap that my father had been in for decades, and is now moving past! It's a great read and even better listen since the narrator makes you feel like he's instructing you directly.

The glossary and index make it a great reference manual, so I purchased both printed and audio book. I can't wait to meet and speak to Culadasa, interestingly enough he trained with the same teacher I did when I was a kid, Kama Ananda.

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25 people found this helpful

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  • Mike
  • 2018-03-25

If you could only choose one book this would be it

Any additional comments?

Since initially listening to this book, I've also listened to several others regarding meditation and Buddhism. I find myself repeatedly going back to listen to sections of this book for clarification of ideas and concepts.
The multiple 'interludes' in the book seem to be the most useful. The book also gives a meditator a good feel for what to expect at different stages of meditative development and how to overcome challenges. Without the information in this book a person would need a very highly qualified meditation teacher to be able to properly understand and navigate the various stages.

This is a very useful book!

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16 people found this helpful

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  • finfam
  • 2017-06-16

it's the Bible for meditation...

it's the Bible for meditation, and that's not necessarily a good thing. it is full of unbelievably useful information. having said that the information can be hard to access due to the verbage that's used. I assume that many science students or engineering students would love this book. but for the average consumer it's probably a little too dry. don't start here if you're just learning about meditation. if you're just curious go read Pema chodron. then come back to this when you're ready

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  • Patricia A.
  • 2017-09-07

Extremely helpful!

I read this book before and listened to the book after my ten-day vipassana meditation retreat. I got more out of the retreat because I read this book. I continue to listen to this book in my car for ongoing solidification of my practice and for inspiration when I drift from the habit of daily meditation. Thank you for making a difference in my life!

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11 people found this helpful

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  • Brian Murphy
  • 2017-06-05

Excellent guidebook to meditation and awakening

this is the most usefull guidebook to mediation and awakening I've experienced. i highly recommend it.

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  • Gordon Fontenot
  • 2019-06-17

Well produced, but probably better to read this instead of listening to it.

I had the sense multiple times during listening to this that I’d be better off with a physical book version instead. I feel like this book requires more digestion than is possible in an audiobook format.

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  • j. ed rosenblum
  • 2020-04-17

Nothing about ending birth. Nothing about nibbana.

And Culadasa doesn't seem all that selfless now that the sex scandals are known. Stick with Ajahn Brahm.

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6 people found this helpful