The Best Mindfulness Book to Read in 2023

This book has an interesting way of describing our thoughts as deceptive brain messages that breed false thoughts and create stress.

The authors continue to show four steps of relabel, reframe, refocus, and revalue to change the way our brains react to these deceptive messages, and break out negative habits. The book shows that by using mindfulness practices, everyone can transform their self for the better.

Popular Quote: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

A little book that’s handy to keep in the bag and read on your commute. It contains 10-minute mindfulness exercises that readers will enjoy. The language is simple but powerful in explaining mindfulness. A lot of the focus is on breath awareness to bring awareness to the present moment.

Popular Quote: “Mindfulness is being aware of or bringing attention to this moment in time, deliberately and without judging the experience. So, when we go for a mindful walk we really notice every little detail and all we encounter – trees, cars, flowers growing out of small cracks, or a cat crossing the road – rather than creating to-do lists.”

The popular bestseller with a strong title presents a contemporary approach to self-improvement. Great for beginners with no previous experience in mindfulness.
Using a series of seven assertions Bishop explains that the barriers stopping you from thriving in life are up to you to overcome.

Popular Quote: “You must first accept that while there are things that have happened in your life that you had no say in, you are 100 percent responsible for what you do with your life in the aftermath of those events. Always, every time, no excuses.”

Focused more on practicing mindfulness meditations, this best seller is packed with 75 easy-to-follow mindfulness meditation exercises to feel more present in the moment.

This book doesn’t have as much depth about mindfulness as some of the other books, but its strength lies in offering simple to follow steps to begin meditating for beginners.

Popular Quote: “My first big insight came when I realized that my reactions to these experiences were causing me more pain than the experience itself.”

The book starts by introducing the four causes of mental clutter:
• Stress
• The Paradox of Choice
• Too Much Stuff
• The Negativity Bias

It then expertly describes several steps and exercises to declutter your mind and focuses on the benefits of mindfulness, such as reduced anxiety, improved relationships, and decreased mental clutter.

Popular Quote: “Your constant inner dialog distracts you from what is happening around you, right here and now. It causes you to miss valuable experiences and sabotages the joy of the present moment.”

Michael A. Singer’s book aims to help the reader explore themselves and understand all the parts that are holding them back from becoming fully conscious and free.

This is a global bestseller that shows that resonates with society globally.

Popular Quote: “True personal growth is about transcending the part of you that is not okay and needs protection.”

The former Buddhist monk, and one of the most recognized voices in meditation, Andy Puddicombe provides an easy-to-understand book on mindfulness.

Written in the down-to-earth language that Headspace is known for, this is an excellent intro to mindfulness and meditation.

Popular Quote: “The kind of happiness that I’m talking about is the ability to feel comfortable no matter what emotion arises.”

You might be mistaken in thinking that this is a Jon Kabat-Zinn list, and to be fair, you’ll see him again before the end of the list.

Wherever You Go, There You Are has been a bestseller for decades showing its authority on the subject.

Popular Quote: “If we are not careful, it is all too easy to fall into becoming more of a human doing than a human being, and forget who is doing all the doing, and why.”

Authors: Mark Williams and Danny Penman.

With a more science-based approach to mindfulness, Williams and Penman introduce Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and as the title suggests, provide an 8-week practical guide to how to include mindfulness practice in your daily life.

Popular Quote: “We try so hard to be happy that we end up missing the most important parts of our lives and destroying the very peace that we were seeking.”

After a nationally televised panic attack, new anchor Dan Harris set about understanding how he got to that infamous moment.

This is a great book written from the side of someone struggling with anxiety. The book explores going from expert to expert from science to spirituality to find how to become “10 % Happier.”

Popular Quote: “We live so much of our lives pushed forward by these “if only” thoughts, and yet the itch remains. The pursuit of happiness becomes the source of our unhappiness.”

Read the full book review HERE

With over 5 million copies sold, spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle conveys simple wisdom in his best-selling book about freeing yourself of pain and embracing the now.

I first read this back in university as it was suggested by one of my lecturers (perhaps he thought my mind was all over the place).

Popular Quote: “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life.”

Kabat-Zinn almost made it to the top slot.

This international bestseller precedes his Mindfulness for Beginners. This is a more detailed introduction to the mindfulness meditation practice that you can return to over and over again.

Popular Quote: “Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.”

This was one of the first books I read that taught me to practice mindfulness and I find myself returning to the pages again and again.

Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offers little anecdotes and practical exercises as a means to learn the skills of mindfulness techniques.

Written like a journal Thich Nhat Hanh tells stories about how washing the dishes can be mindful.

Popular Quote: “People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle that we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”