Mindfulness by Ellen J. Langer
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(Paperback - Reprint)
- Pub. Date: January 1990
- 256pp
- Sales Rank: 44,183
| More Formats | |
|---|---|
| Compact Disc - Unabridged | $28.48 |
| MP3 Book - Unabridged | $24.88 |
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Product Details
- ISBN-13: 9780201523416
- ISBN: 0201523418
- Edition Description: Reprint
Synopsis
Ellen J. Langer, Harvard professor of psychology, determines that the mindless following of routine and other automatic behaviors lead to much error, pain and a predetermined course of life.
In this thought provoking audiobook, her research has been "translated" for the lay listener. With anecdotes and metaphors, Langer explains how the mindless—as opposed to the mindful—develop mindsets of categories, associations, habits of thought born of repetition in childhood and throughout schooling. To be mindful, she notes, stressing process over outcome, allows free rein to intuition and creativity, and opens us to new information and perspectives.
Langer discusses the negative impact of mindsets on business and social relations, showing special concern for the elderly, who often suffer from learned helplessness and lack of options.
Encouraging the application of mindfulness to health, the author affirms that placebos and alternative, mind-based therapies can help patients and addicts move from unhealthy to healthy contexts.
Biography
Ellen J. Langer, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Harvard University, is the author of Personal Politics (with Carol Dweck), The Psychology of Control, and Mindfulness, which has been published in ten countries. She is also coeditor of Higher Stages of Development and Beliefs, Attitudes and Decision Making. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and numerous awards including the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest of the American Psychological Association.
Customer Reviews
Mindfulnessby Anonymous
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September 24, 2000: In my studies over the years, I've often come across references to Langer's research. It is always original and even ground-breaking. And so is this book. It is probably the most thought-provoking book I've ever read. She asks the questions: What makes people do mindless things? And what can we do to prevent ourselves from being mindless as often as we are? Her work doesn't seem to have been influenced by Eastern thinking very much, if at all. It's a new way of looking at the subject, which I suppose is appropriate (it isn't a mindless review of old material). I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I know what works and what doesn't. Langer's suggestions for developing more mindfulness WORK. Two ideas I found especially effective are: 1) the creation of new catagories, and 2) her principle of 'process before outcome.' This is a book well worth reading and re-reading. I highly recommend it.
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