What will I learn about: how mindfulness serves as a scientifically proven tool to counter the dangerous effects of living on autopilot, reducing stress and rejuvenating your body?

Discover how mindfulness serves as a scientifically proven tool to counter the dangerous effects of living on autopilot, reducing stress and rejuvenating your body.

What will I learn about: practice mindful eating by tracing the journey of your food and fully engaging your senses to deepen your appreciation for every bite?

Learn how to practice mindful eating by tracing the journey of your food and fully engaging your senses to deepen your appreciation for every bite.

What will I learn about: how to build a lasting mindfulness habit by setting an achievable goal of just five minutes a day, designing a gadget-free environment, and leveraging positive emotional feedback?

Find out how to build a lasting mindfulness habit by setting an achievable goal of just five minutes a day, designing a gadget-free environment, and leveraging positive emotional feedback.

What will I learn about: the art of mindful breathing to instantly calm yourself in stressful situations by focusing on the physical sensations of your breath and gently redirecting your wandering mind?

Master the art of mindful breathing to instantly calm yourself in stressful situations by focusing on the physical sensations of your breath and gently redirecting your wandering mind.

What will I learn about: how to transform mundane everyday moments into deeply satisfying experiences through simple, accessible practices like walking meditation?

Understand how to transform mundane everyday moments into deeply satisfying experiences through simple, accessible practices like walking meditation.

Fully Present

The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness

Susan L. Smalley and Diana Winston

★ 4.5 / 5(225 ratings)

Start ListeningDownload QR code that opens AudiobookHub on the App Store

Try free on iPhoneScan to start in 5 seconds

Categories:

Mindfulness & Happiness

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡What if you could transform your most mundane daily chores into moments of deep joy and clarity?
💡Have you ever wondered how the simple act of paying attention can actually reshape your brain’s response to stress?
💡What’s the secret to staying fully present in a fast-paced world without needing to spend hours in silent meditation?

Listen to Fully Present — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from Fully Present

✓Discover how mindfulness serves as a scientifically proven tool to counter the dangerous effects of living on autopilot, reducing stress and rejuvenating your body.
✓Learn how to practice mindful eating by tracing the journey of your food and fully engaging your senses to deepen your appreciation for every bite.
✓Find out how to build a lasting mindfulness habit by setting an achievable goal of just five minutes a day, designing a gadget-free environment, and leveraging positive emotional feedback.
✓Master the art of mindful breathing to instantly calm yourself in stressful situations by focusing on the physical sensations of your breath and gently redirecting your wandering mind.
✓Understand how to transform mundane everyday moments into deeply satisfying experiences through simple, accessible practices like walking meditation.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Fully Present

Mind Map

Fully Present

Core Premise+

Mindful Eating+

Building the Habit+

Meditation Techniques+

Pain vs. Suffering+

Emotional Regulation+

Loving-Kindness+

Types of Mindfulness+

Daily Integration+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 10

What is the primary purpose of visualizing the journey of a grape before eating it, according to the authors?

A. To calculate its nutritional value and caloric content
B. To reconnect with nature and truly appreciate the food
C. To delay gratification as a method of building willpower
D. To distract the mind from physical hunger pangs

Question 2 of 10

Based on the Cedars Sinai Hospital hand-washing study, what strategy is most effective for cultivating a new habit like mindfulness?

A. Relying strictly on sheer willpower and mental discipline
B. Reading extensive scientific literature about the benefits of the habit
C. Implementing incentives, supportive environments, and feedback loops
D. Punishing yourself whenever you fail to practice the habit

Question 3 of 10

How should you react if your mind wanders during a mindful breathing exercise?

A. Stop the meditation and try again later when your mind is clearer
B. Analyze exactly why your mind wandered to prevent it from happening again
C. Gently nudge your attention back to your breath without getting annoyed
D. Switch immediately to an open mindfulness practice

Question 4 of 10

When practicing a body scan meditation, how does the book recommend handling feelings of physical tension?

A. Forcefully flex and relax the muscle until the tension disappears
B. Distract yourself by thinking about a pleasant childhood memory
C. Stop the meditation immediately and stretch the affected area
D. Note the tension and move on without turning it into a story about anxiety

Question 5 of 10

According to the book, what is the fundamental difference between pain and suffering?

A. Pain is a subjective reaction, while suffering is an objective physical sensation.
B. Pain is unavoidable and objective, while suffering is a subjective reaction we can control.
C. Pain only affects the physical body, whereas suffering only affects the mind.
D. There is no difference; the terms are used interchangeably in mindfulness.

Question 6 of 10

Why do many people struggle to deal with negative emotions in a healthy way?

A. Negative emotions trigger a chemically addictive response in the human brain.
B. Society encourages people to express anger loudly to achieve professional success.
C. Most people possess a genetic predisposition to deeply repress their feelings.
D. We are rarely taught emotional intelligence in school and often adopt our parents' dysfunctional coping strategies.

Question 7 of 10

If a practitioner struggles to direct loving-kindness toward themselves, what alternative visualization does the book suggest?

A. Picturing themselves as a child
B. Focusing entirely on a beloved pet instead
C. Chanting a positive affirmation loudly in the mirror
D. Skipping the self-love phase and focusing exclusively on strangers

Question 8 of 10

If you are sitting on a park bench next to a loud, busy playground, which meditation technique is recommended?

A. Focused mindfulness, to completely block out the noise of the children
B. Mindful breathing, to artificially lower your heart rate
C. Open mindfulness, to attentively take in the whole world of sounds around you
D. Loving-kindness meditation, to send positive energy to the squabbling children

Question 9 of 10

When is it most beneficial to use 'focused mindfulness' rather than 'open mindfulness'?

A. When you are trying to brainstorm for a creative project
B. When you are in a highly stimulating and chaotic environment
C. When you have a definite aim, such as studying for an exam or a presentation
D. When you want your mind to wander freely from one sound to the next

Question 10 of 10

What is a 'mindfulness cue' as described in the book's actionable advice?

A. A specific mantra chanted during meditation to maintain focus
B. An everyday object, like a pen or plate, used to remind you to take a mindful break
C. A smartphone alarm set to ring every hour to track your emotional state
D. A physical sensation, like a tense shoulder, that signals you are stressed

Fully Present — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
21 — Mindful eating helps you truly appreciate your food.
32 — Changing habits isn’t easy, but a few tricks can help.
43 — Focusing on your breath helps you become more mindful and reduce stress.
54 — Meditation can turn ordinary moments into memorable experiences.
65 — We often intensify pain, and mindfulness can help ease our suffering.
76 — Mindfulness can help you build a healthier emotional life.
87 — Loving-kindness, which meditation can cultivate, helps counter self-hatred.
98 — Different meditation practices help you develop different forms of mindfulness.
109 — Final summary

Fully Present Summary & Overview

Fully Present (2010) is a hands-on guide to mindfulness, full of actionable tips to help you put the ancient practice into use today. Based on the expertise of two of today’s leading mindfulness researchers, these blinks guide you through both the science and the art of meditation, showing you how to integrate it into your everyday life and start transforming mundane activities into rich experiences.

Who Should Listen to Fully Present?

Mindfulness practitioners
Stressed-out workaholics
Psychologists and coaches

About the Author: Susan L. Smalley and Diana Winston

Susan L. Smalley is the founder and leader of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at the University of California in Los Angeles. She is a professor of psychiatry whose research focuses on the benefits of mindfulness. Diana Winston is a popular mindfulness teacher who teaches throughout the US and Asia. She is also the head of the Mindfulness Education Department at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Fully Present

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Fully Present — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Fully Present

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Fully Present — Full Chapter Overview

Fully Present Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Fully Present?

About the Author: Susan L. Smalley and Diana Winston

Books Similar to Fully Present