Opening to Our Lives — Jon Kabat-Zinn's Science of Mindfulness [On Being from APM]

Opening to Our Lives — Jon Kabat-Zinn's Science of Mindfulness

April 16, 2009
On Being OnDemand:

We explore what our guest has learned, through science and experience, about mindfulness as a way of life. This is wisdom with immediate relevance to the ordinary and extreme stresses of our time — from economic peril, to parenting, to life in a digital age.

About the Image

A meditation labyrinth located at Land's End Park in San Francisco, California.

+ (photo: Jess Liotta and Colin Bulthaup/Flickr)

Program Details

Hear the Music

» On Being Playlist ¦ hear full-length tracks of each song played in the program

About the Image

A meditation labyrinth located at Land's End Park in San Francisco, California.
(photo: Jess Liotta and Colin Bulthaup/Flickr)

Poetry Radio Project

We're a proud partner in a collaboration between the Poetry Foundation and American Public Media. For more verse on SOF, visit our poetry page.

Poems You Heard

» "Love after Love"

Here you can read Derek Walcott's poem recited by Kabat-Zinn, saying a prose statement was "bound to be inadequate" in communicating his point. Download the poem and read along.

Pertinent Posts from the On Being Blog

» Producing, Mindfully
You heard an excerpt in the program. Here you can watch Kabat-Zinn's entire presentation at Google headquarters.

» A Culture of Availability to Everybody But Yourself?
Being mindful may mean you just can't shoot that next photo or journal that gorgeous sunset. A 3-minute TEDtalk.

» The Ceaseless Society
Watch a video of Jon Kabat-Zinn's presentation at MIT as he reflects on life in a 24/7 networked world.

» Exploring Jon Kabat-Zinn's Quaker Connections
Perhaps our guest's undergraduate college might have informed his work on mindfulness.

Unheard Cuts

» Unedited Interview with Kabat-Zinn (mp3, 1:24:55)
There's a wealth of wisdom from Kabat-Zinn in this program, but there are bound to be a few nuggets that didn't quite make the cut. Download the full conversation and hear it all.

First Person: Repossessing Virtue

Sharon Salzberg on the Humiliation of Suffering
» download (mp3, 9:17)

Krista referenced this interview in her conversation with Kabat-Zinn. Sazberg reflects on our current culture and its inability to acknowledge the inevitability of suffering.

» More wise voices on the moral and spiritual aspects of the the economic crisis

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On Being First Person

Map for Opening to Our Lives reflections.

» Your Voices, Your Stories
Tell us and other audience members what this program meant to you.
» Share your story

Voices on the Radio

Jon Kabat-Zinn
Kabat-Zinn is founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His books include Coming To Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness.