Many of us are well acquainted with our 'Inner Critic.' This is the voice that says not enough, not good enough, or sometimes too much. It's the voice that makes every step we take subject to criticism. The Inner Critic is inner because it knows our history, our feelings, how we tick. This might make the Inner Critic seem invincible, but it is not. In fact, our disparaging mental voices reflect profound sources of suffering. They didn't come out of nowhere and they can be addressed, not with anger or panic but with compassion and deep understanding. Mark Coleman helps readers understand and address their inner voices. Each chapter offers easily digestible insights into what creates, drives, and disarms the Critic, real people's journeys to inspire and guide, and simple meditations anyone can immediately put into practice to invite, cultivate, and nurture their best, most free, and most fulfilled selves. About the Author: Mark Coleman, M.A., founder of Awake in the Wild and The Mindfulness Institute, is an internationally recognized mindfulness facilitator who has guided students on five continents to find greater peace and fulfillment through nature-based mindfulness practice and mindfulness retreats. The author of Awake in the Wild, Mark is also a corporate consultant, individual counselor, poet, wilderness guide, and outdoor adventurer. Mark Coleman has been studying meditation practices since 1981, primarily within the Insight meditation (Buddhist) tradition. He has been teaching meditation retreats since 1997. His teaching is influenced by studies with many great teachers in the Buddhist tradition as well as from Advaita and Tibetan teachers in Asia and the West, and through his teacher training with Jack Kornfield. Mark primarily teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California, as well as nationally, in Europe and India. He leads backpacking retreats, nature-based retreats, and has taught retreats for environmental activists at Vallecitos Mountain Ranch in New Mexico, and at Knoll Farm in Vermont. In the Bay Area, Mark has a counseling practice, where he integrates his Masters in Clinical Psychology and meditative work and works with people how to integrate their mindfulness practice into daily life. He is the author of Awake in the Wild - Mindfulness in Nature as a path of Self-Discovery. Mark has been an avid hiker, and backpacker for most of his life and spends much of his time in the outdoors. He lives in the woods in Marin County, Northern California. He likes nothing more than wandering in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Mark is also a mindfulness consultant - bringing mindfulness to a variety of corporate settings including companies such as Proctor and Gamble, Gucci, Prana, Dolce Gabbana, Gap, Responsys and others. He leads trainings in mindfulness as well as offering mindfulness based executive coaching - helping professionals integrate a wise mindful awareness into all aspects of life. For more information, visit TheMindfulnessInstitute.com. |