Donald Altman - The Mindfulness Toolbox for Relationships: 50 Practical Tips, Tools & Handouts for Building Compassionate Connections

Praise for The Mindfulness Toolbox for Relationships

Everyone interested in creating healthier and more rewarding relationships of any kind needs to read The Mindfulness Toolbox for Relationships. Therapists who work with individuals or couples will find dozens of wonderful tools and easy-to-use handouts designed to create healthy, caring, and satisfying relationships. Donald Altmans clearly written-mindfulness exercises will have you feeling restored and hopeful about the relationships in your life.

-Debra Burdick, LCSW, BCN
Author of Mindfulness Skills Workbook for Clinicians and Clients,
Mindfulness Skills for Kids and Teens, and Mindfulness Skills for Kids Card Deck and Games

The Mindfulness Toolbox for Relationships is an insightful and practical guide for anyone in a relationshipat work or at homewho wants to make it better. Information is presented in bite-sized nuggets and in a workbook format that makes insights accessible and practical. The real-world, experiential tools will help you to quickly and directly gain an in-depth understanding of yourself and others. I will definitely be using these tips and tools with my coaching and business clients.

-John Baldoni, Trust Across America Lifetime Achievement Honoree, internationally recognized
executive coach and leadership educator; author of Lead with Purpose and
MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership

Mindfulness represents a family of related practices that improve self-regulation, attention, self-inquiry, well-being and psychological health. To that end, Donald Altmans The Mindfulness Toolbox for Relationships is an excellent and thoughtful guide that offers a host of practical suggestions to enhance relationships with well-being, depth, and meaning

-John Arden, PhD, ABPP
author of Mind-Brain-Gene and Brain2Brain

The Mindfulness Toolbox for Relationships 2018 by Donald Altman

Published by
PESI Publishing & Media
PESI, Inc
3839 White Ave
Eau Claire, WI 54703

Editing: Debra Burdick, Bookmasters
Layout: Bookmasters
Cover: Amy Rubenzer

ISBN: 9781683731269

All rights reserved.

Proudly printed in the United States

This book is dedicated to peace
and all who seek peace
within and without.

May each grain of mindfulness
be a blessing of awakening
on behalf of all who suffer.

May each grain of mindfulness
be an instrument of peace and love
for the benefit and well-being of all.

About the Author

Donald Altman , M.A., LPC is a psychotherapist, award-winning author, and former Buddhist monk. A featured expert in The Mindfulness Movie, he spent several years teaching in Portland State Universitys Interpersonal Neurology Certificate Program.

Known for pioneering books that teach how to integrate ancient mindfulness into daily life, his award-winning books include: The Mindfulness Toolboxwinner of two Gold IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards as best book in the Psychology and Body-Mind-Spirit categories; Clearing Emotional Clutterselected One of the Best Spiritual Books of 2016; and The Mindfulness Codechosen One of the Best Spiritual Books of 2010. Donald served as a board member and past vice-president of The Center for Mindful Eating. Profiled in the Living Spiritual Teachers project, he is a business and wellness program consultant, keynote speaker, and international mindfulness workshop leader. More info: Mindfulpractices.com

Acknowledgments

Mindfulness is being spread by many people, and my gratitude goes out to all the mindfulness teachers and students who are helping reduce suffering and increase compassion through their efforts. I want to thank my late teacher, the Venerable U. Silananda, as well as Ashin Thitzana, U. Thondara, and the monks and community of the Burma Buddhist Monastery, Lama Surya Das, and other like-minded teachers, friends, and guides. I am very grateful for the enthusiastic support of my friends, who have always been kind enough to offer their helpful comments and feedback. This book would not be possible without my thoughtful, caring, and creative collaborators at PESI Publishing & Media, including but not limited to publisher Linda Jackson, Hillary Jenness, Karsyn Morse, and the rest of this excellent publishing team. Im honored to be working with you on books that change lives for the better.

In particular, I want to deeply thank Maria Brignola for her wonderful suggestions, editing ideas, and creative support along the journey of this book from beginning to end. As Ive said before, you are my Baku del Cuore. And to my first creative angel, my mother Barbara, the love, gratitude, and blessings I send to you will never be enough.

Books by

Donald Altman

101 Mindful Ways to Build Resilience

Clearing Emotional Clutter

Stay Mindful & Color

The Mindfulness Toolbox

One-Minute Mindfulness

The Mindfulness Code

The Joy Compass

Meal by Meal

Living Kindness

Positively Mindful

Art of the Inner Meal

A Course in Mindfulness

12-Weeks to Mindful Eating

Introduction

When I was asked to write a follow-up to The Mindfulness Toolbox, I was excited to develop new and useful mindfulness tools for both clinicians and individuals. While The Mindfulness Toolbox targeted anxiety, depression, stress, and pain, I wanted the new one to be equally beneficial but entirely fresh, practical, and engaging. Keeping that in mind, and after much reflection, the focus for this new book became clear: What better topic to focus on than relationships?

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

If you really want to learn mindfulness, theres no better place to start than in a relational context. Thats because everything we do touches relationship. We have a relationship to our inner world of thoughts, the body, and our senses. Then theres the external world of relationshipsthe complex number of ways that we relate to everything around usincluding the people we interact with and the very environment in which we live, breathe, and eat. Any of these relationships can leave us feeling uneasy and unsafe; or, they can leave us feeling solid, stable, and supported. Mindfulness helps navigate the way toward healthier, sustainable relationships.

Simply, this book is for mental health clinicians, as well as individuals/couples or others who want to cultivate better relationships.

At home, work, or anywhere, the practices here can build thoughtful, effective, compassionate, collaborative, understanding, and loving connections.

For therapists who are working with clients, this book will provide you with over 40 unique and detailed mindfulness handouts. Almost all of these handouts can be done individuallyeven if a handout mentions working with another. Because this is a skills-based book, skills can be either demonstrated (as a guided script) or explored in session, and then put into action.

For individuals, couples, or others getting this book for their own use, its okay to practice on your own or with another. Either way, youll be learning how to use mindfulness to relate at a profound level to the vast inner and outer environments of your life.