Looking at Mindfulness is a uniquely beautiful book. With stunning simplicity, French psychiatrist and longtime meditator Christophe André offers twenty-five lessons in mindfulness and meditation, each accompanied by an extraordinary painting. From explaining what it means to live conscientiously to giving useful tips for everyday situations, each of his insights is an enduring source of quiet contemplation, enabling us to still our minds and become calmly aware of “the richness of the present.” Whether exploring acceptance, freedom, happiness or love, Looking at Mindfulness shows us how to approach our lives as living works of art.

So we have stopped, we have sat down and closed our eyes. Not to sleep, not to rest, but to understand. We need to understand what we feel and put some order into the chaos that is simply the world’s echo within ourselves. We must understand that there are two paths: the path of intelligence (acting, intervening, kneading reality with our will, lucidity and effort) and the path of experience (welcoming naked reality and allowing it to cover, inhabit and imbue us, in a movement of intensely attentive letting go).

Beautifully illustrated in colour throughout, André curates a collection of classic and esoteric works, from Rembrandt to Hopper to Magritte, providing a lucid commentary on the inner workings of each painting—as he describes the dynamic on the canvas, he turns to the reader’s own reactions, exploring the connection between what we see and what we feel. The paintings are a visual and tangible first step to understanding mindfulness and the benefits of living in the moment.

In practicing mindfulness, within ourselves and outside in the world, each of us can make immediate, meaningful and permanent changes in our wellbeing and the wellbeing of others.

From paying attention to our breath to accepting unhappiness as a part of life rather than a personal shortcoming, Looking at Mindfulness reminds us to stop rushing through the present and to embrace the things we deem ordinary as important and fulfilling. It challenges us to stop and use our senses—the only five tools we really need—and acknowledge the world around us and within us. Gently and thoughtfully, it reminds us to take notice, to digest, and to reflect.

Beautifully written, wonderfully accessible, Looking at Mindfulness delivers practical steps and a comprehensive understanding of the practice and meaning of mindfulness and meditation. André brings clarity to what it means to live mindfully and how we can make a more conscious effort to do so in our daily lives.