I enthusiastically recommend Mindfulness and Madness. The book is an elegant and accessible description of mindfulness practice and its practice in daily life.Dr. Rechtshaffer has studied and practiced Buddhism for more than 40 years, and has worked as a psychotherapist for much of his career. He writes about Buddhist practice with a light touch and free of psychological jargon.A few selected quotes from the book is probably the best way to convey the book's flavors.Why the author wrote Mindfulness and Madness."My intention in writing this book is to present the Buddha’s dharma using psychological language in a way that is familiar to a modern Western audience so that the teachings do not feel like an exotic foreign import. Furthermore, I have presented the teachings from a developmental perspective so that the reader can relate with the dharma as a personal journey, starting from where he or she is."What Mindfulness is."Mindfulness is our human capacity to give full attention to what we’re doing at the moment, without allowing random thoughts to distract us. It is complete involvement in any activity. Mindfulness is aimed at freeing us from unnecessary suffering by bringing both our mind and body into the present moment. In this simple activity we pay attention to what we rarely give a moment’s thought to: nowness, what is arising in this moment.