Resident's first book is well received

Date: 8/31/2010

Sept. 1, 2010

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE -- One man's discovery of a Buddhist meditation technique not only changed his life, but also inspired him to write a book that explains the concepts to young children.

Brian Despard, the author of "You're Not Your Thoughts," explained to Reminder Publications that he became aware of the concept of "mindfulness" five years ago when he picked up the book, "Wherever You Go, There You Are," by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

Kabat-Zinn is a professor of medicine emeritus and 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. Kabat-Zinn's books teach mediation techniques as a way to reduce stress, pain and anxiety.

At 47 years of age, the book "opened my eyes to mindfulness," Despard said. The simple exercise of doing nothing but counting his breath impressed upon him how one thought leads to another preventing people from living in the present.

One of his two granddaughters was born about the same time he discovered mindfulness, he said. "Children have true beginner's minds, but this state is clouded by an ever-increasing number of thoughts as they grow. They start life living in the moment then slowly learn that 'doing' is more important than 'being;' they are taught they aren't good enough. I wrote this book with the intention of planting the seed of mindfulness in children and introduce basic concepts to adults who are unfamiliar with them. In this sacred place of loving-kindness between adult and child a new consciousness can emerge we only have moments to live; the only time our lives are unfolding is now," he added.

His wife Joanne, who also took the photos of children used in the book, designed the colorful picture book. The book took about four months to write and Brian said he tried not to use the word "mindfulness" in the simple text.

He met Kabat-Zinn last November and showed him a draft of the book. "He said he loved it," Despard recalled.

Kabat-Zinn and his wife Myla contributed a quote Despard could use for marketing the book that read in part: "The beauty of this book is that it conveys the deep message and practice of mindfulness without naming it or making it into some big intellectual thing."

Using a print-on-demand online publisher, Despard launched his book on July 15 and is happy with the results so far. Listed with online booksellers, the book has sold 100 copies in a month. The biggest audience has been early childhood educators and child psychologists, he said.

"I feel this book is relevant in these tough times and no better time than now to start the conversation of understanding that what we think is not who we are. There is no greater gift than the gift of mindfulness," he said.

He would like to do a series of books on the subject for children, he added.

Locally, the book is available at retailers including The Toy Box and Food for Thought in Amherst, Happy Valley and Booklink Booksellers in Northampton and the Children's Learning World in Westfield.

Despard also will be appearing as a guest on the WWLP show "Mass Appeal" on Sept. 8 and will have a talk and book signing at the Chicopee Public Library on Front Street at 6 p.m. on Sept. 16.

Despard can be reached through his Web site, www.newlifedesignstudio.com and through his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pages/You-Are-Not-Your-Thoughts-Mindfulness-for-Children-of-All-Ages.