Frantic World

The Frantic World website is a lovely resource for anyone interested in Mindfulness. In the Resources page of the website, you will find several free meditations from three books that accompany the website.

The Free Meditations from Mindfulness section contains the largest amount of exercises; this is the page I navigate to most. The voice instructions are very clear and calming.

When you click the title of each exercise, a separate MP3 file opens and you will hear a bell, and then a voice that instructs you on what you need to do. Remember – you won’t be able to do the exercises if you have muted your device!

• I particularly find the 8-minute Mindfulness Meditation of the Body and Breath a good way to introduce people to mindfulness meditation.
• Another meditation that is really easy to do, and very effective is the Three-Minute Breathing space.
  • You start by “checking in” with yourself and looking at “what the weather pattern” is like inside you. It’s a really effective way to bring your focus to what is happening with you in the present moment, by scanning through what is happening in your mind, with your breath, and in your body.
  • When studying in the library, this exercise is an ideal one to work through. Try accessing the mp3 on your phone with a pair of headphones – great for settling yourself before revising, (or if you are hitting a rough patch with your studies!)
• There are also some interesting articles on Franticworld.com, (for instance, Danny Penman’s article What Exactly is Creativity? Many of these articles are excerpts from the books that accompany the site, and give you a flavour of what they are like. I personally found them very helpful and would highly recommend them.
• You can also access a free podcast with Mark Williams and Danny Penman called The New Psychology of Depression from iTunes.

Why I Love FranticWorld.com

This website might not be the most glamourous compared to other sites, (this is perhaps no bad thing), but don’t let the lack of bells and whistles deter you from exploring the free resources.

The rigorous MBCT (Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy) approach that these authors promote is now recommended by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and can have a real positive impact on our health and well-being.

This website features content from three excellent books which promote a MBCT approach, which was pioneered by Mark Williams, Zindel Segal and John Teasdale in the University of Oxford.

• Mindfulness a practical guide to finding Peace in a Frantic World (Williams and Penman).
• Mindfulness for Creativity (Penman).
• Mindfulness for Health (Burch and Penman).