The course has fascinated me, it is very well designed involving the student to make practices and keep a record of them in a diary as a tool for self-knowledge.

It is a course that invites you to live, to get involved with the reality of your emotions, to feel the present moment and to accept it without labels or judgments.

The course has awakened in me the need to put into practice a project to help myself and consequently, to transfer the knowledge to my social environment.

I highly recommend it!

I like a lot the structure of the material, the videos, and the exercises/labs. I find the instructor (Chris) and his voice very soothing making the "pursuit of mindfulness" a little more easier. Thanks!

Very detailed and comprehensive history and background of mindfulness. The different schools of thought and the approach to these different ways of providing midnfulness.

Thanks for the teachings!

An incredible course. Well set out. The videos and teaching are excellent. The practical component is pitched just right. Truly a course that everyone can understand and derive benefit from.

Learned so much in what initially seemed daunting but what turned out to be a relatively short amount of time!

Incredible, enlightening, mysterious.

This is a good course, and I would (indeed, have) recommend it to others.

However the week on science seemed to lack any references that i could find; unless i'm missing the obvious. If there were none included then this is not acceptable when discussing science in an academic context. If they are there somewhere then i think the course as a whole would be improved by making them more apparent. Perhaps by putting the references for a lecture at the end of the lecture, where there is already a slide giving credit for the use of images. This is basic practice when lecturing on science generally.

Either way I'm loving the course and thank you for producing it!

I found myself fast forwarding throughout the videos, I found lots of the information redundant and repetitive. I felt as if we never reached the actual point of the subject or the meat of it so to speak. I kept waiting for more depth, more information, more "aha" moments in which I felt I have learned something, but that did not happen. Perhaps I am already mindful as I do try to be every moment of every day.

A colon is made of two dots. Is it the top dot that implies the bottom dot, or rather the bottom dot that implies the top dot, and what if the dots are not in exact lineage above each other but a little bit apart, can that still be called a colon: well yes and no at the same time.... If you like that kind of reasoning you'll love this course. Without the written transcripts I find it extremely hard to follow the course speaker, and the reasoning all circular avoiding a clear statement. The practical exercises of meditation are much more useful.

Though it is rich with informaton, I personally found this course far less fascinating than I had initially hoped. It felt to be a stream of information that I couldn't really apply, I didn't feel like I was progressing in my scientific or meditative journey here just rehearsing lots of terminology and icons. The teacher was well spoken and easy to understand but I think the actual content of the course lost me along the way.

Didn't teach anything even after spending an entire hour on the course. All I did was answer surveys and discussions. Video content is stretched out and circles around the topic instead of discussing the topic. Got tired after the first ninety minutes. You are better off practicing meditation than waste time on this course. Do not recommend at all. Watch movies or tv shows instead.

I got bored in the first weeK. This course Discusses mindfulness in a very academic way. This a lot of information about mindfulness but not much on how to practice it. there are some meditation labs which honestly I think were the only useful things in this course.

This course rapidly turns into metrics, most students that continue reaching me are avid for assess the experience of mindful practices rather than practicing mindfulness.

Warning!

If you sign up for this class they will send you emails promoting their politics even if you request not to get messages from Leiden University.

This is a holistic coverage of all things about what meditation is all about, its genesis, the offshoots and current practices. There could not be a more in-depth coverage of this mystical subject normally associated with the requirements of a Himalayan retreat or for being ordained under a monk; nor could there be a serenity that comes from experientially undergoing the course, thanks to a teacher who himself is a practitioner and the depths that he helps students of the course plumb for themselves to understand the how and why. I found resonance in the contents with Christ's teachings and could draw a number of parallels to give me a suspicion that maybe, there is some truth in the allegations that Jesus went to India - to learn under Buddhist Monks based in the Himalayas - before starting his short ministry in Israel. Whatever the truth, I have enournmously benifited from the course and my only complaint would be dear Prof. Chris Go-To Jones' tendency to use very long sentences when he writes those empathetic emails to graduates of his class, helping address each one's problems from lived experience. However, there could not be a more personal and genuine connect that evolves into a relationship from a course taken anywhere on any subject - a continuous hand-holding, as one faces the reality of one's own baggage that can only be dealt with by practicing mindfulness. The ample course content, the mindfulness exercises and the genuiness of the Professor all add to - Nirvana?!

I enjoyed studying this course. The video lectures of Dr Gotto-Johns very interesting but at times he was too soft spoken; needing extraordinary attention to grasp its content. Also, found the course a bit dry and somewhat difficult. While some notes were provided, there is a need to do a proper study of the subject. A book was promised by the Profesdor which I look forward to receiving. Actually, for all courses, I feel it will be a great help to all students, particularly those who can not afford costly books, COURSERA offers free or substantially discounted books on the subject taught.

I completed Memory related course UNDERSTANDING MEMORY: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies 🎥. The professor who presented this course offered his book Memory and Movies at 30% discount and even provided link with Discount code. As I liked the course, I tried to purchase this book but I got a reply from MIT Press that either to discount scheme is over or has not started so they CAN NOT offer it.!!

I was very disappointed 😔 that despite COURSERA being such a big and professional body, such gaffes takes place. You may please address this and then let me know if I can buy at a low price.

A subject that is, to me, still extremely complicated. It is spoken of and explored and looked at and studied from numerous points of view, narrated and cared for by a man who truly appears to believe what he is saying and who truly care that the student enjoys the learning and gets something secure out of the course. I have really felt that this topic is over my head, yet my teacher, who guides me through the course, asures me, the student, that I am doing exactly as I should be doing and that I am where I should be.

I am grateful to have this course as a task for me to complete.

It is important to be sure and to do the exercises that are present in the course and to keep a journal of your experiences. The couse really wants the student to experience his or her own mindfulness, whatever it may be for him or for her.

I have a difficult time with some of the more academic Learning and the mindfulness exercises can be challenging, only because my level of mindfulness is not where I would like it to be. I do hope to complete this couse on time and to turn the rest of my assignments in on time and to complete the rest of the course in as fully and in as much a way as possible.

This course is outstanding. It not only de-mystefied mindfulness, but increased my own mindfulness, even though I have benefited immensely from a Vipassana course several months ago. Dr. Goto-Jones has navigated the controversial subject of mindfulness brilliantly by his own articulate manner of objectivity, while tackling topics such as religion, philosophy, and commercialization head on, without superimposing his own views, leaving the ultimate choice of what concepts and beliefs one wants to retain, modify, or discard entirely to the student. To that end, his highly qualified, I even say, wise guests contributed significantly through their own views and/or exercise guidance. I hope many more will benefit from this course in future. My best wishes to Dr. Goto-Jones and a heartfelt thank you to hi and all his guests!

The course was well organized. I like the structure of the course: watching the theory videos, practicing various meditations and reflecting on the experience, and summarizing or deepening the knowledge. I was not interested in the written assignments at first because I complete the first one haphazardly just to complete the assignment. However, I spent more time reflecting on the rest of the assignments, and it was important to give oneself time to actually reflect and write a meaningful written task. The workload was manageable. I fell behind on an assignment, but I submitted it late. I was happy to have had the chance to submit and receive peer feedback. I really liked receiving the peer feedback. Thank you for the course. I really enjoyed it, and it has deepened my practice and my knowledge of mindfulness.

This has been my first attempt at guided meditation and I am very thankful for the creators of this class to have shared this with us. Thank you. Your work is truly incredible and highly appreciated. You really are helping expand the mindful movement and change our lives one exercise at a time.

I had no idea what this course would be like when I signed up for it. I signed up because I like the illustration on the icon above. This was an incredible experience where I was able to learn a little about social stereotypes, have some exposure to practices and religions around the world, and connect with people taking this class from thousands of miles away. It was nice to read through some of their posts and know what some of them share the same thoughts as I do.

Excellent course on mindfulness that explains all the concepts behind the various practices. Given that there is no universal definition of mindfulness, it goes into detail what makes up mindfulness by tracing its history and where it might go in the future. The assignments force you to think and reflect on what you learn at each step in the course. It is also a great mix of the theoretical and practical. There are course materials that you can download to continue your reading and research into this fascinating field. It helps to have some kind of daily practice when you enroll in the course, but it is not essential. I really enjoyed the course. Maybe there will be follow-up for deepening the practice. Thanks!

Chirs Goto-Jones, thank you for the insightful, fulfilling, mind-changing journey you have taken me on during the 4 months it took me to complete this 6 week mindfulness course. Being able to extend it beyond the 6 weeks was such a bliss. I could do it on my own pace without feeling rushed, guilty or that I am not good enough to complete it within the 6 weeks. Loved every moment of it. It challenged me to deeper thoughts and insight. It tremendously broadened my exposure to the bigger picture and the various view point in terms of religion, philosophy, commercialization and so much more.

I highly recommend this course to all humans because it broadens your horizon.

What a fantastic course for anyone trying understand mindfulness in its various interpretations. It was both intellectually stimulating as well as practically enriching. Not only have I grown by leaps and bounds in my own current meditation practice, but it has left me hungry for more. Has it managed to demystify mindfulness for me? No!! but that is the fantastic thing about this subject..it never seems to end...and hence I wish this course could have gone on and on!

I will miss Chris Goto-Jones and his wise lectures and I therefore finish this course, with a twinge of sadness as well as joy for having been part of this magnificent experience.

Lots of great material. A good place to start for those new to mindfulness and an opportunity to broaden and deepen one's practice for more long-term practitioners. A variety of religious and secular perspective are covered, both current and historical, with a view toward ethics and practical application. The perspective presented is unbiased and encourages independent thinking, self-analysis and reflection. It was well worth the time I invested and I intend to continue referring back to the notes I have made as well as the resources that have been provided throughout the course. I look forward to more from Prof. Goto-Jones in this area!

Thank you very much for the opportunity. The course has a lot of learning material and it was just awesome to learn some of the things that I would have not ever known otherwise. I would have to say "Excellent" I appreciate Chris Goto-Jones for the amount of work that was given in putting De-Mystifying Mindfulness. I'm presently using my new learning to pave my way for teaching it. I will also contribute to the mission of Leiden University to continue these efforts to keeping this course alive for all who are willing to take advantage of becoming aware of their every day activities (Being Mindful)