Most meditation books are autobiographical - that is their value. The reader is drawn to life examples that motivate, make them realize that difficulties are normal, and inspire them to bring meditative practices into their lives.
Rohan Gunatillake and Andy Puddicombe have commented in their books that the terms "mindfulness" and "meditation" are identical and often interchangeable, but are used in different fields. While "meditation" is more associated with Buddhism and Vedic practices, the term "mindfulness" has come to be used for scientific research, as the term "meditation" is due to its origin story, and Europeans were skeptical of it at the beginning of research.
Meditation and mindfulness aim to focus a person's attention in the present moment, the here and now.
The terms coexist harmoniously, and both meanings occur in the books below.
Fr om the very first lines of the book, Rohan Gunatillake asserts that meditation is available to anyone and everyone.The author identifies three obstacles to mindfulness:
- the problem of time (lack of time for privacy in the rhythm of the city);
- the "hippie" problem (people's belief that meditation is practiced exclusively by religious people);
- the digital problem (the idea that meditation requires disconnecting fr om all gadgets).
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In the book, the author conventionally divides mindfulness practice into formal and informal practices.
Formal is a traditional meditation practice derived from Vedic texts (secluded place, cross-legged posture, silence).
Informal consists of practices of mindfulness, peacefulness, and kindness in the daily hustle and bustle of fast-paced life. Although the book mainly describes informal mindfulness techniques, the author also does not discount the importance of traditional meditation and retreats for deepening the practice and gaining new experiences.
Rohan emphasizes that meditation is not conditioned by a quiet place and lotus position, we can meditate anywhere, focusing not on a specific image to meditate on, but on the process - the sensations of movement in the body and listening to the sounds around us. This way of meditating helps calm the mind when needed, and literally makes a difference.
You don't have to disconnect from the outside world to become more mindful, calmer, and happier18.
The book contains working ways, principles, and techniques that help make one's actions conscious, calm, and kind.
The book contains about 60 simple practices. Rohan Gunatillake considers meditation a wise investment in oneself.
Andy Puddicombe is a meditation and mindfulness expert, experienced speaker and writer. Andy is the creator and thought leader behind the website and app Headspace. He is a former initiated monk of Tibetan Buddhism who has chosen to bring the knowledge of meditation to the world.
The book introduces the reader to simple meditation techniques, talks about the importance of living the full range of emotions, the need not to run away from negative emotions to positive ones, but to accept and live them here and now, to observe thoughts as if they were clouds floating across the blue sky of a clear mind. Start with just ten minutes of meditation. Ten minutes of inner focus on your body, your breath, the sounds or smells around us has a positive effect on well-being.
The book is a kind of guide to the Headspace website and contains multiple references to the site's meditations. The author was introduced to meditation at the age of eleven, but consciously returned to it at the age of 22. In the description of the author's life vicissitudes, the reader can find some similarities with his own life. Crises, ups and downs - all this motivates to development and deeper study of oneself.
A person with a calm mind feels less stressed and tired. Just ten minutes of meditation a day is necessary to achieve a new level of calmness and contentment18. The author emphasizes that to learn to meditate, one must meditate.
Awareness is the key to knowing yourself, but while paying attention inward, it's important not to lose sight of what's going on around you.
A conscious person is in the here and now, living the experience moment by moment, without getting involved in the abyss of thoughts. This state is not associated with tension or limitation, on the contrary, it is an opportunity to take a step back and look at the situation from the outside.
Awareness is freedom from vanity. Meditation is a step on the way to awareness. One should gradually introduce the practice into one's life, realizing that in meditation quality is more important than quantity. If a person turns his attention inside himself, gets acquainted with his present self, finds the space within himself, then this personality opens to the world in a new way, more fully.
David Lynch is a talented director, artist, and screenwriter known for his films Elastic Head, The Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire, and more.
Lynch established a foundation whose money is used to develop school programs to teach Transcendental Meditation, a meditation technique based on the silent repetition of a mantra and concentration on the breath proposed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Transcendental Meditation is one of the most researched types of meditation, showing good results in working with stress and anxiety, increasing productivity916.
The proposed book on meditation is a godsend for beginners, reflecting the author's journey from skepticism about "finding true happiness within oneself" through meditation to a personal practice of 33 years (the author was 60 years old when the book was published in 2006).
The author reveals the practical meaning of meditation - finding the "big fish", an idea or inspiration. The author also explains how meditation encourages compassion and helping others on the path of meditation, e.g. all proceeds from the book are donated to the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace.
In this book, David Lynch shares with the reader his experience of practicing Transcendental Meditation and its influence on his work. The filmmaker unravels the mystery behind the creation of his paintings, skillfully weaving meditation into everyday life. Lynch has been practicing transcendental meditation since 1973 for 20 minutes every day in the morning and evening, he meditates while working on films and during the shooting day. On set, meditation helps the director find new ideas, maintain a friendly environment and avoid conflict.
The author dispels the fears of novice practitioners by telling that the people around him perceive his practice in a friendly manner and without too many questions escort the director to a quiet place for meditation.
Lynch argues that meditation is possible always and everywhere. The practice organically complements the daily routine, helps to find inspiration, new ideas, to cope with failure. Meditation provides answers to questions: how to expand consciousness, develop intuition, unlock potential.
Eckhart Tolle is an inspiring spiritual teacher, and his books The Power of the Present and A New Earth have shown readers the path to a joyful and free life in the here and now. At the age of 29, he begins the transition from despair to self-realization. It took Tolle another ten years to conceptualize this transformation and during that time to develop a philosophy based on Buddhism, relaxation and meditation techniques, yet effective for Western society.
In Silence Speaks, Eckhart Tolle emphasizes the importance of silence in human life. It is silent space, silence, that demands our attention, not external noise, because the ability to listen to silence is awareness. It is important to get rid of the inner resistance to noise. To let the noise simply be, to accept the world as it is and, as a consequence, to find peace. When a person concentrates on silence, thought stops, he continues to be aware of what is happening, but he does not think.
The author emphasizes that you shouldn't take your thoughts too seriously, you shouldn't over-control them, just let them surface in your mind and then go wh ere they came fr om.
Wisdom is not the result of thinking, it is the result of our inward directed mindfulness. Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just looking and just listening. Nothing else is needed.
Most people spend their entire lives trapped in their own thoughts. They are limited by the image created by the mind, by the labels and boundaries proposed by society. But each person can go deep inside themselves and discover a truth that is more complete and deeper than our superficial thoughts, to meet the real self. Realizing oneself as something more than the little self created by the mind is the way to liberation from suffering.
Spiritual awakening is awakening from the sleep of thought. The sphere of consciousness is much wider than thought can encompass. When a person stops believing everything he thinks, he comes out of thought and sees clearly that the thinker is not him.
Thoughts constantly take people away from the present moment: they are either remembering the past or thinking about the future, losing sight of the main thing - the present moment. Silence helps people to return to it, to see the world and themselves as real, to stop identifying with the image projected by their mind.
Although the information is easy to convey, the book is very deep and contains simple techniques to introduce awareness, and although some of the information is common knowledge and has been described in many meditation books, Eckhart Tolle manages to present it in a completely different way, offering the reader a different perspective and awakening deeper realizations.
Ken Wilber is one of the most widely read and influential American philosophers of our time. Wilber's writings on transpersonal psychology, his own integral theory, and a systematic philosophy that involves the synthesis of all human knowledge and experience have been translated into more than twenty languages.
"Ken Wilber's Integral Meditation is a new way to practice the widely popular meditation. This cutting-edge technique combines ancient meditation and mindfulness practices with modern research on psychological development and human evolution for the first time ever. This combination gives birth to a holistic and effective method of personal transformation.
From the book, readers will learn how to create a timeline to track progress and how to recognize their potential. The book also recommends a reading list and resources for further study.
Along with all the benefits for body, mind, and spirit that standard meditation offers, the practice of integral mindfulness promises a full-fledged approach to personal transformation and a profound experience of enlightenment.
Starting with 15-30 minutes of daily practice, the meditator can gradually expand the practice, adding new techniques in a measured and easy way. Meditation instructions and step-by-step observation guides are described in detail.
Integral Meditation focuses on the inner reasons for a person's actions in relationships, work, and studies. Mindfulness is used to discover the reasons for unconscious actions and then replace with conscious, happy, and healthy motives.
The book points the way to realizing the Higher Individuality and finding the reason for birth on Earth through practical exercises, meditation instructions, and tools for recognizing personal potential.
Integral Meditation is a combination of ancient meditation techniques with advanced theory, resulting in a new practical technique for self-transformation of the individual.
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist monk originally from Vietnam, author of over one hundred books, poet, and one of the first to popularize mindfulness and meditation as a necessary part of life.
The book is a kind of guide to action how to find and keep silence in yourself amidst the noise of the city.
In the book, the author talks about the importance of practicing mindfulness regularly in the midst of everyday tasks. Silence is the key to peace and tranquility, the key to a joyful and happy life. The author repeatedly reminds the reader of the need for mindful breathing; he recommends this technique as a way to immerse oneself in a state of awareness, a way to engage in a deeper knowledge of oneself. These recommendations are extremely practical, help to cope with stress, anxiety, harmoniously resolve conflicts, show sincere compassion for others.
The book contains no religious context and does not call for active action, only delicately shows that there is such a path - the path of silence and awareness, which yields many other fruits. The book does not contain a religious context and does not call for active action, only delicately shows that there is such a path - the path of silence and awareness, which yields many other fruits.
The book explains the basics of meditation that everyone is able to add to their lives, and even if it is only a few mindful minutes at first, but regularly, and so gradually the practice of meditation will take root in life. Reading this book sets you up for calm and mindfulness from the first minutes, the techniques are accessible and simple, the author is engaging in the narrative and intertwines the story with easy effective exercises.
The audio version of the book will also appeal to listeners: it captures attention and keeps it throughout the story. The exercises at the end of the chapters can be performed with the narrator's voice, allowing you to put the lessons learned from the book into practice.
Silence is a powerful inner source of freedom, especially freedom from incessant thoughts, helping one to find happiness, purpose and peace within oneself.
The noise that fills people's lives - the vast amount of information, conversations with friends and family, music, movies, social media - takes attention away from what matters most, themselves. People have stopped or perhaps never heard their real selves. In this turmoil, they try to chase the elusive happiness, replacing one superficial desire with another, forgetting that life is the greatest happiness - a miracle given to them.
Do people often notice the beauty around them, listen to the birds singing, the rustling of leaves, admire the glints of the sun on the water? Silence is needed to notice all this. It helps us to find and maintain equanimity in the midst of continuous noise, to free ourselves from annoying thoughts, anxiety and worries.
The author seeks to convey to the reader that silence is closer than it seems, it does not require long meditations and complex practices, and it does not depend on external silence, on solitude. All that is needed is conscious breathing and directed attention inside oneself.
When it comes to meditation, Pema Chodron is considered one of the preeminent spiritual teachers in the world. The American-born Buddhist nun works as a teacher at the first Tibetan monastery in North America, Canada. Pema Chodron is the author of a number of books endowed with a unique ability to gently convey teachings and practices that bring peace, understanding and compassion into our lives.
"How to Meditate" is a basic book written by a wise teacher to help everyone achieve this virtuous goal.
The book is a step-by-step guide to meditation as the most effective way to befriend the mind. Chodron encourages honesty in meeting and openly engaging with the mind, accepting the fullness of our experience, and living wholeheartedly. You don't need an inventory or retreats to start meditating, the right thing to do is to start wh ere we are right now and not procrastinate.
In the pages of the book the reader will find simple but detailed advice:
- on the basics of meditation: proper posture for meditation, ways to relax the body and mind, breath work, and techniques for cultivating unconditional friendliness;
- the art of stabilizing the mind - engaging the mind in the present moment in whatever is happening;
- working with pain: You can't get rid of pain, but you can change your attitude to it, meditation can help with that;
- working with perfectionism: meditation comes in many different forms, even with experienced practitioners like Pema Chodron, it is important not to strive for perfection, but to live each moment of meditation;
- working with emotions: asking everything to find a place, not just release; working through emotions in meditation is a way to accelerate transformation.
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How to Meditate, and especially the audiobook, is like a personal conversation with the author, first-person instruction in the present moment.
Pema Chodron patiently and caringly explains the important points of meditation, inspires, encourages, and shares her experiences throughout the book. The author repeatedly emphasizes that meditation is a process of transformation, not stubborn change and the quick attainment of an imaginary goal; it is a path on which there is always room for improvement and deepening in qualities such as resilience, clarity, and the courage to be oneself. The ability to awaken to life, to be here and now, is the essence of meditation.
Pema Chodron calls meditation the key to knowing oneself and the world. The practice helps one to see the world without masks and embellishments, first of all meeting one's true self. Meditation teaches you to treat everything equally, not to label events.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a teacher and monk of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the 2000s, he has taught in Europe, the United States, and Asia, and is the founder of Tergar, a community of meditation centers wh ere meditation and Buddhist practices are studied. Mingyur Rinpoche is the founder of the Yongey Foundation, which supports the teacher's worldwide activities, the construction of Tergar monasteries, young monks, the organization of Rinpoche's teaching trips and the publication of his books. He has repeatedly gone on personal three-year retreats.
Rinpoche has been involved for many years in researching basic meditation techniques and their impact on people's lives from a neurophysiological and psychological perspective.
In the proposed book, a great Tibetan master describes the real benefits of meditation, bridging the gap between the teachings of Buddhism and the latest findings of science, particularly neurophysiology.
The author presents the essence of traditional meditation in a completely new way, adapted to the peculiarities of modern culture. Mingyur Rinpoche shows with numerous examples that simple daily meditative exercises (in the office, subway, or even on the street), which consist of observing thoughts, can change our view of the world and solve many problems.
Often people do not know their true selves, but operate only with an image formed by habits and fixed in neural connections, but this image is different from the real one. People do not know that the whole and prosperous person they dream of becoming is hidden inside everyone.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche gives the basic meditation practices of focusing on the breath, sensations in the body, tastes, sounds, and surrounding objects.
Thinking about the frequency and duration of practice, the author concludes that one should practice meditation when one has the desire and for as long as meditation is satisfying..
There is no need to find a quiet place to practice, meditate anytime and anywhere: while eating, walking, driving or before going to sleep. A couple of short sessions a day is enough to begin to realize feelings, feel peace and compassion for others, because, in fact, everyone wants the same thing - happiness and peace.
The practices in the book are supported not only by ancestral experience but also by modern scientific research in neurophysiology, so the book will appeal to a wide range of readers, from those interested in meditation to those practicing regularly.
These books contain different approaches and emphases, and the practice of mindfulness is examined from a variety of perspectives and supported by the sometimes extraordinary experiences of practitioners, but a familiarity with these books shows that meditation is simpler than it seems at first glance. It is so natural, accessible, and practical that one will naturally want to bring some of the techniques into one's own life and test them out.
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How to Meditate for Beginners: A Simple Guide
The word "meditation" comes fr om the Latin *meditatio*, which translates as 'reflection.' It is commonly believed that the birthplace of internal practices is in the countries of the Ancient East. However, it cannot be said that meditation belongs to any specific culture or group of people.
Internal practices are a natural need for every person, regardless of faith and nationality....