“When you realize that you've come to your wit's end, you can begin to meditate." Alan Watts
Why Meditate?
In her book Meditation: The Complete Guide, Patricia Monaghan says: “Meditators live longer and suffer fewer degenerative diseases. They make better decisions, enjoy more energy, and bring more insight to their work and personal relationships. Meditation enhances performance for artists, athletes, students and workers, and it promotes well-being and inspired spiritual connectedness.”
Her book offers 35 different ways to meditate drawn from such diverse traditions as Shamanism, contemplative prayer, biofeedback, Islam and Buddhism. She says: “Your goals for meditation will probably change throughout your life. And meditation should not become a career: it should be more like a hobby because so long as the practice has a lightness of approach, there is a quality of freedom from desire and ambition that provides a refreshing alternative to our daily lives.”
Rabbi Avram Davis offers another view: “The ills of modernity – such as expanding workloads, increased anonymity, and a general loss of personal safety – leave people very aware of what is missing from their lives, and they hunger for the Divine. Meditation is transformative. It can bring us to a greater state of joy and inner freedom.”
The book Meditation for Dummies summarizes why people meditate:
• Cultivating spirituality
• Dealing with immediate challenges like grief, addiction, stress or illness
• Developing awareness, concentration and creativity
• Making friends with yourself and connecting more deeply with others
• Lightening up – feeling less overwhelmed and more centered, grounded and balanced.Deepak Chopra simply says: “Meditation leads to good health, peace of mind, freedom from worry, and increased personal and professional success.”
Books Available from Amazon
Meditation: The Complete Guide, by Patricia Monaghan and Eleanor Viereck ($12) This book covers more than 35 different meditation practices, from journaling and Shamanism to Zen. It’s the most thorough survey you can find.
Meditation for Dummies, by Stephen Bodian ($14) Bodian is a therapist and meditator who was also the editor of Yoga Journal magazine for ten years. His book covers all the basics and provides detailed instructions for a handful of meditation techniques.
Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation, by Alan Watts, ($10) and also available on CD ($13). The book is a transcription of Zen meditation talks given during the mature years of his life. They are deep and revealing.
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, by Deepak Chopra ($17), a NY Times bestseller for many weeks, this meditation book is also available in audio formats: Cassette ($17) and CD ($20). Chopra offers practical meditation advice, backed with a theory of the mind that supports and inspires meditation.
Links
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi founded the San Francisco Zen Center, the Tassajara retreat center, and Green Gulch farm. All three accept overnight guests and offer a rich array of meditation training programs. www.sfzc.com
The Chopra Center for Wellness www.chopra.com offers meditation classes and has information about speaking and teaching tours of Deepak Chopra. They conduct public retreats, and also train people who offer their methods in other parts of the country. Check with them for more details.
Thich Nhat Hanh founded a practice center called
Plum Village. Their site has information about him and his teaching schedule. Many Vipassana meditation centers offer retreats and classes for people who have no prior training. Check with these two: the Spirit Rock Meditation Center www.spiritrock.org and the Insight Meditation Society www.dharma.org
The Shambhala organization offers both Buddhist and Shambhala meditation programs all around the world. Check the site www.shambhala.org.
Stephen Bodian has a site www.meditationsource.com which includes his biography and information about his meditation teaching, writings and therapy practice.
Alan Watts lived from 1915 to 1973. During the 1960's, he gave a weekly radio lecture on Zen Buddhism, taught, and is credited with introducing the 'Beat' poets to zen. He is one of the most popular writers about Zen meditation, even today. His life and writings are detailed a www.alanwatts.com. Many of his lectures were recorded and are available on cassette, DVD, or CD though Amazon.
