As countless meditators have learned firsthand, meditation practice can positively transform the way we see and experience our lives. This practical, accessible guide to the fundamentals of Buddhist meditation introduces you to the practice, explains how it is approached in the main schools of Buddhism, and offers advice and inspiration from Buddhism’s most renowned and effective meditation teachers, including Pema Chödrön, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Sharon Salzberg, Norman Fischer, Ajahn Chah, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Sylvia Boorstein, Noah Levine, Judy Lief, and many others. Topics include how to build excitement and energy to start a meditation routine and keep it going, setting up a meditation space, working with and through boredom, what to look for when seeking others to meditate with, how to know when it’s time to try doing a formal meditation retreat, how to bring the practice "off the cushion" with walking meditation and other practices, and much more.

Enlightenment—is it a myth or is it real? Across time and culture, inner explorers have discovered that the liberated state is a natural experience, as real as the sensations you are having right now. Few teachers achieve clarity with the application of scientific inquiry to these states of consciousness like Shinzen Young. Now in paperback, The Science of Enlightenment makes Young’s essential insights available to readers everywhere. The Science of Enlightenment merges scientific precision, Young’s grasp of the source-language teachings of many spiritual traditions, and his rare gift for sparking insight upon insight through original analogies and illustrations. The result: an uncommonly lucid "Aha, now I get it!" guide to mindfulness meditation—how it works and how to use it to enhance our cognitive capacities, compassion, and experience of happiness independent of conditions. For meditators of all levels and lineages, this multifaceted wisdom gem will be sure to surprise, provoke, illuminate, and inspire.

An easy-to-follow guide to the stress-busting, tension-taming practice of meditation.

Spirituality.The search for happiness --Religion, East and West --Mindfulness --The truth of suffering --Enlightenment --The mystery of consciousness.The mind divided --Structure and function --Are our minds already split? --Conscious and unconscious processing in the brain --Consciousness is what matters --The riddle of the self.What are we calling "I"? --Consciousness without self --Lost in thought --The challenge of studying the self --Penetrating the illusion --Meditation.Gradual versus sudden realization --Dzogchen: taking the goal as the path --Having no head --The paradox of acceptance --Gurus, death, drugs, and other puzzles.Mind on the brink of death --The spiritual uses of pharmacology.

A specialist at the Mayo Clinic offers a practical, two-step stress management program that is the result of two decades of research and work and that has already helped over 15,000 people annually. 40,000 first printing.

The Mind Illuminated is a comprehensive, accessible and - above all - effective book on meditation, providing a nuts-and-bolts stage-based system that helps all levels of meditators establish and deepen their practice. Providing step-by-step guidance for every stage of the meditation path, this uniquely comprehensive guide for a Western audience combines the wisdom from the teachings of the Buddha with the latest research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Clear and friendly, this in-depth practice manual builds on the nine-stage model of meditation originally articulated by the ancient Indian sage Asanga, crystallizing the entire meditative journey into 10 clearly-defined stages. The book also introduces a new and fascinating model of how the mind works, and uses illustrations and charts to help the reader work through each stage. This manual is an essential read for the beginner to the seasoned veteran of meditation.

Meditation is becoming increasingly popular, with both groups and individuals. Corporations are finding that meditation increases productivity. School teachers are using meditation with children, and doctors are recommending it for their patients. There are many approaches to meditation, but they fundamentally fall into two categories: guided and unguided. Unguided meditation is free form-one simply seeks to empty the mind and come into the present moment. Guided meditation is directed - one invites particular experiences. Guided meditation audio recordings abound. However, Meditations for Self-Discovery: Guided Journeys for Communicating with Your Inner Self is one of the first collections of guided meditations in book form. It is perfect for group facilitators who would rather lead meditations themselves than play recordings. For individuals, these "journeys" can be read silently as meditations or poetry, or be read aloud and recorded - it has been found that listening to guidance in one's own voice can make it more powerful. These meditations are designed take readers and listeners to new places within themselves, helping them feel uplifted and energized. Afterward, the meditation experience can be interpreted like dreams, providing insight into where one is mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. There are forty-five meditations in this ebook, each lasting about fifteen minutes, although they can be shortened or extended to meet the needs of those using them. Titles include "Journey Through Your Mind," "The Crystal Cave," "Visiting Venus," "The Angel's Gift," "A Friend Across the Universe," and "The Great Mother." Meditations for Self-Discovery is a valuable tool for leaders of personal growth groups, including support and therapy groups, healing circles, and classes of all kinds. The meditations can promote relaxation and self-knowledge, as well as help bring their group together. Doctors, nurses, therapists, and other healers can use the imagery in this book to create a healing atmosphere in their patients and among their staff. Members of the clergy may wish to use this book with their congregations. Children love meditation, and the vivid images in Meditations can stimulate their imagination as well as their self-knowledge - parents or teachers can invite children to draw, dance or musicalize what they experienced in meditation, and can discuss their experience with them afterward.

What is happiness? Where does it come from? How is it achieved? This concise book opens the door to this often-elusive state of being with new insights, guided meditations, helpful quotations, and much, much more. Holistic medical practitioner Dr. Paul Epstein offers help and healing so readers may find meaning and purpose, work through difficulty, follow their bliss, live, and thrive through the practice of happiness every day.