"the mind illuminated"

 

I'll be off the grid, so to speak, for the next week or so...heading out to Estes, Colorado to explore the park with a few of my favorite people. This is the reward I promised my new right knee if she kept up with her PT and proved she could hike a bit without complaining about it. She's eager to see if she measures up, and so am I. Of course, there are some activities we will have to pass on, like rock climbing and white water rafting...

...meaning I will need a couple of good books to enjoy poolside while the younger generation puts their lives at risk.

"Books are a uniquely

portable magic."

~Stephen King~

Most people I know like to read a good mystery or thriller, a romance, or fantasy when they are on vacation. Not me, though. I disappeared down the consciousness studies hole again a few weeks ago, chasing a few references from the book I was loving, "Science, Being, & Becoming: The Spiritual Lives of Scientists" by Paul J. Mills, Ph.D. 

Among the titles that attracted me were "Physics of Consciousness" at 304 pages, "Song of the Cell" at 496 pgs., "The Science of Consciousness" at 514 pgs., and, on a lighter note, "Braiding Sweetgrass" at 408 pgs., and "The Immense World" at 464 pgs....none of which I wanted to haul all the way cross country. (I know, I know...I should have a Kindle, and I do have one, somewhere...).

"I like big books

and I cannot lie."

~attribution unknown~

So I turned to Amazon and came up with two short, light-weight paperbacks I thought would suffice: "When the Trees Say Nothing" by Thomas Merton, and "The Confession Club" by my favorite novelist, Elizabeth Berg. That order went in before I landed on this:

The problem is I couldn't resist opening it, and now I can't put it down. The good news is it comes in at 430 pages so I won't be able to finish it before I leave. The bad news is it weighs in at 2 lbs., and I'm definitely hauling it to Colorado!

This is the most detailed, reader-friendly instruction in meditation I have come across yet, no offense to Pema Chodron, Jack Kornfield, or Sharon Salzburg, among other great teachers. 

If you are curious about the practice of meditation and its benefits, this book is a practical and inclusive guide. If you are skeptical about what you have been taught or have read about meditation, the author, in addition to his credentials as a Buddhist meditation master, is also a neuroscientist. He understands both sides of the equation. If, like me, you have a regular meditation practice but you want to take it to the next level, this book will show you the way. If you're ready to give up because nothing seems to be happening or you find the practice difficult, don't walk away just yet. Again and again, the author touches on an issue that resonates with me, and I've been meditating regularly for years. He goes into obstacles to effective meditation, the sense of failure we all experience as beginners, and the reasons we fail to progress. Then, step by step, he shows us the way forward. 

Meditation is good for you, and for the world. You don't have to take my word for it though. Discover it for yourself.

"Believe nothing

no matter where you read it or

who has said it,

not even if I have said it,

unless it agrees with your own reason

and your own logic."

~Siddhartha Gautama~ 

(The Buddha)

jan