Thousands of years prove it, and Western science backs it: Meditation sharpens focus. Meditation lowers blood pressure, relieves chronic pain, reduces stress. Meditation helps us experience greater calm. Meditation connects us to our inner-most feelings and challenges our habits of self-judgment. Meditation helps protect the brain against aging and improves our capacity for learning new things. Meditation opens the door to real and accessible happiness.
There is no better person to show a beginner how to harness the power of meditation than Sharon Salzberg, one of the world’s foremost meditation teachers and spiritual authors. Cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, author of Lovingkindness, Faith, and other books, Ms. Salzberg distills 30 years of teaching meditation into a 28-day program that will change lives. It is not about Buddhism, it’s not esoteric—it is closer to an exercise, like running or riding a bike. From the basics of posture, breathing, and the daily schedule to the finer points of calming the mind, distraction, dealing with specific problem areas (pain in the legs? falling asleep?) to the larger issues of compassion and awareness, Real Happiness is a complete guide. It explains how meditation works; why a daily meditation practice results in more resiliency, creativity, peace, clarity, and balance; and gives twelve meditation practices, including mindfulness meditation and walking meditation. An extensive selection of her students’ FAQs cover the most frequent concerns of beginners who meditate—“Is meditation selfish?” “How do I know if I’m doing it right?” “Can I use meditation to manage weight?”
highly recommended I usually spend some time discussing meditation with several of my Psychology classes, and the more interested students often ask for additional information (readings, audio tapes, etc.). I usually reply that there are a number of good resources available, but I finally found one that I can enthusiastically recommend without reservation. Sharon Salzberg’s book describes everything from meditation (breathing, walking, body scanning, even drinking tea) to mindfulness (emotions, dealing with thoughts and feelings via recognition, acceptance, investigation and nonidentification) to loving-kindness meditation (cultivating compassion and true happiness, paying attention to ourselves and others with interest and care). She introduces a 28-day guided program of 20 minute meditation sessions. There is an extended discussion of the benefits of meditation. The book also comes with a CD with four guided meditations, which is among the best I’ve listened to. The book is what I’ve come to expect from Salzberg. Highly recommended!
Note on Kindle format Sharon’s writing in this book is just like her teaching style and though I’m not finished with the book, I can tell this will give me yet another layer of understanding to my practice.I want to comment on the Kindle format, however. When it starts, you’re allegedly 7% of the way through the book. Often there’s one letter on a line (the first line of a chapter) and there are references to page numbers throughout the writing, which are not findable on the Kindle. There are also a number of instances where the left margin is an inch or two from the left side of the frame. I’ve read many books on Kindle and this one seems to have the strangest formatting problems.
Breathe in Happiness For anyone who thinks they just can’t sit still or quiet their mind long enough to meditate, think again! This book and its companion CD, with easy to follow meditations, is a fool proof guide. With everything from personal anecdotes to scientific studies, Real Happiness provides easy access to a practice that doesn’t require anything more than our ability to just breathe. In her signature style, Sharon explains what meditation really is, and how we can all benefit from it. Even those with life-long meditation practices will enjoy the ease of Sharon’s voice and instruction.