October 2009 Archives

The Promise of a New Day: A Book of Daily Meditations (Hazelden Meditations)

One of the World’s Most Popular Collections of Daily Wisdom…To Help You Make the Most of Each and Every DayEvery day — happy or sad, challenging or just business-as-usual — makes new demands on us. Each day brings new experiences, new tasks, and new rewards. As each day dawns, take a moment for quiet reflection and discover the promise of a new beginning and a fresh start full of optimism, hope, and joy.For more than a dozen years, The Promise of a New Day — a very special collection of inspiring thoughts and wise meditations has offered thousands of people day-to-day wisdom and fresh viewpoints on life, adding a moment of inspiration and insight, a comforting thought, or a time for rest and relaxation to their days. Filled with the wisdom of inspirational thinkers from around the world-including Robert Bly, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Leo Buscaglia, Norman Cousins, Amelia Earhart, Robert Frost, Helen Keller, John Lennon, Shirley MacLaine, Will Rogers, and Mark Twain alon (more…)

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Satori - Music For Yoga And Meditation

Amazon.com

The CD’s liner notes define satori as “the indescribable experience of sudden, intuitive spiritual realization.” That may be, yet unless you are a serious student of yoga or a fan of its ancient musical traditions, you may struggle to reach such a state while listening to these improvisations for shakuhachi flute (Riley Lee) and koto (Gabriel Lee, no relation). The recording’s mood is almost somber and contrasts noticeably with Oriental Sunrise and Sanctuary, two splendid Riley Lee discs that offer a broader, more expressive tonal range. Here a stronger Oriental mood is conveyed, and the notion of stillness is pursued with such earnestness that the final result (to Occidental ears) is ultimately a state of inertia. While composers sometimes refer to the use of silence as an overt creative element in their works, Satori relies so heavily on the approach that it seems as though Lee’s flute is being filtered through a dense fog, and from a substantial distance. (more…)

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Wherever You Go, There You Are (ROUGH CUT)

Amazon.com Review

In his follow-up to Full Catastrophe Living–a book in which he presented basic meditation techniques as a way of reducing stress and healing from illness–here Jon Kabat-Zinn goes much more deeply into the practice of meditation for its own sake. To Kabat-Zinn, meditation is important because it brings about a state of “mindfulness,” a condition of “being” rather than “doing” during which you pay attention to the moment rather than the past, the future, or the multitudinous distractions of modern life. In brief, rather poetic chapters, he describes different meditative practices and what they can do for the practitioner. The idea that meditation is “spiritual” is often confusing to people, Kabat-Zinn writes; he prefers to think of it as what you might call a workout for your consciousness. This book makes learning meditation remarkably easy (although practicing it is not). But it also makes it seem infinitely appealing. –Ben Kallen
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Tibetan Singing Bowl

Review

“The ‘Deep Meditation’ CDs are wonderful. I played the Tibetan singing bowls in my yoga class during meditation and my students loved it.” –Alicia Johnson, editor, Yogi Times Business

The sound of the Tibetan singing bowl is known for its healing properties and its ability to induce states of deep meditative absorption. This cd features two recordings. In track one, a single bowl is struck softly and regularly , providing a slow and steady rhythm for deep meditation. In track two one bowl steadily hums as it is played while two other bowls ring out intermittently.

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Meditation For Dummies (Book and CD edition)

Amazon.com Review

“To tell you the truth, you can learn the basics of meditation in five minutes,” asserts Stephan Bodian, meditation instructor, psychotherapist, and former editor-in-chief of Yoga Journal. You can also study meditation for years, exploring its subtleties. Meditation for Dummies is a simple, clear introduction to the basics of meditation, including an overview of dozens of techniques, practices, and specific meditations, plus direction for going deeper. You get step-by-step instructions for a variety of meditations, including body position, mental concentration, where to put your attention, what to contemplate or notice, physical movements, and breathing. A nice touch is the recurring “traditional wisdom”: ancient stories or anecdotes that make a point. This book is useful whether you want the nuts and bolts for getting started in the next minute or you want to dip your mind into different practices and philosophies. Nothing is too element (more…)

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