Getting to Where You Are: The Life of Meditation [Paperback]

Steven Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2003

This book challenges the very basis of contemporary spirituality and the consumer society that created it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"One thing the world definitely does not need is another book on how to meditate," claims author Steven Harrison. He's right, of course, which is exactly why this book is such a valuable contribution to the genre of meditation books. Instead of offering advice on how to "Om" with meaning or making promises of enlightenment, Harrison devotes himself to deconstructing the beliefs that surround contemporary meditation. Don't seek specific outcomes--such as wealth, peace, and health--says Harrison. Better to unclutter the act of meditation by letting go of agendas and results. He goes on to offer a compelling alternative, one that dispels meditation gurus and authorities and emphasizes presence, awareness, and living in the moment.

Anyone seeking easy answers will be disappointed in this intelligent and provocative book. Those who want a fresh, accessible, and empowering book that frees meditation from doctrine, promises, and rules will be greatly satisfied. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A bold and challenging examination of spiritual assumptions that leaves the reader appreciating life itself as the only spiritual journey worthy of its name. -- Catherine Ingram, author of Passionate Presence

With undeniable clarity, Steven Harrison demonstrates that to be intimate with our limitations is to actualize the limitless in our everyday lives. -- Paul Rezendes, author of Tracking and the Art of Seeing and The Wild Within

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Sentient Publications; 1 edition (August 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159181006X
• ISBN-13: 978-1591810063
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,081,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incisive overview of the spirituality culture..., April 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting to where you are (Hardcover)

If you liked Steven Harrison's book "Doing Nothing" you will no doubt love "Getting to Where You Are". This new book by Harrison, much of it written with unrelenting humor, looks at meditation by stripping away all of the foolishness that has accumulated around the spiritual culture. Harrison finds little difference between the materialism of the general culture and the spiritual narcissism of the meditation culture. This is a radical book requiring a radical reader to match -- if you are one of these I highly recommend this book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Are Meditating As You Read This, March 2, 2001

By 

David S. Heier (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting to where you are (Hardcover)

After years of meditation and studying, the Buddha was asked what he had learned from it all and he replied with one simple word - "awareness."

Meditation is thought to be the way to achieve enlightenment or awareness so it seems natural to explore what meditation is and how it is done. Besides different techniques of meditation, there are also different types or goals of meditation. This book explores the differences between concentration, awareness and devotional meditation.

Another type of meditation espoused by Steven Harrison is actuality meditation. According to the author, "getting awareness is as simple as getting to where we already are." There are no meditation techniques to practice. Awareness is a fact of life that can't be started or stopped. He tries to tell us "how to be in the moment."

This book touches upon some good insights about meditation, even if one does not accept the author's conclusions and the basic thesis of his book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a very funny book!, October 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting to where you are (Hardcover)

The word "scathing" has been used to describe Harrison's writing, and in this book he mercilessly skewers the pretensions of the "spiritual person". I couldn't stop laughing as I read his commentary on "the knowing look of the senior meditation student" (anyone who's spent any time in a spiritual group knows the type), the human condition ("born naked, cold, and hungry--then it gets worse"), and "awareness, that annoying time between naps." But don't be fooled by the humor. What the author has to say about spiritual practice and the human proclivity to complicate the essence of simplicity is far-reaching and profound. There are no sacred cows here. Be ready to examine and discard your fondest notions of what a spiritual life may be.