Meditation: A Simple Eight-Point Program for Translating Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I am going to suppose that your purpose in picking up this book is to learn to meditate; so I will begin straight away with..." (more)
Key Phrases: repeat the mantram, training the senses, Sri Ramakrishna, Saint Francis, Saint Teresa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Easwaran's writing is blessedly free of the hocus-pocus and egotistical gobbledygook that we have come to expect from other so-called gurus. His basic method, which involves focusing intensely on a passage of inspirational writing of one's own choosing, is direct, simple, and practical. It is based completely on his own personal experience but also on principles and practices that are themselves age-old. His words are suffused with humility, grace, and gentle humor. Meditation deserves to be regarded as a classic and has earned a place in every library collection." -- Wilson Library Bulletin

Product Description

This handbook of meditation practice is a complete guide to a unique approach to tapping inner resources by training concentration on inspirational passages. Meditation and the Eight-Point Program that compliments and supports it can be used by anyone who wanst sity of California, Berkeley, in 1960 on the Fulbright exchange program and established the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in Northern California in 1961. His 1968 Berkeley class is believed to be the first accredited course in meditation at any Western university. His deep personal experience and his love for his students have made the ancient art of meditation accessible to those who hold jobs and live active lives among friends and family.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Nilgiri Press; 2nd edition (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915132664
• ISBN-13: 978-0915132669
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,154 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #87 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Meditations
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swimming Up Stream, September 6, 2004

By	Laura L. Seay (Folsom, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I recently finished this book and thought it a good place to start if one is having troubles with multi tasking or asking themselves some deeper questions about life. In my experience I have found that some people want to slow down and develop harmony within themselves, they read the words yet don't apply it to their lives. Eknath Easwaran takes you though each level of higher (inner) conscienceness if you are willing to follow,accept and apply it. I particularly enjoyed how one can reach for and obtain unconditional love, unheard of in the psychology world where unconditional love is only between parent and child, that adult love can not be so. He speaks about basic morals in our day to day encounters with others, our spouses, and the world in general, more importantly, for one to be aware that ones actions affects others. On speaking, the suggestion is to ask ones self three questions. First, "are these words true", secondly "are these words necessary", and thirdly "are these words kind". Imagine those with uncontrollable road rage asking themselves this! I have practiced this art of "single mindedness" throughout my life, not able to put it into words. This book reaffirmed me that I am on the right path. A pure delight to read and reflect upon, written in a comprehensive manner and from a person who practices what he preaches. Prayers for meditation at the end are helpful. Hopefully we all will find the right person to share a life that is emotionally rich and empowering, full of mutual love and respect. It starts with you.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Meditation on Meditation, October 23, 2006

By	John P. Morgan "Light Coach" (Beautiful San Dimas, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

After my "born again" atheist phase, I was intent on discovering/uncovering God for myself. I read all sorts of books (see my other reviews for some of what I have read)and all of these books satisfied my intellectual curiosity for a more "personable" God. I wasn't interested in a new religion, I was interested in knowing that a God of Love could love me, as well.

I decided to start meditating for two reasons. (1) I always admired people who could somehow get still, centered, and focused and brought a clear sense of attention/intention to everything they did and (2)maybe through meditation I could form a deeper inner "knowingness" that God did exist within me and around me.

This was one of the first books on meditation that I not only read, but devoured. I enjoy Eknath Eswaran's simple approach to meditation. If you are looking for a more complicated approach I am sure you will find many books that will fit the bill. Simplicity is an art. Simplicity is very difficult for a confused mind to understand. Simplicity is the essence of genius.

So I studied Eswaran's words on meditation, but I also took them to heart. When I was first learning to meditate, I often broke my practice into "bite-sized chunks". Three minutes here, five minutes there, another two minutes here, maybe four minutes there. I celebrated every moment I could get still. I relished in every moment I could get quiet. I wish I could say that I mastered meditation in six short weeks but I don't think anyone ever quites "masters" meditation. It does have an accumulative effect and eventually I was able to get still for twenty minutes (with my longest session being two hours) but meditation is so unlike anything I have ever done. You can't just put a meditation practice into a "box" and say this is meditation because meditation is the art of just allowing things to be and when we let things be without trying to change them, for better or for worse, then we are allowing and when I finally allowed myself to "let" God be God, God "showed up" in my life.

Not that God wasn't always present within me and around me, but somewhere along the way, through the help of these practices, I pierced the veil between the seen and the unseen and in a split-second, I came to know and feel that God was really real. Most of us would try and cling to that feeling...I did...but I also knew enough to let it go...to let it go...to let it go...that the more I just made room in my heart, the more I allowed God to be God, the more I jus allowed my mind, heart, and soul to become aligned with each other and act as one, the deeper I went with my practice.

I believe that every one of us can "learn" to meditate. I believe each of us already know how, but we have forgotten. When we were tiny little infants we knew how to still our minds, and have our hearts be wide open, and be vulnerable enough, innocent enough, and beautiful enough to let ourselves be exactly who we needed to be. We had nothing to prove. And then we "built" a shell of identity around our true beauty. We began to worship the outside world and we gradually became fixated on those things external to our own being. Meditation is not about learning to be, each one of us really know how to be who we are, meditation is primarily about unlearning all those things that we thought we were and just allowing ourselves to be who we really are; Pure Spirit...

This is a beautiful book and I am sorry for being so long winded, I guess I just got caught up in the moment, because to me, writing is a meditation and I guess I was just going with the flow...

Peace and Blessings...

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a simple, practical guide to meditation., March 13, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Goa, India) - See all my reviews

I came across Easwaran's book after having read a few others on the subject - nothing comes close to this one in making the concept of meditation come alive in the minds of people who are not clear on the subject. Easwaran has the knack of getting to the heart of the matter in a flash, and then gently explaining the concepts in a simple fashion, with wry, and sometimes subtle. This is a book by a man who's been there, and done that. Highly recommended for any individual who wants to try to rise above the stress and strain of daily life.