Inspiring and practical meditation primer.
In this self-help guide, an occupational therapist/yoga teacher shares personal reflections and meditation exercises on achieving a fuller, more conscious life.
For King, a “starting point” in her life, and a central theme in this book, was the value of meditation. “From that first class, I was hooked,” she recalls about her exposure to meditation in college and her commitment to practicing it thereafter. Initially working as a traveling computer consultant, she listened when “a quiet voice gradually grew louder and more insistent” to move to Colorado. Later, as part of a transformative healing journey intended to extend the life of her beloved dying dog, King decided to change careers and work as an occupational therapist and yoga teacher. “The essential process was accepting where I was, identifying my own authentic path, and then living it with compassion and disciplined attention,” she says. “Simply heading in a more authentic direction generated deep feelings of peace, happiness, and fulfillment.” Including such musings as well as discussions of chakras and other mind/body topics, King offers a series of “personal exploration” exercises, 22 in all, within a nine-chapter narrative detailing how to chart one’s own authenticity path. She starts with grounding exercises, including finding your “meditative seat,” or best pose by which to meditate, then moves on to guided activities focused on gratitude, forgiveness, and more. For King, striving for such mental “competence” is more joy-producing than the kind of dwelling that leads to less progressive thought. While this isn’t a memoir per se, King’s autobiographical details add a wonderfully engaging element to the how-to guide, because they showcase a relatable and achievable journey to mindfulness. King is no preachy Pollyanna; instead, she acknowledges her own pull toward “monkey mind” as well as the challenges in often having to go to the edge of one’s comfort zone to transform. While her exercises may seem a bit repetitive at times, they also underscore the important core elements of effective meditation practice, and her sequence of activities provides a helpful road map by which to foster self-awareness and growth.
Inspiring and practical meditation primer.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4969-3464-2
Page Count: 130
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.
“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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