This book is a nice balance of the art and scientific aspects of meditation. A good discussion of the mechanics and background information are provided along with plenty of practical advice.

I am always looking for books to help our students of witchcraft find more focus. Since our community is also very science based, it is also important that these books have foundations in reliable and proven methodologies.

Lisa Erickson has done a wonderful job here bringing together the essential balance of science with the art of spiritual aspects of meditation. Our community will add this book to our preferred reading list for content on meditation and practices around building focus for our practice.

I recommend this book as part of a foundation study in meditation for both new and experienced people.

Description: I think this book was a complete guide on how to get oneself to know the secrets of meditation, whether spiritually or scientifically. It’s divided into four main parts and 12 subparts. Firstly, it describes why we meditate and what were the challenges in practicing meditation, also the science behind it. This subpart told us that not just Hindus and Buddhists practicing it, including the Kabbalah, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Quakers, Sufis, Taoism, and Baha’is. This book too demonstrates how one could be in a state of calamity deep inside their minds, after recovering oneself in any of the traumatic experiences. For the second part, one could delve deeper by knowing the Eight Limbs of Yoga/Sutra – Yama, Niyama, Asara, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi – including the Eight Buddhist Jhanas. The third part was divided into three subparts, on how to overcome any of the subtler challenges in one’s meditation practice, mystic states, and common meditation traps, as well as retreat and pilgrimage. Finally, it describes how to look for a true spiritual guide, meditating oneself by focusing on any feminine deities, sharing their unique meditation experiences with others, and seeking post-meditation support.

This is definitely a beginner book. If you’re looking for a good book to begin your meditation practice there are plenty of exercises that can be easily adapted for your needs.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a great book for those new to the idea and practice of meditation. It is backed by history and science. and clearly explains that. I could see this being a book therapists or yoga teachers recommend to their students.

At times it felt repetitive, but I enjoyed the principles covered

Blow-Your-Mind Exploration of Meditation

I almost feel like all I can say is, WOW! This is simply one of the most amazing books I have seen on meditation. As the author states in the introduction, this is not for the meditation beginner. It is meant for those who already have an established practice but might want to go deeper or look at different aspects and traditions of meditation. The book covers so much I barely know how to speak of it all. The book is divided into four sections. The first gives a grounding in the different reasons people meditate, challenges, and the neuroscience of meditation—which I found absolutely fascinating. Then she looks at the spiritual aspects of meditation. She does not limit herself to Buddhism and Hinduism, which is what we typically see in meditation books. She also explores meditation traditions within the Jewish and Christian faiths, Sufism, and Egyptian practices as well as kundalini and chakra work. Each section is divided into chapters. Each chapter has multiple exercises scattered throughout that directly relate to what was discussed just previously. There is just an amazing amount of meditation ideas here; you will be itching to try some or all! The chapters also end on what the author calls “Contemplations,” which are questions that you can journal about the chapter’s topic chapter as it relates to your own practice. If you love meditation (or even like it at all) or simply want to explore the meditation possibilities, pick up this book! You will probably be as amazed as I am.

ARC provided from NetGalley

Good explanations of mediations and some of the different practices that go along with it right now, including energy healings, etc.

Not for an advanced meditator who might have already done a lot of research about mediations.there is plenty of research cited in this book, which got a little distracting because of it being an ARC and it not being in final form. That being said, it is a good place to start with if you are beginning your mediation journey, as you can use her cited lists to find other books and things that might be of intent to you.

I imagined this would make a great reference book, one that you could flick through dip in and out of or read cover to cover. Either way I imagined a great reference book of some sort. What I found was a LOT of information, but not really sure if much of it is useful ( to me personally). I loved the idea of this book, and really do have lots of interest in this topic and very open minded, but the second thing I found was, the organisation of this book is not very helpful to read cover to cover or as a reference. It jumps from subject to subject. Lot of info at the start, not much introduction to the subject matter, and all the information is from a very scientific POV. Which is fine, I can handle science but with an explanation, rather than just handed to you. It wasn’t that I was lost as I read through, I just couldn’t see how it was helpful I guess, or what is key. Because of this I found it hard to make links, see relevance or find interesting.

The most helpful area for me was the section on chakras, that said I knew a lot of this info already. Overall, it was hard for me to take away much info from the book, or learn much with the organisation, jumping and lack of explanation. But obviously the book has been researched well, that’s for sure! But what good is research with not much organisation of it so the logic can be found, or deeper explanations for the average Joe? This is such a hard review to do, I wanted to and thought I would LOVE THIS BOOK and buy a copy for my book shelf, but sadly 2.5 stars from me.

But I wish the author well and hope that there is a readership found for the book and I thank Netgallery greatly for my free copy.

This book just seemed to drag on for a long time. I know a lot goes into the science and art of meditation. Just seemed like so so much stuff, and did not take much from the learnings of the book. I love meditation and yoga but it seemed very remedial and not very interesting at all. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I felt totally confused and lost while I read this book. Im not sure if it was the scientific terms or it talked about different types of meditation. It wasn't for me.

Confused. Where was the Art & where was the Science? I thought the concepts were all over the place and nothing was fully explained. The Author jumped from topic to topic and I had trouble following particularly the "8 limbs of yoga"? What?! I thought the book was about meditation.?
Too much information with very little to no explanation & then it jumped to the next topic..again, again & again.

janne boswell
https://seniorbooklounge.blogspot.com/

This is a very informative book. Its goes into great detail on the why's and wherefore's of mediation. I've definitely enjoyed expanding my knowledge and enjoyed some of the exercises.

This is highly recommended if your interested in mediation or just want to understand it in a more deeper way.

Thank you Llewellyn Publications and Netgalley.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a thoroughly well researched and put together book that is very in-depth and knowledgeable.
This book gives both the science and historical information about meditation and the practice of meditation too.
There are some fantastic exercises within this book and it can be easily adapted for almost everyone.
Fantastic!