Reverse Meditation

Former Tibetan Buddhist monk explains an alternative to traditional Buddhist mediation practice. Reverse meditation is not about feeling good or chilled out, but about confronting the reality of difficult situations as opposed to contracting, that is retreating from realiry.. Three core form the axis of this book:: mindfulness (referental meditation, open awareness (nonreferential meditation) and reverse meditation. Interspersed through this book are contemplation and meditations to be used on the spot in difficult situations. This book challenges the intellect of the reader, but it's profound insights are valuable for the advanced practitioner of meditation.

Andrew Holecek’s book Reverse Meditation is a treasure, to be slowly digested and revisited, as it imparts salutary wisdom and valuable ways to use meditative practices to go within and experience openness and transformation. The guidance offered in the book is practical and clear. It is a beautiful exploration of how suffering can be viewed as a sacred gift to be opened and embraced.

Andrew’s book resonated with me in a profound way. I appreciate the depth of knowledge and experience being shared in the book as well as the extensive references to relevant authors / teachers and research that has contributed to the material included. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to read it.

I highly recommend Andrew’s book and will recommend it to others.

Thank you NetGalley and Sounds True Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Very good ideas and approaches here. There are many exercises and many of them build on previous ones resulting in a gradual change/improvement. This is info that everyone can benefit from, and we're lucky to have access to such information. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

ARC NETGALLEY REVIEW DIGITAL

Highly recommend to anyone wanting to deepen there meditation practice, or pair with their yoga meditation practice. The author is articulate clearly and it’s easy to understand, and deep dives on several topic that are critical to meditation.

I read this book as a pre-release e-book obtained through NetGalley, provided by the publisher.

We construct our suffering. We can deconstruct it. In fact who are "we" - or specifically who am I? The reverse meditations are clearly follow-ons to the "who am I" contemplation I encountered decades ago. Who is suffering?

This book, at the end, gives a set of “reverse meditations” which are gritty and real. The first part of the book were a number of instructions and techniques, borrowed from various world faiths and traditions, but not completely, and in ways that would be offensive to those from some parts of the world.. Thus, parts of the beginning were very much New Age-flavored cultural appropriation with some mistakes in the scientific explanations – and I had trouble finishing the book.

Yet, I decided to finish. At the end, I encountered the real, useful, and useable “reverse meditations” which I had not encountered anywhere else after decades of meditation. It’s how to keep thoughts and external distractions from “sticking” to you – paradoxically by running straight into it.