Stephan Bodian is an internationally known author, psychotherapist, and teacher. He leads regular intensives and retreats and offers spiritual counseling and mentoring to people throughout the world. His bestselling app Mindfulness Meditation (with Mental Workout) has been praised in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Foreword xvii

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Getting Started With Meditation 5

Chapter 1: Embarking on Your Meditation Journey 7

Getting an Overview of How the Journey Unfolds 9

Different paths up the same mountain 9

The view from the summit - and from other peaks along the way 11

The taste of pure mountain water 12

There's no place like home - and you've already arrived! 13

Developing and Directing Awareness: The Key to Meditation 16

Building concentration 17

Opening to receptive awareness 18

Using contemplation for greater insight 19

Cultivating positive, healing states of mind 19

Making Meditation Your Own 20

Designing your own practice 20

Troubleshooting the challenges 21

Chapter 2: Why Meditate? 23

How Life Drives You - to Meditate 24

The myth of the perfect life 24

When things keep falling apart 25

Dealing with the postmodern predicament 27

Four popular "solutions" that don't really work 29

How to Survive the 21st Century - with Meditation 30

Advanced technology for the mind and heart 31

The mind-body benefits of meditation 32

A Dozen More Great Reasons to Meditate 35

Awakening to the present moment 35

Making friends with yourself 35

Connecting more deeply with others 35

Relaxing the body and calming the mind 36

Lightening up! 36

Enjoying more happiness 36

Experiencing focus and flow 36

Feeling more centered, grounded, and balanced 37

Enhancing your performance at work and at play 37

Increasing appreciation, gratitude, and love 37

Aligning with a deeper sense of purpose 37

Awakening to a spiritual dimension of being 38

Chapter 3: Zen and Now: Where Meditation Comes From 39

Making the Indian Connection 41

Classical yoga: The path of blissful union 41

Early Buddhism: The roots of mindfulness meditation 42

Indian tantra: Finding the sacred in the world of the senses 43

To the Roof of the World - and Beyond 44

Ch'an (Zen): The sound of one hand 44

Vajrayana Buddhism: The way of transformation 45

From the Middle East to the Rest of the West 46

Christian meditation: Practicing contemplative prayer 46

Meditation in Judaism: Drawing closer to God 48

Meditation among the Sufis: Surrendering to the Divine with every breath 49

The Americanization of Meditation 50

Transcendentalism and Theosophy (1840-1900) 50

Yoga and Zen prepare the soil (1900-1960) 51

Meditation reaches Main Street (1960 to the present) 51

The Latest Developments in Meditation 53

Take two meditations and call me in the morning 53

Talking back to Prozac 54

Transforming classrooms with mindfulness 55

Meditation in the workplace 55

Chapter 4: Your Brain on Meditation and How It Impacts Your Life 57

Tracing the Origins of Meditation Research 58

Wiring up yogis and Zen monks 58

Studying TM and the relaxation response 60

Measuring the health benefits of meditation 61

Assessing the limitations of the early research 62

Mapping the Meditative Brain 62

Shifting mindfulness to center stage: Jon Kabat-Zinn and MBSR 63

Creating a working map of the brain 65

Pinpointing the location of positive emotions 65

Seeing how meditation changes the brain 66

Part 2: Beginning Your Meditation Practice 69

Chapter 5: Laying the Foundation: Motivation, Attitude, and Beginner's Mind 71

Beginning (and Ending) with Beginner's Mind 72

Exploring What Motivates You to Meditate 74

Improving your life 77

Understanding and accepting yourself 77

Realizing your true nature 78

Awakening others 78

Expressing your innate perfection 78

Living in Harmony with Your Meditation 79

Chapter 6: How Your Mind Stresses You Out and What You Can Do about It 83

Taking a Tour of Your Inner Terrain 84

Sifting through the layers of inner experience 85

Discovering how turbulence clouds your mind and heart 89

The Bad News: How Your Mind Stresses You Out 92

Preoccupation with past and future 94

Resistance to the way things are 94

A judging and comparing mind 95

Learned helplessness and pessimism 96

Overwhelming emotions 96

Fixation of attention 97

Clinging to a separate self 98

The Good News: How Meditation Relieves Suffering and Stress 98

Developing focus and concentration 99

Allowing spontaneous release 100

Penetrating your experience with insight 100

Chapter 7: Mindfulness Meditation: Awareness of the Here and Now 105

Turning Your Attention Inward 106

Relaxing Your Body 108

Developing Mindfulness 110

Focusing on your breath 110

Expanding to sensations 114

Welcoming whatever arises 115

Training Your Puppy: Reining In Your Wandering Mind 116

Chapter 8: Preparing Your Body for Meditation 119

Putting a Snake into a Stick of Bamboo - or the Subtle Art of Sitting Still 120

How to Sit Up Straight - and Live to Tell About It 121

What to do from the waist down - and other fantasies 124

Straightening your spine without rigor mortis 128

Zafus, benches, and other exotic paraphernalia 131

Chapter 9: Where to Sit, What to Wear, and Other Practical Stuff 137

What to Wear: Choosing Comfort over Fashion 138

When to Meditate: Any Time's the Right Time 139

First thing in the morning 139

Before bed 139

Right after work 139

Lunch hours and coffee breaks 140

While waiting for your kids and at other predictable downtimes 141

How Long to Meditate: From Quickies to the Long Haul 141

What to Eat and Drink - and Avoid - before You Meditate 142

Where to Meditate: Creating Sacred Space 143

Why it's best to stay put 144

How to pick the right spot 144

How to set up an altar - and why you may want to bother 145

Chapter 10: Just Doing It: Discipline, Effort, and Letting Go 149

Discipline Just Means "Again and Again" 150

Making a commitment to yourself - and keeping it 150

Being consistent, day after day 151

Restraining yourself, both on and off the cushion 152

The Right Kind of Effort: Not Too Tight or Too Loose 153

Giving your energy 100 percent 154

Applying yourself earnestly 154

Making an effortless effort 154

Knowing How to Let Go and What to Let Go Of 157

Suspending judgment 157

Accepting 158

Letting go 158

Unmasking 158

Surrendering 159

Chapter 11: Opening Your Heart with Love and Compassion 161

How Your Heart Closes - and How You Can Open It Again 162

Some factors that keep closing your heart 163

Some good reasons for keeping it open 164

Discovering your "soft spot" 166

Love begins with you 167

Feeling out the four dimensions of love 168

Generating Love for Yourself and Others 169

Opening the gates 170

Directing the flow 170

Transforming Suffering with Compassion 172

Some preliminary exercises for generating compassion 173

Transforming suffering with the power of the heart 174

Part 3: Troubleshooting and Fine-Tuning Your Practice 179

Chapter 12: Meditating with Challenging Emotions and Habitual Patterns 181

Making Friends with Your Experience 182

Embracing your thoughts and feelings 183

Naming your experience 183

Welcoming whatever arises 184

Meditating with Challenging Emotions 185

Anger 186

Fear and anxiety 187

Sadness, grief, and depression 189

Unraveling Habitual Patterns with Awareness 190

Naming your "tunes" 191

Expanding your awareness 191

Feeling your feelings 191

Noticing your resistance and attachment 191

Finding the wisdom 192

Getting to the heart of the matter 193

Infusing the stuck place with being 194

Working with patterns before you get stuck 194

Setting Patterns Aside - for Now 195

Letting go (or letting be) 195

Shifting attention 196

Moving the energy 196

Acting it out in imagination 196

Acting it out in real life - mindfully 197

When Meditation May Not Be Right for You Now 199

Choosing a Therapist to Help with Your Patterns 200

Talk is important, but you need to do more 200

Shop around 201

Choose the person, not the credentials 201

Find a therapist who meditates 201

Chapter 13: Troubleshooting Common Roadblocks and Side Effects 203

Navigating the Roadblocks on Your Meditative Journey 204

Sleepiness 205

Restlessness 205

Boredom 206

Fear 206

Doubt 206

Procrastination 208

Hypervigilance 208

Self-judgment 208

Attachment and desire 209

Pride 210

Avoidance 210

Bypassing 211

Enjoying the Side Effects of Meditation without Getting Sidetracked 211

Rapture and bliss 212

Visions and other sensory experiences 213

Waves of emotion 214

Energetic openings 214

Chapter 14: Developing a Practice That Works for You 221

Fitting the Puzzle...