The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness
- Downloads：9602
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-14 09:53:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Culadasa (John Yates)
- ISBN：1781808201
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
The Mind Illuminated is a uniquely comprehensive guide to meditation for a Western audience。 It combines the age-old wisdom teachings of the Buddha with the latest research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience， providing meditators with step-by-step guidance for every stage of the path - from your very first sit all the way to the mastery of the deepest states of peace and insight。 The book also includes illustrations and charts to help you through each stage of the process， offering tools that work for all types of meditation practices。 This is the clear， friendly and in-depth meditation manual people have been waiting for。
Reviews
Nick
，
I'll give this one another go in print （rather than the audiobook）， but it's proven a suitable starting point for beginning a regular meditation practice！ I'll give this one another go in print （rather than the audiobook）， but it's proven a suitable starting point for beginning a regular meditation practice！ 。。。more
Sergio Alejandro Gonzalez
，
This is one of the most complete guides I'd ever came across in the sea of Mindfulness books and meditation guides。 The core explanations and the techniques are very well explained; moreover， Culadasa gives a clear structure to follow in order to achieve results。 I strongly recommend the book to anyone who likes to follow a structure with curiosity as well as an open minded approach。 This is one of the most complete guides I'd ever came across in the sea of Mindfulness books and meditation guides。 The core explanations and the techniques are very well explained; moreover， Culadasa gives a clear structure to follow in order to achieve results。 I strongly recommend the book to anyone who likes to follow a structure with curiosity as well as an open minded approach。 。。。more
Max
，
Before picking up this book， I had been meditating for about 11 months or so， and even though they said that there's no wrong way to meditate， I felt that there was something not quite right about how I went about doing it。 Now that I finished reading the book， I can see what I did "wrong" and "right"， and by applying what I've learned I managed to improve the overall quality of my meditation sessions。 Before picking up this book， I had been meditating for about 11 months or so， and even though they said that there's no wrong way to meditate， I felt that there was something not quite right about how I went about doing it。 Now that I finished reading the book， I can see what I did "wrong" and "right"， and by applying what I've learned I managed to improve the overall quality of my meditation sessions。 。。。more
Vismay Agrawal
，
I’m so thankful to have this book as my guide。 Highly recommended。 No doubts that this is by far one of the best books I have encountered in my life。 It has tremendously helped in my meditation journey， and it is still helping。 I keep revisiting this book time to time。 Many paras need to be ready again and again to fully understand the depth of it。
Tabitha Kirkland
，
A wonderful， practical how-to guide to meditation that I will be taking notes on and reading in bits for years to come。
Jeffrey （Akiva） Savett
，
It’s not that this wasn’t interesting or helpful on a granular level; the stumbling block for me is the way this author， a。 tries to systematize Buddhist practice into very neat and clean distinct stages and b。 understands practical Buddhist meditation and philosophy in a way that I don’t believe is effective （or historically accurate per se）。 He speaks about Enlightenment not only as if it’s yet another stage in meditative development， but speaks as though once you’ve worked through his book， y It’s not that this wasn’t interesting or helpful on a granular level; the stumbling block for me is the way this author， a。 tries to systematize Buddhist practice into very neat and clean distinct stages and b。 understands practical Buddhist meditation and philosophy in a way that I don’t believe is effective （or historically accurate per se）。 He speaks about Enlightenment not only as if it’s yet another stage in meditative development， but speaks as though once you’ve worked through his book， you WILL arrive at Enlightenment as if it’s a permanent state of being and that “the Adept Meditator” will no longer struggle with distraction and the other hindrances we all experience whilst trying to maintain mindfulness。 。。。more
Hmys
，
Extremely lucid and comprehensive guide to concentration practice。
Charlie
，
A guide on how to meditate， it's not easy but If you try and struggle， it will not be in vain。 A guide on how to meditate， it's not easy but If you try and struggle， it will not be in vain。 。。。more
Harold
，
This will take me a lifetime to finish， so just gonna go ahead and rate it。 It's written in a really clear， positive， explicit way that I like a lot， and has vastly improved my meditation practice。 This will take me a lifetime to finish， so just gonna go ahead and rate it。 It's written in a really clear， positive， explicit way that I like a lot， and has vastly improved my meditation practice。 。。。more
Lili
，
DNF， because- when combined with the sex scandal that has since brought Culadasa down， I simply find my meditation practice to be valuable without needing to take it to these extremes， especially when those teaching us cannot even manage to practise what they preach。 I left it on my "currently reading" pile for more than three years before I realised I didn't even want to get past stage four or so。 DNF， because- when combined with the sex scandal that has since brought Culadasa down， I simply find my meditation practice to be valuable without needing to take it to these extremes， especially when those teaching us cannot even manage to practise what they preach。 I left it on my "currently reading" pile for more than three years before I realised I didn't even want to get past stage four or so。 。。。more
Jeffrey
，
if I had only one book on meditation and Buddhism， this would be it。 Very practical， how-to manual with the theory in the background
James
，
On the plus side: the book is detailed， clear， and packed with a huge amount of information。 On the negative side it is quite long， and difficult to trust。 The book presents an interesting， enticing， and plausible narrative - which is why it is so important to be wary， and constant ask *how could the author know this*？ The citations of ancient tradition and modern neuroscience carry a lot of authority， but I don't think they are actually adequate mechanisms to produce high confidence that the cl On the plus side: the book is detailed， clear， and packed with a huge amount of information。 On the negative side it is quite long， and difficult to trust。 The book presents an interesting， enticing， and plausible narrative - which is why it is so important to be wary， and constant ask *how could the author know this*？ The citations of ancient tradition and modern neuroscience carry a lot of authority， but I don't think they are actually adequate mechanisms to produce high confidence that the claims in this book are true。 Fortunately， the book makes some really strong empirical predictions about a reliable set of stages with distinct mental and sensory phenomena that would be hard to miss or mistake for something else。 Unfortunately， those predictions are buried behind months or years of diligent practice。 Between checkability， reviews from people I somewhat trust， and the value of experimentation， I think it's worth giving it a shot。 Leaving it at three stars for now， because this very much could be a hugely valuable five-star book or a skillfully disguised one-star hokey tome。Notes: （I read the beginning in way more detail than the end， since it's more immediately relevant）:t• Background: author wants to provide a detailed and understandable manual for learning how to understand and train your mind - identifies ten Stages， which include various benefits， but are mostly motivated by the path towards Awakening/Enlightenment/Liberation - freedom from suffering。 This can only happen through intuitive （sys 1？） understanding， not through intellectual （sys 2）。tt○ Knowing intellectually that there's nothing to be afraid of doesn't necessarily make you less afraid。 It can only help with understanding intuitively that there is nothing to be afraid of。t• Author says they have reverse engineered meditation practice using a combination of ancient texts and modern neuroscience？ Kind of sketchy。 Gonna need to be careful with this， stages have a very story-like structure。 Remember to ask repeatedly - how could the author know this？t• The Narrative: ten stages， separated by minor and major challenges and development of new skills。 Not entirely linear or rigid， will vary session-to-session， but at least roughly following this reliable progression:tt1。 Establishing a practicett2。 Interrupted attention， overcoming mind-wandering。 Still generating distractions and forgetting， but train speed of introspective catch until mind-wandering is overcomett3。 Extended attention， overcoming forgetting。 Learn to catch distractions before they lead to forgetting， but distractions are still generated。 At the end of this stage， even if attention is sometimes diverted， the meditation object is constantly held in awareness - you can meditate。tt4。 Continuous attention， overcoming gross distraction and strong dullness。 Learn to maintain high quality attention on the meditation object， not faltering due to gross distraction or strong dullness。tt5。 Increasing mindfulness， overcoming subtle dullness。 Learn to recognize subtle dullness and remain fully mindful。tt6。 Overcoming subtle distraction。 Learn to maintain full attention on the object， not just partial attention while subtle distractions flit around。 At the end of this， you can maintain single-pointed attention on the meditation object， and are a skilled meditator。 Ki rata shittt7。 Exclusive attention and unifying of the mind。 Learn to have single-pointed attention without effort。tt8。 Mental pliancy and pacifying senses。 Dis-identify with and learn to ignore physical discomfort。tt9。 Mental and physical pliancy and calming meditative joy。 Exactly what it sounds like apparentlytt10。 Tranquility and equanimity。 Enlightenment outside of meditationt• Introspectively， attention can only be used to examine awareness， not attention。 If you pay attention to something， you cannot simultaneously pay attention to the fact that you are paying attention。 But you can be aware that you are paying attention。t• Four steps to focus on meditation object - remain aware of everything， but narrow attention to the present， then to sensations， then to breath， then to breath at the nose。t• Lotus position isn't just decorative or made-up by Hollywood！ It's for sitting for prolonged periods， by providing a stable base （and I'm guessing spreading weight off the sitting bones）t• During early stages， internal self-talk is fine。 The goal is to keep the meditation object in awareness， not in attention。 This opens up the possibility of techniques like counting or following the breath， labeling distractions， and checking for distractionst• Strong dullness is hard to break out of， best to work with subtle dullness and try to prevent strong。 If falling asleep， first try to wake up， then resume。 Fine to interrupt practice for better quality。t• In mid-stages， improved mindfulness will lead to "insights" bubbling up from the subconscious - these can seem very important and deep during practice， but are often kind of like the "insights" discovered with recreational drugs， and don't hold up afterward。 Problem is， they seem very interesting， and so are powerful distractions。 The task is still to keep them from occupying attention。tt○ A separate sub-practice of analytical attention can help with theset• Similar mechanism can lead to strong emotions arising。 This is where dis-identifying with and introspectively inspecting emotions becomes importantt• Moments of consciousness model - expansion of attention/awareness classifications that were helpful for first four stages。 Not necessarily supposed to be literally true， just helpful for later stages。tt○ If you observe close enough， consciousness is actually composed of distinct moments corresponding to attention being directed to distinct inputs: senses， "mind sense"， and "binding consciousness"tt○ Mind sense is internal perception， like "perceiving" emotions or thoughtstt○ Binding consciousness moments happen when we take multiple moments， put them into working memory together， and synthesizett○ Moments can be further classified as attention-type or awareness-typet• There aren't actually bright-line shifts between forgetting， gross distraction， subtle distraction， and exclusive focus - they're just different ratios of moment types。 But since moments of perception and dullness both up-regulate themselves， there are weak sort of attractors？t• "conscious power" means increasing proportion of moments which are perceiving instead of non-perceiving。 Make use of all clock cyclest• Subtle dullness can be mistaken for all sorts of stuff - single-point focus， meditative absorption， transcendent joy， etc。 Remedy is parallel to stage 4 with strong dullness， except using the intention to maintain introspective attention this time instead of extrospective。t• Big ol section on Global Workspace Theory， with slightly altered terminology: consciousness = GNW， sub-minds = subagents， narrating mind = Cartesian camcordert• Subtle distractions are basically eliminated by using intention to shift the amount of subtle distractions down just slightly， until it crosses the threshold where positive feedback from pointing attention back to self isn't enough to sustain the behavior。t• Train ability to focus on tiny details with body scanning and whole-body attention， then focus back to nose to force a period of near-exclusive attention （before perception intensity returns back to scale）。t• As subtle distractions disappear， so does semantic/conceptual "veneer" - gain conscious access to non-discursive thought and raw sense inputstt○ This is the first time you can really meditate on the sensations of breath， instead of the concepts inhale/pause/exhale。 The meditation object changes from the "initial appearance" of the breath to the breath itselft• Metacognitive introspective awareness is different from garden-variety introspection - awareness of the mind's current status and activities， not just contentt• "Meditative absorption" is the same as a "flow state"t• Progression through upper stages is transforming the mind， not training it。 Requires two separate but related pathways。tt○ Upper stages begin with mental pliancy - effortless exclusive attentiontt○ Pathway 1 is pacification of sensestt○ Pathway 2 is meditative joytt○ Once both of these paths have been fully mastered， result is equanimity。 Full culmination is equanimity outside of meditation sessionst• Makes strong empirical predictions （even if verifying is expensive） - strong and unusual sensationst• Transition from ability to hold exclusive attention to being able to effortlessly hold it is actually quite simple; just apply effort as needed， until none is needed。 It does take effort though， because you have to hold an intention for long periods of time where not much obviously happenstt○ Some techniques to deal with the dryness - close non-discursive introspection， even finer "following the breath" down to the level of individual "moments" of consciousness， and close concentration on pleasantness of some physical sensationst• If the early stages are about directing attention， and the middle stages are about purifying moments of consciousness， then the final stages are about getting all sub-minds to contribute to the intention held in consciousness。 Center is optimized， and all nodes are connected to it。t• Describes this process as basically Internal Family Systems therapy - old patterns of behavior are updated to reflect the current reality， and deeply buried/inactive subagents are found progressively through unificationt• A cessation event happens when a highly unified mind encounters something that would usually induce craving， but due to extent of unity， the craving sub-minds don't project into consciousness。 Instead， a moment of total equanimity follows， and consciousness becomes completely empty。 This cannot actually be experienced because the mind is basically "off"， but a memory can be constructed afterwards。 A complete cessation takes you all the way to Awakening， but because it tends to happen in various incomplete ways first， it's realistically best described as stages。t• Expansion of sub-agent model: sub-agents have sub-agents！？tt○ Internal information within sub-agents is not readable to higher level conscious arena。 But sub-minds pass information between each other in terms of sense percepts， at all levels。t• Expansion of consciousness-as-arena model - it's not a "location"， it's just the process of information exchange itselftt○ Not sure what exactly this means。 Were we ever supposed to interpret consciousness as a literal physical location？tt○ Sounds like an ABSTRACTION BRIDGE BAYBEEEttt§ Culadasa says organizations do information exchange， so they're conscious！ttt§ Full panpsychist！ 。。。more
Sai Bhargava Sanagavarapu
，
Just as the title suggests， it is a guide/handbook to meditation practice without any religious overtones like verbalization or visualizations。 Although the background of techniques in meditation is explained quite elaborately through models of mind tracing their origin to Buddhist texts， it would have been interesting if the latest neuroscience research/experiments were integrated。
Sol Smith
，
I always say that meditation books are short， because there’s not much to say about meditation。 Turns out， that’s a very Zen-centric point of view。 This book is reasonably long and very detailed， saying a lot more about meditation than most that I’ve read。 Most meditation books that I’ve read are by folks in the Zen school who are encouraging people to get started and they leave a lot unsaid。 So who is this book for？ Beginners would definitely benefit from it， but probably don’t need to read the I always say that meditation books are short， because there’s not much to say about meditation。 Turns out， that’s a very Zen-centric point of view。 This book is reasonably long and very detailed， saying a lot more about meditation than most that I’ve read。 Most meditation books that I’ve read are by folks in the Zen school who are encouraging people to get started and they leave a lot unsaid。 So who is this book for？ Beginners would definitely benefit from it， but probably don’t need to read the whole thing。 It gives a detailed outline about the 10 stages of practice， suggesting a seven year or more commitment to meditation。 It’s exceedingly interesting， and speaks directly of what science has taught us about the states of meditation。 He also details certain achievable states of mind， and compares them to similar states found with traditional， medicinal plants。 It’s fascinating。 。。。more
Jerry Luan
，
I like to treat this book as a fellow meditator's experience but not as a definitive guide to deep meditation。 I read this book exactly for the reason introduced at the beginning of the book: to deepen my meditation after the already profound in my life。 However， this isn't successful。 I followed the training until stage 5 and stage 6， then I found the body-scanning-based approach proved to be less effective than my own method to proceed。 Overall， the method in the book is too rigid and mechanic I like to treat this book as a fellow meditator's experience but not as a definitive guide to deep meditation。 I read this book exactly for the reason introduced at the beginning of the book: to deepen my meditation after the already profound in my life。 However， this isn't successful。 I followed the training until stage 5 and stage 6， then I found the body-scanning-based approach proved to be less effective than my own method to proceed。 Overall， the method in the book is too rigid and mechanical; at least， from my own experience for now。 The book introduced many theories on the human mind。 While they are interesting， I've few appetites for theories without data to back them。You can try this book if you are completely new to meditation。 But if you can already sit for more than 40 minutes and experienced the immense joy from it， this book is unlikely to help much。 For the record， I've never experienced dullness before trying the method in this book but did so when I try。 。。。more
Chris
，
This book has changed how I think about meditation and given direction and depth to my practice。 The book illuminates 10 stages of meditation， and looks at how the brain works along with them。 The brain science fascinates me and makes so much sense with what I had noticed about my meditation but didn't have words to describe。 I am not moving towards stage 10 of the outlined stages， but I will always be grateful for this book showing me that so much more was possible with my meditation。 I do not This book has changed how I think about meditation and given direction and depth to my practice。 The book illuminates 10 stages of meditation， and looks at how the brain works along with them。 The brain science fascinates me and makes so much sense with what I had noticed about my meditation but didn't have words to describe。 I am not moving towards stage 10 of the outlined stages， but I will always be grateful for this book showing me that so much more was possible with my meditation。 I do not suggest this book as an introduction to meditation。 I do suggest it if you've been meditating a while and are wondering what else is possible with your meditation。 The book is about breath focused concentration meditation， and also includes sections on related styles of meditation that support this main practice。 。。。more
Zarathustra Goertzel
，
Buddhist Dogma - 2/5Theoretical Interludes - 5/5Meditation guidance - 4/5TMI alternatives between chapters on progressively sophisticated theories of mind and a linear progression of stages to enlightenment。The theories of mind are quite interesting and appear to be an attempt to make sense of meditative experience with a global workspace theory and view of human minds as being composed of various subminds。 As one progresses on the stages to enlightenment， these subminds develop increasing harmo Buddhist Dogma - 2/5Theoretical Interludes - 5/5Meditation guidance - 4/5TMI alternatives between chapters on progressively sophisticated theories of mind and a linear progression of stages to enlightenment。The theories of mind are quite interesting and appear to be an attempt to make sense of meditative experience with a global workspace theory and view of human minds as being composed of various subminds。 As one progresses on the stages to enlightenment， these subminds develop increasing harmony and the ability to work together without （inner） conflicts。 Some of the terminology distinguishing 'attention' from 'peripheral awareness' seems quite helpful， too。The meditation advice is pretty sound， even if it doesn't cover 'all the bases'。 A lot of this was covered in the 45 Days To Awakening course I took （elsewhere）。The end-goal as presented in TMI seems to be gaining intra-mental harmony and the ability to experience what one wants to， both of which are likely "stages of cognitive development" after Piaget's formal operation stage。The descriptions of （gross and subtle） dullness were rather interesting :-o。 I hadn't considered those much。 Lastly， I am fairly confident most of this inner work can be framed in terms of mind administration and reconfiguration without the addition of Buddhist Dogma （err， 'wisdom'？）。 Some may be aligned with the Buddhist goal of cessation of suffering as the prime objective -- yet a lot of this wisdom and knowledge may be beneficial to people with different goals。 Writing off anything but going as deep as possible as fast as possible as 'distractions' can be deceptive。A perusal of work such as The Finders on people in states of persistent non-symbolic experience will indicate that some people enjoy life fine in states other than the ultimate goal here （which， in their terminology， is likely aiming for a deep layer of location 4， possibly spontaneously going over to location 5+）。 （See https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=aCfea。。。）Also， let's take the following 'definition'。 Mindfulness （Sati - सति） :- the optimal interaction of attention and peripheral awareness。 Yes， 'optimal' is baked into the definition。 （This is especially funny given seeing how other reviewers mention Caludasa slept with prostitutes， in secret from his wife at the time， even reporting he didn't know why he did it 😋。）I'd recommend supplementing TMI with a more open-minded book while enjoying the clear articulations Caludasa offers :- ）（Stage-wise， I guess my experiences have taken me somewhere in the 6-7 range 🤷♂️） 。。。more
Diane Henry
，
DNF。 there were some immediately useful suggestions， but I can’t check this book out from the library indefinitely and its slow going。
Pablo Morales
，
What this book gave me: - Introduced me to the idea of the meditation stages - Gave some hope on that progress on meditation was possible - I gave me a temproary boost of inspiration and motivation to practice （2-3 months）。 （still I would like to clarify that consistency is not a problem for me）Now， the negatives: - Too bulky for a meditation guide， too much noise。 The science is irrelevant to me， as well as all the theory and models of the mind that the author proposes。 After all meditation is What this book gave me: - Introduced me to the idea of the meditation stages - Gave some hope on that progress on meditation was possible - I gave me a temproary boost of inspiration and motivation to practice （2-3 months）。 （still I would like to clarify that consistency is not a problem for me）Now， the negatives: - Too bulky for a meditation guide， too much noise。 The science is irrelevant to me， as well as all the theory and models of the mind that the author proposes。 After all meditation is letting go of those ideas。 Maybe the spirit or intention of the book is not what I'm looking for。 I prefer the simpler， KISS （Keep it Simple）。 Practical steps to investigation， not some digested insight or pages and pages of what somebody thinks about the mind and world is。 Finally， there are some controversies with the author， regarding his morality/being （please search for youself if youre curious）。 It was not the human failing of the author that concerned me that much， but his later avoidant behaviour and late open letter justifing his acts。 That left a sour taste in my mouth。 。。。more
Lukasz
，
[Culadasa -The 5 ultimate insights that lead to direct awakening。 - YouTube]（https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=2LYa1。。。） [Culadasa -The 5 ultimate insights that lead to direct awakening。 - YouTube]（https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=2LYa1。。。） 。。。more
John
，
A most helpful guide on the path。 Just don't forget to find a teacher and a community of practitioners。 A most helpful guide on the path。 Just don't forget to find a teacher and a community of practitioners。 。。。more
Omikun
，
Definitely a book I'll be coming back to over time， probably once a year。 The idea that the mind is actually composed of many subminds， each with their own tendencies and preferences like members of a family， is fascinating and supported by another book on psychiatry "The Body Keeps the Score"Also， that meditation is about expressing an intention the way learning to bat in baseball is expressing the intention of hitting the ball with a bat。 You don't will yourself to hit， but through trial and e Definitely a book I'll be coming back to over time， probably once a year。 The idea that the mind is actually composed of many subminds， each with their own tendencies and preferences like members of a family， is fascinating and supported by another book on psychiatry "The Body Keeps the Score"Also， that meditation is about expressing an intention the way learning to bat in baseball is expressing the intention of hitting the ball with a bat。 You don't will yourself to hit， but through trial and error your subminds hear the intention and organize themselves around this effort until they unite and perform in unison at the task。 Where as learning the hit a ball will only train your mind and body to do that one task， learning to focus will train your mind to。。。 focus on anything！ The various forms of euphoria in the later stages of meditation is also aspirational and gels with the book "How to Change Your Mind" by Michael Pollins on how LSD showed one guy what enlightenment is like and gave him the motivation to meditate！ 。。。more
Charlotte Fraza
，
For anyone that wants to get into meditation， but is scared away because of its incomprehensible nature， this is a good book to start。
David Nourallah
，
Meditation bibleEverything you need to know about meditation from beginner stages to mastering the art of taming the mind， reaching meditative bliss and pacifying the senses。 Our minds aren't our own， they're the product of past experiences which to a very high extent are beyond our control， they're also the result of thousands of years of evolution so understanding the mind， monitoring its activities and choosing what to focus on and what to let go is no small task and takes years of practice a Meditation bibleEverything you need to know about meditation from beginner stages to mastering the art of taming the mind， reaching meditative bliss and pacifying the senses。 Our minds aren't our own， they're the product of past experiences which to a very high extent are beyond our control， they're also the result of thousands of years of evolution so understanding the mind， monitoring its activities and choosing what to focus on and what to let go is no small task and takes years of practice and will lead you to change your relationship with "yourself" （the person which you think you are） and the world。 。。。more
Cory
，
This is the most practical， applicable book I have encountered on the subjects of mindfulness and meditation。 The marriage of neuroscience with traditional practices and philosophies creates a harmony of easy to understand steps with no frills。 This is not simply a book to read and shelve， it is a nuts & bolts guide that you use as a constant manual and companion for growth。 ** To clarify， I am an denigrating other texts or more traditional Eastern Buddhist practices/teachers， I am simply statin This is the most practical， applicable book I have encountered on the subjects of mindfulness and meditation。 The marriage of neuroscience with traditional practices and philosophies creates a harmony of easy to understand steps with no frills。 This is not simply a book to read and shelve， it is a nuts & bolts guide that you use as a constant manual and companion for growth。 ** To clarify， I am an denigrating other texts or more traditional Eastern Buddhist practices/teachers， I am simply stating as an individual that this is the best "rubber meets road" text I have read。 I mean no disrespect to any other teachings。 **5/5 -- Highest recommendation 。。。more
Dennis
，
Good practical roadmap to help in meditation practice。
ruruisme
，
Meditation and Mindfulness explained and together through the original Buddhist history towards enlightenment will allow the reader to find their path。 This lengthy tomb can be used to help work towards a focused approach of meditation when you’ve stalled your own meditative process。 Well worth the investment towards your own brain and body health。 Take what you will and leave the rest since this is a “guide” I enjoyed reading and practicing but it probably isn’t the only guide I’d recommend to Meditation and Mindfulness explained and together through the original Buddhist history towards enlightenment will allow the reader to find their path。 This lengthy tomb can be used to help work towards a focused approach of meditation when you’ve stalled your own meditative process。 Well worth the investment towards your own brain and body health。 Take what you will and leave the rest since this is a “guide” I enjoyed reading and practicing but it probably isn’t the only guide I’d recommend to everyone。 。。。more
Heidi Smith
，
Fantastic in-depth analysis of the stages of meditation from religious and scientific points of view！ I really like how this book addresses distractions / procrastination amongst other obstacles meditators face and how you can overcome these without guilt and progress onto the next stage in your daily practice。 Would recommend to anyone looking into how to develop their spiritual growth and evolve their mind。
Nick Torres
，
This book is literally a step by step guide to meditation。 It explains what you should be working on in stages， what to expect， and pitfalls。
Raami Karim
，