Meditation is a scientifically verified approach for decreasing stress, enhancing well being, and making constructive modifications within the mind. However it’s typically related to faith, or has a “new-age” air (like sitting in an unique place and burning incense). There’s actually nothing flawed with religious-based or unique strategies, which work advantageous for many individuals. However some are turned off by it or it makes them skeptical of meditation. For the latter group, Rick Heller has written Secular Meditation, a helpful down-to-earth information.
Rick is related to the humanist group at Harvard College, the place he teaches meditation. I loved the ebook and would extremely advocate it for anybody who has beforehand been skeptical of meditation. Rick admits that some individuals are essential of attempting to provide you with a secularized model that extracts it from spiritual roots. That’s the reason he makes use of the extra generic time period secular meditation as a substitute of one thing like secularized Buddhism. I believe the essential query is whether or not the secularized model remains to be useful. It’s potential to lose some worth in the event you choose and select solely what you need. For instance, one may apply mindfulness and calming the thoughts diligently however nonetheless not be a really good particular person. However I consider that is averted in the event you keep a minimal important set of elements like meditation, mindfulness, and cultivation of loving-kindness, as I mentioned right here. Loving-kindness or equal compassion trainings are an essential facet that’s typically omitted.
So I used to be completely satisfied that Rick’s information begins with loving-kindness practices. He describes these and different useful practices intimately within the ebook. It was additionally good to see him cowl a secularized model of mantra meditation. Whereas many individuals discover breath-based strategies to work effectively for meditation, I personally have had extra success with mantra meditation.
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