Good Meditation book (Recommendations Please)

[DanC]

I have come to a point in my practices where I am totally confused, the problem is of

all the books I have purchased none really explain things in a straight forward manner.

Does anyone have any good straight forward meditation books they can recommend that deal

with matters of the mind, Chi flow and the benefits to ones health, most books cover matters

of the mind and totally ignore the energetic and health aspects of meditation.

 

Daniel

[Eric23]

Came across this great website while surfing one day.

 

http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/wuji.htm

 

The book I read to get me started was Allan Watts Quiet the Mind. A collection of talks he gave on radio, that was edited for print by his son. Gets into a number of spiritual issues but not chi. Never the less I found it a great little practical book.

[Yoda]

I've enjoyed the free online advancedyogapractices.com as a good all-in-one with lots of detail and how meditation relates to energy practices.

 

I've enjoyed Tarthang Tulku's Gesture of Balance... more poetic and general, not into much detail and how to.

 

There's also Varieties of Meditative Experiences by Goleman which unpacks the various popular approaches to meditation practice which is also a good read.

[rex]

Have you seen these?

 

The Endorphin Effect

Relaxing into Your Being

The Great Stillness

[DanC]

I like the look of "Relaxing into your being" and the "Endorphin Effect", with the "Relaxing into your being"

book do you need volume 2 as well or is volume 1 enough to get started.

 

Thanks Rex

[Guest sykkelpump]

I have come to a point in my practices where I am totally confused, the problem is of

all the books I have purchased none really explain things in a straight forward manner.

Does anyone have any good straight forward meditation books they can recommend that deal

with matters of the mind, Chi flow and the benefits to ones health, most books cover matters

of the mind and totally ignore the energetic and health aspects of meditation.

 

Daniel

 

http://www.meditationexpert.com/ebok/howtomeditate.pdf

 

I belive this is the easiest and the best.

It works very well for me.

[Yen Hui]

I like the look of "Relaxing into your being" and the "Endorphin Effect", with the "Relaxing into your being"

book do you need volume 2 as well or is volume 1 enough to get started.

 

Relaxing into Your Being can be studied alone, but it is foundational for The Great Stillness, which is more

advanced. I firmly recommend, though, that you supplement your study of Relaxing into Your Being with

Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body (@ http://www.amazon.com/Opening-Energy-Gates...384&sr=1-1).

[Yen Hui]

... supplement your study of Relaxing into Your Being with Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body

(@ http://www.amazon.com/Opening-Energy-Gates...384&sr=1-1).

 

Two Quotes from

Relaxing into Your Being: Chapter Six

The Taoist Preparatory Practices - An Overview

 

1) All the basic practices of Taoism are geared toward developing practitioners into what Taoists call

"complete human beings". In that state you are physically healthy, with energy flowing freely through

unimpeded channels, and are ready for the rigors of more advanced practices. It is critical to master

the preparatory work because, later on, when the spirit begins to open and you start converting Chi

into spirit, the process can quite literally shock, agitate, or burn-out an unprepared nervous system.

Commonly, people's bodies cannot handle what occurs in the meditative spiritualization process,

especially if fire methods are used . When the body's circuits reach a certain overloaded level, the

mind/body can become ill. To avoid such disintegration, you need to master the basic exercises for

developing the downward currents of energy and for balancing the body's energy channels. (p. 121)

 

2) It is best to learn the energetic basics of chi gung prior to the more advanced practices of meditation,

because such practices presume that you have the whole of the physical and chi bodies functioning as

one completely integrated internal unit ... etc. Unless the body energies are integrated and fully alive,

it is difficult, if not impossible, to alchemically transmute the body's tissues in a fashion that unites with

the Consciousness. (p. 122) [ END OF QUOTES ]

 

Master Frantzis begins discussing the "intermediate" practices in Chapter 7, so after you complete the

first six chapters of Relaxing into Your Being, it would be helpful to take a break from the book and shift

attention to the close study of his book on Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body; before you complete

Relaxing into Your Being.

[QiDr]

The books by Master Ni Hua Ching are very readable, explicit and informative.

[Smile]

http://www.meditationexpert.com/measuringmeditation.html

and

2 meditation books by Nan Huai-Chin

Working Toward Enlightenment: The Cultivation of Practice

To Realize Enlightenment: Practice of the Cultivation Path

[rex]

I like the look of "Relaxing into your being" and the "Endorphin Effect", with the "Relaxing into your being"

book do you need volume 2 as well or is volume 1 enough to get started.

 

Thanks Rex

Yen Hui got there first.

[Yoda]

that howtomeditate.pdf article is a good read!