Susan Piver just came out with a new book "Start Here Now", a guide to meditation. She has other books but the one called "Open Mind" has gotten my attention several times. She didn't author that book, she edited it. So, when you look up Open Mind, Amazon says it is by Sharon Salzburg and others, which it is. But the book is so well put together that one ought to recognize the clear-thinking and lucid writing hand of Piver at work.
I only learned about "Start Here Now" this morning but I have read quite a bit of it already. (That is the joy of Kindles, hear about and get it in the next minute.) Again, the book is insightful and written in an inviting way:
Somehow, the act of sitting down with yourself with the willingness to simply be with yourself as you are, whether you show up in your most brilliant or puniest form, relaxes the inner critic or whatever stands behind our oppressive self-criticism and incessant efforts to improve ourselves. Meditation says, "I don't care if you are the most excellent person of all time or the most absurd—I love you. Right now." This is the love that most of us have never received. Surprisingly, it doesn't look like affection or approval. It looks like companionship. If you've ever wished for a friend who would love you as you are, appreciate your genius, and make space for your foibles, welcome you when you're funny and shiny and when you're a complete mess—well, I can introduce you to this person. Rather, your meditation practice can. He or she has been there the whole time. You are the one you've been waiting for, as they say.
Piver, Susan (2015-09-15). Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation (Kindle Locations 171-178). Shambhala Publications. Kindle Edition.
I have practiced meditation for 20 years. I have read about its history, both Eastern and Western. I know that it is being accepted in American education, business, medicine and military and police work. It has been part of all the great religions for centuries. Still, reading Piver's light hand as she glides over the subject, I pick up tips about my practice as well as ideas for persuading others to give it a try.
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