What if there was a way to learn how to meditate without the struggle? On Beginning Meditation, master teacher Sally Kempton welcomes newcomers to a practice that is predicated on maintaining genuine interest and pleasure in the fullness of our experience. With a nurturing and accessible style developed over 40 years of teaching meditators of all levels and backgrounds, Kempton shares her unique meditation philosophy then takes listeners breath by breath through guided practices including:
“Focus on a memory of love” to realize a love independent of external conditions “Connecting with the inner teacher” to bless and energize your practice “The space between breaths” for accessing the still point within that opens us to the heart of the universe “Your awareness pervades the world,” a powerful technique for resting in a state of expansive consciousness
When we decide to begin a meditation practice, Kempton explains, we enter into an intimate new relationship with ourselves–a relationship that can become the platform for both inner stability and inner transformation. Here is a stepby- step program for starting a practice infused with love and the spirit of adventure with Beginning Meditation.
Exactly The Instruction I Needed The original review is below but I’m so please I want to add something to the top here as I think it’s important.After using some of Sally’s techniques I’ve found that I consistently reach a place in my meditation that I like to call “liquid sunshine” It’s as if I’ve somehow managed to capture the warmth and life of the sun within my body, especially in my shoulders and abdomen. I had experienced this state in fleeting moments previously but now I seem to be able to find this place (or it finds me perhaps) and I can stay there for much longer periods of time. It’s incredible, almost like it’s activating opium receptors – not that I’ve ever taken opium but when I had shoulder surgery I had to take Hydrocodone and I recall the brief pleasant high that used to bring. This is almost that same sensation but much better and it’s somewhat controllable. Not sure what all this means, would love to meet an experienced meditation teacher who could comment…
Making your practice as unique as you are To learn to meditate has been in my one-of-these-days-to-to list for a while. I’ve read about the multiple benefits of meditation as a stress reducer so I was eager to give it a try as long as I could find the time or the right location to take a class. Neither one really materialized but when I saw Sally Kempton’s “Beginning Meditation” on the list, I thought it was time to stop making excuses and put my mind to the task.”Beginning Meditation” is comprised of two sessions. The first session or CD runs a little over 73 minutes long and covers the basics of meditation. Though Ms. Kempton acknowledges its proven health benefits, she hopes listeners will go beyond doctor’s orders and practice meditation for the love of it. Meditation should feel natural but technique is the doorway. Therefore, she also emphasizes the importance of setting one’s intention to meditate, of paying attention to both posture and physical surroundings, and of finding a core practice. Listeners…