Practical Meditation: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide

333 Pages·2018·21.32 MB·Spanish

by  Giovanni Dienstmann

CONTENTS
Foreword
UNDERSTANDING MEDITATION
What is meditation?
Meditation myth busting
Meditation traditions
Taking a closer look
Sharpening your powers
The key to emotional wellbeing
The Zen your body needs
Practical spirituality
A quiet mind
You have a choice!
A house without a master is chaos
Living in the moment is only half the story
MEET THE MEDITATING MIND
Starting your journey
Take a breath
Grounded as a Mountain
Steady Gazing
In and Out
Clouds in the Sky
The Sound of Now
How did that feel?
STARTING YOUR PRACTICE
Setting up a daily practice
Never zero
Enjoy the process
An empowered posture
A breath of fresh air
Hand signals
The art of concentration
Anxiety and meditation
THE MANY TYPES OF MEDITATION
Your own path
Mindfulness Meditation
Zazen
Vipassana
Humming Bee Pranayama
Kinhin
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Asanas
Tai Chi
Neiguan
Kundalini
Trataka
Visualization
Mandala Meditation
Third Eye Meditations
Mantra
Labelling
Inner Silence
Neti Neti
Expand Your Consciousness
Headless Me
Abstract Meditation
Self-Enquiry
Zuowang
Meditations from the Tantras
Loving-Kindness Meditation
Sufi Heartbeat Meditation
INTEGRATING AND DEEPENING
Meditative moments
Digital distraction
Pause, breathe, proceed
To conquer, visualize
Power your problem-solving mind
Grow and flourish
Meditation for the workplace and performance
Meditation for athletes
Meditation for public speakers
Meditation for creativity
A new level
Respecting the session
Overcoming the hindrances to meditation
Supercharge your practice
Preparing for longer sessions
To advance, retreat!
More to life
Connecting with the Divine
Samadhi
Resources
Bibliography
Acknowledgments

Editor Alice Horne
Senior Art Editor Karen Constanti Designer Emma Forge
Senior Jacket Creative Nicola Powling Jackets Coordinator Lucy Philpott Producer (Pre-
Production) Rebecca Fallowfield, Luca Frassinetti Senior Producer Ché Creasey Creative
Technical Support Sonia Charbonnier Managing Editor Dawn Henderson Managing Art Editor
Marianne Markham Art Director Maxine Pedliham Publishing Director Mary-Clare Jerram
Illustrations Keith Hagan First published in Great Britain in 2018
by Dorling Kindersley Limited
80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL
Copyright © 2018 Dorling Kindersley Limited
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ISBN: 978-0-2413-3167-5
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FOREWORD
In an age when we’re always “switched on”, it can be especially difficult
to shake off stress and negative emotions, stick to our goals, or really
focus on what is happening in the present moment. It can seem as
though life is passing by without us noticing, and we may even find
ourselves feeling far away from the person we want to be. If that
sounds familiar, you’ve come to the right place: meditation can help
you address all these concerns, and many more. By picking up this
eBook, you have already taken an important step towards a calmer,
more contented life.
Meditation has been an essential part of my life since I was 14 years
old. I was a very restless, anxious, and angry person, really in need of
meditation, but that is not why I started meditating. I started
meditating in search of a deeper meaning in life, self-mastery, and the
actualization of the human potential. I was deeply fascinated with the
mystical and the spiritual, so I read everything I could get my hands on
and visited every teacher I could. These foundational years of learning
are distilled into chapter 1 of this eBook, where you’ll begin your
journey by discovering what meditation is, its proven benefits, and
what it can do for your life.
In chapter 2, you’ll bring some immediate calm to your life with a
first taste of meditation and five “mini-meditations” which will help you
to identify which techniques could work for you. You’ll also gain clarity
about what to expect from your practice and how to avoid common
pitfalls on the way.
I’ve now meditated every day for over 18 years. This has radically
transformed my mind and experience of the world, especially as a
result of some key awakenings in my journey. With these “points of no
return”, I found that many negative thought-and emotional patterns
disappeared almost entirely, and any sizeable psychological suffering
no longer lasts more than 5 minutes. None of this could have happened
without a well-established daily meditation practice. A daily
commitment doesn’t need to be daunting: in chapter 3 you’ll find out
how to start your practice in a way that is sustainable and rewarding.
You’ll learn how to build meditation as a habit and how to overcome
some common obstacles you might face as a beginner meditator.
In my intense search of personal growth and enlightenment, I have
experimented with over 80 styles of meditation. From these, I have
selected 39 of the most popular and accessible techniques from the
main traditions to feature in chapter 4, all of which you can practise at
home in simple steps.
It took me many years, hundreds of books, hours of reflection, and
countless practice sessions to finally connect all the pieces of the
meditation puzzle. Chapter 5 is where all of this pays off: here, you’ll
discover how to integrate meditation into your life and how to use it to
deal with day-to-day challenges, such as negative emotions, problem
solving, and how to improve performance in areas from your career to
sport. You’ll also learn how to take your practice to the next level.
This is the book I wish existed when I started my journey, as it
would have saved me so much time and energy. You can open it at any
section and be sure that you will learn something useful and practical.
Or, you can gain a broad understanding of everything you need to
know by reading it from beginning to end.
It’s now time to pause for a second. Feel into your body. Take a
deep breath. And turn the page. May your journey into meditation be
transformative!
Giovanni Dienstmann
Meditation teacher, author, and coach