Dean Sluyter

I like the relaxed attitude toward meditation in this book. The author has years of experience and a good sense of humor, and I probably got more out of what he wrote than anything else I've read about meditation.
Meditation has felt more like resting and less like work since I started trying out this author's approach.
The philosophy got a little beyond me by the end; I don't think I really understood the last chapter, or if I would agree with it if I did understand it. But I got a lot out of the book as a whole, and I will probably buy it to keep as a reference.… (mais)

After loving a lecto divino meditative exercise I did with a conversation group at work I wanted an introduction to meditation that would give me a good foundation without getting too caught up in rules (because if I hear some rules, I'm going to go crazy trying to follow them), or be too immediately spiritual (not opposed to that in the future, just not at first). I also wanted to start with a book and not an app, since I didn't want to be tied to a specific piece of technology. This book came up on several lists, and I think it did the trick!

Sluyter has a very approachable, sometimes goofy, writing style, and as a person who DOES NOT like self help writing, this was a good introduction without being a stylistic turn off. The book alternates between short chapters that outline a particular meditation technique with longer chapters talking about benefits of meditation, observations from different teachers, and Sluyter's own journey with the practice. He slipped a little too far into the spiritual / guru loving side of things by the end of the book, but I like his general thesis that meditation is something anyone can do, that it is a natural connection with your essential self, and that you don't have to sit a certain way, be in a certain place, listen to certain sounds, or follow certain rules in order to enjoy and see benefits from it. I've been playing around with meditation every day for almost a month -- sometimes just for a few minutes, sometimes for up to half an hour -- and I'm noticing that my stress levels are down and my sleep is deeper. I'm going to keep playing around and see what happens next!… (mais)