Book Review: Buddha in Blue Jeans

I love this book. I don't know if it will really help me to make meditation part of my life, but I feel like it will. It is short. It is simple. Both of the those can be both good and bad. I tend to be a bulk snob when it comes to information. The more information, and the more complex that information is, the more likely I am to trust in that information as truthful and useful. I have to throw those out for Buddha in Blue Jeans. My first reaction that it couldn't be this simple has been dissuaded by some rather successful meditation sessions. Of course I've had many more attempts than successes. I'm so used to trying to analyze and understand every thought that it's hard to trust and let go. But I'm trying, and every time I reread the book I get some new insight or trick to try.

Having said all that, I should state that if you are looking for a self-help book with lots of helpful hints and guidance, you may be disappointed. It leaves a lot up to the reader, which is the point, but still, some of us like being led by the leash into new experiences.

100 Words - Meditation Anxiety

My attempts at meditation are without discipline. I've got the sitting quietly part down pretty good and I'm very good at breathing. Then comes the clearing your head part. I start off good, letting thoughts enter my head and float away like clouds, passing through my consciousness barely acknowledged. Then a thought will catch my attention. An epiphany? Some great truth revealed? No, some trivial idea burlesqued into a story idea. The next twenty minutes spent pursuing the idea to usually unsatisfactory results. Then I realize what I've done, return to my breathing, but the moment for reflection has passed.