How to Meditate: A Guide to Self-Discovery

Meditation "is an ageless human experience that has been discovered and explored and used in every period and every culture that we know about," writes Lawrence LeShan, a psychotherapist and scholar. LeShan discusses the psychological and physiological effects of meditation, why meditation has these effects, and different types (or "paths") of meditation. To get the feel of it, he suggests starting with 15 minutes of breath counting--harder than it sounds. "The road of meditation is not an easy one," says LeShan. "The first shock of surprise comes when we realize how undisciplined our mind really is; how it refuses to do the bidding of our will." He gives detailed instructions for several meditations of different types and guidelines for choosing a program and a teacher. This is not a snappy "five minutes to perfect meditations" or a promise of "read this book, achieve instant peace." Rather, How to Meditate is a serious, thoughtful book. "In this most serious area--inner development--we are interested in evolution, which is stable, rather than revolution, which is not," says LeShan. You will see changes, he promises, but gradually. This is the new edition of the classic that has been teaching people to meditate since 1974. How wonderful that How to Meditate has been reissued, giving another generation the benefit of LeShan's work and guidance. --Joan Price