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Rating: 
Summary: A great introduction to practical meditation
Review: I have been a meditator for many years. During this time I have had experience with many different forms of meditation and inner work. I have found Heart Rhythmn Meditation as presented in Living From the Heart to be an extremely effective method for reaching a state of inner peace, harmony and balance. This book explains this simple, powerful and effective method of meditation. It works for both those beginning and those sustaining a meditation practice. The aspect of Bair's method that I found particularly valuable is the distinction that he makes between upward and downward meditation. Upward meditation's purpose is to release one's consciousness from the constraints of earthly existence. Upward meditation can create all sorts of personal, emotional and psychic problems for unwary practitioners. In contrast downward meditation helps one to understand the purpose and meaning behind one's daily life. It is a much safer form of meditation designed to make one better able to deal with real life problems. For those of us that have busy, active lives in the world that are geared towards accomplishment and achievement, downward meditation is the more useful technique. I recommend this book to people that would like clear, practical instructions for meditating.
Rating:
Summary: A great introduction to practical meditation
Review: I have been a meditator for many years. During this time I have had experience with many different forms of meditation and inner work. I have found Heart Rhythmn Meditation as presented in Living From the Heart to be an extremely effective method for reaching a state of inner peace, harmony and balance. This book explains this simple, powerful and effective method of meditation. It works for both those beginning and those sustaining a meditation practice. The aspect of Bair's method that I found particularly valuable is the distinction that he makes between upward and downward meditation. Upward meditation's purpose is to release one's consciousness from the constraints of earthly existence. Upward meditation can create all sorts of personal, emotional and psychic problems for unwary practitioners. In contrast downward meditation helps one to understand the purpose and meaning behind one's daily life. It is a much safer form of meditation designed to make one better able to deal with real life problems. For those of us that have busy, active lives in the world that are geared towards accomplishment and achievement, downward meditation is the more useful technique. I recommend this book to people that would like clear, practical instructions for meditating.
Rating: 
Summary: Overlooked but worth it
Review: Living from the Heart describes another form of meditation - that is based on the heart. Overall Bair does a fine job at describing how to practice heart beat meditation(HBM), the book is well layed out and gives a step by step sequence. The method is flexible enough that you can adapt it for you own needs. Play with it and take the parts which suit you best. In my case it help me flesh out the Hesychastic Prayer of the Heart as found in the Orthodox Church. You can even go to his web site (do a google search)and download the fundamentals of HBM to try it out before buying the book. However I do have some gripes, the first being that Bair pushes HBM as a psychological panacea and hence comes off as some New Age Tony Robbins with all the testimonials. He also makes curative claims that are not substantiated by any research. Personally I find this a turn off as there are psychological problems that need a psychotherapist not a meditation practice to correct. But thats just me. The other gripe the breathing sequence in HBM involves prolonged breath retention -- a powerful but potentially dangerous yogic practice which is usually taught to yoga students who have practiced for some years. It generally has a energizing effect so if you are excitable or want to relax you may wish to alter the sequence. So please be careful with this aspect. Overall it's a fine addition to any meditators bookshelf. Puran is not overly preachy or other worldly. He's down to earth in his presentation. I don't think you can go wrong with it. Other books worth I believe complement it are:
The Knowing Heart by Kabir Helminski
Heart Self and Soul by Robert Frager
Rating:
Summary: A fresh approach to meditation
Review: This is a great book for both the new and experienced meditator. Exploring the sound of your heart in meditation is a wondefully rich and centering experience. The book guides you step by step to achieving this, as well as advanced methods that will continually allow you to grow. For the new meditator, there is also a program w/ a timetable in the back of the book to help you structure your progress.
Rating:
Summary: A fresh approach to meditation
Review: This is a great book for both the new and experienced meditator. Exploring the sound of your heart in meditation is a wondefully rich and centering experience. The book guides you step by step to achieving this, as well as advanced methods that will continually allow you to grow. For the new meditator, there is also a program w/ a timetable in the back of the book to help you structure your progress.
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