Rating: 
Summary: Spiritual Plagiarism
Review: *a reader from California. I was excited at first to read Sally Kempton's (swami durgananda) book. However, although the quality of the writing is excellent I was deeply distressed by her lack of professional integrity.
Kempton omits a complete bibliography and does not bother to quote her sources. As a student of yoga and meditation for over 30 years, I have found many of her meditations in other popular books. Yet, she does not quote or acknowledge other people's work.
This lack of honesty and arrogance is out of integrity for a professional writer who claims to teach meditation and spirtual values. Kempton should learn that basic yoga practice called "yamas"and "niyamas" insist upon no lying, cheating or stealing to onself or another.
Kempton, in a desire to make a name for herself, has abandoned the basic values of any traditional yoga practice.
Rating: 
Summary: Going Deeper
Review: During the last 14 years of practicing meditation I have always looked for ways to deepen my experience. This book was really helpful in that respect. It set off a revolution in my thinking and understanding of the process of meditation and really shook the dust out of my daily practice.I like the practical advice the author gives. She has a knack for making one of life's most mystical experiences completely accessible.
Rating:
Summary: A Contemporary Classic
Review: I am a poet and editor who has maintained a daily practice of meditation for over twenty years, during the course of which I have naturally read a number of books on meditation. Sally Kempton's "The Heart of Meditation" is quite simply the finest book on Eastern Meditation by a Western writer that I have yet encountered.
The book is clearly the work of an author possesing
a rigorous, wide-raging intellect, a generous heart, and uncommon common sense. "Heart" is both elegant in its overall structure and eloquently written, its clear and simple prose informed by a literary sensibility that makes it as compulsively readable as a good novel. It is both comprehensive and concise in conveying the intellectrual and metaphysical underpinnings of the Yoga of meditation, both inspiring and consistently practical in guiding the reader along pathways to a deeper meditative expereience.
Fittingly, the book is also beautifully designed, its expansive and elegant format reflecting its content. I expect to be giving it this Christmas both to friends who have expressed an interest in beginning to meditate and to experienced practitioners.
There is so much to be said about this book. For brevity's sake, I will mention three points in particular.
First, this is not a book about how to feel better about yourself as a person, how to be more compassionate to your fellow man, how to tap the wellspring of your greativity,
how to be more effective in the worplace etc. (though it is likely to induce any or allo of the above as side-effects!) As the author makes clear from the outset, this is a book about self-exploration, about how to access the deeper levels of consciousness and joyful awareness that our our birthright but that elude many of us, about how to expand our understanding of ourselves and of our world. It is a book by an experienced adventurer, herself for many years the disciple of two highly regarded Yoga masters, that invites the reader to go on a similar adventure, and is a book that is in many ways an adventure in itself. It is a book that is relentlessly focussed on the goal of life's adventure, the fulfillment of the Socratic injunction "know thyself".
Secondly, this is a book rooted in the experience Of Yoga meditation that draws on the teachings of several prominent strains of the Hindu tradition. There are a number of excellent books by Western writers on the practice of Buddhist meditation, but none that I am aware of of comparative quality on Yoga meditation - until now. Though meditation is a universal phenomenon, there are very real differences in the approaches toward the practice of meditation emphasized by different schools. Kempton's book is rooted in the experience of Kundalini Yoga which uses a seker's inner energy, his or her innate divine effervescence, as a guide to a more profound experience of the self. Kempton expertly describes the often surprising "pathways" this energhy can take as it guodes the seeker within, and provides the context through which we can understand ther variegated subtle inner realms they can lead us through (and beyond).
Finally, and most importantly, the book provides an extaordinary wealth of information about how we can become creative and "unstuck" in our meditation practice. Let me give just one example. Early in the book Kempton points out that people have different characteristic styles of processing information - she mentions the visual, the auditory,the kinesthetic, and the conceptual-schematic as examples. Depensing upon one's predominant styles some routes to deep meditation will be more easier and more effective than others. Through reading this book I realized that I major in the kinesthetic and minor in the auditory. Most of my mefditative experiences have involved sensing energy in different subtle centerts in the body, particularly the heart and throat, the seat of love and imaginative insight; mantra repetition has intensified these sensations. This book has helped me to value my own style of meditation, which is particularly well suited to my work as a poet. It provides a wide range of techniques, some drawn scriptural tradition and others drawn from the author's experience and experimentation, that will enable any meditator to discover and focus upon what techniques work best for him or her. Some of these techniques have had a major impact on my own practice.
In sum, I believe that this book amply deserves to become a classic modern text on the theory and practice of meditation. I truly hope it will find its way to the many readers who willl surely benefit from it.
Rating:
Summary: A very inexpensive way to recieve such a wealth of teaching.
Review: I have read many many books on meditation and have participated in meditation retreats, classes and discussions. True to other writings of Sally Kempton, this book is one of the easiest and most concise teaching of mediation I have read. Kempton's abundance of meditation experience combined with her skill as a writer and her ability to know what so many students of mediation and yoga are really looking for, make for a rare and precious combination in any teacher, let alone an author. I urge anyone interested in mediation to read this book, if you don't recieve one answer or tool you were looking for I would be very suprised.
Rating:
Summary: This book is the real thing for meditators
Review: If any book can teach meditation, and enable practicing meditators to deepen their practice, this is it. Swami Durgananda is an extraordinary meditation teacher with a great reputation among her students. She writes from deep experience, in a completely practical and accessible way. She is firmly grounded in one of the ancient spiritual traditions that gave rise to meditation, yet her method of teaching requires no beliefs -- just good will and the intention to learn. Best of all, she is completely familiar with the obstacles that meditators face, and offers simple ways to deal with each of them. If meditation is what you want, this is the one book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: In "Heartof Meditation" Sally Kempton has done an amazing job of covering every aspect of meditation in a clear and easy to relate to way. The book is filled with practical exercises and many different ways of breaking through obstacles for every personality type. It is also well seasoned with beautiful quotes from a variety of saints, poets and authors. I've been meditating for 22 years and have read a lot of books on meditation; this is the first that approaches the topic from a highly creative and playful position. A true gem!
Rating:
Summary: Practical answers to revolutionize your meditation
Review: Specific, detailed, practical suggestions to deepen meditation. This writer knows the obstacles and draws from her own experience and that of hundreds of her students. It has revolutionized my meditation. Thank you, thank you for this valuable tool.
Rating:
Summary: a must : amazing, refreshing , a bliss a real pathway
Review: There is no word to describe the intelligence within this book, it is definitly a clear practical pathway to a deeper experience.
this could be the only book you need to read in order to clear within you the process of meditation.
Robert from switzerland
Rating: 
Summary: "This book is an expression of the Siddha Yoga Tradition"
Review: This book contains a great deal of material; it is in general an easy read, a credit to Swami Durgananda's journalistic ability. The questions I have are: Does it really meet its goal? What is the goal? What is the path? What are the stages on the path? What are the obstacles? These are questions anyone embarking on a path of meditation needs to know. These questions are left largely unanswered by Swami Durgananda. The goal of meditation is in the words of Patanjali "Yogas citti vrtti nirodhah" Yoga is controlling the turnings of the mind". In the words of the Dalai Lama, it is controlling one's mind. The reason to control our minds is that is the road to happiness and enlightenment. Meditation itself is single pointed thought. In reading Swami Durgananda's book it is hard to discern not only what meditation is, but also what the goal is and why we meditate and how her exercises lead us to that goal. I would have like her to be more explicit about these relationships.I think this is largely a problem of organization of her material, prioritization, and order of presentation. Siddha Yoga is a guru based tradition and this book reflects that philosophy. It is also an experience based tradition and this book reflects that. While in the middle of the book Swami Durganada tells us that meditative experiences should only be used as road signs on the path, a great deal of this book is the relating of hers and others' experiences. The reader will have to make his or her own assessment, however, they should be aware that most masters tell their disciples to ignore visions and meditative experiences. The late Lama Yeshe was particularly vehement about that. Swami Durgananda contends that the shakti will automatically come up with antidotes to negative emotions. Others believe that antidotes must be consciously cultivated that we may learn to control and in the end rid ourselves of negativity. The reader would be benefited by reading Stephan Bodian's MEDITATION FOR DUMMIES (Title forgiven) to see meditations on emotions. Success on the path is not measured by seeing Blue Pearls or white light, or having great visions, but by attainment of concentrative focus, contentment, compassion, lovingkindness and wisdom. The Dalai Lama's STAGES OF MEDITATION is helpful for understanding stages of meditation. As Swami Durgananda notes that there is a similarity of paths though there are cultural differences. Another book readers of this book would find helpful is Jack Kornfield's A PATH WITH HEART. Though Kornfield is a Buddhist, the book is written for all traditions. Many of Swami Durgananda's exercises are very worthwhile. Her chapter on Mantra repetition is lacking. Mantra repetition is an exercise in concentration and later in practice important for diety yoga. Most teachers recommend counting mantras and noting points of distraction. Malas are for counting. Her opinion that the guru gives the mantra chaitanya (enliving) is not shared by Sir John Woodroofe in A GARLAND OF LETTERS . Woodroofe states that it is in understanding the meaning of the mantra that it comes alive. It appears from Swami Durgananda's discussion of her own experience that this is the case. The Sanskrit language carries it's own power. Her three week breakthrough program is quite intense for those without a previous meditation practice. Beginners would be advised to forgo the three hours of meditation a day and begin with half an hour. Should they decide to begin with three hours a day, reading Bonnie Greenwell's ENERGIES OF TRANSFORMATION: A GUIDE TO THE KUNDALINI PROCESS would be well advised before hand. I found the "troubleshooting your meditation" chapter particularly inadequate. Hopefully, it will be improved in the next addition. One is referred to Bodian's, Kornfield's, or Greenwell's books which cover the problems more thoroughly. The strong points of this book are the "coming out of meditation: contemplation, recollection and journal writing" and "daily life of the meditator" chapters. I think this book is a valuable adjunct to one's meditation library. It should not be the mainstay of one's practice.
Rating:
Summary: Spiritual Plagiarism
Review: This book is one of the Master guides on Meditation. It is quite agreeable to anyone from any tradition. It deffinitly becons the mind to open into ever new and expansive view points. Even if one starts with some pre-concieved ideas, don't be surprised if you find those pre-conceptions falling away during your read............allowing the heart to peirce through the heavyness of dogmatic and contracted thinking into a freer, and more natural state. I am quite impressed with this beautiful explanation of the many stages and qualities of meditation in book form. It is intersperced with quotes from Saints, Buddha's, and Master's from all traditions. It gives great pointers on how to get through many of the obsticals that arise in anyones meditation. It also clearly points to the goal of meditation and elequantly expands on the experience of the goal of meditation through the writers own direct and personal experience. Yet, so beyond the subjective ego (reflective of the state of the author), it is easily accesable by anyone who is interested in starting a meditation practice, to anyone who has been meditating for a very long time. It is so fresh this book, it offers a range of techniques, as well as a section of self questioning which helps the reader align with their own personal style of meditation. It is both explanitory and contemplative. It puts seemingly complicated essoteric teachings into a language that illumines them as common sense. the book is like reading into one's own heart. So honest, so beautiful, so eloquent. There is a sense of openess as one reads, as if the words expand past the confines of a mere book, past the confines of mere form. The words themselves are so reflective of her own deep experience of the Truth, that one can not help but experience the state she speaks from. It is deffinitly perfectly titled as, "The Heart of Meditation." Do yourself a most profound favor, have a Heart to Heart with your own essentual nature through this wonderful book that can expand current paradigms or forge one ahead into new and more greatly expanded paradigms. The fruit of this book, is most deffinitly enlightenment. What is that exactly? Ahhhhh, read the book and apply what it points to in your own life and you will realize that it is your own natural innermost state of being. So close, you will wonder how you ever did miss it, and have a good laugh in that wondering as well. In a very practical sense:
A first class book on Meditation!
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