<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Wrong References
Review: I liked the book exept for the fact that George Fowler makes references to the Bible that are not so. For example on page 89 he says that in Corinthians(12:2) that paul heard things in meditation that "man is not permitted to speak" which in fact is not even in the Bible. Am I the only one who noticed this?
Rating: 
Summary: There are no rules
Review: I picked this book up for a short piece of inspirational writing on the subject of meditation, and I got much more than I bargained for.Living a number of years as a Trappist monk, George Fowler admits that practicing meditation the way he was "taught" by the Catholic church never worked for him. It wasn't until he began comparing other religious thought that he found the basis of meditation that finally made a difference. That difference had less to do with meditation itself and more to do with a theology based in the principle that we are all a part of God and that God is not an autocrat living in the sky separate from us. Through meditation, he determined, we can achieve the blissful realization that we are all part of the whole of the universe, and we can commune properly with Divine energy when we are silent and fully present in any given moment. The school of thought purported here mirrors much that is found in books by new age gurus like Neale Donald Walsh, Marianne Williamson, and Deepak Chopra. What makes Fowler's book unique is his own experience juxtaposed against the rhetoric of his monastic life. Once you have a proper understanding of why you should meditate, Fowler emphatically says there are no rules, freeing the reader to discover how to dance to the beat of his own drum.
Rating: 
Summary: Motivation for meditating
Review: If you find yourself lacking in proper motivation when meditating, please read this book. Before reading this book, I could only meditate for 10 or 15 minutes. After reading it, I can do 60 minutes in the morning (I get up at 5 am). This book provides a proper reason to meditate. I prefer to call meditation the practice of 'praying constantly' and it is a demonstration of our love for God. We must practice in secret - something we do not demonstrate in front of others (becasue it would be a form of spiritual pride - thus an attachment). Meditation is a form of practicing detachment from the desires things of this world (fame fortune, pride). Not that there is anything wrong this these things, but it's our desires or attchments that we need to master.
Rating:
Summary: 17 Years of Silence - Beyond External to Inner Comtemplation
Review: Manifesting my thoughts, I found this book in a used book store. Like the late Trappist Monk, Thomas Merton, George Fowler has found after a 17 year vow of silence, devoted to contemplative meditation, that God lives in all. That fundamentalism and religion are the products of human fallibility, where as mysticism and universalism embrace both the ground of our being, the acceptance of God within and that of all life. Echoing the words of other non-theists, Fowler acknowledges God as the center of our being, Fowler explains the meaning of meditation and that of contemplation, how some people are born contemplators, while the rest of us must engage in meditation to achieve higher awareness. Excellent book from a man who has both experienced meditation and lived it.
Rating:
Summary: Wrong References
Review: Originally read it from the local library. Really changes the way you see yourself as connected to the universe. Can't recommend it enough. Should be required reading for all world leaders :-)
Rating:
Summary: One of the most important books I've ever read
Review: Originally read it from the local library. Really changes the way you see yourself as connected to the universe. Can't recommend it enough. Should be required reading for all world leaders :-)
<< 1 >>
| 
