Book that doesn't lie to you about realistic expectations from meditation.

[lmfao]

"A Million Thoughts" by Om Swami tells you what constitutes a formal meditation practice, gives you an idea of what the serious path looks like with at least a few hours of meditation a day. If all of you here have been listening to Leo talk about how ineffective meditation is, how much effort and etc it takes, then look no further than this book to learn what it means to meditate properly. 

[Nak Khid]

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Million-Thoughts-Meditation-Himalayan-Mystic/dp/8184959451/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8

 

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

First one to buy it!
Will come back to write a detailed review. Woohoo....

(12/11/2016) My review-
1- Swamiji, your books are definitely very informative and I believe that you can charge a little more for them than you are currently doing.

2- There are a few typos in this book. Please have them corrected.

3- If you had put few photographs of some handwritten notes on your experiences in this book it would have been wonderful. Please consider putting something like in this in your future books.

4- You mentioned that you practiced all the different types of meditation techniques mentioned in the book, a note to the reader on what to expect from each type, what you yourself have experienced would have been of great inspiration to the reader.

5- Perhaps you could also put a disclaimer about the results. You mentioned that someone meditating for 6 hours a day for 6 months is an intense meditator and will have intense results, and so on and so forth. I have meditated for the first 6 months for 5 hours a day and the second 6 months for 6 1/2 hours per day (2nd phase ending on 23rd Dec). In the third phase, I plan to increase to 8 hours per day. I have not seen any results. I am going to continue this way for few more years but I jut would like to mention that results are not guaranteed despite immense effort because of either past karmas or any of the many other reasons.

Before I am told that meditation alone is not enough, I would like to mention that I fast every Monday, maintain verbal silence every Sunday,
Feed animals daily morning and evening, donate to various organizations every month, donate blood every 3 months, and have sponsored the planting of over 160 trees, visit the temple once every week, have reduced my sleep and food quota in the first phase, reduced further in the second phase and will reduce even further in the third phase. I have been doing these things all my life but have done it more regularly and with great diligence for the past 1 year.

In the next one year, If I see any results, any glimpses of life beyond this body and mind, I will come back here and post a brief paragraph confirming the same. Thank you.

____________________________

Sajeev

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the top 3 meditation books. Highly recommend!

Reviewed in India on May 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have read many books on meditation and would rate this among the top 3 books on meditation - the others being Pema Chodron's, "How to Meditate" and "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying".

The main strengths of this books is that unlike some books which promote only one kind of meditation, Om Swami has explained all the different forms of meditation - from concentrative to contemplative, from focusing on breath, to chants, to self enquiry. This is extremely useful since different methods will appeal to different people and in the end meditation should not be about dogma - about following one method only but about letting the mind settle down, irrespective of the method involved.

Om Swami also narrates various anecdotes related to meditation and spirituality, which makes it an informative and at times humorous read. Like he says always smile during meditation since there are enough things to frown about. The author also makes it a point to point out how meditation should be part of a holistic life and is meaningless if other factors like compassion, love, kindness etc are not present in day to day interactions. He has also included a worksheet to track your progress in meditation. Highly recommend!

 

 

 

[Inliytened1]

There are many factors at play.  If one is spiritually gifted they can awaken after a week of meditation or even awaken spontaneously.   This doesn't appear to be the norm of course but what is the "norm" anyway?   i don't think you can put set or absolute rules on what works.  It is all relative.

[Nak Khid]

Om Swami 

Om Swami is a monk and author of fifteen books including best-sellers like Kundalini: An Untold Story, A Million Thoughts, The Wellness Sense, When All Is Not Well, and If Truth Be Told: A Monk's Memoir.
Swami was born in North India. In 2000, Swami graduated with a Bachelor of Business from University of Western Sydney and later, in 2002, acquired Master of Business Administration at University of Technology Sydney. Later he started a software business in Australia and expanded its operations to USA, Canada, UK and India over the next six years.He worked with various companies. Swami later moved back to India and acquired a healthcare company.
On 15 March 2010, Swami renounced his material wealth[6] and left for his spiritual journey quietly. Heading straight to Kashi, he was initiated into the path of renunciation by a Naga saint in a little village some eighty kilometers away from Varanasi.[8] After spending four and a half months there, Swami left for the Himalayas where he spent the next thirteen months in intense meditation in complete isolation and solitude. During the days of his intense practice, he meditated for up to 22 hours every day including straight 10-hour stretches.
Swami gives his own perspective on enlightenment in his book If Truth Be Told. "Enlightenment does not mean you have to live like a pauper. It does not mean you have to subject yourself to a life of hardship and abstinence. On the contrary, to be enlightened means to live in the light of love, compassion and truthfulness"

Books

The Big Questions of Life, Harper Collins; 2020.
The Book of Kindness: How to Make Others Happy and Be Happy Yourself , Harper Collins; 2019.
The Heart of Success, Jaico Publishing House; 2019.
The Children of Tomorrow: A Monk's Guide to Mindful Parenting , Harper Collins; 2019.
The Hidden Power of Gayatri Mantra, Jaico Publishing house; 2019.
Mind Full to Mindful: Zen Wisdom from a Monk's bowl, Harper Collins; 2018
A Fistful of Wisdom: A Monk's light musings on life's serious stuff, Jaico Publishing House; 2017.
The Ancient Science of Mantras, Jaico Publishing House; 2017.
The Last Gambit, Harper Collins; 2017.
A Million Thoughts: Learn all about meditation from the Himalayan mystic, Jaico Publishing House; 2016.
When All is Not Well: Depression and Sadness from a Yogic Perspective, Harper Collins; 2016.
Kundalini: An Untold Story, Jaico Publishing House; 2016.
The Wellness Sense: A Practical Guide to Your Physical and Emotional Health Based on Ayurvedic and Yogic Wisdom, Harper Collins, 2015.
A Fistful of Love: Wisdom and humor from a Monk's bowl, Jaico Publishing House; 2015.
If Truth Be Told: A Monk's Memoir, Harper Element; 2014.