Did you miss the first post about my book launch? If so, you can Click Here to read it.
Today was a special day. I actually held in my hands a copy of this book that encapsulates so many years of life. I’m more than pleased and still awestruck by how well the project all came together. After finally seeing the book for the first time with my own eyes I can say Lubosh Cech, the book designer, is undoubtedly a master of his craft.
With this second of three posts I wanted to explain to you a little bit more about the book and my motivations for writing it. I felt nothing could accomplish this better than the book’s prologue.
Prologue
I discovered the power of meditation at an extremely low point in my life. I was overweight, not exercising, and living a very unhealthy lifestyle. At my worst I was barely functioning. I struggled to leave the house for fear of crippling panic attacks. After a while it felt as though I wasn’t even living. I was no longer in control of my life and I absolutely hated that feeling. The worst part of this for me was the shame. I knew I had more potential and that I wasn’t living my best life and that feeling of limitation frustrated me.
The fear of the anxiety caused me to construct my entire life around a routine that kept me feeling safe and secure. As a temporary escape from my misery, each weekend I would force myself to get out of the house and would drive to a local bookstore. I spent hours reading about anything that interested me. One afternoon a tiny blue meditation book called, Metaphysical Meditations caught my eye so I brought it home, read it, and began to meditate. I then read, Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananada, these two books were the spark that began to transform my life.
After a few months of practicing meditation something miraculous began to happen. I began to notice that I was starting to slowly heal from the inside out. I felt more relaxed, I began to eat healthier, had better concentration, and was flooded with a general sense of well-being.
In 1991, about a year after I started my regular practice, I enrolled in a three year course in advanced meditation. I was so excited about the benefits I experienced through my practice I began to believe that meditation had the power to change our entire world for the better, one person at a time. At that moment I vowed to one day teach others.
Only in the past year, more than twenty years after I first began, do I feel even remotely qualified enough to teach and share this life-changing practice of meditation with others. My goal was to fill this book only with honest, simple, and actionable methods and concepts that have worked for me personally. Getting to know your true self through meditation takes courage and it takes work. Each meditation session is like charging your cell phone battery. If you don’t meditate just a few minutes every day the benefits you receive will soon be depleted and you’ll be back at the same place you started.
Life in this world will never be perfect but despite what unfolds around us but you will learn through your practice that it’s nearly always possible to remain peaceful, hopeful, and happy. The negative moods of those around you don’t have to spill over into your own consciousness. You don’t have to impose any limits on your life due to fear, anxiety or anything else.
At the end of most chapters there is a section called, Put It Into Practice, these are simple ways to incorporate the methods presented in the book in your own life. Also at the end of each chapter you’ll find a Notes page to jot down thoughts and ideas. If you’re reading the eBook version of The Perfect Pause on a mobile phone or tablet simply place your finger on the Notes page and “long press” your screen to activate the Notes feature in the Kindle app. Use this notes feature to document your observations and results.
I’m convinced that this simple practice has the potential to heal the world one person at a time. As I sit here today putting the finishing touches on this book I’m reflecting on how completely my life has been transformed by this true miracle. Meditation is the greatest gift you can give yourself. Practicing it is the greatest gift you can give to the world. No matter where your life stands today, it’s never too late to begin your practice.
Each year more and more people are waking up to the fact that this life is an incredible gift. Life gives us the opportunity to learn, to love, and to grow beyond our wildest imaginations. When you began to treat life as the gift that it is an amazing new reality will open up to you. It’s a world that you may’ve only seen small glimpses of before. Meditation is your chance to join the ranks of the awakened.
Whether you currently realize it or not, you are miraculous, you deserve love, you deserve a life of happiness and fulfillment, above all you deserve to be the best version of yourself. Remember this now and for the rest of your days.
Please join me here on Sunday, June 18th (my birthday) for the final kick-off of The Perfect Pause!
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
Eric Vance Walton - Media
i m like
@ericvancewalton75... Insightful and practical post... Thank You very much!!
Have a Great Weekend !!
hahaha! ,love this
Hilarious!
Thank you very much for this post.
Those are hope filled words for whatever life decides it wants to throw our way.
This prologue is soul-searching and raw, and every word kept me engaged.
Excited to read each chapter as you share more of your book Eric. This could change someone's life.
Thanks, Lydon! Meditation has done this for me, personally. It truly makes everything better ...it's given me strength during hard times and greater happiness during good times.
Hey, long time no read! Good to come across such a positive news! I'm so glad your book is coming along so nicely.
The "Autobiography of a Yogi", by Paramahansa Yogananda, is one of the best book on spirituality I have ever came across, including the "The life of St. Teresa of Avila" and her own books. They are filled with love, hints pointing at the moon of everyone and everything while giving methodical ways to approach the matter. They are indeed deeply inspiring and powerful and am not too surprise to read that you have also been moved by such books of grandeur. They stir our souls straight from the core just as any saints, real gurus and spiritual guides can do.
Thanks for sharing this article with us. I already look forward to reading more about your books or, maybe, even excerpts from it... ;)
All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
Hey man! Thanks and its good to hear from you! Autobiography of a Yogi is my all time favorite. There is something very magical about it. I've read it so many times and get something new out of it each time. Namaste, my friend.
To quote a friend of mine, this book was "written with so much love"!
Namaste :)
This post received a 33% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @thecryptofiend! For more information, click here!
Thank you very much!
Great work!
Thank you!
Awesome! Resteemed cause I support anyone who wants to spread the joy of meditation :) Can I ask what style of meditation you practice/teach in the book?
Thank you, I appreciate the kind words and the support! I studied Kriya Yoga for years and this is what I practice. This is a book for beginners so it provides a background and lays the foundation for a lifetime of practice. I mainly focus on breathing exercises, a few guided meditations, and how to deal with quieting the mind and releasing thoughts as they arise.
Awesome. Although I'm skeptical of some of Yogananda's claims, I believe Kriya Yoga is great path. Best of luck!
That is really interesting what you say about the "gift". I think you are right. It's kinda obvious but I tend to forget it sometimes. So thanks for reminding me. ;)
I don't know about the "entire" part, but surely it can help many people. Can't wait to read more of the "encapsulated" knowledge.
Thanks, @greengroove! For meditation to change the entire world everyone would need to practice it. I really hope this happens some day. I appreciate your comment!
I agree, but I think not everyone is here for spiritual growth. Not just because of the "global indoctrination" either. We the people are very different from each other... My mom once told me: "Don't try to help someone who doesn't want your help." It's good to be positive, but I'd rather not live in denial.
That being said, let's hope for good things to come. However, I'll try to keep managing my expectations in the future. Focus on myself and hope others do the same. I appreciate your contributions as well, and of course the upvotes! :-)
This is great. I have been meditating to sleep since I was a child. It allows me to sleep and rest no matter what is going on.
Thanks! Ah, you're a natural then! I remember sitting as a very small child and humming myself into a trance. I was meditating but I had no idea that's what I was doing at the time.
I wish you great success.. Keep the good work going :)
Thank you!
I read Dan Harris' '10% Happier' awhile back and found it to be an intelligent peek into the art of meditation.
If you like Dan Harris's book, check out his podcast.
He brings on veteran practitioners like Sharon Salzberg who was one of the first westerners to bring meditation to the West. He asks his guests very practical questions about meditation that have helped me improve my practice.
Very unique podcast.
Thanks will add it to my feed.
Tim Ferriss has featured many experienced meditators on his podcast also.
That is a great book!
I am a student of Vippassana practice. Although still new in this, but I know the power is there. :)
Thanks for your post. and looking forward to read your book.
NIce, been der too... here is my latest take on life after death... trying to evaluate options from different set of beliefs...
https://steemit.com/life/@bsameep/what-happens-when-we-die-heaven-hell-or-back-to-earth
Hi. Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for reading
Beautiful words....
"Whether you currently realize it or not, you are miraculous, you deserve love, you deserve a life of happiness and fulfillment, above all you deserve to be the best version of yourself. Remember this now and for the rest of your days."
AND a launch on your birthday is truly awesome! May it be one of the best ever, I'm sending you a virtual a cake with candles to blow out and a virtual hug.
I appreciate your support and friendship, Ruth! You've contributed so greatly to this project through your yantra and by referring me to Lubosh. I have a special copy of the book for you. I'll have to get your shipping address again. Thank you!
it's truly been my pleasure and really great to see you and Lubosh collaborate so well! And oooo thanks for my own copy, very kind of you! I'll PM my address.
good job sir
Thanks!
Wow! I really need to follow u.. love it
thank you for good posting
I appreciate your support!
What got you into meditation? I have to say I fell into by way of the Army as while in the army I was forced to run in the most ridiculous of conditions. However, since having gotten out I went for a run telling myself I'd run a mile or two and circle back home. That didn't happen at all and I found myself running nearly 20 miles because I felt at one with everything around me and an overwhelming sense of calm.
Hi, @jacobchamplain. I explain how I found meditation in the prologue above. How cool that you discovered the power of meditation in the army! Meditation gives you a lot of power over your physical body. Shaolin monks are a prime example of this. Thanks!
My apologies. I got so wrapped up in the thought of it and and a former yogi girlfriend I missed the most crucial point of ascension. I absolutely hated running initially but when I wasn't running for work it just became as natural as breathing. At one point it was so calming and my life was pretty hectic I didn't know I'd broken my leg (long story) and was still running 20 plus miles per week. I didn't know it was ever broken until weeks later when my cousin who is a massage therapist told me my leg was must have been broken recently.
No worries at all! Amazing, man! I suppose the flood of endorphins produced from all that running kept you from feeling the pain. We are so much more powerful than we think. If I had to condense 24 years of the lessons I've learned in meditation that would be it...we are so much more powerful than we think we are.
Wise words indeed! Keep spreading the seed that is goodness in a place that is rife with disillusion as most people don't know they need it. Have a great rest of the weekend.
Thanks, man! I intend on keeping it up. I hope to expand my teaching very soon. You enjoy the rest of your weekend too. I appreciate your comments.
Thank you for this post. Made my friend read this and it inspired him to join Steemit and start documenting his journey learning/teaching yoga.
You're welcome! I appreciate you spreading the word about Steemit! Your friend should do wonderfully on here. Once they join please let me know and I'll follow them.
Absolutely, thanks so much. Keep doing great things
Congratulation on the publication of your book...hope that people will get benefit from your hard work...Its not an easy job...
I appreciate that, thanks!
Welcome....
resteemed brother Eric :)
Thank you, sister Michele! : )
Thanks for sharing your experience in meditation...over the years I have really wondered how it works...I am into alternative medicine and belief that the best way to tackle sickness in the body is thru natural ways and the bodies ability to be able to heal itself when in right diets and lifestyle. Yoga is part of alternative medicine and quite interesting although one has to have great patience and faith in it. My questions is, can Yoga be uses in in weight management and immune system boosting? Any link to download some simple guides...upvoted and following already. Keep it up
You're welcome! My wife and I are very much into natural healing as well. I know that hatha yoga does stimulate the lymphatic system and bolsters the immune system that way. As for weight loss, I'm not sure about that. Thank you!
Where will we be able to purchase your book?
The links to purchase will be in my final book launch post here on Steemit tomorrow.
Divertido
¿Lo que es divertido?
Wonderful... I am sure you would like my take on Life after death...
https://steemit.com/life/@bsameep/what-happens-when-we-die-heaven-hell-or-back-to-earth
I started practicing meditation in my early 20's and quickly became aware of its benefits. The practice gradual slipped away from me, but I have still maintained the 'observer' mindset (whenever I can remember to), and i have observed how breaking away from my meditation practice has opened my physical, emotional, and spiritual self to a steady increase in confusion and frustration. In the last six months I have become extremely reclusive, hiding away in my room in order to buffer my self from what I perceive to be an increasingly confused world... However, I can see that isolating my self is only adding momentum to the larger societal problems that I'm trying to avoid, increasing confusion and lack of perspective. So I've recently reintroduced meditation into my days. I got my self a little meditation seat (bad knees) and I'm remembering now the stabilizing effect that regular practice can provide.
Thank you for sharing this!