The Meditator's Workbook A Journey to the Center

by Flickstein, Matthew; Gunaratana, Bhante Henepola

• ISBN13: 9780861715862
• ISBN10: 0861715861
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-30
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications

Summary

Through hands-on exercises, journal entries, guided meditations, and lively vignettes, The Meditator's Workbook will help you:

Author Biography

Matthew Flickstein is a psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and the founder of The Forest Way Insight Meditation Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. In more than twenty years of leading personal development workshops, he has trained almost 15,000 people across the US, including other teachers.

Bhante Gunaratana was ordained at the age of twelve as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka, earned his PhD in philosophy from The American University, and has led meditation retreats, taught Buddhism, and lectured widely throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is the president of the Bhavana Society in High View, West Virginia, where he lives.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. XI
Acknowledgments	p. XIII
Introduction
The Goal of the Journey	p. 2
Stages of the Journey	p. 4
Navigating Obstacles	p. 6
Meditation: Calming the Mind	p. 12
Searching for the OX
Insights: Happiness Versus Inner Peace	p. 15
Obstacles: Gratification and Resistance	p. 16
Path: Reviewing Our Lives	p. 16
Exercise: Tracing a Path Through Life	p. 17
Exercise: Identifying Symptoms of Stress	p. 20
Discovering the Footprints
Insights: True Power Comes from Within	p. 25
Obstacles: Missing the Obvious	p. 27
Path: The Power of Images	p. 28
Exercise: Recognizing Unachieved Goals	p. 31
Perceiving the OX
Insights: We Can Reprogram Our Minds	p. 33
Obstacles: Self-Blame	p. 34
Path: Uncovering Our Shadow Self	p. 34
Exercise: Illuminating Shadows	p. 40
Exercise: Attaining Goals	p. 48
Catching the OX
Insights: The Unresolved Past	p. 55
Obstacles: The Temporary Relief of Bypassing	p. 57
Path: Resolving Our Open Issues	p. 59
Meditation: Working with Distractions	p. 61
Exercise: Expressing Forgiveness	p. 68
Exercise: Resolving Grief	p. 80
Exercise: Settling Conflicts	p. 90
Exercise: Confronting Fears	p. 97
Taming the OX
Insights: Becoming Aware	p. 103
Obstacles: Perceptual Distortions	p. 104
Path: Gaining Perspective	p. 105
Exercise: Discovering the Source of all Stress	p. 107
Exercise: Encountering Perceptions	p. 112
Meditation: Developing Awareness of Habits	p. 121
Meditation: Walking Meditation Instructions	p. 130
Exercise: Cultivating Clear Comprehension	p. 146
Riding the OX Home
Insights: Here and Now	p. 151
Obstacles: Knowledge Versus Knowing	p. 151
Path: Living in the Moment	p. 152
Exercise: Exposing Illusions About Time	p. 153
Exercise: Exposing Illusions About Space	p. 156
Exercise: Expanding Mindfulness	p. 159
The OX Transcended
Insights: Cause and Effect	p. 163
Obstacles: Slow Progress	p. 164
Path: Right Effort	p. 165
Exercise: Developing Lovingkindness	p. 169
Both OX and Self Transcended
Insights: Selflessness	p. 179
Obstacles: Dualistic Thinking	p. 179
Path: Moving Beyond Mind Traps	p. 181
Exercise: Examining Problems	p. 185
Exercise: Exploring Self-Definitions	p. 188
Reaching the Source
Insights: Freedom	p. 195
Obstacles: Subtler Identifications	p. 196
Path: Advanced Instructions	p. 198
Meditation: Removing Subtle Obstacles	p. 199
In the World
Insights: Living an Enlightened Life	p. 205
Obstacles: Teaching Through Words	p. 206
Path: Living Life as a Teaching	p. 207
Exercise: Living Life as a Teaching	p. 209
Conclusion	p. 213
Suggested Readings	p. 215
Index	p. 217
About the Author	p. 227
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