Dawn Groves - Meditation for Busy People: Sixty Seconds to Serenity

Dawn Groves takes the reader on an easy journey into the meaning, purpose, and how-to of meditation.Those who practice what she teaches will find greater harmony in life and much more time for joyous living.

Meditation for Busy People is a brisk, business-like description of why and how someone who believes they have no time for meditation should and can begin to practice.

Both beginners and experienced meditators will enjoy this well-written and insightful book.

Written in a pleasant conversational style, full of anecdotes and lots of good sense.

New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949

1993 Dawn Groves

Cover design: Greg Wittrock
Text design & typography: TBH Typecast, Inc.

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, or transmitted in any form, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Groves, Dawn, 1955
Meditation for busy people / by Dawn Groves.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-880032-02-3 (acid-free paper)
1. Meditation. 2. Self-actualization (Psychology)
3. Stress management I. Title.
BF637.MfG76 1992 92-12734
158' .12dc20 CIP

First Printing, March 1993
ISBN 1-880032-02-3
Printed in the United States on acid-free paper
Distributed by Publishers Group West

10 9 8 7

Mental States During Sitting

T HE BENEFITS of meditation are usually cloaked in glowing abstractions such as increased balance, greater understanding, and inner peace. The purpose of this book is to turn glowing abstraction into clear, specific terminology grounded in your reality the reality of a busy, productive, sometimes harried individual.

In these pages youll learn the tremendous value and handy applicability of meditation. Youll find guidelines for meditative practice (known as sitting) that take into account busy schedules, demanding lifestyles, and the need for practical applications. Youll learn a simple, powerful meditation method useful for any time frame (seconds to hours), and youll learn how to use it under stressful circumstances. Youll also learn techniques for handling the typical, distracting problems that occur during practice time as well as how meditation affects the workplace, relationships, and leisure activities. In the back of the book youll find two appendices. Appendix 1 contains a list of excellent reading material for further study. Appendix 2 contains a list of commonly asked questions with associated page references.

Youre a busy person. You probably want to begin meditating now. This chapter provides you with all the basic information you need to get started. It briefly describes the benefits of meditation and points out unique advantages you can bring to this practice. It then covers fundamentals such as how to meditate, how much time it should take, and what kind of environment is appropriate. So, go ahead jump in!

Meditation is probably one of the healthiest, safest, most timely, and most regenerative practices you can undertake. Far from being mysterious or abstract, meditation is directly applicable to the stresses and strains of everyday life. It is a completely nondenom-inational practice that has an immensely positive impact on the business of living.

Its Healthy

Meditation is very healthy for your mind and your body. Physiologically, the deep relaxation that comes with practice lowers your blood pressure, eases muscle strain, and, when combined with gentle stretching, helps release tension from your body. Psychologically, meditation teaches you tolerance and compassion, and improves your general behavior by making you keenly aware of your thoughts and feelings before you act on them. It also strengthens your concentration, enabling you to focus more clearly on any activity without excessive stress.

Its Safe

The kind of meditation in this book is completely safe. Meditation is not like being under a spell or even like sleeping. Theres no force involved except the force of compassionate attention. Theres no conjuring or invocation involved, no complicated rituals, nothing difficult. Its basically about getting to know the ins and outs of your mind. If you experience physical discomfort that disturbs you, or if you get a little light-headed, you can always open your eyes, get up, and take out the garbage. There is only one person in control of the situation and that is you. No magic here. Nothing to fear. Your safety net is the ever-present capacity to simply open your eyes.

Its Timely

In a world convulsing with general confusion and misunderstanding, the capacity to remain calm, compassionate, and insightful is urgently needed. Meditation can help you enhance these qualities through the art of nonjudgmental observation. You learn to identify destructive emotions, patterns of behavior, and reactions as they form. By identifying them, you can step aside without becoming trapped. And when you can step back from your own reaction and learn from it, you can step back from anothers reaction and work around it. You then become part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Its Regenerative

With a busy lifestyle, you probably find physical and emotional exhaustion to be familiar companions. Copious responsibilities do have a way of dragging you down. Meditation teaches you how to conserve and regenerate your energy. Through the power of attention, observation, and relaxation, you can learn how to maneuver through your responsibilities with greater ease and efficiency.

You may think that your busy lifestyle is a disadvantage when it comes to starting a practice such as meditation. You may also think that meditation is only for people who live so simply that they dont have to deal with rush hour, kids, career development, health issues, and meeting the collective needs of family and friends. But guess what? Youre wrong.

As a busy person, you have already developed certain qualities that will serve you well in adopting this new and beneficial practice. These qualities are curiosity, flexibility, and stamina.

1. Curiosity

You have a basic interest in whats going on around you. Curiosity is a way of protecting yourself against future difficulties (asking questions about the new boss, researching fuel-efficient cars, etc.). Curiosity is never idle; it encourages you to seek better ways to live and is vital to meditation. Theres no room for complacency when youre beginning a new practice.