Matteo Pistono - Meditation: Coming to Know Your Mind

Meditation: Coming to Know Your Mind offers a wonderful guide for anyone aiming to practice mindfulness leading to wisdom and a more meaningful, happier life. Matteos direct approach makes the book easy to read, while his thoroughness gives the reader a clear understanding of the various techniques and methods available. Its an excellent resource for anyone wishing to learn the practice of meditation or for a more experienced practitioner seeking renewed inspiration and understanding.

SHARON SALZBERG, AUTHOR OF REAL HAPPINESS AND REAL LOVE

Meditation: Coming to Know Your Mind is a wonderfully refreshing, well-informed, and practical guide to a rich array of meditative practices drawn from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The practices explained here, interspersed with illuminating personal narratives, are central to Buddhism and are at the same time relevant to everyone seeking a more mindful, empathetic, meaningful way of life. I recommend it to beginners and seasoned meditators alike.

B. ALAN WALLACE, PRESIDENT, SANTA BARBARA INSTITUTE FOR CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES

A clear, accessible, reliable, and inspiring guide to meditation that will prove very helpful for those who aspire to train their mind and become a better person.

MATTHIEU RICARD, AUTHOR OF WHY MEDITATE? AND ALTRUISM

I have long been searching for a clear, compassionate guide to meditation that I can recommend to people from all walks of life. Matteo Pistonos Meditation: Coming to Know Your Mind is the clearest and most insightful guide anybody could wish for, whether beginner or seasoned practitioner. While grounded in the Buddhist tradition, Meditation is a real treasure for anybody who seeks to explore this ancient wisdom practice in a modern setting. A brilliant beacon of light on the path to mindfulness!

MICHAELA HAAS, PHD, AUTHOR OF DAKINI POWER AND BOUNCING FORWARD

Also by Matteo Pistono

In the Shadow of the Buddha: One Mans Journey of Discovery in Tibet (Dutton Penguin, 2011)

Fearless in Tibet: The Life of the Mystic Tertn Sogyal (Hay House, 2014)

Also in the Hay House Basics series

Crystals

Mindfulness

Past Lives

Angels

Lucid Dreaming

Tarot

Energy Healing

NLP

Self-Hypnosis

Reiki

Numerology

Feng Shui

Shamanism

Chakras

The Akashic Records

Tantra

Astrology

Mediumship

Qabalah

Goddess Wisdom

First published and distributed in the United Kingdom by:
Hay House UK Ltd, Astley House, 33 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 3675 2450; Fax: +44 (0)20 3675 2451; www.hayhouse.co.uk

Published and distributed in the United States of America by:
Hay House Inc., PO Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100
Tel: (1) 760 431 7695 or (800) 654 5126; Fax: (1) 760 431 6948 or (800) 650 5115
www.hayhouse.com

Published and distributed in Australia by:
Hay House Australia Ltd, 18/36 Ralph St, Alexandria NSW 2015
Tel: (61) 2 9669 4299; Fax: (61) 2 9669 4144; www.hayhouse.com.au

Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by:
Hay House SA (Pty) Ltd, PO Box 990, Witkoppen 2068
info@hayhouse.co.za; www.hayhouse.co.za

Published and distributed in India by:
Hay House Publishers India, Muskaan Complex, Plot No.3, B-2,
Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110 070
Tel: (91) 11 4176 1620; Fax: (91) 11 4176 1630; www.hayhouse.co.in

Distributed in Canada by:
Raincoast Books, 2440 Viking Way, Richmond, B.C. V6V 1N2
Tel: (1) 604 448 7100; Fax: (1) 604 270 7161; www.raincoast.com

Text Matteo Pistono, 2017

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise be copied for public or private use, other than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews, without prior written permission of the publisher.

The information given in this book should not be treated as a substitute for professional medical advice; always consult a medical practitioner. Any use of information in this book is at the readers discretion and risk. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any loss, claim or damage arising out of the use, or misuse, of the suggestions made, the failure to take medical advice or for any material on third party websites.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-78180-862-7 in print
ISBN 978-1-78180-961-7 in ePub format
ISBN 978-1-78180-960-0 in Kindle format

Interior illustrations: lotus flower, Minette Mangahas;
all other images Matteo Pistono

For my brother, and community of meditators in Washington, DC, London, Goa, and beyond.

May our journey of meditation reveal the teacher within each of us.

Practices

Guided meditations

Twenty-five years ago I traveled to northern India. It was the first of many pilgrimages I would undertake in the Himalayas. On my initial sojourn I met a meditation master who lived as a hermit in a cave. Hed been meditating there for over 40 years. His eyes were filled with kindness and a vast spaciousness like the sky above the mountains.

I was a frustrated activist at the time. I didnt have the patience to remain in America and work within the political system. I blamed the power structure for the many injustices I saw around me. But I was angrier with myself for not being able to enact the change that I wanted to see in politics and in society. I was seeking some kind of refuge in the Himalayas, if only from the tightly bound tension in my own heart and mind.

When I met the meditation master, I asked him, How can I help change the world for the better?

He told me, First, you need to learn to meditateonly then will you know yourself.

I wasnt sure how that would help.

Only after truly knowing yourself, he said, will you really be able to help others.

I didnt know how to start meditating. But that day I vowed to learn.

The last thing the meditation master told me before I left his cave was, You have to taste meditation. You have to do it. Its not enough to know about it. You can have lots of knowledge and read many books about meditation but unless you practice it, it wont be of any use to you.