What is
meditation? It is one of the most essential activities in life, and yet we get
little in education. Meditation is a spiritual activity that drives the human
spirit away from fear of the future and anger about the past. It brings the
human soul to more gratitude for the “here and now”, to acceptance, compassion
and happiness. If you have a religious education, meditation resembles praying
and contemplation, but in meditation, we don’t need to talk and in a certain
way, we don’t even need to think, we prefer silence. Just like sports, it is
good for body and soul, but it also requires time and regular
practice. Meditation is becoming popular and there are plenty of methods
and courses offered.
A near colleague
of mine offered me this excellent book from Christophe André (the original
title is ‘Méditer, jour après jour’). This book is really a work of art. Every
chapter shows a beautiful painting, perfectly chosen to describe a state of
mind. The author guides the reader’s attentiveness through the details of the paintings to bring him to a new awareness about an important matter in life,
such as accepting, letting go or loving. I learned about the difference between
“Aufmerksamkeit” (focused, analytical attention) and “Achtsamkeit” (wide
attention for the environment, attentiveness, mindfulness).
The book
also contains two audio CD’s with meditation guidance. The refined finish of
the book is a joy in itself. You can open it at any chapter and start reading; the
order in which you read the chapters is not so important. This book will find a
fixed spot in my mental living room.
In these borderline
times, where traffic and computers offer a thousand opportunities to get upset,
meditation may be a good prevention of illness, despair, addiction or
dependence. It shows that beautiful things invented thousands of years ago,
always come back, no matter how we ignore them in daily life.
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