NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS GOLD-MEDAL WINNER FOR 2015 There’s no trying in meditation. Just as water runs naturally downhill … just as leaves float naturally to the ground … we can all settle naturally into meditation. Not trying, just allowing—not doing, just being. The key is effortlessness. Whether you’re a complete novice or you’ve “tried it before,” if you can breathe you can meditate. Guided by veteran teacher Dean Sluyter’s easy-going, down-to-earth approach, you’ll test-drive a variety of meditative “vehicles,” such as breath, sound, the senses, the sky, and the simple sense of “I,” and discover which ones fit you best. You’ll find all the practical tips you need for adapting these methods to your daily life, even for a few minutes a day on the subway or in an office cubicle. And as your life opens to deep happiness, clarity, peace, and creative energy, you’ll be inspired to keep on practicing—naturally.

Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa “shows us how the tremendous power of medical meditation can heal not only the body but also the mind and soul” (Deepak Chopra) in this practical and engaging guide to natural healing. Proven effective by scientific research and presented here by Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa and Cameron Stauth, the practice of Medical Meditation revolutionizes the healing process. By balancing and regenerating the body's ethereal and physical energies through simple meditations, Medical Meditation unites the mind, body, and spirit into a powerful triad. Each Medical Meditation here has a specific physiological effect, targeting afflictions from arthritis to ulcers to cancer. Dr. Khalsa details the five unique attributes that endow this type of meditation with far more power than standard meditation. The combination of special postures and movements; exact positioning of the hands and fingers; particular mantras; specific breathing patterns; and a unique focus of concentration can change your entire biochemical profile, easing you into a calm, healing state. Practiced in conjunction with conventional or alternative medical treatments, cutting-edge Medical Meditation activates the healing force within you.

“Nature deficit disorder” has become an increasingly challenging problem in our hypermodern world. In Awake in the Wild, Mark Coleman shows seekers how to remedy this widespread malady by reconnecting with nature through Buddhism. Each short (two to three pages) chapter includes a concrete nature meditation relating to such topics as Attuning to the Natural World, Reflecting the Rhythms of Nature, Walking with Compassion, Releasing the Inner Noise, Freeing the Animal Within, Coming into the Peace of Wild Things, Weathering the Storms of Life, and more. Incorporating anecdotes from the author’s many nature retreats, Buddhist wisdom and teachings, important nature writings by others, and nature itself, the book invites readers to participate in, not just observe, nature; develop a loving connection with the earth as a form of environmental activism; decrease urban alienation through experiencing nature; embody nature’s peaceful presence; and connect with ancient spiritual wisdom through nature meditations.

NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS GOLD-MEDAL WINNER FOR 2015 There’s no trying in meditation. Just as water runs naturally downhill … just as leaves float naturally to the ground … we can all settle naturally into meditation. Not trying, just allowing—not doing, just being. The key is effortlessness. Whether you’re a complete novice or you’ve “tried it before,” if you can breathe you can meditate. Guided by veteran teacher Dean Sluyter’s easy-going, down-to-earth approach, you’ll test-drive a variety of meditative “vehicles,” such as breath, sound, the senses, the sky, and the simple sense of “I,” and discover which ones fit you best. You’ll find all the practical tips you need for adapting these methods to your daily life, even for a few minutes a day on the subway or in an office cubicle. And as your life opens to deep happiness, clarity, peace, and creative energy, you’ll be inspired to keep on practicing—naturally.

Internationally renowned meditation teacher Hari Kaur Khalsa knows well the whirlwind stresses and strains placed on women today. Through the secrets of ancient Kundalini chanting and meditation techniques, women will find peace amid all the chaos, develop their creativity, and hone their inner wisdom. To introduce the newcomer to meditation, Hari Kaur helps the reader, step by step, to create a space in which to meditate, to become familiar and comfortable with different postures, to breathe deeply and effectively, and to clear the mind. Plainly organized into sections uniquely tailored to a woman's changing physical and emotional needs, Hari Kaur teaches how to: - alleviate frustration, ward off moodiness, and become calm - ease life transitions, accept change, and encourage personal creativity - fully realize the potentials of pregnancy and motherhood; and much more In addition, Hari Kaur discusses seven steps to achieve happiness and how to use meditation to build a spiritual identity. Her meditations are presented in the original Sikh as well as in English translation. And the easy-to-reference format will keep the reader returning again and again as she grows through meditation and in her daily life.

"A Course in Meditation," the book, is an all-new design of the popular Internet-based course by Theodore (Ted) Phelps. It is a carefully designed set of instructions that enables self-motivated readers to learn an enjoyable, relaxing, health-supporting style of meditation in a few days and to learn it in a low-cost, culturally neutral format based in natural functions of the human body and mind. The seven-day course teaches how to meditate in a natural style (non-striving, based in natural functions of the mind and body) and how to get benefit from meditation by meditating in a daily practice. Sally Kempton, yoga meditation teacher, contributor to "Yoga Journal," and author of "The Heart of Meditation," calls the book a "classic manual for basic practice" extremely friendly and accessible and "true to the tradition." The second half of the book gives optional readings in practice. It also provides subtle, yet down-to-earth descriptions of naturalness and meditative theory, including the role of intention, the relationship of meditation to long-range growth, wisdom, and even enlightenment. These highly subtle topics are carefully presented in fresh terms accessible to ordinary human experience. Phelps, the designer of Natural Meditation teaching method, offers a rich source of new analysis of meditation, with helpful new definitions of "meditation," "meditative function," and "natural meditation," with an innovative and illustrated description of the journey through meditative stages leading to enlightenment.

Make time to slow down, breathe, be awake, be aware, and appreciate. Natural Meditation offers easy-to-follow meditation cues for meditating in natural settings or meditating on natural images or objects. Sidebars throughout the book provide suggestions on how to incorporate nature into your mindfulness practice. The short entries allow readers to open to a page during lunch break, at home in the evening, or on the weekend for a short "retreat," setting off down a quiet, natural path. This book acknowledges that nature has a lot to teach us about going with the flow, letting go, awareness, calm, silence, and pausing. Whether you practice these meditations in actual natural settings or on a cushion at home, the book's entries will inspire you to spend more time in nature. Natural Meditation emphasizes the spiritual, moral, and other tangible benefits of nature. The focus is on training the mind in relaxation, visualization, creativity, and rejuvenation, incorporating natural settings, plants, and animals. Sometimes a respite or quiet path is just what one needs in this crazy world.