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Skip the first chapter, then it's awesome

Customer Rating:
The only mistake Stephen Levine made in this book is opening it with trying to explain the abstract, extremely difficult to understand concept of "no self" in the first chapter. I could easily see the average person struggling through the first chapter and saying, "Forget it! This is too out there."

Start with Chapter 2, read the book, then come back to Chapter 1 - you'll like and appreciate the book much, much better.

I have been reading a chapter from this book every morning for the past year. It has made a huge difference in how I handle and cope with a high stress job in rehab medicine. I have read pages 101 through the top of 104 ("Pleasure/Pain and Happiness") to some of my patients in intense pain while they lay in bed with their eyes closed and every one reported geniune relief. Reflecting on my morning reading at points throughout the day has literally kept me from going crazy on some days.

My copy of this book has so much highlighting and underlining that it's almost time to buy a new one.

An excellent guide to Vipassana meditation

Customer Rating:
"A Gradual Awakening" contains genuinely valuable information for those interested in Vipassana or insight meditation, such as:

- Our thoughts are our karma.
- When we bring our attention to sensation, we are not so entangled in the "internal dialogue."
- The internal dialogue blocks the light of our natural wisdom.
- Stopping the mind does not bring wisdom. What brings wisdom is understanding the "nature" of mind.
- We don't have to import love, we only need to let go of that which blocks it.
- Real control is letting go.
- The rational mind is often irrational.
- The sensations in the body can be used in the same way a mantra is used.
- There's no reality to create. There's only a reality to tune in to.
- The void is our true nature.

Accurate information is always useful but the finger pointing to the moon is not the moon. So in my opinion, the real gems in "A Gradual Awakening" are the guided meditations that lead to experience. These meditations are especially powerful when recorded and played back on tape.

This excellent book also comes with Ram Dass's seal of approval, which to me is high praise indeed.

Simply Amazing

Customer Rating:
Stephen Levine is a master at simply and descriptively describing the meditation process. His personal experiences and insights are extremely helpful and full of wisdom. Perfect book for anyone desiring to learn the art of meditation. I can feel Stephens peace and serenity through reading his words. Phenomenol book. Highly recommended.

Great introduction to meditation and Buddhist thought

Customer Rating:
I bought this book many years ago when it first came out. Since then, I have read it numerous times. I like it because it is simple, straightforwad, sincere, practical and contains a lot of wisdom without a lot of jargon.

When I first read it and even today, I found the introduction a bit corny... or at least not very appealing. However, the meat of the text spoke to my heart.

The book present several different ways of meditating and some alternative ways of looking at the world. This book gently challenges the reader to examine basic assumptions and to taste the practice of meditation for themselves.

I think this is a unique book. It is particularly well suited to beginners, but has much to offer anyone. I still get a lot out of reading it when I pick it up. Stephen Levine's heart was definitely in the right place when he wrote this and his enthusiasm for his topic is infectious.

For the not yet even moderately mindful

Customer Rating:
I thought I would slip a review in here by someone who is already familiar with mindfulness. The thing with many books on mindfulness, is that they don't offer anything except encouragement to be mindfull. I would suggest this book for occassional reading for those who often forget their consciousness for days at a time. Slow and continuous reading will help implement the motivation to be more aware.