Inner and Outer Peace Through Meditation by Rajinder Singh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I took some last night and finished Inner and Outer Peace Through Meditation. I have really mixed feelings about this book. The first couple of chapters teach how to meditate, and discuss the importance of meditation. Maybe it's because I was raised in an evangelical Christian home and am now very resistant to the idea of the interactive, caring 'God', but much of Singh's writing made me very uncomfortable. For example, his advice for meditating is to chant all of the names for god you can think of over and over again. While I like the idea of the soul and there being a little bit of the divine (light) in all of us in and through the soul, and certainly believe that humans need to act with kindness and love, I don't see myself practicing this brand of meditation. I don't know that I want or need to have an out-of-body experience through meditation; his writing made it seem like it was addictive, and the spiritual aspects concern me.
Singh also had lots to say on how to live, and this is really what I liked about this book. We spend so much of our time thinking about what we don't have, comparing ourselves to others, and wasting our time with empty pursuits. Reading this made me realize how full of disdain and condescension I am, and challenged me to try to change my attitudes towards others, to be filled with grace for others, and love.
I also realize I really need to stop eating meat again (sigh).
I am pleased that I'm starting Beginning Mindfulness by Andrew Weiss next week. I think Weiss' book will focus on more of the things I liked about Inner and Outer Peace Through Meditation, perhaps with a smaller does of the spirituality, which I am hesitant to embrace.
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