REVIEW The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness

The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness

by Diana Winston

Sounds True Adult, 2019 (248 pages)

Some resolutions through the years have been to get back into a meditation practice.  For some reason, I keep putting it off.  It seems that life keeps getting in the way.  I know, excuses.  But once I get into it, I reap the benefits right away.   It helps to release stress, calm the mind and helps to center us, give us self-awareness.  I just needed a little jump-start.  This new year, I decided to read "The Little Book of Being."

This lady is committed to meditating.  On her website, I found this quote from her "Through mindfulness practice we can access our innate, fundamental well-being, which is profoundly needed for ourselves, our communities, and our world, especially in these times."   For her, interest in meditation began when she was a young girl.  And she has even traveled to India and learned breathing from Buddhist monks.  For a while, she moved to a monastery to live as a Buddhist nun for a year or so.  Yep, she shaved her head, wore the robes and everything.  She endured loneliness and the separation of family and friends.  And in the end, she found a self-awakening.

The book is her invitation for us to take on mindfulness meditation, a combination of both Vipassana and natural awareness.  If you are interested in what meditation is all about and what it can do, you can explore it here.  It gives you inspiration to start your practice.  I especially like the section on finding silent retreats.  I've actually been wanting to try that for some time now.  This is an in-depth exploration into the art of meditation, which the author states, is not about trying harder, but in letting go more.

Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at the Semel Institute’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) at UCLA. She is the author of The Little Book of Being and the co-author of Fully Present: The Science, Art and Practice of Mindfulness. Diana is a member of the Teacher's Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California where she was trained to teach by Jack Kornfield. She has been practicing mindfulness meditation since 1989, including a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma. She is a graduate of Brown University. Currently, Diana’s most challenging and rewarding practice involves trying to mindfully parent her teenage daughter.  You can find out more about her online guided meditations here Guided Meditations: Listen here, no download needed