CHAPTER 1

AWAKENING OUR WHOLENESS AND FULL POTENTIAL

A human being is part of the whole called by us "universe," a part limited intime and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts, and feelings as somethingseparate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. Thisdelusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires andto affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselvesfrom the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all livingcreatures and the whole of nature in all of its beauty.... We shall require asubstantially new manner of thinking if humankind is to survive.

—Albert Einstein

In each of our lives there have been times when we have experienced a deepersense of connectedness, wholeness, and belonging than we ordinarily find. Mostlikely, those extraordinary moments of deeper wisdom, love, and aliveness cameunexpectedly. Pause for a moment to recall those special moments when you weremost fully and joyfully alive ... when you felt the exhilaration of performing atyour best ... when you allowed your heart to open tenderly to love and be loved ... whenyou were in the flow and felt in perfect harmony with the world in which youlive. Recall those quintessential moments in your life and work that stand outand sparkle ... those times when you really helped someone or when you reallyallowed someone to care for you ... those times when, for a timeless moment, youglimpsed and understood the awesomeness of creation and your belonging withinit.

If we examine the qualities of our aliveness during these special times, we willprobably find that our attention was wholly focused on what was happening, andthat our mind and body were operating as one. These are the very qualities thatare cultivated, matured, and awakened in our lives through the practices ofmeditation. Remembering and appreciating moments that have allowed us to knowand feel life more deeply serves to remind us of what is possible. Such momentsof deep recognition awaken within us an aspiration to awaken to the authenticityand fullness of who we truly are, and may further lead us to devote our lives tohelping others to do the same.

Through the disciplines of meditation, we intentionally nurture and cultivatesublime qualities of vivid aliveness that are otherwise only glimpsed in momentsof grace and peak experience. Generally speaking, our attention is quitescattered and our lives fragmented. Our minds and bodies seem disconnected fromeach other. We are often lost in our thoughts and only superficially in touchwith the reality and intensity of our inner and outer experiences. How often areour minds focused, calm, clear, or open enough to discern the exquisitelyprofound interplay of inspiration, intuition, and revelation that are a natural,though very subtle, part of our lives? How many valuable insights, breakthroughideas, and inspirations have danced in our mind, shimmered for a moment in lucidclarity, only to vanish because the noise level in our mindbody was simply toohigh to discern these subtle and sublime whispers that are an ongoing functionof our human life? How many problems might be avoided if we were more groundedin our wholeness and more present—"checked in" rather than "checked out"—andmore in touch with ourselves, with others, and with our surroundings?

Though our bodies are really not very different from those of our ancestors, welive in a dramatically different and infinitely more demanding world. In asingle day we may be challenged to respond to more information and make moredecisions than one of our ancestors faced in a lifetime! Given the acceleratingrate of change and uncertainty, the immensity of personal and global crises, andthe staggering variety of choices and decisions that are a part of our dailylives, is it any wonder that we often feel overwhelmed and frustrated?

With so many people in our society needlessly suffering and dying of preventablestress-related diseases, is it any wonder that so much attention is beingdirected to investigating practical alternatives to current ways of living andworking that have been so personally and globally destructive? We in moderntimes have much to learn about self-knowledge and self-mastery.

It is no surprise that so many people are seeking to get in touch with deeper,life-giving forces, and that skills in meditation and relaxation are becomingrecognized as vital to our peace of mind and the quality of our health, work,and relationships.

DEVELOPING THE MIND

The greatest revolution in our generation is the discovery that human beings, bychanging the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects oftheir lives.

—William James

Our friend Charles Tart, a pioneer in the scientific research of consciousness,once said, "We don't understand the operations of our minds and hence we don'toperate them very well." While many people regard the state of their mind as anunalterable "given," our research and experience has demonstrated that"upgrades" in the quality of attention, intelligence, creativity, and othermental capabilities can be dependably achieved through proper training anddiscipline. Motivated individuals are capable not only of improving their healthbut of building their "brain power," enhancing creativity, extending the lengthand quality of their lives, awakening greater empathy and compassion, andexpanding the scope of their contribution to the world. While the multiple andcomplex dilemmas of modern life present multiple challenges and needs, the innersciences of mindbody development offer a variety of profoundly practical andcompassionate solutions. Once "online" and integrated into our lives, theseinner skills are generative, self-reinforcing, inexpensive, portable, reliable,easily diffusible and value-adding as they breathe life and vitality intovirtually every personal and professional situation.

Regardless of the work we do or the position that we hold, our mindbody is ourprimary instrument. This is a truly miraculous, mysterious, and universal toolof infinite potential. With it we create and guide the use of all other tools.Yet growing up, in school, or on the job, few of us learned even the most basicskills for assuring its optimal maintenance and fine-tuning.

Consider—did your parents, teachers, health care providers, or clergy ever teachyou techniques to let go of stress and tension, to harness and focus the powerof your mind, or to gain deep insight through meditation? Did they themselvespractice or even know of the value of these profound and useful skills? Mostlikely not. Lacking an education in even the basics of these...