Connecting to your breath when thoughts or images arise is like spotting a friend in a crowd: you don’t have to shove everyone else aside or order them to go away; you just direct your attention, your enthusiasm, your interest toward your friend. ‘Oh,’ you think, ‘there’s my friend in that crowd. Oh, there’s my breath, among those thoughts and feelings and sensations.’ — Sharon Salzberg, Real Happiness (#BK561)
About Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation
Sharon Salzberg distills 30 years of teaching meditation into a 28-day program that has the power to transform your life. From the basics of posture, breathing, and the daily schedule to the finer points of calming the mind, distraction, and dealing with problem areas such as physical pain to the larger issues of compassion and awareness, Real Happiness is a complete guide. It explains how meditation works; why a daily meditation practice results in more resiliency, peace, clarity, and balance; and gives twelve meditation practices, including mindfulness meditation and walking meditation.
Sharon Salzberg co-founded the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts and is one of our favorite teachers. More of her teachings can be found here. “Commit to Sit” with Sharon Salzberg in February by joining her Real Happiness Meditation Challenge.