A Million Thoughts - Om Swami

Non Fiction - Alternative Medicine - Meditation

Date Published: November 16, 2016

Publisher: Black Lotus

5 Stars!!!!!

Each one of us is a master of infinite possibilities at a universal scale. Through meditation we experience our own magnificence, our true potential.

Drawing on his experience of thousands of hours of earnest and strenuous meditation, renowned sage Om Swami pens a guide to help channelize unruly, futile thoughts and turn them into productive energy.

A Million Thoughts shows how to meditate correctly, how to practice various styles of meditation and how to become proficient in the many yogic practices that will lead to the final stage of samadhi -- the ultimate spiritual self-fulfilment.

Brimming with firsthand experiences and references from ancient and classical texts, this brilliant book is most suited for the modern reader who wishes to master the art of meditation.

About the Author -
Om Swami is a monk who lives in a remote place in the Himalayan foothills. He has a bachelor degree in business and an MBA from Sydney, Australia. Swami served in executive roles in large corporations around the world. He founded and led a profitable software company with offices in San Francisco, New York, Toronto, London, Sydney and India.

Om Swami completely renounced his business interests to pursue a more spiritual life. He is the bestselling author of Kundalini: An Untold Story, A Fistful of Love and If Truth Be Told: A Monk’s Memoir.

His blog omswami.com is read by millions all over the world.

Contact Links - Website,  Blog,  Goodreads

Purchase Link - Amazon

MY THOUGHTS - 

Fantastic book!
I have been doing meditation for years, successfully. This was hands down the best instructive meditation book I have ever read!  95% of the reviews on Amazon are 5 stars! I have half the book highlighted for future use. This is definitely a keeper. Even though I am able to meditate there are a few things in this book that are new to me and I would love to try.

Meditation literally saved my life. If you don't meditate its hard to understand, its even hard for me to explain, I was a victim of spousal abuse, I had a problem with drugs and alcohol and had very low self esteem. Meditation and God saved me - gave me a whole new outlook on life! I was able to control myself and was so much happier, at peace.

This book is wonderful! There are some excellent ideas and instructions and it thoroughly explains meditation. Its hard. I don't want to make it sound easy because controlling your thought process, your breathing, and your body is the hardest thing to do. But once you master it, its wonderful! I haven't done it in a while now, but this book has inspired me to start again! ~ Thank you! I almost forgot how much I enjoyed it.

If you have ever thought of trying meditation and don't know how to start - this book is a great place to start! If you follow the steps... like I said, its not easy but this book is a great help. There are instructions on different kinds of meditation, how to control your thoughts, how to focus, how to control your breathing, how to journal (different kinds of meditation journaling - which is a great idea and I am going to try this) and just how to be a better person after meditation!

Here are a couple of examples from the book -

In this stage, the flow of thoughts is frequent but not constant. A meditator experiences easiness and many quiet stints lasting several moments where they get a glimpse of a mind free from thoughts – a no-mind state, a heightened state of consciousness. Your ability to meditate for longer period increases by a few minutes. If in stage one, you could meditate for 30 minutes, now you can meditate for 45 minutes.

This is one thing I am going to try (I used to focus on a candle flame) this is a great example of the instruction -

For example, you may have a pebble in front of you. It’s a simple form and you decide to meditate on the pebble to build your mindfulness and concentration.
Here’s how to do it right, step-by-step:
Sit in the yogic posture correctly and comfortably.
Observe the pebble for a couple of minutes.
Be mindful to not analyze the pebble for why it’s shaped a certain way or has a certain color and so on. Simply observe it with the intention to hold the image in your mind.
Close your eyes and begin visualizing the image of the pebble.
After a while, a few seconds, the image of pebble will fade. At that time, gently bring it back to your focus and you will be able to visualize it lucidly again.
When you hit a point that you simply can’t bring the image of the pebble in front of your mind, gently open your eyes, stay in the posture and look at the pebble again for a minute or two and then follow the same process of visualization as above. 

This is a book I will be using over and over again. I highly recommend it! I am thinking I might buy it for my daughter who has trouble meditating, I think this would really help her.

I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from RABT Reviews -  Thank You!

Order your copy from Amazon - HERE

PS&BTW - Another book by Om Swami that I am interested in getting -

The Wellness Sense: A practical guide to your physical and emotional health based on Ayurvedic and yogic wisdom