Yoga News 65 - 06/2010

Special Dossier Topic: What is meditation?

In the dossier of the new issue, we explore this question and examine the subject of meditation from all sides: Steven Harrison takes a refreshingly unconventional approach to the subject, Swami Durgananda reports from many years of experience with the yogic meditation tradition, and Doris Iding writes about setbacks in meditation practice, because not everything always goes smoothly. Heinz Hilbrecht summarizes scientific findings about the different levels of meditation, and many well-known yoga teachers describe their understanding of meditation. There is, of course, plenty of background information and practical tips.

What is meditation actually?
Calming the mind - experts from different traditions on meditation. By Doris Iding.

Revealing the Self
Swami Durgananda, founder of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta seminar house in Kitzbühel, talks about purification and service as a prerequisite for meditation, about a solid meditation practice outside the protected framework of an ashram and about meditation and positive thinking. Interview: Julia Johannsen.

meditation
And now for the practice! A brief introduction to exemplary meditations

The stages of meditation
The development of the meditator taking into account the gradual changes in the brain. By Heinz Hilbrecht.

Are we really conscious or do we just think we are conscious? On the great trap of mindfulness meditation. By Steven Harrison.

Steven Harrison, author of the provocative and refreshing books "Doing Nothing. At the End of the Spiritual Search" and "Be Where You Are. Life as Meditation", talks about dismantling apparent certainties, the problem of communicating with words and the myth of enlightenment. Interview: Martin Frischknecht.

Progressive meditation practice is not a straight line that leads straight up. Setbacks are part of it and - as unpleasant as they may feel at first - often prove to be particularly fruitful in the end. By Doris Iding.

Book recommendations for further reading
Literature recommendations on the subject of meditation. By Doris Iding.

Two meditation texts from the legacy of the world-famous Kriya Yogi Paramahansa Yogananda, author of "Autobiography of a Yogi" and founder of the interdenominational religious community "Self-Realization Fellowship"