Be The Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World by Ed & Deb Shapiro

Full Description:
Be the Change is a fascinating exploration of how meditation can not only awaken our latent potential but also transform the world, creating the foundation for a caring and compassionate future.
Includes wisdom from luminaries such as:
* Jean Houston * Kitaro * Sylvia Boorstein * Gregg Braden * Gay & Kathlyn Hendricks * Joan Borysenko * John Hagelin * Debbie Ford * Joseph Goldstein * Gangaji * Lama Surya Das * Deva Premal & Miten * Rabbi Zalman Schachter * Cyndi Lee * Noah Levine * Wavy Gravy * Linus Roache * Ponlop Rinpoche * Don Campbell * Richard Freeman * And many more
As a prisoner in a Chinese jail, Kristen Westby was able to find solace by sitting quietly in contemplation. Deeply affected by the experience of walking on the moon, astronaut Edgar Mitchell went from exploring outer space to discovering the vastness of inner space. While coping with HIV, Mark Matousek found healing through group meditation. Seane Corn used her yoga and meditation expertise to work with child prostitutes in Los Angeles.
In the last few decades, people in all walks of life have begun to realize the profound benefits of meditation. While this ancient practice is personally transformative in that it calms the mind and reduces stress, awakens the heart, and deepens insight, can meditation also change the world for the better? Two award-winning authors and some of today's most notable voices explore this issue, reflecting on how looking within can resolve issues such as anger and fear, inspiring a movement toward a more caring and peaceful future.
Interwoven among Ed and Deb's own thoughts on the subject are the words of more than one hundred meditation practitioners from various walks of life, from Ellen Burstyn, Oscar® award-winning actress, to Jon Kabat-Zinn, director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society; from Marianne Williamson, bestselling author and renowned inspirational speaker, to Richard Davidson, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Wisconsin University.
Enlightening and inspiring, Be the Change is essential reading for all who desire to make a difference in their own lives and in the world.

©2009

About Authors:
Ed and Deb Shapiro, authors of Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, are the award-winning authors of fifteen books on meditation, personal development, and social action. They are featured bloggers for the HuffingtonPost.com and for Care2.com, teach meditation workshops worldwide, work as corporate coaches and consultants, and are the creators and writers of the daily Chill Our inspirational text messages on Sprint cell phones. The Shapiros' books include Your Body Speaks Your Mind, winner of the 2007 Visionary Book Award; Voices From the Heart with contributors such as President Gorbachev, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Bishop Tutu; and Meditation: The Four-Step Course to Calmness and Clarity. Ed, from New York, trained in India with Paramahamsa Satyananda, with Sri Swami Satchidananda, and with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Deb, from London, trained with Tai Situ Rinpoche. The Shapiros have taught meditation and personal development for more than twenty-five years. They currently reside in Boulder, Colorado.
For more information, http://www.edanddebshapiro.com/


My Take On The Selection:
When I first heard of this book I thought it was going to be so much more than it was. It was a great book, once I figured out the best way to read it. I found there were too many insights, and they were in the middle of the authors thoughts. I read the authors' writing, and then went back and read all the excerpts. I was then able to get through the book.
The other downside was a really bad typo on Page 51.
Once I read it, I am inspired to try at least a little each day to get my own "quiet" time. There were many moments in the book, I found myself agreeing or even thinking "I can do that". So it did do something good to me after all. Here is one of the highlights of the book for me, a poem on Page 106. Yes I'm not going to share, I'd prefer you to read the book. Since I won't share the poem, I will tell you the coolest thing I learned. The word "intimacy" and it's meaning.

intimacy - into-me-you-see

Say it out loud for the full effect. I thought this was the most profound part of the book. This one word will ring through me forever. I had mild intimacy issues before reading this book, now I am making a positive effort to let myself go.
All in all, this was a book that we all can stand to learn from. I'm sure you will agree when you finish it. On my recommendation list.

~ I was not compensated for this post. This review is my honest opinion. ~