Secrets of meditation: a practical guide to inner peace and personal transformation

Abstract

This book is dedicated to my dear friend, loving brother, and relentless teacher,David Simon, an amazing being who has touched my life and my heart in more ways than one could ever imagine. He flows through me in each breath I take. He is in my heart with each day’s meditation, each sunset I drink in, each herb I pick, and each tender moment I witness. Among the countless number of lifelong lessons he has shared with me, he taught me that in each moment and in each interaction we have with people, animals, and our beloved mother earth, we have a choice to leave behind either toxic residue (known in Sanskrit as ama) or nourishing vital nectar (known as ojas). This is a lesson I am still learning each day, and it has helped me evolve my emotional intelligence and awaken my emotional digestive fire so that I could move beyond much of my constricted conditioning, make more nourishing choices, and share more selflessly with the world.I have always trusted his heart, and that has taught me to trust mine. When the sky is dark and the stars are out, it brings me back to the innocence and sweet atmospheric vibration of our morning hikes and late night strolls. I think about how deeply we shared in hundreds of quiet conversations as we toured the world from Dublin to Vancouver, Miami to Alaska, London to Whistler, Oxford to Los Angeles, and everywhere in between with the universe as our witness, we shared our hearts, our dreams, our truest essence. The stars tell the whole story every night . . . and they will forever. David introduced me to Daniel Ladinsky’s interpretations of the great Sufi poet Hafiz. The poem “There Is a Wonderful Game” speaks so sweetly of our undying connection.