Review by mondegreen -- Inspirience: Meditation Unbound
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mondegreen
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Review by mondegreen -- Inspirience: Meditation Unbound
[Following is a volunteer review of "Inspirience: Meditation Unbound" by Richard L Haight.]
As the title, Inspirience: Meditation Unbound, suggests, this book by Richard L. Haight is a guide on how to get the most out of meditation. Haight describes his personal journey with meditation and explores concepts integral to the enlightenment process. He coins the term “Isness”, which is “at the core of every individual but is deeply obscured”. This is the goal of meditation, he says: to simply realize this innate essence.
As a beginner meditator, I appreciated the blend of practicality with the spiritual talk. Throughout the book, Haight emphasizes the applications to daily life meditation can offer, including cultivating inspiration for goal setting and clarity with decision-making. Admittedly, some of the ideas presented seemed far-fetched and hard to grasp, but, with the words that did resonate with me, I immediately found instances in my life that I could apply this knowledge to. Haight also made sure to include scientific explanations, namely neuroplasticity and proprioception, to back up otherwise theoretical perspectives, such as various meditation techniques. This makes the information more digestible for those who enjoy concrete and grounded ideas.
Another facet I enjoyed were the anecdotes that Haight uses to propel the book forward. Personally, these mini-stories helped further my understanding of what he was explaining. They also served as real examples of how meditation can manifest in someone’s life. On the flip side, some skeptics would naturally question the truth of some of the experiences mentioned, as Haight writes them with a bit of a dramatic flair. However, to counter that, he gives examples of some actionable tasks he successfully incorporated into his life, which I found extremely encouraging while reading.
There were times when I felt sections were meticulously detailed, to the point of excess. This made certain parts slow to get through, which would be especially difficult to process if you aren’t interested in this type of content. He also introduced plenty of new vernacular for which he explained definitions, but some of which were lost on me because of their vagueness.
If you struggle with an inner critic, idealization, tardiness, deceit of the self, or condemnation of others, this book is for you. Haight touches on these issues among others, provides solutions to these problems, and even delicately explains why these problems really just represent the illusion of trouble. Haight provides a space of non-judgment where newcomers and experts alike can learn about themselves, so there is no need to feel intimidated when reading this book. Obviously, this book wouldn’t be suitable for someone who is heavily skeptical of spirituality, but, for somebody that finds themselves curious yet not quite convinced, I would urge you to give it a try. The pragmatic approach this book has, compared to other spiritual guides, could be a helpful perspective.
From listening to the audiobook version of this text, I couldn’t see or hear any grammatical or pronunciation errors. To anyone interested in reading this book, I would recommend the audiobook, as it makes it easier to practice some of the meditation techniques he simulates in each chapter while he talks. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Because I felt some parts were unnecessarily detailed, I took off one star, but overall, I learned a few new techniques that I am eager to incorporate into my daily life and would absolutely recommend this book to others for that reason.
******
Inspirience: Meditation Unbound
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
As the title, Inspirience: Meditation Unbound, suggests, this book by Richard L. Haight is a guide on how to get the most out of meditation. Haight describes his personal journey with meditation and explores concepts integral to the enlightenment process. He coins the term “Isness”, which is “at the core of every individual but is deeply obscured”. This is the goal of meditation, he says: to simply realize this innate essence.
As a beginner meditator, I appreciated the blend of practicality with the spiritual talk. Throughout the book, Haight emphasizes the applications to daily life meditation can offer, including cultivating inspiration for goal setting and clarity with decision-making. Admittedly, some of the ideas presented seemed far-fetched and hard to grasp, but, with the words that did resonate with me, I immediately found instances in my life that I could apply this knowledge to. Haight also made sure to include scientific explanations, namely neuroplasticity and proprioception, to back up otherwise theoretical perspectives, such as various meditation techniques. This makes the information more digestible for those who enjoy concrete and grounded ideas.
Another facet I enjoyed were the anecdotes that Haight uses to propel the book forward. Personally, these mini-stories helped further my understanding of what he was explaining. They also served as real examples of how meditation can manifest in someone’s life. On the flip side, some skeptics would naturally question the truth of some of the experiences mentioned, as Haight writes them with a bit of a dramatic flair. However, to counter that, he gives examples of some actionable tasks he successfully incorporated into his life, which I found extremely encouraging while reading.
There were times when I felt sections were meticulously detailed, to the point of excess. This made certain parts slow to get through, which would be especially difficult to process if you aren’t interested in this type of content. He also introduced plenty of new vernacular for which he explained definitions, but some of which were lost on me because of their vagueness.
If you struggle with an inner critic, idealization, tardiness, deceit of the self, or condemnation of others, this book is for you. Haight touches on these issues among others, provides solutions to these problems, and even delicately explains why these problems really just represent the illusion of trouble. Haight provides a space of non-judgment where newcomers and experts alike can learn about themselves, so there is no need to feel intimidated when reading this book. Obviously, this book wouldn’t be suitable for someone who is heavily skeptical of spirituality, but, for somebody that finds themselves curious yet not quite convinced, I would urge you to give it a try. The pragmatic approach this book has, compared to other spiritual guides, could be a helpful perspective.
From listening to the audiobook version of this text, I couldn’t see or hear any grammatical or pronunciation errors. To anyone interested in reading this book, I would recommend the audiobook, as it makes it easier to practice some of the meditation techniques he simulates in each chapter while he talks. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Because I felt some parts were unnecessarily detailed, I took off one star, but overall, I learned a few new techniques that I am eager to incorporate into my daily life and would absolutely recommend this book to others for that reason.
******
Inspirience: Meditation Unbound
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Latest Review: East Wind, 2nd edition by Jack Winnick
