The Meditation Summit: Volume 1

Deepen and Expand Your Meditation Practice with the World's Leading Teachers

De: Anh-Huong Nguyen, Anodea Judith PhD, Jack Kornfield PhD, Lama Tsultrim Allione, Loch Kelly, Reginald A. Ray PhD, Rick Hanson PhD, Saki Santorelli EdD MA, Sharon Salzberg, Snatam Kaur

Most of us are well aware of the benefits of meditation, and new research is providing us with more and more evidence of what the world's spiritual traditions have known for years: meditation can positively impact every area of our lives.

So why do many of us struggle to make time for this powerful practice? Why do we so often wonder if we're doing it right? Or feel as if something more should be happening?

In The Meditation Summit: Volume I, Sounds True publisher and founder Tami Simon speaks with ten leading meditation teachers about their personal understanding of this practice—each with a complete guided meditation. Practitioners of all levels will benefit from the abundance of insight and guidance provided by these diverse voices.

Volume 1 Guests and Topics:
“Somatic Meditation and Connecting with the Source” with Reginald A. Ray, PhD
Dr. Ray teaches a unique approach to meditation in which our body is our most trusted teacher and guide on the meditation journey. Here, he speaks with Tami about how this differs from many conventional styles of meditation. His presentation includes detailed instructions for tantric breath work and an embodied meditation for “Connecting with the Source.”

“Kundalini Meditation: Accessing the Light Within” with Snatam Kaur
In her conversation with Tami, Snatam Kaur explores the transformational power of sacred chant, how kundalini meditation can help us balance our body’s primary energy currents, and more. Her session includes a guided experience of kundalini meditation for accessing our inner light.

“Lovingkindness Meditation” with Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg is a leading teacher of lovingkindness meditation, a practice that helps cultivate our natural capacity for an open and loving heart. She speaks with Tami about meditation as a path to joy in the happiness of others, peace within ourselves, and an expanded circle of compassion, guiding us through a classical lovingkindness meditation.

“Your Brain on Meditation: Cultivating Inner Strength and Peace” with Rick Hanson, PhD
Neuropsychologist Rick Hanson discusses the intricate relationship between meditation and our brains, including how mindfulness can activate real brain change, how we can stimulate positive states of mind through self-directed neuroplasticity, and more.

“Feeding Your Demons: A Tibetan Meditation Practice for Deep Healing and Integration” with Lama Tsultrim Allione
In this presentation, Lama Allione introduces a traditional Tibetan practice that develops our ability to heal and integrate into wholeness by offering compassion to our demons, rather than battling against them. Her presentation includes the powerful guided practice, “Five Steps of Feeding Your Demons.”

“Mindfulness Meditation in the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh” with Anh-Huong Nguyen
Anh-Huong was among the first of Thich Nhat Hanh’s students to become ordained as a dharma teacher. In this presentation, she talks with Tami about how we can integrate mindfulness practices into our daily lives, discussing the use of conscious breathing, living fully in the present moment, and more.

“Small Glimpses of Freedom, Many Times” with Loch Kelly, MDiv, LCSW
In his conversation with Tami, Loch Kelly discusses how awakening is already here, how we have the ability to directly experience this awakened state through “small glimpses,” and how this practice can help us realize our deeper potential for living with openhearted awareness.

“Mindfulness and the Art of Turning Towards Life” with Saki Santorelli, EdD, MA
Dr. Santorelli explores the practice of MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) and its capacity to bring greater peace, awareness, and joy to our lives. His presentation includes a mindfulness meditation practice to help us become more attuned to the subtler dimensions of what it is to be human.

“Chakra Meditation from the Top Down” with Anodea Judith
In this session, Anodea explores how we bring the fruits of our meditation practice into the world through our words, acts, and deeds. She guides us through an in-depth meditation to bring Divine awareness down through the chakras, allowing us to begin the art of purposeful creation.

“The Art of Forgiveness” with Jack Kornfield, PhD
In this presentation, Jack invites us to experience the power of forgiveness, exploring meditation as a pathway to cultivate our ability to forgive ourselves and others, as well as how this frees our hearts from suffering and liberates us from the past. He includes a guided practice to take us through the three dimensions of forgiveness.

At perhaps no other time in history has there been such widespread recognition of meditation's potential to transform our lives. The physical,

Good if you're looking to expand your practices

Not quite what I was hoping for. What I really wanted was something I could use as a complete meditation retreat for one day a week. Each chapter has an introduction followed by a meditation. I was planning on doing a walking meditation while listening to the introduction and then sitting for the specific meditation for that chapter. It's not really that good for that. Sounds true has a podcast here and other places. This is almost like each chapter of the book is a weekly podcast episode. I don't think it is, but it sounds like it in both quality and execution. I'd use those podcasts to tell if this book is for you first. Again, I do believe the pdcast material and this book are different, but they come across the same way. What this is mostly good for is finding out what else is out there if you're new to mindfulness. Each chapter is almost like an infomercial for other books the author has. You can get something out of it and it's not just for finding new books by other authors. It can come across like that though. Overall, it's okay. I don't regret buying it and may get the third version f one is ever produced.

Just loved hearing from different experts

Bummer to not have video for the kundalini one, but to hear from such a variety of experts is a real treat and helpful while exploring what type might work best for me, in the place I'm in now and can revisit again and again as changes arise often.

great overview of multiple types of meditations.

This was a wonderful overview of multiple types of meditations. The only drawback was that some of the recordings could have been a little bit better, not the content but the actual recording themselves.