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The Doors of Joy: 19 Meditations for Authentic Living
We know from countless spirituality and self-help books that authentic joy has no object—it is truly free and boundless. And yet, try as we might, how many of us can say that joy is more than a fleeting fleeting?
Daniel Odier’s approach, which is based in part on his study of Chinese Zen, is refreshingly straightforward. All it requires is a willingness to disengage from our habitual ways of thinking and practice being present throughout the day. He calls his method, “The Practice of Consciousness.” Its purpose is to unlock our spontaneity and recover our innocence and creativity. He writes,
“Consciousness manifests itself as presence. To work with presence is similar to learning a musical instrument, the body being our instrument. To enter this state, take a sensation such as water flowing into your hand or the feel of your bare feet on the ground. Enter deeply into the contact; breathe by relaxing your abdomen; and after fifteen or twenty seconds, leave the sensation and return to your habitual mode. Doing this thirty, forty or fifty times a day allows us to enter into a deep acquaintance with sensation.”
With a nod to Aldous Huxley, whose book Doors of Perception laid the groundwork for the psychedelic and sexual revolutions, Odier’s aim is nothing short of total human liberation. Still, he is realistic about the power that habit and our ingrained ways of operating in the world has over us. To counter them, he offers up some mischievous advice--like this,
“There is something suspect about our adoration of harmony. One of the things I fantasize about is replacing the Buddha on my altar with one of Caesar. The harmony of the Buddha puts us to sleep and makes us soft, but the chaos of Caesar can wake us up. Every morning before this altar we would abandon harmony in favor of the infinite possibilities that chaos represents.”
With Doors of Joy , Daniel Odier has discovered the trip-wire that keeps us from experiencing lasting joy and he gives us the tool kit that will bring it back into our lives for good.
Daniel Odier’s approach, which is based in part on his study of Chinese Zen, is refreshingly straightforward. All it requires is a willingness to disengage from our habitual ways of thinking and practice being present throughout the day. He calls his method, “The Practice of Consciousness.” Its purpose is to unlock our spontaneity and recover our innocence and creativity. He writes,
“Consciousness manifests itself as presence. To work with presence is similar to learning a musical instrument, the body being our instrument. To enter this state, take a sensation such as water flowing into your hand or the feel of your bare feet on the ground. Enter deeply into the contact; breathe by relaxing your abdomen; and after fifteen or twenty seconds, leave the sensation and return to your habitual mode. Doing this thirty, forty or fifty times a day allows us to enter into a deep acquaintance with sensation.”
With a nod to Aldous Huxley, whose book Doors of Perception laid the groundwork for the psychedelic and sexual revolutions, Odier’s aim is nothing short of total human liberation. Still, he is realistic about the power that habit and our ingrained ways of operating in the world has over us. To counter them, he offers up some mischievous advice--like this,
“There is something suspect about our adoration of harmony. One of the things I fantasize about is replacing the Buddha on my altar with one of Caesar. The harmony of the Buddha puts us to sleep and makes us soft, but the chaos of Caesar can wake us up. Every morning before this altar we would abandon harmony in favor of the infinite possibilities that chaos represents.”
With Doors of Joy , Daniel Odier has discovered the trip-wire that keeps us from experiencing lasting joy and he gives us the tool kit that will bring it back into our lives for good.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 21, 2016
I enjoyed the philosophical nature of this book. The author shares interesting perspective, you cannot help but contemplate. The questions that follow each short session engage deep thought. You don't have to engage, but you cannot help yourself.
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July 1, 2021This is the second book by Daniel Odier that I read. It is a wonderful little manual consisting of essays on 19 different aspects of meditation. If you have been meditating already, you will find important connections between your meditation practice and these essays. For instance, when I breathe out, I usually wait several seconds before I can breathe in (I have a low heart rate). I think of breathing out like the small waves of an ocean lapping at the shore. In between breaths, I feel the presence of an ocean inside me, and I think of myself being part of that ocean. In other words, I actually feel the presence of this ocean in me. This concept is explained by using different words by Daniel Odier. Even if you never meditated before, there are amazing ideas and connections to be learned by reading this book. For instance, I had never before thought of the close connection between "hope" and "fear". How true this connection is for all of us! The concepts about desire, the unity of body and mind, etc., are all explained in very easy to read short essays. And there are deep questions to be answered at the end of each chapter. The last chapter talks about love and says that there is a cost of clipping the wings of the person you love. Most parents are aware of this cost. For lovers this cost turns into jealousy which is the opposite of love. Beautiful book! I am quoting the following sentences from the end of the book, "If we could record a single day of mental discourse, we would have as much as fifteen to sixteen hours of commentary of our actions and gestures. By comparison, reading this book only requires an hour. Ongoing discourse is not life; it is only the commentary of a possible life that we do not really live." Happy meditations!
April 20, 2020
I enjoyed this a ton but didn’t do any meditation and basically skipped over the questions at the end of each meditation where you were supposed to do some introspection. Oh well.
April 7, 2016
I had recently posed a question to my book club group about happiness and joy (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...) and there was a lively discussion about it! So I was thrilled when this little book found its way into my hands on the heels of that question. It was a case of 'Ask and it shall be answered' :)
It's written by an author who Anais Nin had called "a dazzling poet" - and these short essays are poetic in their delivery. I love the title of the book, and each of the 19 topics seem like portals into joy! Some of the topics such as:
- Organic Joy
- Spontaneity and Fear
- Thoughts, Emotions and Sensations
- A Balance between Auto-pilot and Consciousness
were my favorites, but each of them makes you question your beliefs, go deeper, peel back the layers of yourself and the identity you've created.
My recommendation with this book is to go slow, savor the ideas and inquire (or journal) within yourself as you read the questions that follow each of the essays.
It's written by an author who Anais Nin had called "a dazzling poet" - and these short essays are poetic in their delivery. I love the title of the book, and each of the 19 topics seem like portals into joy! Some of the topics such as:
- Organic Joy
- Spontaneity and Fear
- Thoughts, Emotions and Sensations
- A Balance between Auto-pilot and Consciousness
were my favorites, but each of them makes you question your beliefs, go deeper, peel back the layers of yourself and the identity you've created.
My recommendation with this book is to go slow, savor the ideas and inquire (or journal) within yourself as you read the questions that follow each of the essays.
June 2, 2014
Enlightened. Charmed. Deep in thought.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews