The Meditator's Workbook: A Journey to the Center

by Matthew Flickstein, Henepola Gunaratana (Foreword)

Using hands-on exercises, journal entries, guided meditations, and lively vignettes, The Meditator's Workbook will help

Whether your goal is to reduce stress or to gain deeper insight and mastery over your inner life, this simple, straightforward guidebook is the tool to use for learning why and how to meditate. Through its unique workbook-style presentation, The Meditator's Workbook leads you to discover your own starting point, teaches you how to gain mental clarity and remove the obstacles you inevitably encounter, and helps you to identify the insights that are appropriate to each stage of your journey to spiritual and psychological maturity.

Genres: Buddhism, Meditation, Nonfiction, Spirituality

210 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2009

Reviews

[Me]

So far, I really like it. It's becoming more of a self-help-realize your goals through visualization book, but it has some excellent approaches to growth that I've never heard before. Mainly, that your results will only ever be as great as your self-image!

[Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not recommend this book. The content consists of bare bones overviews of complex concepts, followed by poorly designed meditations and journaling prompts. For instance, the concept of loving-kindness meditation is explained in just a couple of pages, and the meditation itself combines several steps that would usually be practiced individually and then combined only after months (or even years) of practice. If you are new to this concept you 1) will only obtain enough information from this book to know the basic premise of loving-kindness meditation, without a thorough understanding, and 2) will most likely become frustrated and struggle immensely with the meditation because it crams everything into one session instead of teaching it in a way that explores the nuances and meaning or takes the time to guide someone in a gradual way that allows the mind to integrate and adapt the actual principle it is attempting to teach. It's like taking a doctorate and turning it into an 8 month technical education program. The author comes across as someone who has studied meditation from the outside and wrote a generalized summary, like a journalist writing an expose. And with so many options available, I would recommend investing your time, effort, and money elsewhere. A good place to start would be the works of Jon Kabat Zin and Pema Chodron. They are much more thorough, paced appropriately, and presented well.

[Alain Burrese · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Meditator's Workbook: A Journey To The Center” by Matthew Flickstein is a workbook, and to get the most out of it, one should not only read it, but do the meditations and exercises provided throughout the text. Doing this book, rather than just reading it, helps live life more fully, relieve stress and grief, and find personal inner-peace and well being. Obviously, these things can be said for meditation in general, regardless the type one practices or the source one learns from. But this book focuses on assisting one with these and more through the guided practice of meditation.

The book uses the Ten Oxherding Pictures as a base for the lessons along one's journey. As Flickstein states, “the ox symbolizes your true nature, the reality that lies beyond your conditioned and transitory existence . 'Herding the wild ox' is a metaphor for the progressive stages of realization that you will encounter during your quest for enlightenment.” I'll admit, it was this ox herding focus that drew me to purchasing the book. I've always liked these pictures, and their meaning, since learning about them from a friend as we gazed upon a series of pictures on the outside of a temple in Korea.

Using the pictures as a framework to organize the lessons, Flickstein guides the reader through a journey of finding oneself through a series of meditations. Accompanying these meditations, are questions to help you think about things that will help you find peace within yourself as well as figure out where you really want to go. There are also blank pages where you are encouraged to journal about the things you are thinking and meditating about.

There are some meditations and sections of this book that might not be as relevant to all readers, and some parts that some might not think are relevant until actually meditating on and pondering the questions the author poses. Throughout all of the exercises and meditations, one can learn about the self and become more mindful, which is the beginning to “enlightenment” or self-discovery. I'm not sure if we ever really become enlightened, but I do think we can discover more about ourselves and live happier more positive lives, and doing this book can help you with that.

Recommended to all who want to look within themselves a little deeper through meditation and self-discovery. Take this journey to help tame your ox.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have had this on the shelf for many years. Was not ready for it until recently. Very helpful! Thank you Mr. Flickstein.

[Svetlana Dimovski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful guide for clarity and reflection. Great balance of wisdom, space for insights and practical tools. Thank you Mr. Flickstein. Your books and the movie are true gifts.