| Men and women, seeking spiritual answers they | | | | Meditation can be a lifesaver to people who |
| can't seem to find in Western culture or | | | | are: |
| traditional religious pathways, are trying | | | | |
| meditation. A large (and growing) number of | | | | - Confused by a previously happy life that |
| people are taking up the practice, including | | | | has suddenly changed. |
| open-minded Christians and undocumented | | | | |
| millions of seekers who are unaffiliated but | | | | - Frustrated by society's focus on |
| have privately taken up meditation for | | | | materialism at the expense of the spiritual |
| personal growth or physical relief. From | | | | dimension. |
| relaxation, to healing, to restructuring | | | | |
| personal lives, meditation has become a hot | | | | - Responding to an inner urging to explore |
| topic. | | | | the life within. |
| | | | |
| One of the fastest-growing segments of the | | | | - Who understand that a rich world lies |
| publishing world is religion and | | | | within, but are not sure how to experience |
| spirituality. A recent general survey of | | | | the limitless nature of the soul. |
| spiritual publishers by Exegeses confirms | | | | |
| that not only is spirituality booming, but | | | | - Seeking a more mystical experience than |
| more importantly, readers are clamoring for | | | | conventional prayer allows. |
| titles that take them deeper than they have | | | | |
| ever gone before. Moreover, Publishers Weekly | | | | - Seeking a face-to-face audience with the |
| has reported that religion remains one of the | | | | Ultimate. |
| hottest categories in bookselling. | | | | |
| | | | - Led astray by false teachers, and who |
| The signs are all there. Everything is | | | | finally understand the way lies within. |
| falling into place for a serious discussion | | | | |
| of spirituality just as meditation is | | | | - With problems (addictions, psychological |
| becoming mainstream. Descendants of the | | | | damage, physical complaints) for whom |
| original meditators number in the hundreds of | | | | conventional Western medicine or |
| millions worldwide, with nearly 400 million | | | | interventions do not work. |
| Buddhists and 900 million Hindus. When you | | | | |
| add Transcendental Meditation practitioners, | | | | - Feeling empty and searching for |
| along with Western practitioners of Zen, | | | | fulfillment. |
| Tibetan, Chinese, Korean, and Southeast Asian | | | | |
| traditions-the numbers are impressive. | | | | - Who understand they are on a path that's |
| | | | not working and need to readjust or refocus |
| Another potential, however, is Christians, | | | | their lives. |
| particularly modern Christians, part of a | | | | |
| groundswell of the faithful worldwide who | | | | - Looking for nothing less than to alter |
| believe that Christ was tragically | | | | their destinies. |
| misunderstood-that he was trying to teach | | | | |
| people how to one: become enlightened, and | | | | Meditation and enlightenment are common |
| two: become enlightened by looking within. | | | | grounds upon which every sensitive, |
| This is quite radical, but more so is the | | | | intelligent individual, regardless of his or |
| growing belief that the Second Coming of | | | | her particular beliefs, can deepen their |
| Christ is already here. And who is it? It's | | | | relationship with that most personal part of |
| the world's collective enlightenment | | | | their lives. This offers a real possibility |
| consciousness! All that is needed is a little | | | | of change, within ourselves and within our |
| explanation; a roadmap to both meditation and | | | | society, where the greed, hatred, and fear we |
| enlightenment, or how to come face-to-face | | | | now have of each other's viewpoints, and |
| with God. | | | | which has precipitated so many conflicts, |
| | | | might finally end. |