"CHRIST-CENTERED MEDITATION: Handbook for Spiritual Practice," by Pam Blackwell, Onyx Press, $17.95, 121 pages (nf)
In a world where peace and focus are often hard to come by, the practice of meditation may be the answer for setting troubled hearts to rest, according to author Pam Blackwell, Ph.D.
In her recently released book, “Christ-Centered Meditation: Handbook for Spiritual Practice,” Blackwell quickly builds a solid case for the practice of meditation and follows with how-to advice for getting started and for making meditation a practice in one’s life.
She writes, “Meditation is the original ‘gift that keeps on giving.’ … When one meditates on a daily basis, even if for only 20 minutes a day, it makes the rest of one’s life much more clear, efficient and compassionate. One’s life just runs more smoothly in many delightfully surprising ways as one takes up meditation seriously.”
A psychologist, teacher and director of Morning Star Meditations, Blackwell has had an interest in meditation for more than 50 years since first beginning the practice in 1961 as an undergraduate at Arizona State University.
In workshops and classes she has taught during the past 40 years in Europe and the United States, including at Brigham Young University, Blackwell incorporates a strong understanding of the Eastern meditation techniques with a desire to convey what she calls “my love for the Christ-centered spiritual potentials of meditation.”
She says her classes and her new book center on “the idea of incorporating Eastern meditation into traditional spiritual practice of prayer, fasting and church attendance.”
Readers of “Christ-Centered Meditation” may notice an occasional typo. In addition, the order of the chapters may feel slightly awkward, as the author intersperses chapters about technique with those containing information about the benefits and theory of meditation. Still, even with its minor blemishes, there is much that makes Blackwell’s book both highly instructive and uplifting.
The book covers tips for proper technique as well as comprehensive guidelines for couples and family meditation. “Christ-Centered Meditation” also offers answers about the difference between contemplation and meditation, the spiritual psychology behind meditation.
She says her desire is that her book will help readers more deliberately put themselves in a “God mood.”
“May we become peaceful, compassionate people, in touch with Christ and his gospel is my great desire,” she concludes.
Cecily Markland is a freelance writer, book editor, publicist and author of "Hope: One Mile Ahead" and the children’s book, "If I Made a Bug." She owns Inglestone Publishing and produces a calendar of LDS events in Arizona (www.cecilymarkland.com).